asalamualikum...
*O You Who Believe Enter Into Islaam Wholeheartedly *
http://albaseerah.org/forum/showthread.php?t=3187
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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