to say:

"You alone we worship and You alone we ask for help." (Al-Fātiḥah 1:5)

He has also informed us about the idolaters who said:

"We worship them only so that they may bring us nearer to Allah." (Az-Zumar 39:3)

Say, then, to such a polytheist: When you call upon this being, if you imagine that he knows your situation better than Allah, is more capable of granting your request, or is more compassionate toward you, that is nothing but ignorance, misguidance, and disbelief. But if you know that Allah is more knowing, more powerful, and more merciful, why have you turned away from asking Him to ask someone else?

Have you not heard what al-Bukhārī and others narrated from Jābir (may Allah be pleased with him): The Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—used to teach us the supplication of istikhāra concerning all matters, just as he would teach us a surah from the Quran. He said:

"When any of you is resolved to undertake a matter, let him pray two rakaʿāt other than the obligatory prayer, and then say:

O Allah, I seek guidance from Your knowledge, I seek strength from Your power, and I ask You from Your bounty…"