TAWASSUL: SUPPLICATING ALLAH THROUGH AN INTERMEDIARY.
Question Clearly, the sect of the wahhabis (Salafs) state that it is shirk to do this act of worship and it breaks the
Aqeedah of tawheed,
Answer The first person to make this false claim was a man who lived some 600 years ago, by the name of Ahmad
Ibn Taymiyah. This man falsely stated that it is not permissible to ask Allah for things except by he who is alive and
present. This is wrong! It is contrary to what is stated in the rules of the Religion of Islam. During the time of Ahmad
Ibn Taymiyah, scholars of Ahl as-Sunnah refuted his argument, and as a result his false claim did not spread at that
time. However, some 200 years ago, a man named Muhammad Ibn Abdul-Wahhab emerged in a place in the Arabian
Peninsula called Najd which the Prophet dispraised. Al-Bukhariyy related a hadith about the Prophet in which he said:
(From this spot, [which is called Najd] the tribulations and the sedition will occur.) The Prophet conveyed the truth.
Many tribulations and sedition have occurred from that region. Among the most recent was this man by the name of
Muhammad Ibn ^Abdul-Wahhab. Muhammad Ibn ^Abdul-Wahhab followed Ahmad Ibn Taymiyah in the aforementioned
case and in other cases as well. He started repeating the false statement of Ibn Taymiyah that it is not permissible for
one to ask Allah for things except by he who is alive and present. This rule has no foundation whatsoever in the
Religion of Allah. Rather, this rule and this statement were innovated by Ahmad Ibn Taymiyah an innovation of
misguidance. As a result of their stubbornness and arrogance, the leaders of the Wahhabiyyah movement rejected
the part of the hadith which signifies the man asking Allah for things by the Prophet, after the Prophet's death. The
great scholars of Ahl as-Sunnah told these people that the scholars classified that entire hadith as sahih, i.e., the part
that took place during the lifetime of the Prophet and the part that took place after his death. Hence, one must reject
the false claim of Ibn Taymiyah and Muhammad Ibn ^Abdul-Wahhab, because it stands against the sayings of those
reliable and dependable scholars of hadith. AlHafidhatTabaraniyy narrated that hadith, among others, including
al-Hafidh al-Bayhaqiyy and al-Hafidh asSubkiyy and alHafidh al-^Ala'iyy; they all classified it as sahih. The status of
those huffadh, i.e., their high knowledge and high level in the Science of Hadith, is a case of unanimous agreement
among the scholars of Islam.However, those Wahhabis, in an attempt to back their stubbornness and their false claim,
rejected the sahih hadith of the Prophet; may Allah protect us from such misguidance. They refuted and rejected that
which was proved to be mentioned by the Companions. It is obvious they are not following a correct methodology on
their part. What is correct is for one to follow the path of the Prophet and the path of his Companions. One must
adhere to that which the Prophet prescribed, and that which was put forth by the Companions, and one does not
adhere to the example of someone deluded about things.
TAWASSUL (definition)
Supplicating Allah by means of an intermediary, whether it be a living person, dead person, a good deed, or a name or
Attribute of Allah Most High. The scholar, YUSUF RIFA'I, says: I here want to convey the position, attested to by
compelling legal evidence, of the orthodox majority of Sunni Muslims on the subject of supplicating Allah through an
intermediary (tawassul), and so I say (and Allah alone gives success) that since there is no disagreement among
scholars that supplicating Allah through an intermediary is in principle legally valid, the discussion of its details merely
concerns derived rulings that involve interschool differences, unrelated to questions of belief or unbelief, monotheism
or associating partners with Allah (shirk); the sphere of the question being limited to permissibility or impermissibility,
and its ruling being that it is either lawful or unlawful. There is no difference among groups of Muslims in their
consensus on the permissibility of three types of supplicating Allah
through an intermediary (tawassul):
(1) TAWASSUL through a living righteous person to Allah Most High, as in the hadith of the blind man with the Prophet
(Allah bless him and grant him peace) as we shall explain;
(2) The TAWASSUL of a living person to Allah Most High through his own good deeds, as in the hadith of the three
people trapped in a cave by a great stone, a hadith related by Imam Bukhari in his "Sahih;"
(3) And the TAWASSUL of a person to Allah Most High through His entity (dhat), names, attributes, and so forth.
Since the legality of these types is agreed upon, there is no reason to set forth the evidence for them. The only area
of disagreement is supplicating Allah (tawassul) through a righteous dead person. The majority of the orthodox Sunni
Community hold that it is lawful, and have supporting hadith evidence , of which we will content ourselves with the
Hadith of the Blind Man, since it is the central pivot upon which the discussion turns.
THE HADITH OF THE BLIND MAN
Tirmidhi relates, through his chain of narrators from 'Uthman ibn Hunayf, that a blind man came to the
Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) and said, "I've been afflicted in my eyesight, so please pray
to Allah for me." The Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) said: "Go make ablution (wudu),
perform two rak'as of prayer, and then say: "Oh Allah, I ask You and turn to You through my Prophet
Muhammad, the Prophet of mercy; O Muhammad (Ya Muhammad), I seek your intercession with my Lord
for the return of my eyesight [and in another version: "for my need, that it may be fulfilled. O Allah, grant
him intercession for me"]." The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) added, "And if there is some
need, do the same."
Scholars of Sacred Law infer from this hadith the recommended character of the "prayer of need," in which someone
in need of something from Allah Most High performs such a prayer and then turns to Allah with this supplication
together with other suitable supplications, traditional or otherwise, according to the need and how the person feels.
