that servant; and whoever asks Allah to grant me al-Wasīlah will earn the right to my intercession on the Day of Resurrection.”

It is permissible for a Muslim to request supplication from someone of higher rank as well as from someone below him, for reports have come down to us of asking both superiors and subordinates to pray. The Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him and his family—took leave of ʿUmar when the latter set out for ʿumrah and said, “Do not forget us in your supplication, my brother.”

Yet when the Prophet commanded us to invoke blessings upon him and to ask that he be granted al-Wasīlah, he made it clear that whoever blesses him once, Allah blesses that person ten times, and whoever asks al-Wasīlah for him will be entitled to his intercession on the Day of Judgment. Thus his request from us is entirely for our own benefit. There is a difference between asking someone for something that will benefit the one being asked, and asking merely because the requester himself needs it.

It is also authentically established that the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him and his family—mentioned Uways al-Qaranī and said to ʿUmar, “If…"