YA MOHAMMED : PROOF
Assalamalaikum wa rahamatullah.
Date: 2007-08-29 01:40:02
Title: "By the one in Whose hand is Abu al-Qasim's soul, `Isa ibn Maryam shall descend as a just and wise ruler. He shall destroy the cross, slay the swine....
Category: Hadith
Question: Could you please certify the authenticity of this hadith?
1) Hadith on the authority of Abu Hurayra: I heard the Prophet say: "By the one in Whose hand is Abu al-Qasim's soul, `Isa ibn Maryam shall descend as a just and wise ruler. He shall destroy the cross, slay the swine, eradicate discord and grudges, and money shall be offered to him but he will not accept it. Then he shall stand at my grave side and say: Ya Muhammad! and I will answer him." Abu Ya`la relates it with a sound (sahih) chain in his Musnad (Dar al-Ma'mun ed. 1407/1987) 11:462; Ibn Hajar al-`Asqalani cites it in al-Matalib al-`aliya (Kuwait, 1393/1973) 4:23, chapter entitled: "Concerning the Prophet's life in his grave" and #4574. Haythami says in Majma` al-zawa'id (8:5), Chapter entitled: "`Isa ibn Maryam's Descent": "Its sub-narrators are the men of sound (sahih) hadith."
2) Is there a sahi hadith in Musnad of Imam Hanbal( rh) or any other book which says that Isa Bin Maryam ( alaihis salaam) will be buried next to the grave of prophet Mohammed ( sal lallahu allaihi wa sallam)? 3) Is there any hadith in which prophet said that a prophet is buried at the place where he dies? If yes , then will Isa Bin Maryam ( alaihis salaam) die near the grave of prophet? Or the hadith in (2) mentions only to those prophet who come with book? I would be really thankful to you if you can please provide the clarification on the above issues.
Jazakallah khair
Anwser: In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful
Assalaamu `alaykum waRahmatullahi Wabarakatoh
1. Yes, the above hadith has been confirmed and mentioned in Mustadrak lil Hakim as well.
2. This hadith had been mentioned in Mirqaatul Mafateeh on pg 67, volume 11, Maktaba Imdaadiyah print. Similarly, the hadith concerning a prophet being buried at place of his death is mentioned in Shamaail Muhammadiyyah, pg 665, hadith 396.
3. Hazrat Eesaa (AS)’s reappearance in this world will not be as a Nabi but rather as an Ummati of Rasulullah (صلى الله عليه و سلّم).
And Allah knows best
Wassalam
Ml. Haroon Dhooma,
Checked and Approved by:
Mufti Ebrahim Desai
Darul Iftaa, Madrassah In'aamiyyah
Allah orders us not to call upon the Prophet in the same way as we call upon each other:
la taj`alu du`a'a al-rasuli baynakum ka du`a'i ba`dikum ba`dan
"Make not the calling of the Messenger among you
as your calling one of another" (24:63)
This is a proof that He did not prohibit us from calling upon him, for an absolute prohibition needs not be qualified further. Allah Himself shows us the etiquette of addressing the Prophet by calling him Himself "Ya ayyuha al-nabi" -- O Prophet -- and referring to him as "The Messenger" in the Qur'an, whereas He calls other Prophets by name: Ya Ibrahim, Ya Yahya, Ya Musa, Ya `Isa, etc. The `ulama have explained that Allah established by this an honorific difference between the Seal of Prophets and those that preceded him, blessings and peace of Allah upon him and upon all of them. They have also said that it is the reason why we should prefer to say: Ya Rasulallah over saying Ya Muhammad.
2)
As mentioned in the section on Tawassul, the Prophet taught a blind man to make a du`a in which he has to say: "Ya Muhammad".
THE WAHHABIS' TAMPERING OF THE MUWAJAHA AL-SHARIFA (GATE TO THE PROPHET'S NOBLE GRAVE)
In this connection Muslims should take note of the following heinous act on the issue of "Ya Muhammad," because it is established without doubt as one of the great Wahhabi tamperings of our time. If one looks at an old picture of the golden gate at the entrance of the Prophet's grave, one will see, at the top of each door, intertwined, the invocations in Arabic calligraphy:
YA ALLAH
YA MUHAMMAD
If one looks now at the top of each door, one will notice that the Arabic letter Y (Ar. ya') in the initial position in the word YA in "Ya Muhammad" has been lopped off, but the A (Ar. alif) as well as the bottom two dots of the Y have been left in place, so that now one will read:
YA ALLAH
A MUHAMMAD
We have published a picture of the old gate, before the Wahhabis defaced it, on the front cover of our book Islamic Beliefs and Doctrine According to Ahl al-Sunna: A Repudiation of "Salafi" Innovations, Part I. It is a high-quality, clear color picture which we hope can be seen and understood by all Muslims.
1)Ya Muhammad" is the speech of Sayyidina `Isa to
the Prophet after `Isa's descent, according to an authentic
hadith on the authority of Abu Hurayra:
I heard the Prophet say: "By the one in Whose hand is Abu al-Qasim's soul, `Isa ibn Maryam shall descend as a just and wise ruler. He shall destroy the cross, slay the swine, eradicate discord and grudges, and money shall be offered to him but he will not accept it. Then he shall stand at my grave side and say: Ya Muhammad! and I will answer him."