The express content of the hadith proves the legal validity of "tawassul" through a living person (as the Prophet -
peace be upon him - was alive at that time). It implicitly proves the validity of tawassul through a deceased one as well,
since tawassul through a living or dead person is not through a physical body or through or through a life or death, but
rather through the positive meaning (ma'na tayyib) attached to the person in both life and death. The body is but the
vehicle that carries that significance, which requires that the person be respected whether dead or alive; for the words
"O Muhammad" are an address to someone physically absent - in which state the living and dead are alike - an
address to the meaning, dear to Allah, that is connected with his spirit, a meaning that is the ground of "tawassul," be it
through a living or dead person.
Hadith After the death of Fatima (Daughter of Asad)
Anas Ibn Malik Ibn Al-Nadr (r.a) reported that when Fatimah the daughter of Assad died, who took care of
the Messenger of Allah during the years he spent at his Uncle's home, and she was the mother of Ali bin
Abi Talib, he entered her home and sat close to her head and said: May Allah have mercy on you O mother
after my mother, and he praised her, and offered his garment to cover her body with it in the grave and
ordered to dig a tomb for her. He also dug the tomb and took out the soil by his own hands and then laid
down in it and then said: Allah who gives life and takes it and He lives and dies not. Forgive my mother
Fatimah the daughter of Asad and grant her ease at her entryway through right of Your Prophet and the
Prophets before me for You are the most compassionate. [Ref: Tabarani in Mu'jam Al-Kabir, Tabarani in
Mu'jam Al-Ausat Vol 1 Hadith 189, Al-Hakim Vol 3 Hadith 4574, Hilyatul Auliya]
Hadith After Adam committed the sin
On the authority of Umar bin Al-Khattab (r.a) that the Prophet said: When Adam committed the sin he raised
his head to the Throne and said, I ask You through the right of Muhammad (s.a.w) for your forgiveness.
Allah asked Adam, How do you know Muhammad (s.a.w) when I have not created him. He (Adam) said: O'
Allah! After you created me and breathed into me your soul I raised my head and saw written on the
Throne " There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah ". I then came to know that
you would not put anyone's name next to Yours except the one who is most dear to you in your creation.
Allah said: You have said the truth O Adam! Indeed he is most dear to me among the creation. Invoke me
through his right. Indeed I have forgiven you. And if there was no Muhammad (s.a.w), I would not have
created you." [Ref: Mustadrak Al-Hakim Vol 2 Hadith 4228 and Baihaqi in Dalail Al-Nabuwwah Vol.5, Page
489]
Tafseer of holy quran Surah Al-Baqarah Verse 89
An incident is nararted on authority of Abdullah bin Abbas (r.a) for the Tafseer of Surah Al-Baqara's verse
No 89. The substance of the incident is that Jews of Khaibar and Polytheists of Ghatfan were at war and
Jews decided to supplicate by intimating wasila of Muhammad (s.a.w) in their invocation so that they
would win. Thus they supplicated, O Allah! We ask you through the right of your Prophet Muhammad
(s.a.w) and so on... which made them won the war. [Ref: Mustadrak Hakim Vol 2 Hadith 3042, Dalail
Al-Nabuwwah lil Baihaqi]
Hadith recorded by Imam al-Bukhari and others , the Companion
Umar (Allah be pleased with him) made Tawassul through the uncle of the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless
him & give him peace), Abbas (Radhi Allahu Anhu), in asking Allah for rain at the time of drought.
Hadith Imam Ibn Maja (Radi Allahju Anhu)
narrates that Hazarate Abu Saeed khudri (Radi Allahu Anhu) says that the messenger of Allah almighty
(peace be upon him) said:
"The person who came out of his house to pray salah and he recited this " O Allah (almighty) I ask you with
the mediation of the right (Haqq) you have on questioners ( Saaileen ) and the right of me going to offer
this Salah, because I have come out without pride (akar) and behaving boastfully and without showing and
saying but simply for the fear of your displeasure and is search of your pleasure. I ask from you , your
protection from hell and forgive my sins. And undoubtedly no one will forgive sins except you. The person
who recites this, Allah (almighty) will turn to him and seventy thousand angels will ask for his repentance.
( sunan-e-ibn-e-maja page 56, published by Maktaba Islami Beirut )
C O N C L U S I O N
Be cautious! If you hear someone claim that it is not permissible to ask Allah for things in the absence of the Prophet
or after his death, do not lend him a listening ear. Respond to him. Tell such a person about the hadith of the blind
man, This is defending the Religion of Allah.
It is not permissible for one to remain silent when he sees someone perverting the Religion of Allah--if he is able to
stand up to him. It is not permissible to leave the Muslims without guiding them and warning them against such people
who pervert the Religion of Allah--once they are able to do so. This falls under the obligatory advice to the Muslims, as
it was indicated by the Prophet. If the person leaves out ordering alma^ruf and forbidding almunkar, when it is
obligatory on him, then this person is committing a sin. The scholars used to take many hardships to warn against
someone perverting the Religion of Allah. This has great reward for them. If that obligation was left out in a community,
those people would lose the support of Allah.
We ask Allah to bless us with the guidance and to make us steadfast in following the methodology and the path of the
Prophet. We ask Allah to let us consume all of our life in following the methodology of the Prophet. We ask Allah to
make us among those who order with alma^ruf and forbid al-munkar.