In shiasm asking and praying directly to Allah is the longest way!.

You alone do we worship, and Your aid alone we seek. (Quran, 1:5) We see the Shia saying things like Ya Ali and Ya Mehdi when they are distressed and need help. They will say Ya Ali Madad! These people cry out these names in times of distress when they wish for help. In true Islam, however, we should only say Ya Allah! Calling out anyone elses name for help is Shirk, because we believe only Allah can help us! This is the Sunnah of the Prophet, as well as the way of Ali. Allah Almighty says clearly in the Quran: And invoke not, besides Allah, [anyone since that] will neither profit you, nor hurt you, but if (in case) you did so, you shall certainly be one of the Zaalimoon (polytheists and wrongdoers). And if Allah should afflict you with harm, then there is none to remove it but He; and if He intends good to you there is none to repel His grace. (Quran, 10:106-107) Humans, no matter their status, cannot help anyone or harm anyone. Only Allah Almighty can cause harm and only He can bring benefit to us. Allah Almighty says in the Quran: Say [O Muhammad]: I have no power over any good or harm to myself except as Allah wills (Quran, 7:188) If the Prophet could not even have power of good or harm over himself, then how can we say that he has such powers over others? If the Prophet himself declares that he cannot bring good or harm, then why are we asking him? Islam is a fiercely monothiestic faith, and rejects all forms of intermediaries with Allah. Intermediaries are none other than idols. The pagans believe that their idols are intermediaries, and they invoke them to ask God for help through them. So too do the Christians believe in Jesus as an intermediary to God. And so have the Imams become an intermediary and idols for the Shia. How often do we hear the Shia say: Ya Ali, give us [such and such] or Ya Hussain, rescue us! The Shia even go to the graves of their Imams, crying and rubbing their tombs; it is not unusual to see a Shia kissing the grave of his Imam and invoking the deceased Imams name in dua. The Shia cry to their idols, kiss them, and invoke them. Then after doing all of this, the same Shia will say unashamedly about the Imam whose tomb they just cried to: I do not worship him. This fact is embodied in their dictum: Call upon Ali, the revealer of wonders. When these same people are asked if they worship Ali, they categorically deny this, despite the fact that they call upon his name (and their Imams) appealing for aid in obtaining their most demanding needs. This is exactly what modern day Hindus do. They worship idols, but if we ask them, they will look at us straight in the eye and say that they are monothiests. They claim that they arent worshipping the idols, and that the idols are just intermediaries to God. O Shia, come to the Call of Islam and to Absolute Tawheedullah (Oneness of Allah). La Illaha IllalahThere is no God except Allah! None is equal to Him and no partners and no intermediaries does He need. Al