Allah (Most High) speaks through the mouth of a Wali?

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ

In the Name of Allah Most Merciful Most Kind

Short Answer

It is absolutely unacceptable to claim that Allah (Most High) spoke through the mouth of a Wali. Firstly, revelation (Wahi) ended with our beloved Prophet ﷺ. To claim that there was revelation afterwards is to doubt the finality of the blessed Prophet ﷺ. Secondly, making such claims without evidence from Quran and Sunnah is not the way of a Muslim.

Explanation

فَلَمَّا أَتَاهَا نُودِيَ مِنْ شَاطِئِ الْوَادِ الْأَيْمَنِ فِي الْبُقْعَةِ الْمُبَارَكَةِ مِنَ الشَّجَرَةِ أَنْ يا موسى إِنِّي أَنَا اللَّهُ رَبُّ الْعَالَمِينَ

When he reached it, he was called from the right side of the valley in the blessed place, from the tree: O Moses, Indeed I am Allah, Lord of the worlds. (Surah al-Qasas, 30).

The verse of the Holy Quran above is speaking about revelation (Wahi). Revelation is only given to Prophets of Allah (Most High). It has no relevance to a Wali. It certainly cannot be used as evidence to claim that Allah (Most High) spoke through the mouth of a Wali.

The people making such claims need to reflect upon the repercussions of such statements in relation to the finality of our beloved Prophet ﷺ. To add to the misguidance such people are immersed in, they make such an abhorrent statement to justify an insult against our beloved Prophet ﷺ.

In one of their books, it has a Shaykh saying: My flag will be greater than the flag of Muhammad (on Judgement Day). Any Muslim would completely reject and strongly condemn such a statement. However, these people make excuses.

They say Allah (Most High) was speaking through the mouth of the Shaykh. They invent an entirely new Aqeedah (creed) and bring into question the finality of the blessed Prophet ﷺ just to defend the Shaykh. There is no Prophet ﷺ after our beloved Prophet ﷺ and there is no revelation (Wahi) either.

مَا كَانَ مُحَمَّدٌ أَبَا أَحَدٍ مِنْ رِجَالِكُمْ، وَلَكِنْ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ وَخَاتَمَ النَّبِيِّينَ وَكَانَ اللَّهُ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عَلِيمًا

Muhammad was not the father of any of your men, but he was the Messenger of Allah and the Seal of the Prophets. And Allah has knowledge of all things. (Surah al-Ahzab, 40).

Direct revelation

One of the blessings of the Prophet Musa (peace be upon him) is that Allah Most High would speak to him directly. Whereas the norm with revelation is that it was revealed through the angel Jibreel (Gabreil, peace be upon him).

So, the people claiming that Allah (Most High) spoke through the mouth of a Wali, are not only claiming revelation for a Wali. But they are also claiming that the means of revelation was superior to most prophets (peace be upon them).

وَأما مُوسَى عَلَيْهِ السَّلَام فقد اخْتصَّ بِتَكْلِيم الله إِيَّاه بِلَا وَاسِطَة. (شرح الحديث المقتفى في مبعث النبي المصطفى)

As for Musa (Moses peace be upon him) he was singled out for being spoken to by Allah (Most High) without an intermediary. (Imam Abu Shamah 665H, Sharh al-Hadith al-Muqtafaa).

وذكر في التأويلات: أن موسى صلوات الله عليه سمع صوتا دالا على كلام الله تعالى، وخص بكونه كليم الله؛ لأنه سمع من غير واسطة الكتاب والملك. (الإعتماد في الاعتقاد)

In al-Taweelaat he mentioned: Musa (Moses, peace be upon him) heard a voice indicating the words of Allah Almighty. He was singled out due to him being Kaleem Allah. Since he heard without the intermediary of the book or the angel. (Imam al-Nasafi, al-Itimad).

موسى عليه السلام سمعَ صوتاً يدلّ على كلام الله تعالى، وخُصَّ بكونه كليمَ الله لأنه سمعَ مِن غيرِ واسطةِ الكتابِ والمَلَكِ. (شرح وصية الإمام أبي حنيفة)

Musa (Moses, peace be upon him) heard a voice indicating the words of Allah Almighty. He was singled out due to him being Kaleem Allah. Since he heard without the intermediary of the book or the angel. (Imam al-Babarti 786H, Sharh al-Wasiyah).

In the Nusoos (texts) above we find that one of the things that elevated the Prophet Musa (peace be upon him) over many other Prophets is that he would receive revelation directly. So, the people claiming that Allah (Most High) spoke through the mouth of a Wali have attempted to elevate him above all of those Prophets. They have taken a position that violates the fundamentals of the Muslim creed (Aqeedah).

How Allah (Most High) speaks

فَجَاءَهُ المَلَكُ فَقَالَ: اقْرَأْ، قَالَ: مَا أَنَا بِقَارِئٍ

So, the Angel came to him and said, read. He ﷺ said: I am not a reader. (Sahih al-Bukhari, 3).

The narration above is an example of how revelation was given to our blessed Prophet ﷺ. The angel used to come and speak to the Mubarak Prophet ﷺ. Later in the above narration the Angel recited the first five verses of the Holy Quran. It does not say that Allah (Most High) spoke through the mouth of the angel. Rather the Angel delivered the revelation from Allah (Most High).

If that was the norm with the blessed Prophet ﷺ, then how can these people claim something greater for a Shaykh? They claim that Allah (Most High) spoke through the mouth of a Wali. This truly is shocking. But what makes it worse is that they say it to excuse an insult against our beloved Prophet ﷺ.

