Sister,

But what exactly are you trying to prove using those arguments sister? What are the scholars in the fatawa you've linked to trying to prove? Are they trying to prove that it is permissible to call upon other than Allaah, i.e. the Messenger? Or are they saying that it is permissible to say "Ya Muhammad" when it is only being used as simply a way to remember and recall the Messenger, and dua is not being directed to him?

(This is a genuine, sincere question, with the intention to sincerely understand your position. I've never gotten response to this from those that deem it is permissible to call on the Messenger)

But then the martyrs are alive as well, why not call and make dua to them as well?

And we know that their being alive, is not like our life. They are alive in the Barzakh, not in this Dunya. If the Messenger was alive in the likes of our current life, why should he not be outside here with us? Why should he be in his grave? Why did Abu Bakr, when the Messenger had passed away, state in his speech to the people: "If you worshiped Muhammad, know that Muhammad is dead, but if you worship Allah, He is Alive and never dies."

And Allaah's saying: "Indeed, you are to die, and indeed, they are to die." This indicates that he is not alive in our life, as mentioned by Ibn Kathir in his Tafsir: "This is one of the Ayat which Abu Bakr As-Siddiq, may Allah be pleased with him, quoted when the Messenger of Allah died, so that the people would realize that he had really died." and then he, rahimullah, quotes the ayat from Surah Ale Imran: "Muhammad is but a Messenger and indeed (many) Messengers have passed away before him..." and says: "The meaning of this Ayah is that you will certainly depart this world and be gathered before Allah in the Hereafter."

So the Messenger is alive, but he is not alive in a life the likeness of our life - because if he was, why should he remain buried?!

And the Qur'an is full of ayaat, arguments, invitations to the oneness of Allaah in our worship, so why call upon other than Allaah? What hinders people from calling upon Allaah alone?

The best and most balanced explanation I've read regarding saying 'Ya Muhammad" comes from Shaykh Yasir Qadhi:

[...]

Akhi, seriously we need to pause for a while and ask ourselves: what exactly are these people trying to prove? Can any sane Muslim seriously try to legitamize directly asking the Prophet salla Allahu alayhi wa sallam for something that only Allah should be asked of? Matters like life and death, sustenence, forgiveness, cures, etc... Is this was the Quran tells us to do? Is this why the beloved Rasool was sent: so that HE be taken as an object of worship besides Allah?

If any person openly proclaims such beleifs, then he has contradicted numerous explicit verses in the Quran, and there is no serious need to show his deviancy. He has placed himself to a level similar to some groups of the Christians.

All of this needs to be taken into perspective... to say 'Ya Muhammad' does not entail any of the above. There are various types of nidaa (calling out), one of which is to recall the person whom you mention. Numerous are the verses of pre-Islamic poetry in which the poet addresses his beloved; this does not imply that he is beseaching her or making du'aa to her! It is only that he is recalling and remembering her to such a level that it is as if she is in front of him. Again this is an issue which all linguists agree upon - just look up any book of Arabic grammer under the chapter of Nidaa.

Also, note how Ahl al-Bid'a seek to use vague or inauthetnic hadeeths, which they pick and choose selectively from a wide array of sources (for example, al-Mu'jam al-Kabeer of at-Tabarani is by no stretch of the imagination one of the primary sources of our religion, with all due respect fo course to the great scholar of hadeeth who compiled it), and yet they ignore explicit verses in the Quran, and authentic ahadeeth in the Saheehayn!! Who was it who said, "Do not take my grave as a place of regular visitation, and send salaat upon me wherever you are, for it reaches me..."? Notice, he is in fact stating that we should not regularly visit his grave to say salaam to him, much less make du'aa!! (Again, the prohibition is on FREQUENT visitation, and not the actual visitation). Who was it that said, "Allah's curse is on the Jews and Christians because they took the graves of their prophets as places of worship?" And this is in regards to worshipping ALLAH at these location, how much more the evil when the grave itself becomes the object of worship?!

Really, there is no need to quote obscure scholars for such blatant shirk: ask this person what exactly is he trying to prove. Is he stating that we can make du'aa to the Rasool and ask him to forgive our sins? If he is, then he should support the Christians in their claims to be people of Paradise, for his actions are no different from theirs.
Or is he trying to prove the high rank and status of our Rasool, and the many blessings he has been given? If it is the latter, then this is something we all agree with, and has nothing to do with directing acts of worship to him.

The hadeeth about 'calling out to the servants of Allah' when one is lost is also weak; again this can easily be shown. But even if one is not aware of this ruling, you simply need to ask yourself: is this what our religion is about? Is this the meaning of la ilaah illa Allah...that we direct our du'aas, love, fear, hope, and acts of worship to all of the creation besides Allah? Once a person understands the essence of Islam, the meaning of the kalimah, and the shirk of the Jahiliyyah Arabs, everything will be put in place. All of these 'evidences' that are brought forth simply cannot hold up against the entire message of the Quran. Remember that Allah mentions in the Quran itself that some of its verses are of ambiguous meaning, and those who have a disease in their hearts will try to use these verses in order to prove their falsehood. If this is the case with the Speach of Allah itself, how much more so when we are dealing with ahadeeth whose authenticity might be difficult for the average layman to verify?

Always go back to the clear verses in the Quran and the ahadeeth that are in the famous works of Islam, and don't allow one obscure text to contradict the very gist of our religion.

Yasir

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