Salafi Disease of Literalism

Asking Allah Directly, Or Asking Allah Indirectly Through Rasul'allah(saww)

Introduction

The Salafi Self Invented Logic is this that Allah can Only be Asked Directly. And it is Shirk to believe that Allah has put some Mediums between Him and His creatures. They say:

If Allah is (naudo-billah) Deaf that He cannot hear us directly? Or if He is blind that He cannot see us?

And they quote a lot of verses from Qur'an in their defense. For example:

[Yusufali 50:16] ...... (Allah says) for We are nearer to him than (his) jugular vein.

[Yusufali 2:186] .. When My servants ask thee concerning Me, I am indeed close (to them): I listen to the prayer of every suppliant when he calleth on Me:

So Salafi logic is, if Allah is so near to us, and when He can hear us, and when He has all the powers, ... then why to look at others to approach to Him. For them, Allah has not put any barriers between Him and His creature, and can be approached directly.

Our Response:

Salafi are only selective in quoting the Qur'an. They are not taking the whole Qur'an and Sunnah into consideration and they are only following their logic, while we follow the Logic of Qur'an. Let us see the whole message of Qur'an and then let us decide what is the truth. Allah wants to include Rasool Allah [saww] between Him and His creatures, while Salafi want to exclude Rasool Allah [saww] between them and Allah Allah says in Qur'an:

[Yusuf Ali 4:64] ...... If they had only, when they were unjust to themselves, come unto thee and asked Allah's forgiveness, and the Messenger had asked forgiveness for them, they would have found Allah indeed Oft-returning, Most Merciful.

All the Mufassireen of Qur'an (including the Salafi Mufassireen) are unanimous that this verse was revealed when some of the Sahaba made a severe mistake. Afterwards, they realized their mistake and wanted to do Tawba (asking forgiveness from Allah for their sin).

And they asked Allah DIRECTLY for the forgiveness. But look carefully, how Allah responded:

Allah rejected to accept their DIRECT request of forgiveness.

Then Allah ordered them to first to go to Rasool Allah [saww], and then to ask Allah for the forgiveness.

And Rasool Allah [saww] must also ask for their forgiveness.

Allah told those Sahaba, that if they act upon these steps (i.e. to include Rasool Allah [saww] in their request for forgiveness), only after that they will find Allah indeed Oft-returning, Most Merciful.

Now the following questions arise in the mind:

It was a matter between Allah and those Sahaba. Rasool Allah [saww] had nothing to do with it. Then still why he [saww] had been involved in this case?

Is Allah dependant on the "Astaghfar" of Rasool Allah [saww], in order to give forgiveness to anyone? Then why not those Sahaba DIRECTLY asked the forgiveness, and why not Allah forgave them DIRECTLY?

Allah himself asks Muhammad [saww] to do "Astaghfar" for others. But why Allah (swt) want to give "Extra Duty" to Muhammad (saww)? After all, Muhammad (saww) didn't commit any mistake, they why this "Extra Burdon" on him to do "Astaghfar" for others?

NOTE: This is not the only place where Allah asked His beloved Rasool [saww] to ask forgiveness on the behalf of others, but Allah has been constantly asking His beloved Rasool [saww], in the Qur'an, to do Astaghfar for his Ummah.

[Pickthal 3:159] ............ So pardon them and ask forgiveness for them.

[Pickthal 4:106-107] And seek forgiveness of Allah (for others). Lo! Allah is ever Forgiving, Merciful. And plead not on behalf of (people) who deceive themselves.

[Pickthal 8:33] But Allah would not punish them while thou wast with them, nor will He punish them while they seek forgiveness. [Pickthal 9:80-84] Ask forgiveness for them (O Muhammad), or ask not forgiveness for them; though thou ask forgiveness for them seventy times Allah will not forgive them. . And never (O Muhammad) pray for one of them who dieth, nor stand by his grave.

[Pickthal 9:103] Take alms of their wealth, wherewith thou mayst purify them and mayst make them grow, and pray for them. Lo! thy prayer is an assuagement for them.

[Pickthal 9:113] It is not for the Prophet, and those who believe, to pray for the forgiveness of idolaters even though they may be near of kin (to them) after it hath become clear that they are people of hell-fire.

[Pickthal 24:62] So, if they ask thy leave for some affair of theirs, give leave to whom thou wilt of them, and ask for them forgiveness of Allah.

[Pickthal 47:19] ..So know (O Muhammad) that there is no Allah save Allah, and ask forgiveness for thy sin and for believing men and believing women.

[Pickthal 60:12] then accept their allegiance and ask Allah to forgive them.

[Pickthal 63:5-6] And when it is said unto them: Come! The messenger of Allah will ask forgiveness for you! They [the hypocrites] avert their faces and thou seest them turning away, disdainful. Whether thou ask forgiveness for them or ask not forgiveness for them is all one for them; Allah will not forgive them.

Hundreds of Ahadith Show that Sahaba asked Allah through Wasilah of Rasool Allah (saww)

Let me quote some of the Ahadith from our previous Chapter 3.

Sahih Muslim, 1st Chapter of book of Clothing:

Abd Allah, the freed slave of Asma' the daughter of Abu Bakr, the maternal uncle of the son of Ata', said:

. She (Asma bint Abu Bakr) said: "Here is the cloak (jubba) of Allah's Messenger," and she brought out to me that cloak made of Persian cloth with a hem of (silk) brocade, and its sleeves bordered with (silk) brocade, and said:

"This was Allah's Messenger's cloak with A'isha until she died, then I got possession of it. The Apostle of Allah used to wear it, and we washed it for the sick so that they could seek cure thereby."

Allah is indeed closer to us than our jugular vein, but why then these 2 ladies sought health from Juba of Rasool Allah (saww), instead of asking Allah Directly?

Did these 2 ladies thought that Allah is (Naudobillah) deaf that He could not hear their prayers Directly? Need we to comment any more?

Here one more Hadith from Umm-ul-Momineen Umm Salama. Bukhari narrates in his Sahih in the Book of Clothing, under the chapter entitled "What is mentioned about gray hair:

Uthman bin Abd Allah ibn Mawhab said, "My people sent me with a bowl of water to Umm Salama." Isra'il approximated three fingers indicating the small size of the container in which there was some hair of the Prophet. Uthman added, "If any person suffered from evil eye or some other disease, he would send a vessel (containing water) to Umm Salama (and she would dip the Prophet's hair into it and it would be drunk). I looked into the container (that held the hair of the Prophet) and saw a few reddish hairs in it."

Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 7, Book 72, Number 784.

No comments from our side anymore. Please see all the Ahadith in our previous chapter, which show that Sahaba Karam asked Allah (swt) through the Wasila of Rasool Allah (saww).

Our Challenge that Rasool Allah [saww] was not a Salafi

Due to the presence of above verses, it was a common practice among Sahaba Karam, that they visited Rasool Allah [saww] and asked him to do Dua to Allah on their behalf.

We challenge that Rasool Allah [saww] was not a Salafi, otherwise he would have told the Sahaba things like this: Why they make him a Wasila between them and Allah, like Kuffar used to do with their idol gods?

They don't need him [saww] to bring their message to Allah, as He can hear their each and every call himself, as He is closer to them than their jugular vein.

Go and ask Allah DIRECTLY.

Contrary to all this, Rasool Allah [saww] encouraged this practice and always did Dua for them.