Ya Ali Madad: The Ismaili Greeting

The greeting of Ismāʿīlīs is “Ya ʿAlī Madad”, and in response the greeted Ismāʿīlī is expected to return this greeting with “Mowla ʿAlī Madad”. Let’s inspect the validity of this greeting in the light of the Qurʼānic commandments:

Allah says in the Holy Qurʼān:

فَإِذَا دَخَلْتُم بُيُوتًا فَسَلِّمُوا عَلَىٰ أَنفُسِكُمْ تَحِيَّةً مِّنْ عِندِ اللَّهِ مُبَارَكَةً طَيِّبَةً كَذَٰلِكَ يُبَيِّنُ اللَّهُ لَكُمُ الْآيَاتِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَعْقِلُونَ

“When you enter the houses, you should invoke ‘Salām’ amongst each other, for this prayer of greetings prescribed by Allāh (Salām) is blessed and pure. Thus does Allāh make his Revelations clear to you, so that you may understand.”

The Qurʼān, 24:61

Allāh ﷻ also says:

وَإِذَا جَاءَكَ الَّذِينَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِآيَاتِنَا فَقُلْ سَلَامٌ عَلَيْكُمْ كَتَبَ رَبُّكُمْ عَلَىٰ نَفْسِهِ الرَّحْمَةَ أَنَّهُ مَنْ عَمِلَ مِنكُمْ سُوءًا بِجَهَالَةٍ ثُمَّ تَابَ مِن بَعْدِهِ وَأَصْلَحَ فَأَنَّهُ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ

“When those come to thee who believe in Our Signs say: Peace Be on You: your Lord had inscribed for Himself (the rule of) Mercy: verily if any of you did evil in ignorance, and thereafter repented and amended (his conduct) Lo! He is Oft-Forgiving Most Merciful.”

The Qurʼān, 6:54

Allāh ﷻ further says:

وَإِذَا حُيِّيتُم بِتَحِيَّةٍ فَحَيُّوا بِأَحْسَنَ مِنْهَا أَوْ رُدُّوهَا إِنَّ اللَّهَ كَانَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ حَسِيبًا

“When a greeting of salutation is offered to you, meet it with a greeting still more courteous, or (at least) of equal courtesy. Allah takes careful account of all things.”

The Qurʼān, 4:86

Abdullah ibn as-Salam reports:

When the Prophet ﷺ came to Medina, the people gathered around him and I was one of them. The first words I heard him say were: “O people, spread the salutations (of salaam), feed the people, keep the ties of kinship, and pray during the night while the others sleep, and you will enter paradise in peace.”

Related by al-Hakim, Ibn Majah, and at-Tirmidhi

The greetings of the believers as taught by Allāh ﷻ and His Last Messenger ﷺ is ‘As-Salaam o Alaikum’ and the reply is Wa ‘Aleikum us –Salaam wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh’. The misguided Aga Khanis have changed the salutations of ’Islām, and have substituted it with their own words and beliefs of shirk.

Saying Ya ʿAlī Madad or Ya ʿAlī Adrikni is an innovation. The Prophet ﷺ never said these words, the companions never said used these words, the Qurʼān never prescribed them, the tabi’in (followers) never said it and the tabi’in of the tabi’in never said it. If you open Qurʼān and read all the supplications of the Prophets within from Moses to Zakariyyā to Jesus to Mohammad ﷺ  you will never find that Mohammad ﷺ  inserts his father Ibrahim’s (pbuh) name in his du’ā. So whenever you say Ya ʿAlī Madad, who are you calling? ʿAlī or Allāh? The mušrikūn of Makkah during the time of the Prophet ﷺ used to believe that Allāh has created the heavens and the Earth but when it came to worshiping they used to pray to stones and figures other than Allāh and used them as a link between themselves and Allah ﷻ .

Thus, Allāh ﷻ sent Muḥammad ﷺ to abolish this shirk and tell them to call Allāh directly as the Qurʼān states in multiple instances.

Similarly, the Christians too believe that Allāh created everything but when they worship what do they say? They invoke Jesus for help. Why do the Ismāʿīlīs then call Christians mušrikūn when the Ismāʿīlīs themselves do the same? Why is the Christian called a mušrik when he calls for Jesus instead of Allāh while we have a blank check to call upon ʿAlī? What do you tell a Christian when you want to convert him to ’Islām? Do you ask him to replace the name of Jesus with ʿAlī and that is all the Christian would require to become Muslim?

Did Ḥusayn in Karbala say Ya Ali Madad? Did he say “O’ Grandfather Adrikni?”

When the Ismāʿīlīs greet each other with “Ya ʿAlī Madad” and “Mawla ʿAlī Madad”, the question is that who is this “Mawla ʿAlī”, if not ʿAlī (ra) and by “nass” (delegation) to Karim Aga Khan who Ismāʿīlīs know as “The 49th ʿAlī”?

Do these self-proclaimed “educated” Ismāʿīlīs of the 21st century actually believe that their present and living Imam (who they call “Hazar Imām”) Karim al-Husseini living in Portugal hears their cries and responds? This is not only against Qurʼān, ḥadīth and Islamic ʿaqīda, but also against logic and common sense.

It is surprising that such a developed community of Khojas, highly educated, equipped with modern degrees and latest scientific knowledge and intellect, ahead in all walks of life have such illogical, unpractical and idiotic belief against the very spirit of Islamic monotheism.

May Allāh guide our Ismāʿīlī brothers and sisters tot he light of ’Islām.