Abu Ya`la relates it with a sound (sahih) chain in his Musnad
(Dar al-Ma'mun ed. 1407/1987) 11:462; Ibn Hajar al-`Asqalani cites it in al-Matalib al-`aliya (Kuwait, 1393/1973) 4:23, chapter entitled: "Concerning the Prophet's life in his grave" and #4574. Haythami says in Majma` al-zawa'id (8:5), Chapter entitled: "`Isa ibn Maryam's Descent": "Its sub-narrators are the men of sound (sahih) hadith."
2)
Following report of Ibn Abi Fudayk, one of the early scholars of Madina and one of Shafi`i's shaykhs, applies not only to the Prophet's visitor in Madina, but to every person who invokes blessings on the Prophet from afar with the words Ya Muhammad as if he were standing in front of the Prophet: "I heard one of the authorities whom I have met say: "It has reached us that whoever stands at the Prophet's grave and recites: "Allah and His angels send blessings on the Prophet..." (33:56) and then says: "May Allah bless you, O Muhammad" (sallallahu `alayka ya Muhammad) seventy times, an angel will call him saying: May Allah bless you, O So-and-so; none of your needs will be left unfulfilled."" Ibn Jama`a related it in Hidayat al-salik 3:1382-1383, Ibn al-Jawzi in Muthir al-gharam p. 487, Qadi `Iyad in al-Shifa', and Bayhaqi in Shu`ab al-iman (#4169).
3)
Bukhari in his Adab al-mufrad, Nawawi in his Adhkar, and Shawkani in Tuhfat al-dhakirin all relate the narrations of Ibn `Umar and Ibn `Abbas whereby they would call out Ya Muhammad whenever they had a cramp in their leg (Chapters entitled: "What one says if he feels a cramp in his leg"). Regardless of the grade of authenticity of these narrations, it is significant that Bukhari, Nawawi, and Shawkani never raised such a disturbing notion as to say that calling out "O Muhammad" amounted to shirk.
The permissibility to say 'Ya Muhammad'
The sensitive issue of whether or not Muslims can say the words 'Ya Rasool Allah' or 'Ya Muhammad!' (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) needs to be clarified, since this issue divides the Muslim community and causes a great deal of friction among the Muslims throughout the world. Basically, there appears to be what we could label as two "schools of thought"; one insists that stating "Ya Rasulu'llah!" is 'shirk' and that infact, any Muslim proclaiming it goes outside the pale of Islam. Now the other school believes that it is indeed permissible to say so, based on evidences from the Salaf, and the tafsirs of later day scholars. However, they do not insist that one must proclaim this, or that it is even a fard to do so; rather, it is permissible to do so. This is, and always has been, the stance of the Ahl as-Sunna.
Those who believe that it is impermissible to say 'Ya Muhammad!' (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) not only say that there are no evidences to support the permissibility, but also believe that the prefix of 'Ya', can only be used when that person who is being called upon is present, as opposed to being absent. The proclamation of 'Ya Muhammad!', or 'Ya Rasulu'llah!' (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) is not an innovation (bid'a) that crept in after the first three generations but, contrary to modern misconceptions, was initiated and practiced within these generations, as we shall see, Allah willing. Also, it is a fact that the death of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) did not prevent the later generations to proclaim 'Ya Muhammad!', even though there were great distances between them and Madina.
As we shall aim to demonstrate to the readers in this chapter, insha'llah, if it is wrong today [or even Kufr and shirk as some of our brothers declare], to proclaim 'Ya Muhammad!' (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) why then, did the Sahaba and Tabi'un in and the later generations of Muslims do so? Would those brothers who oppose the Muslims of saying 'Ya Muhammad!' (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) apply the same criteria to the first generations of this Umma as they do for the believers of today?
The permissibility of saying 'Ya!' For someone who is not physically present.
One of the main arguments used against the believers on this issue, is the one of the impermisibility of using the prefix 'Ya' (Oh!) to someone who is not physically present.
Innovation in the Language
The understanding that one is not able to use 'Ya!' for an absent person is an innovation (bid'a) in Arabic grammar. To the minority holding this view, it appears that this is the only way of accusing the majority of Muslims to be constantly committing an impermissible deed, or even shirk and kufr as others may profess.
We first would like to invite those who hold the above view, to examine one of the most respected classical dictionaries of the Arabic language, the Lasan al Arab of Ibn Manzur (d. 711 hijri). Ibn Manzur states that 'Ya!' can be applied for either a person who is near, or far, from the caller.
[Ibn Manzur al-Afriqi, Lasan al-Arab, under the word 'Ya']
Since those Muslims often claim that saying 'Ya Muhammad!' (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) is shirk, I now propose to examine the views of Ibn Taymiyya on this issue. Why? Well, it is mainly because these very brothers have given Ibn Taymiyya the noble title of Shaykh al Islam, and such, use him as an authority (if not the foremost) in their attempts to practice Islam as the Salaf (pious predecessors) did. Ibn Taymiyya writes:
"When someone calls upon someone else, saying 'Ya!', it may be used in one of two ways: physically or by the knowledge of that person. An example of this is when the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) warned the people of the time of Dajjal, "Yaa 'ibaadillaahi! Fathbutu..." (Oh servants of Allah! Keep your feet steadfast...). The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said this to the people who would be present at the time of Dajjal, and who were not yet born.
