If, then, he is adjuring Allah by something other than Him, this is not permissible. If, however, he is asking through a means that leads to what is sought—such as deeds involving obedience to Allah and His Messenger, including faith in the Messenger, love for him, allegiance to him, and the like—then this is permissible.

If he is asking merely by invoking the persons of the prophets and the righteous, this is not prescribed. A number of scholars have prohibited it, saying that it is impermissible, while others have allowed it. The former view is stronger, as explained above. This is asking through a means that does not lead to obtaining what is sought, unlike asking through a means that does lead to it, such as asking Him, glorified be He, through the supplications of the righteous and through righteous deeds. This is permissible, because the supplications of the righteous are a means of obtaining what we seek and for which they have prayed. Likewise, righteous deeds are a means of obtaining Allah’s reward for us. When we seek to draw near to Him through their supplications and our deeds, we are approaching Him Most High through a means of doing so, as He Most High says:

“O you who believe, fear Allah and seek the means of drawing near to Him.”

The means of drawing near are righteous deeds. He Most High also says:

“Those whom they invoke seek the means of drawing near to their Lord.”

But if we do not seek to draw near to Him, glorified be He, through their supplications or our deeds, and instead invoke their persons alone, their persons are not in themselves a means that leads to our supplications being answered. We would thus be seeking to draw near through something that is not a means of doing so. For this reason, this practice has not been authentically transmitted from the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, nor is it widely reported from the early generations.

A supplication containing a request made by invoking the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, has been reported from Ahmad in al-Marwadhī’s Pilgrimage Rites. This may be understood in terms of one of the two opinions reported from him concerning the permissibility of swearing by the Prophet.