Imam Ahmad b. Hanbal Invoking Angels for Help (Istighathah)

 

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

الصلاة والسلام عليك يا سيدي يا رسول الله

وعلى آلك واصحابك يا سيدي يا رسول الله

فداك ابي وامي يا رسول الله

In the Name of Allah, the Rahman, the Merciful

Allah, Holy and Exalted is He, says:

کُنۡتُمۡ خَیۡرَ اُمَّۃٍ اُخۡرِجَتۡ لِلنَّاسِ

You are the best Ummah taken out from mankind

(Surah 3 Ayah 110)

Therefore, the narrative of orthodox Sunni Islam is that the Ummah of Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم is collectively upon goodness, generally speaking. We Sunnis recognize the reality that the vast and overwhelming majority of this Ummah has remained within orthodoxy and the correct understanding of this blessed Religion. While there have been moral and spiritual declines within the main body of the Ummah, it has not swerved from the orthodox creed. The heterodox sects that broke away from the main body of the Ummah have always been insignificant minorities. They are schismatic factions that will never have the upper hand إن شاء الله

But these schismatic, breakaway, heterodox sects have a common denominator in that they put forward a counter narrative that the main body of the Ummah has been misguided, or worse, fallen prey to apostasy. Among the more frightening allegations of the schismatics is that the main body of the Ummah has fallen into the mortal sin of Shirk (polytheism). This narrative is associated with Wahhabism, originating in central Arabia or Najd. But the Holy Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم preemptively repudiated it when he said:

وَإِنِّي وَاللَّهِ مَا أَخَافُ عَلَيْكُمْ أَنْ تُشْرِكُوا بَعْدِي

Surely, by Allah, I do not fear for you that you will commit Shirk after me

(Sahih al-Bukhari)

This is not to say that there will not be isolated instances in the Ummah where some professed Muslims, due to complete ignorance or not having been fully Islamized after conversion to this Religion from an idolatrous one, commit acts of Shirk. We see for example isolated instances of professed Muslims making tawaf of a tomb, or joining with the Hindus in worship of some idol. They may or may not receive the benefit of being excused due to ignorance. But the extremist Wahhabis go beyond this when they declare the main body of the Ummah guilty of Shirk due to the controversial issues like Tawassul (intercession) and Istighathah. The latter is particularly controversial, some of our Sunni Ulama have declared it haram while others say it is undesirable and still others who permit it. The form of Istighathah under discussion is therefore the one in which someone invokes someone other than Allah that is absent or unseen, such as an Angel, or a Prophet or Saint that has left this world, to aid them. Now if such invocation for aid is done with the belief that the one being invoked is independent of Allah, then obviously such an act is an act of Shirk. But if one is invoking either an Angel, Prophet or Saint to help them with the belief that it is Allah that has granted the one being invoked an ability to assist them then at best such a practice may be characterized as forbidden, but certainly not Shirk of the sort that takes one out of the fold of Islam.

If a Wahhabi says invoking someone who is absent or in the unseen to help one is Shirk, then he must be consistent and declare that any invocation of help from someone other than Allah is Shirk, regardless of whether the person being invoked is present or absent, near or far, alive or dead, a human or an Angel. Otherwise the Wahhabi definition of Shirk would logically be considered arbitrary and incoherent.

More alarming, the Wahhabi would have no choice but to declare his favorite Imam, Ahmad bin Hanbal رحمة الله عليه a polytheist, for it is authentically narrated that he used to invoke the Angels for help in a situation of distress:

حَدثنَا قَالَ سَمِعت ابي يَقُول حججْت خمس حجج مِنْهَا ثِنْتَيْنِ رَاكِبًا وَثَلَاثَة مَاشِيا اَوْ ثِنْتَيْنِ مَاشِيا وَثَلَاثَة رَاكِبًا فضللت الطَّرِيق فِي حجَّة وَكنت مَاشِيا فَجعلت اقول ‌يَا ‌عباد ‌الله دلونا على الطَّرِيق فَلم ازل اقول ذَلِك حَتَّى وَقعت الطَّرِيق اَوْ كَمَا قَالَ ابي

I performed Hajj five times, two of which I was riding and three of which I was walking, or two of which I was walking and three of which I was riding. I lost my way during one of the Hajj pilgrimages while I was walking, so I kept saying: O servants of Allah, show us the way. I kept saying that until I found the way (Masa’il al-Imam Ahmad, Narrated by His Son Abdullah; p.245, #912)

Apparently, the Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal رحمة الله عليه was acting upon the following Hadith:

إِنَّ لِلَّهِ مَلائِكَةً فِي الأَرْضِ سِوَى الْحَفَظَةِ يَكْتُبُونَ مَا سَقَطَ مِنْ وَرَقِ الشَّجَرِ فَإِذَا أَصَابَ أَحَدَكُمْ عَرْجَةٌ بِأَرْضٍ فَلاةٍ فَلْيُنَادِ ‌أَعِينُوا ‌عِبَادَ ‌اللَّهِ

Verily Allah has Angels in the Earth, other than the Guardians, writing down whatever leaf falls from a tree. Therefore, if one of you is injured in a barren land let him call out, “Help, O Servants of Allah!” (Musnad al-Bazar; v.11, p.181, #4922)