إِنَّهُ أَتَانِي الْمَلَكُ فَقَالَ: يَا مُحَمَّدُ، إِنَّ رَبَّكَ يَقُولُ: أَمَا تَرْضَى مَا أَحَدٌ مِنْ أُمَّتِكَ صَلَّى عَلَيْكَ إِلَّا صَلَّيْتُ عَلَيْهِ عَشَرَ صَلَوَاتٍ، وَلَا سَلَّمَ عَلَيْكَ أَحَدٌ مِنْ أُمَّتِكَ إِلَّا رَدَدْتُ عَلَيْهِ عَشْرَ مَرَّاتٍ؟ فَقَالَ: بَلَى. هَذَا حَدِيثٌ صَحِيحُ الْإِسْنَادِ وَلَمْ يُخْرِجَاهُ. وقال الامام الذهبي: صحيح

The Angel came to me and said: O Muhammad ﷺ, indeed your Lord says: Are you not pleased that no person from your Ummah sends blessings upon you except that I send ten blessings upon them. And no person from your Ummah sends Salam upon you except that I return that tenfold? He said: Yes. (Mustadrak Hakim 3575, Sahih according to Imam al-Dhahabi).

The narration above is an example of the angel speaking to the blessed Prophet ﷺ. The narration does not say that Allah (Most High) spoke through the mouth of the Angel. Where did these people find the Aqeedah (creed) that Allah (Most High) speaks through the the mouth of a Wali. When that was not the norm with the Prophets (peace be upon them).

عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ، قَالَ: ” أَتَى جِبْرِيلُ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، فَقَالَ: يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ: هَذِهِ خَدِيجَةُ قَدْ أَتَتْ مَعَهَا إِنَاءٌ فِيهِ إِدَامٌ، أَوْ طَعَامٌ أَوْ شَرَابٌ، فَإِذَا هِيَ أَتَتْكَ فَاقْرَأْ عَلَيْهَا السَّلاَمَ مِنْ رَبِّهَا وَمِنِّي وَبَشِّرْهَا بِبَيْتٍ فِي الجَنَّةِ مِنْ قَصَبٍ لاَ صَخَبَ فِيهِ، وَلاَ نَصَبَ

Sayidina Abu Hurairah said that Jibreel (peace be upon him) came to the Prophet ﷺ and said: O Messenger of Allah ﷺ, Khadijah is coming with a container of condiment or food or drink. When she arrives, convey to her Salam from her Lord (Most High) and from me. And give her the glad tidings of a palace of pearl in Paradise, wherein there will be neither noise nor fatigue.’ (Bukhari, 3820).

In this narration Sayidah Khadijah is being addressed. Neither did Allah (Most High) speak through the mouth of the Angel Jibreel (peace be upon him), nor the blessed Prophet’s ﷺ mouth. Why did these people invent a new form of revelation, saying Allah (Most High) speaks through the mouth of a Wali.

One can also check the Hadith Qudsi narrations of our beloved Prophet ﷺ to see how clearly they were narrated. They were not presented as Allah (Most High) speaking through the mouth of a Prophet ﷺ. Rather the Prophet ﷺ conveyed what Allah (Most High) had revealed.

Speaking about the Ghayb (unseen)

إِنَّمَا يَأْمُرُكُمْ بِالسُّوءِ وَالْفَحْشَاءِ وَأَنْ تَقُولُوا عَلَى اللَّهِ مَا لَا تَعْلَمُونَ

He (Shaytan) commands you to evil and indecency, and to attribute to Allah that of which you have no knowledge. (Surah al-Baqarah, 169).

The Kufar (disbelievers) are repeatedly rebuked in the Holy Quran for speaking about Allah (Most High) without knowledge. In the verse above, it is clarified that such an action is from the misguidance of Shaytan. A Muslim has no business following the way of the Kuffar or the way of Shaytan. The Muslim does not speak about Allah (Most High) without knowledge.

Where in the Quran and Sunnah does it state that Allah (Most High) speaks from the mouth of this particular Shaykh? Of course there is no mention of such a thing. Therefore, where do these people get the audacity to declare where Allah (Most High) speaks from?

All of this misguidance is because they failed to condemn an insult against our blessed Prophet ﷺ. Rather they justified it in the worst way. They said Allah (Most High) was speaking through the mouth of a Wali. Therein, introducing a new belief (Aqeedah) and bringing into question the finality of the blessed Prophet ﷺ.

Conclusion

It is absolutely unacceptable to claim that Allah (Most High) spoke through the mouth of a Wali without clear and authentic evidence from the Quran and Sunnah. Not only is that unavailable for the claim being made, the opposite is true. The Quran and Sunnah teach us that there is no Prophet or revelation after our beloved Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. So, how can they claim the speech of Allah for a Shaykh.

What makes this thoughtless claim even worse is that they make it to cover for an insult against our beloved Prophet ﷺ. Rather than rushing to the defense of the blessed Prophet ﷺ they rush to the defence of the one who insulted. If that was not bad enough, they further claim that the insult was a miracle.

These extreme statements are made by people who are loyal to their sect. They are unwilling to accept any kind of criticism of their scholars. And they will go to any length to further their sectarian agenda. Whereas the Muslim is loyal to Allah (Most High) and His Messenger ﷺ. He will never put anything or anyone before Allah (Most High) and His Messenger.

And Allah Most High Knows Best.

–Answered by Shaykh Noorud-deen Rashid (06.08.24)