It has been the way of our beloved Prophet (sallallaahu alaihi wasallaam), his righteous companions

and the Muslims to seek help from Allaah alone. Whenever they were in need of something, they
would turn to Allaah and seek His help, His Mercy and His Protection. But now it has become a
common practice amongst Muslims to call upon others besides Allaah for help. We often hear
people saying "Ya peer Abdul Qadir help us", "Yaa Ghaus Al-madad", or "Yaa Ali madad". Let's clarify
the issue of calling upon other than Allaah through the following five questions:
1. Is it true that the disbelievers to whom the Prophet (pbuh) was sent did not believe in Allaah?
No, this is not true, the disbelievers of Makkah believed in Allaah, as He, the Most High says in the
Noble Qur'aan:
"And if you were to ask them who created them, they would surely say: Allaah. So how is it that they
are deluded?". [43:87]
They also believed that Allaah was the giver of life & death and the Giver of Sustenance [refer: Surah
Yunus 10:31], that Allaah sends down the rain [Surah Ankaboot 29:61], that Allaah was the Sole
Protector [ Surah Mu'minun 23:89], and in times of sever distress, they would call upon Allaah alone
[Surah Ankaboot 29:65]. So although they believed that Allaah was the Lord of everything, this was
not sufficient to enter them into Islaam. This was because they rejected singling out Allaah alone in
worship.
2. The disbelievers worshipped idols but i turn to the Saints hoping for their intercession (waseelah).
How can you compare this to Idol worship?
By calling upon the Saints asking them to intercede on their behalf, people commit exactly the same
shirk of the disbelievers of Makkah. In the following verse, Allaah mentions their excuse for shirk:
"And those who take Protectors besides Him say: 'We worship them only that they may bring us
near to Allah'. Verily, Allah will judge between them concerning that wherein they differ. Truly, Allah
guides not him who is a liar, and a disbeliever". [Surah Zumar: 3].
And also the verse:
"And they worship other than Allah that which neither harms them nor benefits them, and they say,
"These are our intercessors with Allah." Say, "Do you inform Allah of something He does not know
in the heavens or on the earth?" Exalted is He and high above what they associate with Him". [Surah
Yunus: 18]
In these two verses Allaah mentions the reason the Pagan Arabs called upon the idols was so that
these idols could act as Intermediaries between them and Allaah. The pagan arabs felt themselves
too sinful to approach Allaah directly, thus they would call upon out to intermediaries such as holy
men, angels and saints, whom they believed were very close to Allaah. These intermediaries were
assumed to have occupied a high status with Allaah, and according to them, their intercession would
be accepted. So they called upon them, believing that Allaah would accept the intercession of these
'holy' men, and grant their requests.
Those polytheist would build structures over the graves of those holy men. Over time, those
structures became idols that were worshipped besides Allaah. They did not believe that those idols
had any power in and of themselves, any power they had, was from Allaah. They would direct acts of
worship such as du'aa, sacrifice and vows to those idols (while still believing that Allaah was All-
Powerful) and it was for this reason that they were deemed polytheists.
An example of an idol of the polytheists was Al-Laat. This idol was a large structure with a special
keeper assigned to it. Ibn Abbaas stated: "Al-Laat was a person who would knead dough and
produce sawiq (a sweet dish) for the (Haj) pilgrims". (Bukhari). After he died, they built a structure
over his grave, and overtime this structure became an idol that was worshipped alongside Allaah.
Now fast forward to the Muslims of today, we have graves of prominent Muslims such as Abdul
Qadir al jilani, Mo'inuddin Chisti, Tijani, Rifa'ai and others. These graves attract millions of Muslims
who call upon the occupant of the grave, hoping that they would carry their request to Allaah. For
example: "O Abdul Qadir al jilani, Ask Allaah to relieve my distress", or even worse: "O Abdul Qadir al
jilani, hep me". Both are blatant SHIRK.
Like the pagan Arabs, the grave worshippers of our time affirm the powerful nature of Allaah.
Like the pagan Arabs, the grave worshippers do not intend to direct their worship to these saints and
prophets, but to reach Allaah through them.
Like the pagan Arabs, the grave worshippers use the same excuse for their shirk: merely to get closer
to Allaah by going through these holy intermediaries.
