Is It Permissible to Supplicate to Allah Most High Using the Prophet’s Name?

Answered by Shaykh Yusuf Weltch 

Question

Is it permissible to make a dua using the name of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace)? For example, “O Allah, for the sake of your beloved prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace), please remove all of my debts”?

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate

It is permissible to supplicate to Allah Most High by the right or rank of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and give him peace).

Imam Ahmad narrates with an authentic (sahih) transmission that a blind man came to the Prophet (may Allah bless him and give him peace) and said, “O Prophet of Allah! Pray to Allah to relieve me (of my blindness).” So He said, “If you wish, I will postpone that request, and it is better for your Hereafter, and if you wish, I will pray for you.” He replied, “Rather, pray to Allah for me!.” So the Prophet (may Allah bless him and give him peace) ordered him to perform ablution (wudu), to pray two units of prayer, and to make the following supplication.

اللهُمَّ إِنِّي أَسْأَلُكَ وَأَتَوَجَّهُ إِلَيْكَ بِنَبِيِّكَ مُحَمَّدٍ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ نَبِيِّ الرَّحْمَةِ، يَا مُحَمَّدُ إِنِّي أَتَوَجَّهُ بِكَ إِلَى رَبِّي فِي حَاجَتِي هَذِهِ فَتَقْضِي، وَتُشَفِّعُنِي فِيهِ، وَتُشَفِّعُهُ فِي

“O Allah! Verily I ask of you and turn to you by means of Your Prophet Muhammad (may Allah bless him and give him peace), the Prophet of mercy. O Muhammad! I turn by means of You to my Lord regarding this need of mine that He fulfills it for me and accept His intercession for me.”

The man did as he was told and was cured. [Ahmad]

In the narration al-Tabarani, the narrator of the above Hadith, added, “I swear by Allah we did not part ways nor speak long until the man walked into us as if he were never blind before.” [Tabarani]

Summary

From these authentic narrations, we understand that it is not only permissible to ask Allah Most High by means of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and give him peace) but taught by the Prophet (may Allah bless him and give him peace) himself.

Hope this helps
Allah knows best

[Shaykh] Yusuf Weltch
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Yusuf Weltch is a teacher of Arabic, Islamic law, and spirituality. After accepting Islam in 2008, he then completed four years at the Darul Uloom seminary in New York where he studied Arabic and the traditional sciences. He then traveled to Tarim, Yemen, where he stayed for three years studying in Dar Al-Mustafa under some of the greatest scholars of our time, including Habib Umar Bin Hafiz, Habib Kadhim al-Saqqaf, and Shaykh Umar al-Khatib. In Tarim, Shaykh Yusuf completed the memorization of the Qur’an and studied beliefs, legal methodology, hadith methodology, Qur’anic exegesis, Islamic history, and a number of texts on spirituality. He joined the SeekersGuidance faculty in the summer of 2019.