The Wahhabis of Islam QA object to the following line as translated by them in Qasidah al-Burdah.
1. O noblest of creation, I have no one but you to turn to except you when major calamity strikes.
يَـا أَكْرَمَ الْخَلْقِ مَا لِي مَنْ أَلُوْذُ بِه
سِـوَاكَ عِنْـدَ حُلُوْلِ الْحَادِثِ الْعَمَمِ
The ‘Universal Cataclysm’ or ‘Universal Event’ – translated above as ‘major calamity’ refers specifically to the events that befall creation on the Day of Resurrection. A more suitable translation is:
O most generous of creation, who but you can I turn to
When the Universal Cataclysm occurs?
Shaykh Khalid al-Azhari (d. 905) says in his commentary on this ode:
‘Aludh’ means ‘I take refuge’. ‘Siwaka’ means ‘other than you’. ‘Hulul al-haadith al-‘amam [the befalling of the universal cataclysm] is the terror on the Day of Resurrection that encompasses all of creation. Its meaning is: O noblest of all creation, I do not have anyone other than you, i.e. from amongst creation, to take refuge in on the Day of Resurrection from its all-encompassing terror, when mankind shall look in anticipation to your elevated rank; and your status will not decrease on my account when the matter intensifies and patience is exhausted, for you are the greatest creation to Allah, and the who is relied on for intercession.
[Quoted in Guardian of the Cloak, p. 52]
Other commentators of the Qasidah like [Shaykh Al-Azhar] Imam Ibrahim al-Bajuri (d. 1277) have stated similar to the above:
His (the poet’s) statement: Who but you can I turn to, meaning there is none to seek refuge with except you. And his (the poet’s) saying ‘when the universal cataclysm occurs’, meaning the event is universal i.e. the whole of creation is included, and what is intended is the Day of Resurrection when all the messengers will say ‘Myself, Myself’ but our Prophet (sallalahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) will say ‘my nation, my nation.’
[Sharh al-Bajuri ‘ala al-Burdah: 153]
[This] line contains faith and affirmation of the Prophet’s intercession. His intercession is two types: the greater intercession for all of the creation in being relieved of the terrors of the standing and going forward to their accounts and the second intercession for the disobedient among the Muslims.
For further details on the events of this day one may also refer to the Hadith narrated by Abu Huraira (r):
Some (cooked) meat was brought to Allah Apostle and the meat of a forearm was presented to him as he used to like it. He ate a morsel of it and said, “I will be the chief of all the people on the Day of Resurrection. Do you know the reason for it? Allah will gather all the human being of early generations as well as late generation on one plain so that the announcer will be able to make them all-hear his voice and the watcher will be able to see all of them. The sun will come so close to the people that they will suffer such distress and trouble as they will not be able to bear or stand. Then the people will say, ‘Don’t you see to what state you have reached? Won’t you look for someone who can intercede for you with your Lord’ Some people will say to some others, ‘Go to Adam.’ So they will go to Adam and say to him. ‘You are the father of mankind; Allah created you with His Own Hand, and breathed into you of His Spirit (meaning the spirit which he created for you); and ordered the angels to prostrate before you; so (please) intercede for us with your Lord. Don’t you see in what state we are? Don’t you see what condition we have reached?’ Adam will say, ‘Today my Lord has become angry as He has never become before, nor will ever become thereafter. He forbade me (to eat of the fruit of) the tree, but I disobeyed Him . Myself! Myself! Myself! (I am preoccupied with my own problems). Go to someone else; go to Noah.’ So they will go to Noah and say (to him), ‘O Noah! You are the first (of Allah’s Messengers) to the people of the earth, and Allah has named you a thankful slave; please intercede for us with your Lord. Don’t you see in what state we are?’ He will say.’ Today my Lord has become angry as He has never become nor will ever become thereafter. I had (in the world) the right to make one definitely accepted invocation, and I made it against my nation. Myself! Myself! Myself! Go to someone else; go to Abraham.’ They will go to Abraham and say, ‘O Abraham! You are Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) and His Khalil from among the people of the earth; so please intercede for us with your Lord. Don’t you see in what state we are?’ He will say to them, ‘My Lord has today become angry as He has never become before, nor will ever become thereafter. I had told three lies (Abu Haiyan (the sub-narrator) mentioned them in the Hadith) Myself! Myself! Myself! Go to someone else; go to Moses.’ The people will then go to Moses and say, ‘O Moses! You art Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) and Allah gave you superiority above the others with this message and with His direct Talk to you; (please) intercede for us with your Lord Don’t you see in what state we are?’ Moses will say, ‘My Lord has today become angry as He has never become before, nor will become thereafter, I killed a person whom I had not been ordered to kill. Myself! Myself! Myself! Go to someone else; go to Jesus.’ So they will go to Jesus and say, ‘O Jesus! You are Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) and His Word which He sent to Mary, and a superior soul created by Him, and you talked to the people while still young in the cradle. Please intercede for us with your Lord. Don’t you see in what state we are?’ Jesus will say. ‘My Lord has today become angry as He has never become before nor will ever become thereafter. Jesus will not mention any sin, but will say, ‘Myself! Myself! Myself! Go to someone else; go to Muhammad.’ So they will come to me and say, ‘O Muhammad ! You are Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) and the last of the prophets, and Allah forgave your early and late sins. (Please) intercede for us with your Lord. Don’t you see in what state we are?” The Prophet (ﷺ) added, “Then I will go beneath Allah’s Throne and fall in prostration before my Lord. And then Allah will guide me to such praises and glorification to Him as He has never guided anybody else before me. Then it will be said, ‘O Muhammad Raise your head. Ask, and it will be granted. Intercede and It (your intercession) will be accepted.’ So I will raise my head and Say, ‘My followers, O my Lord! My followers, O my Lord’. It will be said, ‘O Muhammad! Let those of your followers who have no accounts, enter through such a gate of the gates of Paradise as lies on the right; and they will share the other gates with the people.” The Prophet (ﷺ) further said, “By Him in Whose Hand my soul is, the distance between every two gate-posts of Paradise is like the distance between Mecca and Busra (in Sham).
[Bukhari, Book 65, Hadith 4712]
Wahhabis Refuted 