What is the ruling concerning the girl and her mother who used to say after a bad dream: "I saw a dream, I saw a dream, O Muhammad, make it righteous, O Ali, Lion of Allah," with the predominant assumption that they did not know that this might be seeking help from other than Allah? And is it obligatory to ask the mother if she knew what she was saying?

If a Muslim has a bad dream, they should seek refuge with Allah from its evil and not mention it to anyone, and spit to their left, in compliance with the guidance of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him. As for saying, "O Muhammad, make it good, O Ali, Lion of Allah," this is a polytheistic innovation (bid'ah shar'kiyyah) and an invocation that is not permissible to direct to anyone other than Allah Almighty, as supplication (du'a) is an act of worship that belongs exclusively to Allah. Whoever supplicates to other than Allah has committed shirk (definition) (polytheism). It is obligatory to teach the ignorant about the Oneness of Allah (Tawhid (definition)) and what contradicts it, such as supplicating to others. However, a specific individual is not to be judged as an unbeliever unless the conditions for declaring someone an unbeliever are met and the impediments to it are absent.