Hence the ruling of shirk applies to both groups of people.
This type of shirk which is related to setting up intermediaries between man and Allaah, and calling
upon them, is throughout history, the most widespread form of shirk. The cause of this shirk is due
to exaggeration in the status of pious people. They raised the status of pious individuals above their
actual status, and ended up worshipping them. Tauheed, on the other hand, involves a direct
relationship between man and Allaah. Allaah is not in need of any intermediaries to accept our
worship.
3. But shirk is the worship of idols, and we don't worship idols?
The people of the Prophet's (sallallaahu alaihi wasallaam) time had different objects of worship, and
he did not differentiate between these different objects. Some people worshipped idols, others used
to worship pious people such as Al-Laat, others worshipped Prophets such as Jesus (pbuh) and
others worshipped Angels. He (sallallaahu alaihi wasallam) did not distinguish between these
different acts of shirk, as shirk is not dependent of who is worshipped besides Allaah, rather it is
dependent of the fact that other than Allaah is being worshipped.
"Shirk is to perform to other than Allaah, an act that is only to be performed to Him, regardless of
whether that object is called an idol, a wali, a saint or tomb".
4. What is the relationship between du'aa and worship?
Du'aa is a great act of worship. The Prophet (sallallaahu alihi wasallam) said: "Du'aa is worship". He
then recited the verse: "Verily, you Lord has said: 'Call upon me, and I will answer you!' Those who
are too arrogant to worship Allaah will enter Hell, humiliated!" (40:60). [Ahmed]
Therefore, du'aa is a type of worhip: rather, it is among the greatest acts of worship, and one of the
best ways to bring a worshipper closer to Allaah. If du'aa is a type of worship, then this automatically
implies that making du'aa to other than Allaah is shirk. Therefore, any person who makes du'aa to
the deceased has committed a major shirk. As for asking assistance from the living, then this is
permissible if the one you are calling is present, and capable of responding. For example, asking
assistance from a friend to help you with your studies is permissible. But, to call upon a living person,
asking him to make it rain, is shirk. Likewise, calling upon one who is alive but not present, seeking
his help, is also shirk.
5. What other evidences are there to show that du'aa is for Allaah alone?
There are many evidences, from them the ayah in Surah Faatihah: "Iyyaaka na'budu wa iyyaaka
nasta'een" meaning "You alone we worship and you alone we ask for help". Also, Allaah says:
"Say (O Muhammed), I make du'aa only to my Lord and I associate none as partners with Him".
[Surah Jinn 72:20]
and the verse: "Then do not call upon anyone besides Allaah" [Surah Jinn 72:18]
The Prophet (sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam) said: "When you ask (for anything), ask it from Allah
(alone), and if you seek help, seek help from Allah (alone)". (Tirmidhee). And he (sallallaahu alaihi
wasallam) also said: "Whoever dies while calling upon other than Allaah will be in the Fire of Hell".
(Bukhari)
These evidences also show that Calling upon other than Allaah is futile. Allaah says,
"If you call out to them, they do not hear your call; and if they were to hear they would not respond
to you and on the Day of Resurrection they will deny your shirk and none can inform you (O
Muhammed) like Him who is the All-Knower (of each and everything)". [Surah Fatir 35:14]
Allaah describes that these objects of worship cannot even hear the call of those who call out to
them. Hence you could call upon Ali (radiyallaah anhu) or Abdul Qadir Jilani at the top of your voice,
next to his grave, but Allaah tells us that they do not hear our calls. So why call upon one who will
never hear you. Furthermore, even if they could hear, they would not be able to do anything to help
you, and finally on the Day of Judgment they will turn against the people who worshipped them.
Calling upon other than Allaah, (e.g. a deceased saint or a prophet) is MAJOR SHIRK. This is
irrespective of whether you ask them directly for your needs, or you ask them to make du'aa for you,
or you ask them to intercede for you.
Just look at the numerous du'aas that come in the Qur'aan or authentic Hadith: all of them teach us
to call upon Allaah alone. Not a single du'aa teaches us to call upon other than Allaah. Hence the
true Muslim follows the example of the Prophet (sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam) and his righteous
companions, calling upon Allaah alone in all situations.
And all praise is for Allaah, the Lord of the worlds.