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What is the ruling on a Muslim asking a brother in Islam who he thinks is a good person to make Du`a for him when he is going for Hajj or on some other journey, and asking him to make Du`a for him in his absence? Because the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) praised Uways and urged his Companions (may Allah be pleased with him) to ask him to make Du`a for them (the Hadith of Uways Al-Qurani was reported by Muslim, no. 2542). Did Shaykh Al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah regard it as makrooh to do this and say that the Hadith applied only to Uways?
Please explain to us.
Praise be to Allah.
Asking a person to make Du`a for you whom you think will have his Du`as answered, either because of his righteousness or because he is going to a place where one hopes his Du`as will be answered , such as travelling or going for Hajj or `Umrah, etc., is OK in principle.
But if there is the fear that something that is not right may result from it, such as the person who makes the request relying on the person whom he has asked, or always relying on other people with regard to matters in which he should call on his Lord, or there is the fear that the person of whom the request is made may become arrogant and think that he has reached such a level that people ask him to make Du`a for them, then this is sufficient reason not to do this, because in this case it leads to something that is not right.
If it does not lead to something that is not right, then in principle it is permissible, but still we say that it should not be done, because it was not the custom of the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) to ask one another to make Du`a for one another. The Hadith in which the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) is reported to have said to `Umar, “Do not forget us in your Du`a , O my brother.” (Narrated by Abu Dawud, no. 1498, and At-Tirmidhi, no. 3557) is an inauthentic Hadith and there is no proof that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said this.
With regard to the fact that the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) asked the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) to make Du`a for them, it is well-known that no one else can reach the level of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), so when `Ukashah ibn Mihsan asked him to pray that he would be one of those who would enter Paradise without being called to account or being punished, he said, “You will be one of them.” (Reported by Al-Bukhari, no. 6541; Muslim, no. 216, 218, 220), and when another man came and asked the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) to ask Allah to send them rain, he did so. (Narrated by Al-Bukhari, 1013 and Muslim, 897)
With regard to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) advising his companions to ask Uways Al-Qurani to make Du`a for them, this undoubtedly applied only in his case, and it is known that Uways was not on the same level as Abu Bakr or `Umar or `Uthman or `Ali, or other Companions. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) did not tell anyone among his Companions to ask anyone to make Du`a for them.
To sum up, there is no sin in asking someone to make Du`a for you whom you hope will have his Du`a answered , on the condition that this does not involve anything prohibited, but it is better and more appropriate not to do this.