Another example is when Sayyidna 'Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) was walking through the plains of Karbala and said, 'Ya Abu 'Abd Allah Husayn! Fasbir! ('Oh, [my son] Abu 'Abd Allah Husayn! Be patient [when facing the enemy in this place]') This was because 'Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) was informed by the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) that his son, Husayn (may Allah be pleased with him), would be martyred at Karbala. Sayyidna 'Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) called Husayn despite the fact that he was not present with him, and even though Husayn could not hear his father, 'Ali (may Allah be pleased with him). Husayn (may Allah be pleased with him) remained in his father's thoughts"
[Ibn Taymiyya, Minhaj-as-sunna, chapter 'Aswad-al-Qadeem']
The above example demonstrates, as provided by Ibn Taymiyya, that, at least in one way, 'Ya' can be used in the Arabic language to call someone who is not physically present, but who is present in the thoughts of the caller, as when Sayyidna 'Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) remembered his son and called to him.
Evidence to support the permissibility of saying 'Ya Muhammad!' (may Allah bless him and grant him peace)
Hafiz ibn al-Qayyim writes that the Prophet of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said:
"Send salutations on me, but send more salutations on Friday. When you recite the salutation, your voice will reach me wherever you are. Some Companions asked, "Even after your death?"The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) replied, "Allah has made it unlawful for the earth to decompose my body"
[Ibn-al-Qayyim, Jala-ul-Afhaan, page 145]
Imam Nasa'i narrates that there are specific angels who visit the earth and whose sole duties are to go to the people who send salutations upon the Prophet Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) and then to take those salutations to the Prophet Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace).
[Mishkat, chapter on 'salat al Nabi']
The above mentioned Ahadith indicate that if anyone were to send salutations to the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) he himself would either hear the salutations, or an angel will convey them to him. In both cases salutations will reach the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace).
The Salaf Used to Say 'Ya Muhammad!'(may Allah bless him and grant him peace)
Imam Bukhari, Hafiz Ibn Taymiyya and Qadi Shawkani all posed the same question: if a person's foot becomes numb, what should he do? Their recommendations were the same, and included with their answer the following hadith:
"Some time after Rasulu'llah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) had passed away, 'Abd Allah Ibn 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) was in Najd where one day his foot became numb. As a remedy to alleviate the pain, a person advised him, "Remember the one whom you love the most!". Upon hearing this Ibn 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said, "Ya Muhammad! (may Allah bless him and grant him peace)" and his foot made an immediate recovery from numbness"
[Bukhari, Adab al Mufrad al Kalim al Tayyab; Ibn Taymiyya and Qadi Shawkani, Tuhfah al Dakireen, chapter on 'Khadirat Rijluhu', and also an-Nawawi, Kitab al Adhkar]
Hafiz Ibn Taymiyya writes,
"In the same way as 'Abd Allah ibn Umar's foot became numb and he remembered the one he loves the most, 'Abd Allah Ibn 'Abbas's foot also became numb. Someone also advised him to remember the one who he loves the most, whereupon 'Abd Allah Ibn 'Abbas exclaimed 'Ya! Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) and his foot immediately recovered from numbness"
[Ibn Taymiyya, Al Kalim al Tayyib, chapter on 'Khadirat Rijluhu']
Qadi Shawkani relates that the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said:
"If one is in trouble or is in distress, he should perform two nawafil rakats and then make a supplication. One should say 'Ya Muhammad!' (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) and Allah Most High will grant them what they requested and their problems and troubles should be resolved.The scholars of hadith say that this hadith is authentic and at-Tirmidhi, al-Hakim, Nasa'i, Ibn Majah and at-Tabarani record it.
[Qadi Shawkani, Tofah al Dhakireen, chapter on 'Salat al-Hajat']
Hafiz Ibn Kathir, Imam at-Tabari and Imam Ibn al-Athir all wrote:
"During the Khilafa of Abu Bakr as-Siddique (may Allah be pleased with him) there was a battle against the false prophet, Musaylima of Najd. When the battle commenced, the Muslims lost their footing at which point Khalid ibn Walid (may Allah be pleased with him) and the rest of the Companions called out 'Ya Muhammad!' (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) and proceeded to win the battle"
[Tabari, Ta'rikh at-Tabari; Ibn Kathir, Ta'rikh Ibn Kathir; and Ibn al-Athir and Ibn Jarir, Ta'rikh Qamil, chapter on 'Musaylima Kazzab']
Hafiz Ibn Kathir and Imam Tabari both write:
"During the Khilafa of 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) there was a famine outside the city of Madina. A Companion called Bilal ibn Harith al Muzni (may Allah be pleased with him) said to his people, 'The famine is very severe, [let us] sacrifice a goat.' Apart from a red bone nothing came from the goat [the goat was very thin due to famine and as such, there was no meat on the bones]. Bilal ibn Harith (may Allah be pleased with him) called out, 'Ya Muhammad! (may Allah bless him and grant him peace)'.The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) then appeared in the dream of Bilal ibn Harith and informed him that there will be rain"
[Ta'rikh Ibn Kathir and Ibn Jarir, chapter on 'Khilafah of 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him)]
As-Sayyid Mawdudi writes:
"When Hajaj ibn Yusuf had placed tax upon some new Muslims, they left Basra crying with their fuqaha [scholars] and they were all saying, 'Ya Muhammad!, Ya Muhammad!'"
