what happened to others. In scholarly responses, however, reliance is placed on what people know in common, not on what is known only to the respondent, unless he is answering someone who believes what he reports.

He was asked about someone who says, “O Azirrān! O Kiyān!” Is it established that these names occur in the Sunnah and that uttering them is not forbidden?

He replied:

Praise be to Allah. No one has transmitted these expressions from the Companions through either an authentic or a weak chain of transmission, nor from the early generations of the Muslim community or its leading scholars. These expressions have no meaning in the Arabic language. No one may use any name of unknown meaning in recitations for protection or healing, let alone in supplication. Even if one knew their meaning and knew it to be sound, it would still be disliked to supplicate Allah using non-Arabic names.

He was asked about someone afflicted with an illness who, when his pain becomes severe, appeals to Allah Most High for help and weeps. Does his appeal for help conflict with the patience he is commanded to observe? Or is it