Imām Ālūsī:

Commenting on the earlier verses of sūrah an-Nāzi‘āt, he explains in these words the justification of reliance on Allāh’s favourites and seeking help and support from them:

(In the introductory sentences of this sūrah,) the separation of the souls of pious persons from their bodies at the time of death is described and Allāh has sworn by these different states of the souls. These souls have to be wrenched out of the bodies because, on account of their long and deep association with their bodies, they are disinclined to leave them. The reason for this disinclination is that, in order to earn virtues, the body acts as a means of transport, and it is on this count that there is a greater possibility of adding to the score of one’s virtues. Then these souls fly to the world of angels and reach the sanctuary of purity, and on account of their force and nobility, they blend with the elements that help decide the destinies of the creatures, that is, they are included among the angels, or they acquire administrative capability. That is why it is said: ‘when you are invaded by troubles, you should seek help from the residents of the tombs, that is, from the favourites of Allāh who are embodiments of virtue and purity, and those who have left us.’ There is no doubt that a person who visits their tombs, receives spiritual help by virtue of their blessings, and on many occasions, the knots of difficulties unwind through the mediation of honour and reverence they enjoy. (Ālūsī, Rūh-ul-ma‘ānī (30:27-8).

   He adds: (In these verses) Allāh has sworn by these good-natured people, who step into the field of virtue and sanctity and try to purify both the inner and the outer self through worship, persistent practice and a concerted confrontation with the evil and, as a result, are permeated with immediate divine consciousness. (These verses may be applied to these holy persons in the sense that) they control their own instinctive cravings and concentrate all their energies on the world where holiness prevails, and finally achieve perfection after passing through the evolutionary phases so that they can guide those who are stuck up in their flawed schedules and invest their lives with a sense of purpose and direction. (Ālūsī, Rūh-ul-ma‘ānī (30:28).)

Shāh ‘Abd-ul-Haqq Muhaddith Dihlawī:

Shāh ‘Abd-ul-Haqq Muhaddith Dihlawī comment s in his exegesis of Shaykh ‘Abd-ul-Qādir Jīlānī’s book Futūh-ulghayb that when the saints cross into the area of divine knowledge and consciousness, which is immune to the exigencies of mortality, they are blessed with a special power which enables them to perform acts unmediated through external causes, and they are t ransformed into embodiment s of exceptional light and cognizance as they have arrived from the mortal world into the the world of immortality. In this way they achieve that level of perfect ion which the common believers will receive in Paradise.

Shāh Walī Allāh Muhaddith Dihlawī:

He was one of those great saint s who, on account of his God-given vision and divine knowledge, could see the inner reality with his naked eye and then proclaimed it publicly. He has written a matchless book Fuyūd-ulharamayn based on observations. The gist of its ninth and tenth chapters is as follows. He says:

“We called at Medina, and we clearly saw with our own eyes the soul of the holy Prophet and on that day this reality was revealed to us that the pure soul can also be seen like the body and the secret of the life of prophets after death was also disclosed to us.

 “On the third day we called and sent salutations on the Prophet , and also visited the graves of Abū Bakr asSiddīq and ‘Umar Fārūq. “Then we humbly submitted: we have called on you with great expectations to receive your mercy and blessing. Have mercy on us.”  He adds:

“The holy Prophet expressed great joy and I felt that the sheet of his kindness had wrapped and covered me. Then he embraced me, and appeared before me, disclosed many secrets and personally informed me and briefly helped me and told me how I could seek his help for my needs.”

 Mawlānā Ashraf ‘Alī Thānwī:

Mawlānā Ashraf ‘Alī Thānwī, commenting on the blessings of the holy Prophet in his book Nashr-uttīb, writes: ‘it was transparently reflected from the foreheads of his ancestors. It was his universal light that persuaded Allāh to accept Adam’s repentance; again it was his light that salvaged Nūh  from the tempestuous waves and transformed the glowing coals of fire into the blossoms of flowers for Ibrāhīm ’ He has written a panegyric in which he besought the Prophet for help in his trials and tribulations and requested him to remove them. He stated:

 O, the intercessor of the people, help me. You are the one whom I can trust in crisis.  I have no shelter except you. Help! My master, difficulties besieged me.  O Ibn ‘Abdullāh, public is against me. Be my supporter, because you are my helper.  I have no good deed or any submission. But I have your love in my heart.

 O Messenger of Allāh! I have only your door (to knock at the time of necessity). The clouds of teething troubles never surround me.

 

 Moreover he wrote another panegyric in which he discussed the theme of calling the Prophet for help.  Besides, Mawlānā Ashraf ‘Alī Thānwī, has named the thirty-eighth part of his book as “intermediation through the Prophet at the t ime of supplication.” In this part, after mentioning a tradit ion attributed to ‘Uthmān bin Hunayf, he writes, “It proves that just as intermediation through someone’s supplication is valid, similarly, reliance on someone in the supplication for intermediation is also valid.” When during the period of ‘Uthmān bin ‘Affān, ‘Uthmān bin Hunayf asked a petitioner to utter the same supplication which the Prophet has taught to the blind Companion, Mawlānā Ashraf ‘Alī Thānwī makes it the basis of establishing the validity of intermediation after death. In addition, he has proved the relevance of intermediation through someone other than a prophet by ‘Umar’s intermediation through ‘Abbās. Mawlānā Thānwī has also declared the act of intermediation through the Prophet’s grave during the t ime of ‘Ā’ishah as valid.^[1] Finally, after reproducing ‘Utbī’s tradition in which a bedouin had called on the Prophet’s grave for the repentance of his sins, as we have explained in reference to the 64 ^th verse of sūrah an-Nisā’, he writes: ‘as it happened in the early days, and there is no contradiction of it, it has acquired the status of a proof.’

Imām Ahmad bin Zaynī Dahlān:

A Makkan jurist of Muslim law, Ahmad bin Zaynī Dahlān in his journal Fitnat-ul-Wahhābiyyah, has established the legality of beseeching the prophets and saints for help, intermediation and intercession, and he has cogently refuted the doubts and allegations of those who are opposed to these perfectly legal act s.

 Imām Muhammad bin ‘Alawī al-Mālikī:

A well-known contemporary religious scholar posted atMakkah, Muhammad bin ‘Alawī al-Mālikī, in his book Mafāhīm yajib an tusahhah has conducted well documented research on the concept of istighāthah.

Shaykh Muhammad Hishām Kabbānī:

He is a famous contemporary religious scholar and he has written a book, Encyclopedia of Islamic Doctrine, comprising seven volumes on the beliefs of Ahl-usSunnah wal-Jamā‘ah. In the fourth volume of his book he has justified the belief in istighāthah on the basis of a vast array of historical and rational arguments.