[Mawdudi Sayyid, Khilafa wa Malukiyat, page 270 and Ta'rikh Ibn al-Athir]
Hafiz Ibn Kathir and Imam Tabari both write:
"After the occasion of Karbala, Sayyida Zaynab (may Allah be well pleased with her) [the sister of Husayn (may Allah be pleased with him)] and her company were taken as prisoners to Syria. When she passed the dead bodies she proclaimed: 'Ya Muhammad! Your Husayn is drenched in blood without a shroud or a grave', and 'Ya Muhammad! Your daughters are taken prisoners and your children have been killed'"
[Ibn Jarir and Ta'rikh Ibn Kathir, chapter on 'Karbala']
NOTE: Karbala took place in Iraq in 60AH. At that time Zaynab (may Allah be well pleased with her) said 'Ya Muhammad!'
Imam Waqdi writes:
"During the khilafa of Abu Bakr Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) there was a battle at Halb. Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) said 'Ya Muhammad! Ya Muhammad!' and shouted, 'Oh Companions! Stay firm footed!'
['Allama Waqdi, Futoohusham, chapter on 'The Battle of Halb']
Imam Ibn Sa'd writes:
"After the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) had passed away, Arwa ibnt 'Abd al Muttalib (may Allah be well pleased with her) recited: 'Ya Rasulu'llah! You were our place of hope' "
[Ibn Sa'd, Tabaqat Ibn Sa'd, chapter on 'The Death of the Prophet']
Hafiz Ibn al-Qayyim writes:
"Muhammad ibn 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) relates:'I was sitting in the company of Abu Bakr ibn Mujahid in Baghdad when Shaykh Shibli came before us. Abu Bakr ibn Mujahid stood up and hugged Shaykh Shibli, kissed his forehead and sat him by his side.' Muhammad ibn 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) enquired: 'You are the Shaykh [Abu Bakr ibn Mujahid] whilst the whole of Baghdad regards Shibli as majnun [mad] - why have you treated him with so much respect?' To this, Abu Bakr ibn Mujahid replied, 'I have done nothing strange; I have treated him exactly as I have seen the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) treat him. In my dream I saw the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) kiss Shibli between his two eyes. I asked the Prophet,'Why did you treat Shibli in this way?' to which he (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) replied, 'I love him because after every salaah he recites the last verse of Sura Tauba after which he recites 'Sallal la ho 'alayka Ya Muhammad!' ['Peace and blessings of Allah be upon you Oh Muhammad!') three times"
[Ibn-al-Qayyim, Jala-al-Afham.,page 80]
The above mentioned Ahadith clearly illustrate that the Companions and others of the Salaf used to say 'Ya Muhammad' or 'Ya Rasulu'llah!' when they experienced difficulty, and that the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) did help them, either by making supplication for their success or appearing in their dreams to comfort them. Those Companions who were ill and said 'Ya Rasulu'llah!' found that they would get better; and if they were in a battle which they were losing, they would soon win; and if they were facing a famine, they would soon have rain.
The last quotation from Hafiz Ibn al-Qayyim shows that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) loves the one who pronounces 'Ya Muhammad!' to a considerably high degree. All these occurances took place many years after the death of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace).So if it was kufr to say 'Ya Muhammad!' today and after the lifetime of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), the Prophet would not have expressed any love for Shibli. Also, if this is an unreliable narration, why did Ibn al-Qayyim choose to quote it? Was he someone who supported shirk or kufr?
What has been said above supports the fact that it is not kufr or shirk to call out 'Ya Muhammad'. However, people will still insist that, despite all the above, to say 'Ya Muhammad!' is shirk, and will deduce to the fact that this is a form of worshipping someone besides Allah. They often put forward the following aya of the Qur'an:
"And the mosques are only for Allah, so worship none with Allah"
[Sura al Jinn, verse 18]
This is just a doubt and a misunderstanding of the grammatical use of the words 'Tad`u/Yad`u' in the Arabic language, since 'Tad'u' and 'Yad'u' have been used in two different contexts in the Qur'an: in the context of worship and also in the context of calling.
In the above verse it has been used in the context of worship and we agree that anyone who worships something besides Allah is a kafir and a mushrik. However, when a Muslim says 'Ya Rasulu'llah!', he is not worshipping the Messenger of Allah(may Allah bless him and grant him peace), but merely calling him; just as Ibrahim (peace be upon him) called all the people to Hajj[Tafsir Ibn Kathir, under 'Sura Hajj'] and as 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) called Sariah. This type of calling is not worship, an example of which is provided in the Qur'an when Allah commanded Ibrahim (peace be upon him) to call the dead birds [Sura al-Baqara, verse 260]
This should demonstrate that the word 'call' is not always used in the context of worship. Whoever says 'Ya Muhammad!' cannot be called either a kafir or mushrik because he is calling out of love for the Prophet Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) as was the case when the Salaf called upon the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace). His intention is not the intention to worship him.
http://ahlussunnahwaljamah.blogspot.com/2008/01/ya-mohammed-proof.html
Date: 2007-08-29 01:40:02
Title: "By the one in Whose hand is Abu al-Qasim's soul, `Isa ibn Maryam shall descend as a just and wise ruler. He shall destroy the cross, slay the swine....
