O You Who Bve Enter Into Islaam
Wholeheartedly
by Shaykh 'Ali Abdur-Rahmaan Al-Hudhayfi حفظه الله
on Sunday, June 25th, 2005
AL-ISTI’AANAH – TO SEEK ASSISTANCE
From the other acts of worship is al-Isti’aanah (الاستعانة) which it is to request assistance. Seeking help must be from Allaah سبحانه وتعالى – it is to seek assistance in all our affairs and in all conditions – in our acts of eebaadah, in our religious affairs as well as our worldly affairs – whether big, small or that which may seem insignificant. Allaah سبحانه وتعالى says:
اسْتَعِينُوا بِاللَّهِ وَاصْبِرُواْ{… "Seek help in Allâh and be patient…} [al-A’raaf 7:128]
In the hadeeth of Ibn Abbaas رضي الله عنه the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said:
“Guard the limits of Allaah and Allaah shall protect you. If you ask, ask of Allaah, and if you seek help, seek help with Allaah.”[8] So seeking help is an act of worship, and it actually precedes the acts of worship which we do because by the Muslim asking Allaah سبحانه وتعالى to assist him, he is recognizing that he cannot really carry out any act of worship except with Allaah’s assistance, nor leave alone any sinful act except with aid from Allaah سبحانه وتعالى. It is for this reason they say that this ayah is the essence of al-Faatihah:
إِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ وإِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِينُ{You (Alone) we worship, and You (Alone) we ask for help (for each and everything).} [al-Faatihah 1:5]
If we understand this, then we need to recognize that seeking help is of different types. If a created being has the ability to assist i.e. if it is something that he can do then there is no harm in asking. For example, asking a person to perform an act in this world which he is able to do, or to help in some type of profession. This is something in which there is nothing wrong. For example a person who is drowning turning to someone who is there and able to assist him and saying “save me” or “help me”. There is no wrong in this because it is something that the individual being asked has the ability to do.
However, if it is something which is beyond his control and it is something that only Allaah سبحانه وتعالى can do, then to seek help from someone other than Allaah will be shirk. For example, a person seeking help from someone other than Allaah سبحانه وتعالى regarding forgiveness of sins, or success in religious matters or obtaining guidance or removing some harm which may only be removed by Allaah سبحانه وتعالى; these are aspects of shirk.
AL-ISTI’AADHAH – TO SEEK REFUGE
From taqwaa of Allaah سبحانه وتعالى and worshipping Him is istiaadhah (استعاذة) i.e. seeking refuge with Allaah سبحانه وتعالى against the things that a person fears or is cautious of. Allaah mentions in the Qur’aan:
قُلْ أَعُوذُ بِرَبِّ الْفَلَقِ{Say: "I seek refuge with (Allâh), the Lord of the daybreak} [al-Falaq 113:1]
… until the end of the soorah; and Allaah سبحانه وتعالى said:
قُلْ أَعُوذُ بِرَبِّ النَّاسِ{Say: "I seek refuge with (Allâh) the Lord of mankind} [an-Naas 114:1]
Also, Musa عليه السلام said:
وَقَالَ مُوسَى إِنِّي عُذْتُ بِرَبِّي وَرَبِّكُم مِّن كُلِّ مُتَكَبِّرٍ لَّا يُؤْمِنُ بِيَوْمِ الْحِسَابِ
{Mûsâ (Moses) said: "Verily, I seek refuge in my Lord and your Lord from every arrogant who believes not in the Day of Reckoning!"} [Ghaafir 40:27]
Also, in the hadeeth of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم: “Whoever comes to rest at a place and he says this supplication ‘I seek protection in Allaah’s complete words from the evil that He has created’; nothing shall harm him until he moves from that place where he is.”[9] Allaah سبحانه وتعالى also informs us, that the Mushrikeen(polytheist) who the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم struggled against, used to seek refuge in other than Allaah سبحانه وتعالى. Whoever seeks refuge in the Jinn, the occupants of the graves, the dead, or an angel so that they may avert some harm from him or bring some benefit, then seeking refuge in the creation in this way is something which is not permissible because istiaadhah is an act of worship and should be directed only to Allaah alone; and the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم struggled against those who sought refuge in other than Allaah سبحانه وتعالى as He سبحانه وتعالى said:
وَأَنَّهُ كَانَ رِجَالٌ مِّنَ الْإِنسِ يَعُوذُونَ بِرِجَالٍ مِّنَ الْجِنِّ فَزَادُوهُمْ رَهَقاً{'And verily, there were men among mankind who took shelter with the males among the jinn,
but they (jinn) increased them (mankind) in sin and transgression.} [al-Jinn 72:6]
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