—neither by him nor by anyone else, whether when praying for rain or otherwise. We shall discuss the hadith of the blind man, if Allah Most High wills.

Had asking Allah by him been a known practice among the Companions, they would have said to ʿUmar:

“Asking Allah and seeking to draw near to Him through the Prophet is preferable to asking Him and seeking to draw near to Him through al-ʿAbbās. Why, then, should we abandon the prescribed practice we followed during his lifetime—seeking to draw near to Allah through the best of creation—in favour of seeking to draw near to Him through one of his relatives? This would mean abandoning the prescribed sunnah, turning away from what is better, and asking Allah Most High through the weaker of two means when the stronger is available to us—all while we are in the direst need during the Year of Ashes, which has become proverbial for drought.”

Muʿāwiya did as ʿUmar had done, in the presence of the Companions and Successors who were with him: they sought to draw near to Allah through Yazīd ibn al-Aswad al-Jurashī, just as ʿUmar had done through al-ʿAbbās.

Likewise, jurists among the followers of al-Shāfiʿī, Ahmad and others stated that, when praying for rain, one seeks to draw near to Allah through the supplications of good and righteous people. They said: “If they are relatives of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, that is preferable, following ʿUmar’s example.” No scholar said that Allah Most High should, in this matter, be asked by a prophet or by anyone else.

Likewise, whoever reports that Mālik permitted asking the Messenger or anyone else after their deaths—or attributes this to any other imam of the Muslims, such as al-Shāfiʿī, Ahmad or others—has lied about them. Yet some ignorant people attribute this to Mālik, relying on a fabricated account about him. Even if that account were authentic, the seeking to draw near to Allah described in it would not be of this kind; rather, it would be through the Prophet’s intercession on the Day of Resurrection. Some people, however, distort the account when transmitting it, and the original account itself is weak, as we shall explain, if Allah Most High wills.