The Hadith: 'Allah has some servants to whom people turn for fulfilling their needs'

Q 6: What is the degree of the following Hadith in terms of authenticity and reliability: “Allah has some servants to whom people turn for fulfilling their needs, these will be the secure (servants) on the Day of Resurrection.”

A: Al-Suyuty mentions in his book: "Al-Jami‘ Al-Saghir" that Al-Tabarany narrated this Hadith in "Al-Mu‘jam Al-Kabir" on the authority of Ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with them) as follows: (Part No. 4; Page No. 434)  “Allah has some servants whom He has singled out for fulfilling the needs of people, whom people turn to in their need. These will be the secure (servants) from the Punishment of Allah.” As-Suyuty indicated that this report is Hasan (a Hadith whose chain of narration contains a narrator with weak exactitude, but is free from eccentricity or blemish.). Al-Munawy stated in "Faydh Al-Qadir" that the wording of the narration of Al-Tabarany contains the words: “Allah has some servants whom He has created” instead of the words: “Allah has some servants whom He has singled out.” He reported that Al-Haythamy said: “The Sanad (chain of narrations) of the Hadith includes a narrator classified as Da‘if (weak) by the Jumhur (dominant majority) of Hadith critics. Moreover, Ahmad ibn Tarik, who reported this narration from the weak narrator, is unknown to me; but the rest of them are Rijal Al-Sahih (narrators of Hadith compiled by Al-Bukhari and/or Muslim).” It is thus weak in terms of transmission rules. Taking for granted that it is authentic, the lesson meant is the merit of fulfilling people’s needs, whether by giving money, teaching knowledge, giving guidance, or lending a helping hand to people who are in need. It must be noted that this can only be done by the living and not the dead people. The Hadith indicates the permissibility of seeking help from living people to meet needs and avert harm, as an admitted means while putting one’s trust in Allah alone. The Hadith does not contain any evidence for permissibility of seeking help from the dead or resorting to them to fulfill needs and remove suffering, based on the texts declaring the act of seeking help from the dead to be Shirk (associating others with Allah in His Divinity or worship).May Allah grant us success. May peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and Companions.