Question:
Assalaamu Alaykum.
Please, what is ISTIGHASA? An example from Fadaail Aamaal stories: when a person
speaks in the Masjid Nabawi saying Yaa Rasuulullaah (Sallallaahu Alayhi
Wasallam) I am your guest and thereafter gets help via a dream.
Wassalaam
Answer
Wa’alaykum as Salām wa rahmatullāhi wa barakātuhu,
Allāh says:
“Call upon Me; I will respond to you.” [Al-Qur’ān 40:60]
The Prophet ﷺ said:
“When you ask, ask from Allāh, and when you seek help, then seek help from Allāh.” [Al-Tirmidhī].
Based on the above, it is not permissible to make Duʿā to the Prophet ﷺ directly. This is because Duʿā is an act of worship, and we worship none other than Allāh.
Istighāthah literally means ‘to seek help’.
Some people believe in seeking help by calling out to the (pious) dead. This is impermissible and prohibited.
However, when visiting the grave of the Prophet ﷺ in Al-Masjid Al-Nabawī, it is permissible to request the Prophet ﷺ to seek forgiveness on one’s behalf from Allāh and to request the Prophet ﷺ to intercede for one on the Day of Judgement. This is because the Prophets are such that they are physically alive in their graves in respect to this world, and not merely alive spiritually in respect to one’s soul as in the case for all others.
And Allaah Ta’aala knows best
Wassalaam,
Ismail Moosa (Mufti)
References
وَقَالَ رَبُّكُمُ ادْعُونِي أَسْتَجِبْ لَكُمْ (القرآن 40:60)
إذا سألت فاسأل الله وإذا استعنت فاستعن بالله (أخرجه الترمذي في سننه)
(الإرشاد في مسألة الإستمداد، مقالات عثماني – 2 / 285)
(نيل الأوطار – 5 / 101)