Category: Hadith
Question: Could you please certify the authenticity of this hadith?
1) Hadith on the authority of Abu Hurayra: I heard the Prophet say: "By the one in Whose hand is Abu al-Qasim's soul, `Isa ibn Maryam shall descend as a just and wise ruler. He shall destroy the cross, slay the swine, eradicate discord and grudges, and money shall be offered to him but he will not accept it. Then he shall stand at my grave side and say: Ya Muhammad! and I will answer him." Abu Ya`la relates it with a sound (sahih) chain in his Musnad (Dar al-Ma'mun ed. 1407/1987) 11:462; Ibn Hajar al-`Asqalani cites it in al-Matalib al-`aliya (Kuwait, 1393/1973) 4:23, chapter entitled: "Concerning the Prophet's life in his grave" and #4574. Haythami says in Majma` al-zawa'id (8:5), Chapter entitled: "`Isa ibn Maryam's Descent": "Its sub-narrators are the men of sound (sahih) hadith."
2) Is there a sahi hadith in Musnad of Imam Hanbal( rh) or any other book which says that Isa Bin Maryam ( alaihis salaam) will be buried next to the grave of prophet Mohammed ( sal lallahu allaihi wa sallam)? 3) Is there any hadith in which prophet said that a prophet is buried at the place where he dies? If yes , then will Isa Bin Maryam ( alaihis salaam) die near the grave of prophet? Or the hadith in (2) mentions only to those prophet who come with book? I would be really thankful to you if you can please provide the clarification on the above issues.
Jazakallah khair
Anwser: In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful
Assalaamu `alaykum waRahmatullahi Wabarakatoh
1. Yes, the above hadith has been confirmed and mentioned in Mustadrak lil Hakim as well.
2. This hadith had been mentioned in Mirqaatul Mafateeh on pg 67, volume 11, Maktaba Imdaadiyah print. Similarly, the hadith concerning a prophet being buried at place of his death is mentioned in Shamaail Muhammadiyyah, pg 665, hadith 396.
3. Hazrat Eesaa (AS)’s reappearance in this world will not be as a Nabi but rather as an Ummati of Rasulullah (صلى الله عليه و سلّم).
And Allah knows best
Wassalam
Ml. Haroon Dhooma,
Checked and Approved by:
Mufti Ebrahim Desai
Darul Iftaa, Madrassah In'aamiyyah
Allah orders us not to call upon the Prophet in the same way as we call upon each other:
la taj`alu du`a'a al-rasuli baynakum ka du`a'i ba`dikum ba`dan
"Make not the calling of the Messenger among you
as your calling one of another" (24:63)
This is a proof that He did not prohibit us from calling upon him, for an absolute prohibition needs not be qualified further. Allah Himself shows us the etiquette of addressing the Prophet by calling him Himself "Ya ayyuha al-nabi" -- O Prophet -- and referring to him as "The Messenger" in the Qur'an, whereas He calls other Prophets by name: Ya Ibrahim, Ya Yahya, Ya Musa, Ya `Isa, etc. The `ulama have explained that Allah established by this an honorific difference between the Seal of Prophets and those that preceded him, blessings and peace of Allah upon him and upon all of them. They have also said that it is the reason why we should prefer to say: Ya Rasulallah over saying Ya Muhammad.
2)
As mentioned in the section on Tawassul, the Prophet taught a blind man to make a du`a in which he has to say: "Ya Muhammad".
THE WAHHABIS' TAMPERING OF THE MUWAJAHA AL-SHARIFA (GATE TO THE PROPHET'S NOBLE GRAVE)
In this connection Muslims should take note of the following heinous act on the issue of "Ya Muhammad," because it is established without doubt as one of the great Wahhabi tamperings of our time. If one looks at an old picture of the golden gate at the entrance of the Prophet's grave, one will see, at the top of each door, intertwined, the invocations in Arabic calligraphy:
YA ALLAH
YA MUHAMMAD
If one looks now at the top of each door, one will notice that the Arabic letter Y (Ar. ya') in the initial position in the word YA in "Ya Muhammad" has been lopped off, but the A (Ar. alif) as well as the bottom two dots of the Y have been left in place, so that now one will read:
YA ALLAH
A MUHAMMAD
We have published a picture of the old gate, before the Wahhabis defaced it, on the front cover of our book Islamic Beliefs and Doctrine According to Ahl al-Sunna: A Repudiation of "Salafi" Innovations, Part I. It is a high-quality, clear color picture which we hope can be seen and understood by all Muslims.
1)Ya Muhammad" is the speech of Sayyidina `Isa to
the Prophet after `Isa's descent, according to an authentic
hadith on the authority of Abu Hurayra:
I heard the Prophet say: "By the one in Whose hand is Abu al-Qasim's soul, `Isa ibn Maryam shall descend as a just and wise ruler. He shall destroy the cross, slay the swine, eradicate discord and grudges, and money shall be offered to him but he will not accept it. Then he shall stand at my grave side and say: Ya Muhammad! and I will answer him."
