A: It is a Bid`ah (innovation in religion) to supplicate to Allah by virtue of the status of a person or by their blessing or right. For example, it is not permissible to say, "O Allah! I ask You by virtue of the status of Your Prophets or of Your Waliy (pious person) or Servant so­ and­so, or by the right or blessing of so­and­so." In fact, this is a Bid`ah and a means leading to Shirk (associating others with Allah in His Divinity or worship) because it was neither reported from the Prophet (peace be upon him) nor from his Sahabah (Companions). Allah (Glorified and Exalted be He) says: And (all) the Most Beautiful Names belong to Allâh, so call on Him by them Allah has not said, "so call on Him by the blessing or the virtue of the status of so­and­so." It is authentically reported from Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) that he said: Whoever does any act for which there is no sanction from our behalf will have it rejected. Tawassul (supplicating to Allah in the name of/by virtue of the status of so­and­so) should be made by the Names and Attributes of Allah and by declaring Tawhid (belief in the Oneness of Allah/ monotheism) as reported in the following Hadith Sahih (authentic Hadith): O Allah, I ask You that I bear witness that there is no god but You, the One, the Self­Sufficient Master, Who has not begotten, and has not been begotten, and to Whom no one is equal. Tawassul can also be carried out through righteous deeds, such as the incident of the people who were locked up in a cave because of a boulder which blocked the opening of the cave and made them unable to get out. One of them supplicated to Allah by virtue of his dutifulness to his parents, the second by his refraining from committing Zina (premarital sexual intercourse and/or adultery), and the third by fulfilling a trust. Consequently, Allah relieved them from their suffering. This indicates that Tawassul through righteous deeds is permissible and correct.

For example, it is permissible to say: O Allah, I ask You by virtue of my companionship of Your Prophet (peace be upon him), by following Your Shar` (Law), or by my refraining from committing what You have rendered as unlawful for me, and the like. As for the amulets that the Imam prepares, it is not permissible because the Messenger (peace be upon him) said: If one wears an amulet, Allah will not accomplish their affairs for them and if one ties a cowrie shell, Allah will not protect them. The Prophet (peace be upon him) also said: Whoever wears an amulet commits an act of Shirk. It is not permissible to make amulets or wear them. Whoever makes amulets or wears them must be repudiated even if these amulets include Ayahs (Qur'anic verses). `Abdullah ibn Mas`ud and another group of Salaf (righteous predecessors) used to disapprove of amulets, whether they included Ayahs or not, because of the general meaning of the previously­quoted Hadith and because the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: Verily, incantations, amulets, and love charms are forms of Shirk. Incantations refer to the recitation of meaningless words or incantations which consist of Shirk. The permissible incantations, on the other hand, are the lawful Ruqyah (reciting Qur'an and saying supplications over the sick seeking healing) because the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: There is no harm in the incantation that does not contain Shirk. Also, the Prophet (peace be upon him) made Ruqyah and Ruqyah was made for him. Love charms are a kind of sorcery; they are also known as Al­Sarf and Al­`Atf (spells aimed at creating hatred or love), and they are prohibited. Amulets are also prohibited and they are also known as Al­Jawami` and Al­Huruz (the preservers). The Messenger (peace be upon him) forbade amulets and allowed no exceptions regarding them; he even called them acts of Shirk and supplicated to Allah against anyone who wears amulets. Also, claiming that it is permissible to wear amulets including Ayahs or lawful supplications and Shar`y (Islamically lawful) Adhkar (invocations and Remembrances said at certain times on a regular basis) is a baseless exception and a means that may lead to wearing other Shirk­ entailing amulets. It is well­known that the Shari`ah obligates the application of the general rulings as long as there is no evidence on making them specific. Furthermore, the purified Shari`ah (Islamic law) obligates blocking the means leading to sins or Shirk. If amulets including Ayahs are worn,