Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh. (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

As salaam alaikum.

Among the Shia Imami Ismailis, the following Du'a is recited at times of difficulty.

"Naade-e-Ali

Naad-e-Aliyyan mazharai'l ajaib tajid-hu awnan la ka fin-nawaib:kullu hammin wa ghammim sayanjali bi wilayatika. Ya Ali. Ya Ali. Ya Ali."

Translation:

"Invoke Ali!

Invoke Ali! Who is the Revealer of wonderful things and you surely find Him helping you in difficulties. All worrries and sorrows shall be cleared away by His help. O Ali! O Ali! O Ali!"

I would be grateful if you would say whether the Bohras too recite such prayer.

However I have not come across it in any of the Sunni Du'a books. Can you please whether it is an authentic prayer recited by the Nabi Muhammad (saw) at the time of difficulty?

If not, is there any evidence or an indication as to by whom and under what circumstances it was introduced.

It is generally considered to be a call to Hadrat Ali R.A.) for help but in that case would it not be SHIRK?

And if a person continued to recite it till death approached him/her, would not that person concerned be destined to the FIRE even if the person testified "La illaha ill Allah"?

(Allah Subhana is the Lord of the Day of Judgement and Indeed He is The Forgiver of sins and indeed He is The Merciful but He has made it abundantly clear that He would not forgive one who commits SHIRK!)

I look forward to receiving your response.

Jazaak Allah Khair.

I continue to pray : May Allah give you correct knowledge and wisdom and hidayat that you continue to help all those who turn to you in the matter of DEEN. 

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

Answer:

Invoking any shirk Ali

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Your Question: ….I would be grateful if you would say whether the Bohras too recite such prayer.

Although the contents of the phrases are not too far from the belief held by the Bohras, to the best of our knowledge, the Bohras do not recite such an invocation.

Your Question: ….However I have not come across it in any of the Sunni Du'a books. Can you please whether it is an authentic prayer recited by the Nabi Muhammad (saw) at the time of difficulty?

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 40 Surah Mumin verses 65-66:

65 He (Allah) is The Ever-Living (One): There is no god but He: Call upon Him giving Him sincere devotion. Praise be to Allah Lord of the Worlds!

66 Say (O Prophet (saws)): "I have been forbidden to invoke those whom ye invoke besides Allah seeing that the Clear Signs have come to me from my Lord: and I have been commanded to bow (in Islam) to the Lord of the Worlds."

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 6 Surah Anaam verse 19:

(O Prophet (saws)) Ask them, “Whose testimony is most reliable?”. Say (O Prophet (saws)), “Allah is a Witness between me and you, and this Quran has been revealed to me so that I should thereby warn you and all whom it may reach. What! Will you really testify that there are other deities besides Allah?” Say, “As for me, I will never testify such a thing.” Say, “Indeed, He (Allah) Alone is The Deity, and I feel disgusted with the ‘shirk’ you practise.”

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 39 Surah Zumar verse 38:

38 If indeed thou ask them who it is that created the heavens and the earth they would be sure to say "Allah." Say: "See ye then? The things that ye invoke besides Allah: can they if Allah wills some penalty for me remove His penalty? Or if He wills some Grace for me can they keep back His Grace?" Say: "Sufficient is Allah for me! In Him trust those who put their trust."

To invoke or call upon anyone or anything other than Allah Subhanah Alone in the ‘unseen’ is a manifest act of the abomination of ‘shirk’…..and it is absolutely and categorically inconceivable that the Noble Prophet Mohamed (saws) would ever ever ever come close to even contemplate making such an invocation!

Your Question: …..If not, is there any evidence or an indication as to by whom and under what circumstances it was introduced.

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 46 Surah Ahqaaf verses 3-5:

3 We created not the heavens and the earth and all between them but for just ends and for a term appointed: but those who reject faith turn away from that whereof they are warned.