Abu Ya`la relates it with a sound (sahih) chain in his Musnad
(Dar al-Ma'mun ed. 1407/1987) 11:462; Ibn Hajar al-`Asqalani cites it in al-Matalib al-`aliya (Kuwait, 1393/1973) 4:23, chapter entitled: "Concerning the Prophet's life in his grave" and #4574. Haythami says in Majma` al-zawa'id (8:5), Chapter entitled: "`Isa ibn Maryam's Descent": "Its sub-narrators are the men of sound (sahih) hadith."
2)
Following report of Ibn Abi Fudayk, one of the early scholars of Madina and one of Shafi`i's shaykhs, applies not only to the Prophet's visitor in Madina, but to every person who invokes blessings on the Prophet from afar with the words Ya Muhammad as if he were standing in front of the Prophet: "I heard one of the authorities whom I have met say: "It has reached us that whoever stands at the Prophet's grave and recites: "Allah and His angels send blessings on the Prophet..." (33:56) and then says: "May Allah bless you, O Muhammad" (sallallahu `alayka ya Muhammad) seventy times, an angel will call him saying: May Allah bless you, O So-and-so; none of your needs will be left unfulfilled."" Ibn Jama`a related it in Hidayat al-salik 3:1382-1383, Ibn al-Jawzi in Muthir al-gharam p. 487, Qadi `Iyad in al-Shifa', and Bayhaqi in Shu`ab al-iman (#4169).
3)
Bukhari in his Adab al-mufrad, Nawawi in his Adhkar, and Shawkani in Tuhfat al-dhakirin all relate the narrations of Ibn `Umar and Ibn `Abbas whereby they would call out Ya Muhammad whenever they had a cramp in their leg (Chapters entitled: "What one says if he feels a cramp in his leg"). Regardless of the grade of authenticity of these narrations, it is significant that Bukhari, Nawawi, and Shawkani never raised such a disturbing notion as to say that calling out "O Muhammad" amounted to shirk.
The permissibility to say 'Ya Muhammad'
The sensitive issue of whether or not Muslims can say the words 'Ya Rasool Allah' or 'Ya Muhammad!' (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) needs to be clarified, since this issue divides the Muslim community and causes a great deal of friction among the Muslims throughout the world. Basically, there appears to be what we could label as two "schools of thought"; one insists that stating "Ya Rasulu'llah!" is 'shirk' and that infact, any Muslim proclaiming it goes outside the pale of Islam. Now the other school believes that it is indeed permissible to say so, based on evidences from the Salaf, and the tafsirs of later day scholars. However, they do not insist that one must proclaim this, or that it is even a fard to do so; rather, it is permissible to do so. This is, and always has been, the stance of the Ahl as-Sunna.
Those who believe that it is impermissible to say 'Ya Muhammad!' (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) not only say that there are no evidences to support the permissibility, but also believe that the prefix of 'Ya', can only be used when that person who is being called upon is present, as opposed to being absent. The proclamation of 'Ya Muhammad!', or 'Ya Rasulu'llah!' (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) is not an innovation (bid'a) that crept in after the first three generations but, contrary to modern misconceptions, was initiated and practiced within these generations, as we shall see, Allah willing. Also, it is a fact that the death of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) did not prevent the later generations to proclaim 'Ya Muhammad!', even though there were great distances between them and Madina.
As we shall aim to demonstrate to the readers in this chapter, insha'llah, if it is wrong today [or even Kufr and shirk as some of our brothers declare], to proclaim 'Ya Muhammad!' (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) why then, did the Sahaba and Tabi'un in and the later generations of Muslims do so? Would those brothers who oppose the Muslims of saying 'Ya Muhammad!' (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) apply the same criteria to the first generations of this Umma as they do for the believers of today?
The permissibility of saying 'Ya!' For someone who is not physically present.
One of the main arguments used against the believers on this issue, is the one of the impermisibility of using the prefix 'Ya' (Oh!) to someone who is not physically present.
Innovation in the Language
The understanding that one is not able to use 'Ya!' for an absent person is an innovation (bid'a) in Arabic grammar. To the minority holding this view, it appears that this is the only way of accusing the majority of Muslims to be constantly committing an impermissible deed, or even shirk and kufr as others may profess.
We first would like to invite those who hold the above view, to examine one of the most respected classical dictionaries of the Arabic language, the Lasan al Arab of Ibn Manzur (d. 711 hijri). Ibn Manzur states that 'Ya!' can be applied for either a person who is near, or far, from the caller.
[Ibn Manzur al-Afriqi, Lasan al-Arab, under the word 'Ya']
Since those Muslims often claim that saying 'Ya Muhammad!' (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) is shirk, I now propose to examine the views of Ibn Taymiyya on this issue. Why? Well, it is mainly because these very brothers have given Ibn Taymiyya the noble title of Shaykh al Islam, and such, use him as an authority (if not the foremost) in their attempts to practice Islam as the Salaf (pious predecessors) did. Ibn Taymiyya writes:
"When someone calls upon someone else, saying 'Ya!', it may be used in one of two ways: physically or by the knowledge of that person. An example of this is when the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) warned the people of the time of Dajjal, "Yaa 'ibaadillaahi! Fathbutu..." (Oh servants of Allah! Keep your feet steadfast...). The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said this to the people who would be present at the time of Dajjal, and who were not yet born.
