Two Categories of Du’a
Ad-Du’aa‘: And ad-du’aa‘ is divided into two categories:
[i] the du’aa‘ of worship and
[ii] the du’aa‘ of asking.
And both of them fall into the essence of worship.
[1]: So the du’aa‘ of worship is to direct every act of worship, whether it is related to one’s wealth or body or both of them together, to Allaah the Blessed and Exalted. This is to be done in a manner that is in agreement with the purified Sharee’ah of Allaah and His upright commands. And at the beginning of this type of worship is the Tawheed of Allaah the Blessed and Exalted as is proven by the truthful statement, “And I have not created the Jinn, nor the mankind, except to worship Me.” [Sooratudh-Dhaariyaat 51:56]
That is, so that they single Me out with knowledge that the Tawheed of a servant cannot be completed, except by freeing oneself from Shirk which is the opposite of Tawheed. This is because when we have to know Tawheed with its Sharee’ah meaning, we say, ‘It is to single out Allaah with worship and to exonerate Him from Shirk, to be free from it and its people, whether it is committed in a small amount or in abundance and whether it is major or minor.’ So Tawheed cannot be completed, except after attaining complete freedom from Shirk and its people and all of its forms and manifestations. Due to this, the Scholars have stated, “There is no walaa‘ (allegiance), except with baraa‘ (enmity).”104
[2]: ad-du’aa‘ul-mas‘alah (supplication of request):
And du’aa‘ul-mas‘alah is to request something from Allaah the Blessed and Exalted in order to bring about a worldly or religious benefit and to remove a harm the like thereof. So the request in this way is a form of worship. It is not permissible to direct this towards anyone other than Allaah the Blessed and Exalted. Indeed, the Scholars have divided du’aa‘ul-mas‘alah into various categories. From them is that which it is not permissible to seek except from Allaah the Blessed and Exalted alone. So whoever directs anything from it to other than Allaah the Mighty and Majestic, then he has committed major Shirk with Allaah. And that is like the one who calls upon other than Allaah with regards to that which no one is capable of granting besides Allaah the Blessed and Exalted, from bringing about benefit or removing harm. As for seeking something from the creation that they are capable of granting, then there is no prohibition with regards to that.
Source:
The Path to Attaining Clarification Concerning the Three Fundamental Principles –www.troid.org
By The Noble Shaykh Zayd Ibn Muhammad Ibn Haadee al-Madkhalee
An Explanation of Shaykhul-Islaam Muhammad Ibn ‘Abdul-Wahhaab’s ‘Thalaathatul-’Usool’.