by the rank of so-and-so in Your sight, or by the blessing of so-and-so, or by the sanctity of so-and-so before You, do such-and-such for me.’ Many people pray in this manner; yet nothing of the sort has been transmitted from any of the Companions, the Followers, or the early generations of the ummah. Nor have I found, among the scholars, anyone whose words I could cite in support of it—except what I saw in the legal opinions of the jurist Abū Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Salām. He ruled that no one may do this except with regard to the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—if the hadith about the Prophet is indeed sound.

The question he was asked about rests on a narration reported by al-Nasaʾi, al-Tirmidhi, and others: that the Prophet taught one of his Companions to say in supplication, ‘O Allah, I ask You and seek nearness to You by means of Your Prophet, the Prophet of mercy. O Muhammad, O Messenger of Allah, I seek your intercession with my Lord concerning my need, that He may fulfill it for me. O Allah…’