Another example is when Sayyidna 'Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) was walking through the plains of Karbala and said, 'Ya Abu 'Abd Allah Husayn! Fasbir! ('Oh, [my son] Abu 'Abd Allah Husayn! Be patient [when facing the enemy in this place]') This was because 'Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) was informed by the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) that his son, Husayn (may Allah be pleased with him), would be martyred at Karbala. Sayyidna 'Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) called Husayn despite the fact that he was not present with him, and even though Husayn could not hear his father, 'Ali (may Allah be pleased with him). Husayn (may Allah be pleased with him) remained in his father's thoughts"
[Ibn Taymiyya, Minhaj-as-sunna, chapter 'Aswad-al-Qadeem']
The above example demonstrates, as provided by Ibn Taymiyya, that, at least in one way, 'Ya' can be used in the Arabic language to call someone who is not physically present, but who is present in the thoughts of the caller, as when Sayyidna 'Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) remembered his son and called to him.
Evidence to support the permissibility of saying 'Ya Muhammad!' (may Allah bless him and grant him peace)
Hafiz ibn al-Qayyim writes that the Prophet of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said:
"Send salutations on me, but send more salutations on Friday. When you recite the salutation, your voice will reach me wherever you are. Some Companions asked, "Even after your death?"The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) replied, "Allah has made it unlawful for the earth to decompose my body"
[Ibn-al-Qayyim, Jala-ul-Afhaan, page 145]
Imam Nasa'i narrates that there are specific angels who visit the earth and whose sole duties are to go to the people who send salutations upon the Prophet Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) and then to take those salutations to the Prophet Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace).
[Mishkat, chapter on 'salat al Nabi']
The above mentioned Ahadith indicate that if anyone were to send salutations to the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) he himself would either hear the salutations, or an angel will convey them to him. In both cases salutations will reach the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace).
The Salaf Used to Say 'Ya Muhammad!'(may Allah bless him and grant him peace)
Imam Bukhari, Hafiz Ibn Taymiyya and Qadi Shawkani all posed the same question: if a person's foot becomes numb, what should he do? Their recommendations were the same, and included with their answer the following hadith:
"Some time after Rasulu'llah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) had passed away, 'Abd Allah Ibn 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) was in Najd where one day his foot became numb. As a remedy to alleviate the pain, a person advised him, "Remember the one whom you love the most!". Upon hearing this Ibn 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said, "Ya Muhammad! (may Allah bless him and grant him peace)" and his foot made an immediate recovery from numbness"
[Bukhari, Adab al Mufrad al Kalim al Tayyab; Ibn Taymiyya and Qadi Shawkani, Tuhfah al Dakireen, chapter on 'Khadirat Rijluhu', and also an-Nawawi, Kitab al Adhkar]
Hafiz Ibn Taymiyya writes,
"In the same way as 'Abd Allah ibn Umar's foot became numb and he remembered the one he loves the most, 'Abd Allah Ibn 'Abbas's foot also became numb. Someone also advised him to remember the one who he loves the most, whereupon 'Abd Allah Ibn 'Abbas exclaimed 'Ya! Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) and his foot immediately recovered from numbness"
[Ibn Taymiyya, Al Kalim al Tayyib, chapter on 'Khadirat Rijluhu']
Qadi Shawkani relates that the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said:
"If one is in trouble or is in distress, he should perform two nawafil rakats and then make a supplication. One should say 'Ya Muhammad!' (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) and Allah Most High will grant them what they requested and their problems and troubles should be resolved.The scholars of hadith say that this hadith is authentic and at-Tirmidhi, al-Hakim, Nasa'i, Ibn Majah and at-Tabarani record it.
[Qadi Shawkani, Tofah al Dhakireen, chapter on 'Salat al-Hajat']
Hafiz Ibn Kathir, Imam at-Tabari and Imam Ibn al-Athir all wrote:
"During the Khilafa of Abu Bakr as-Siddique (may Allah be pleased with him) there was a battle against the false prophet, Musaylima of Najd. When the battle commenced, the Muslims lost their footing at which point Khalid ibn Walid (may Allah be pleased with him) and the rest of the Companions called out 'Ya Muhammad!' (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) and proceeded to win the battle"
[Tabari, Ta'rikh at-Tabari; Ibn Kathir, Ta'rikh Ibn Kathir; and Ibn al-Athir and Ibn Jarir, Ta'rikh Qamil, chapter on 'Musaylima Kazzab']
Hafiz Ibn Kathir and Imam Tabari both write:
"During the Khilafa of 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) there was a famine outside the city of Madina. A Companion called Bilal ibn Harith al Muzni (may Allah be pleased with him) said to his people, 'The famine is very severe, [let us] sacrifice a goat.' Apart from a red bone nothing came from the goat [the goat was very thin due to famine and as such, there was no meat on the bones]. Bilal ibn Harith (may Allah be pleased with him) called out, 'Ya Muhammad! (may Allah bless him and grant him peace)'.The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) then appeared in the dream of Bilal ibn Harith and informed him that there will be rain"
[Ta'rikh Ibn Kathir and Ibn Jarir, chapter on 'Khilafah of 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him)]
As-Sayyid Mawdudi writes:
"When Hajaj ibn Yusuf had placed tax upon some new Muslims, they left Basra crying with their fuqaha [scholars] and they were all saying, 'Ya Muhammad!, Ya Muhammad!'"
