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The Life, Teachings and Influence of Muhammad ibn Abdul-Wahhaab
“Supplication is the [essence of] worship.” 1 The Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allah be upon him) also said,
�ﺭﺎ�ﻨﻟﺍ ﹶﻞ�ﺧ�ﺩ ﺍ�ﺪﹺﻧ �ﻪﱠﻠﻟﺍ �ﻥﻭ�ﺩ �ﻦ�ﻣ ﻮ�ﻋ�ﺪ�ﻳ �ﻮ�ﻫ�ﻭ �ﺕﺎ�ﻣ �ﻦ�ﻣ
“Whoever dies while calling upon other than Allah as a partner shall
enter the Hell-fire.” (Recorded by al-Bukhari.)
In the process of refuting some of the weak arguments of his
opponents, Muhammad ibn Abdul-Wahhaab distinguished, as can be
proven in the example of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be
upon him) himself, between the kind of asking of others that is
permissible and that which is not permissible—in fact, that which is
shirk (ascribing partners to Allah). In essence, a Muslim can ask
another person to do something when that act is customarily within
the means of a human being (as given to them by Allah). However, it
is completely forbidden to ask of another human what is typically not
within the ability of a human being. In fact, this can be a type of shirk
or associating a partner with Allah in something that uniquely pertains
to Allah. This would include asking them for guidance, in the sense of
putting faith in one’s heart, or asking from them things related to the
unseen and unknowable, such as the occurrence of future events,
asking them to cure one’s illness and so forth. This latter category
would definitely also include praying to people who are dead and in
their graves, as they are now beyond having the means to bring about
benefit for those living in this world.
On this issue of praying towards others and seeking help of a
divine nature from them, Muhammad ibn Abdul-Wahhaab noted that
there is no difference between praying to idols, trees or shrubs and
praying to prophets and “saints”. All of those acts are shirk (ascribing
of partners to Allah). There is no basis in the Quran or Sunnah for
those acts. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)
and his Companions, for example, never prayed to Abraham or Moses
while these prophets were in their graves, like the later Muslims
1 Recorded by Abu Dawood, al-Nasaai, al-Tirmidhi and others. Graded sahih by
al-Albaani. See Muhammad Naasir al-Deen al-Albaani, Saheeh al-Jaami al-
Sagheer (Beirut: al-Maktab al-Islaami, 1988), vol. 1, p. 641. An excellent
discussion of the relationship between supplications and tauheed may be found
in Jailaan al-Uroosi, Al-Duaa wa Manzalatuhu min al-Aqeedah al-Islaamiyah
(Riyadh: Maktabah al-Rushd, 1996), vol. 1, pp. 237-307.
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