to express an oath or to indicate a cause. Thus, it may mean adjuring Allah by that thing, or asking Him by virtue of it.

As for the first, adjuring a created being by created things is impermissible; how, then, could one adjure the Creator by them?

As for the second—asking by virtue of someone held in honour, such as asking by virtue of the prophets’ rights—there is disagreement concerning it. It has already been related that Abū Hanīfa and his companions considered this impermissible, while others permit it. We therefore say:

When someone asks Allah Most High, saying,

“I ask You by virtue of the right of so-and-so among the angels, prophets, righteous people or others, or by virtue of so-and-so’s standing or honour,”

this implies that these individuals have standing before Allah, and this is true.

They indeed possess a station, standing and honour before Allah that entail His raising their ranks, magnifying their worth and accepting their intercession if He grants it, although He, glorified be He, has said:

“Who is it that can intercede with Him except by His permission?”

It also entails that whoever follows them and takes them as examples in matters in which following their example is prescribed will attain happiness, as will whoever obeys the commands they conveyed from Allah. But their rank and standing alone do not entail that a person’s supplication will be answered if he asks Allah by virtue of them, such that he should ask Allah on that basis. Rather, their standing benefits him when he follows them and obeys them in what they were commanded to convey from Allah, or follows their example in the practices they prescribed for the believers. It also benefits him if they supplicate for him and their intercession on his behalf is accepted.

But if they neither supplicate nor intercede for him, and he himself has provided no cause that would entail an answer, then he is not seeking intercession through their standing, nor does his asking by virtue of their standing benefit him before Allah. Rather, he will have asked