[Mawdudi Sayyid, Khilafa wa Malukiyat, page 270 and Ta'rikh Ibn al-Athir]
Hafiz Ibn Kathir and Imam Tabari both write:
"After the occasion of Karbala, Sayyida Zaynab (may Allah be well pleased with her) [the sister of Husayn (may Allah be pleased with him)] and her company were taken as prisoners to Syria. When she passed the dead bodies she proclaimed: 'Ya Muhammad! Your Husayn is drenched in blood without a shroud or a grave', and 'Ya Muhammad! Your daughters are taken prisoners and your children have been killed'"
[Ibn Jarir and Ta'rikh Ibn Kathir, chapter on 'Karbala']
NOTE: Karbala took place in Iraq in 60AH. At that time Zaynab (may Allah be well pleased with her) said 'Ya Muhammad!'
Imam Waqdi writes:
"During the khilafa of Abu Bakr Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) there was a battle at Halb. Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) said 'Ya Muhammad! Ya Muhammad!' and shouted, 'Oh Companions! Stay firm footed!'
['Allama Waqdi, Futoohusham, chapter on 'The Battle of Halb']
Imam Ibn Sa'd writes:
"After the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) had passed away, Arwa ibnt 'Abd al Muttalib (may Allah be well pleased with her) recited: 'Ya Rasulu'llah! You were our place of hope' "
[Ibn Sa'd, Tabaqat Ibn Sa'd, chapter on 'The Death of the Prophet']
Hafiz Ibn al-Qayyim writes:
"Muhammad ibn 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) relates:'I was sitting in the company of Abu Bakr ibn Mujahid in Baghdad when Shaykh Shibli came before us. Abu Bakr ibn Mujahid stood up and hugged Shaykh Shibli, kissed his forehead and sat him by his side.' Muhammad ibn 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) enquired: 'You are the Shaykh [Abu Bakr ibn Mujahid] whilst the whole of Baghdad regards Shibli as majnun [mad] - why have you treated him with so much respect?' To this, Abu Bakr ibn Mujahid replied, 'I have done nothing strange; I have treated him exactly as I have seen the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) treat him. In my dream I saw the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) kiss Shibli between his two eyes. I asked the Prophet,'Why did you treat Shibli in this way?' to which he (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) replied, 'I love him because after every salaah he recites the last verse of Sura Tauba after which he recites 'Sallal la ho 'alayka Ya Muhammad!' ['Peace and blessings of Allah be upon you Oh Muhammad!') three times"
[Ibn-al-Qayyim, Jala-al-Afham.,page 80]
The above mentioned Ahadith clearly illustrate that the Companions and others of the Salaf used to say 'Ya Muhammad' or 'Ya Rasulu'llah!' when they experienced difficulty, and that the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) did help them, either by making supplication for their success or appearing in their dreams to comfort them. Those Companions who were ill and said 'Ya Rasulu'llah!' found that they would get better; and if they were in a battle which they were losing, they would soon win; and if they were facing a famine, they would soon have rain.
The last quotation from Hafiz Ibn al-Qayyim shows that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) loves the one who pronounces 'Ya Muhammad!' to a considerably high degree. All these occurances took place many years after the death of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace).So if it was kufr to say 'Ya Muhammad!' today and after the lifetime of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), the Prophet would not have expressed any love for Shibli. Also, if this is an unreliable narration, why did Ibn al-Qayyim choose to quote it? Was he someone who supported shirk or kufr?
What has been said above supports the fact that it is not kufr or shirk to call out 'Ya Muhammad'. However, people will still insist that, despite all the above, to say 'Ya Muhammad!' is shirk, and will deduce to the fact that this is a form of worshipping someone besides Allah. They often put forward the following aya of the Qur'an:
"And the mosques are only for Allah, so worship none with Allah"
[Sura al Jinn, verse 18]
This is just a doubt and a misunderstanding of the grammatical use of the words 'Tad`u/Yad`u' in the Arabic language, since 'Tad'u' and 'Yad'u' have been used in two different contexts in the Qur'an: in the context of worship and also in the context of calling.
In the above verse it has been used in the context of worship and we agree that anyone who worships something besides Allah is a kafir and a mushrik. However, when a Muslim says 'Ya Rasulu'llah!', he is not worshipping the Messenger of Allah(may Allah bless him and grant him peace), but merely calling him; just as Ibrahim (peace be upon him) called all the people to Hajj[Tafsir Ibn Kathir, under 'Sura Hajj'] and as 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) called Sariah. This type of calling is not worship, an example of which is provided in the Qur'an when Allah commanded Ibrahim (peace be upon him) to call the dead birds [Sura al-Baqara, verse 260]
This should demonstrate that the word 'call' is not always used in the context of worship. Whoever says 'Ya Muhammad!' cannot be called either a kafir or mushrik because he is calling out of love for the Prophet Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) as was the case when the Salaf called upon the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace). His intention is not the intention to worship him.
http://ahlussunnahwaljamah.blogspot.com/2008/01/ya-mohammed-proof.html