4 Say: "Do ye see what it is ye invoke besides Allah? Show me what it is they have created on earth or have they a share in the heavens? Bring me a Book (revealed) before this or any remnant of knowledge (ye may have) if ye are telling the truth!"

5 And who is more astray than one who invokes besides Allah such as will not answer them until the Day of Judgment, and who (in fact) are unconscious of their call (to them)?

Beloved brother, this question of why those who chose to invoke others than the One Lord God Creator Who Created is best posed to those who make such invocations of manifest ‘shirk’!

Your Question: …..It is generally considered to be a call to Hadrat Ali R.A.) for help but in that case would it not be SHIRK?

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 10 Surah Yunus verse 18:

These people serve beside Allah those which can neither harm nor benefit them, and say, “These are our ‘shofa’a’ (intercessors) with Allah!” (O Prophet (saws)), tell them, “Do you wish to inform Allah of that thing which He knows not in the heavens, or in the earth?” He (Allah Subhanah) is absolutely free from, and exalted above the shirk that they commit.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 16 Surah Nahl verse 20-21:

All the other beings, whom the people invoke with Allah, create nothing! Nay, they are themselves created. They are DEAD, not living, and they do not at all know themselves when they shall again be raised to life!

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 10 Surah Yunus verses 28-30:

On the Day when We will muster them together, We shall say to those who committed ‘shirk’, “Stay where you are, you and those whom you set up as partners with Us.” The We shall remove the state of strangeness from among them, and the partners they had set up will say, “You did not worship us! Allah suffices as a Witness between you and us, and (even if you worshipped us), we were utterly unaware of your worship!” At that time everyone will taste of what he did. All shall be brought back to Allah, their real Lord, and all the lies they had invented will vanish from them!

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 19 Surah Maryam verses 81-82:

These people have set up other deities with Allah, so that they may become their supporters! There will be no supporters! They will not only disown their worship, but also become their opponents!

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 10 Surah Yunus verse 66:

Note it well that all the dwellers of the heavens and the earth belong to Allah. And those who invoke deities besides Allah, follow nothing but surmises and merely indulge in guess-works!

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 18 Surah Kahf verse 102:

What? Do these people, who have disbelieved, presume that they would make My servants their ‘auliyaas’ besides Me? We have prepared Hell for the hospitality of such people.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 35Surah Fatir verses 13-14:

He merges night into day, and day into night, and he has subjected the Sun and the Moon (to His Law); each one runs its course for an appointed term. Such is Allah, your Lord! To Him belongs all Dominion. Those whom you invoke besides Him, do not own even a blade of grass! If you call them, they cannot hear your prayers! And if they hear, they cannot answer you! And on the Day of Resurrection, they will disown your ‘shirk’. None can inform you of the Truth, like the One Who is acquainted with all things.

In light of the absolutely clear guidance of the Glorious Quran, to invoke or call upon anyone or anything other than Allah Subhanah Alone in the ‘unseen’ is a manifest act of the abomination and unforgivable crime of ‘shirk’…..

Your Question: ….And if a person continued to recite it till death approached him/her, would not that person concerned be destined to the FIRE even if the person testified "La illaha ill Allah"?

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 5 Surah Maidah verse 72:

Whoever commits ‘shirk’, Allah shall forbid for him Paradise, and Hell shall be his abode. And for such wrong doers there will be no one to help.

Allah says in the Quran: Chapter 4 Surah An-Nisa Verse 48
’Shirk’ is the only sin that Allah does not forgive, and He forgives, whomsoever He pleases, sins other than this. For whosoever associates any other partner with Allah, does indeed forge a big lie and commits the most heinous sin

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 39 Surah Zumar verse 65-66:

If you commit ‘shirk’ all your works will be rendered vain and you will be among the losers. Therefore, you should worship Allah Alone, and be among His grateful servants.

If one trusts, obeys, and follows the guidance and commands of Allah and His Messenger (saws), one can be assured of never ever being misled; but if one believes, obeys and follows any other guidance, other than that of Allah and His Messenger (saws), one can be assured of being led astray.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

Burhan