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Definition: Supplicating Allah by means of an intermediary, whether it be a
living person, dead person, or a name or attribute of Allah Most High.
Yusuf Rifa’i: I here want to convey the position, attested to by compelling
legal evidence, of the orthodox majority of Sunni Muslim on the subject of
supplicating Allah through an intermidiary (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 it’s 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 permissibilty 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 [Ref: vol 3 no 418];
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
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Tirmidhi relates, through his chain of narrators from ‘Uthman ibn Hunayf,
that a blind man came to the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant 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:
” ‘O 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 grant 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 need, in which someone in need of something from Allah Most High
performs such a prayer and then turns to Allah with this supplications
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 (Allah bless him and grant him peace) was a alive at the 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 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 alive or dead; for the words “O (Ya)
Muhammad” are an address to someone physically absent – in which state the
living and the 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 a dead person.
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The Hadith of the Man in Need
=============================
Moreover, Tabarani, in his al-Mu`jam al-saghir, reports a hadith from
‘Uthman ibn Hanayf that a man repeatedly visited ‘Uthman ibn ‘Affan (Allah
be well pleased with him) concerning something he needed, but ‘Uthman paid
no attention to him or his need. The man met Ibn Hunayf and complained to
him about the matter – this being after the death of the Prophet (Allah
bless him and grant him peace) and after the caliphates of Abu Bakr and
‘Umar – so ‘Uthman ibn Hunayf, who was one of the Companions who collected
hadiths and were learned in the religion of Allah said: “Go to the place of
ablution and perform ablution (wudu), then come to the mosque, perform two
rak’as of prayer therein, and say,
” ‘O Allah, I ask You and turn to You through our Prophet Muhammad, the
Prophet of Mercy; O Muhammad [Ya Muhammad], I turn through you to my Lord,
that He may fulfill my need,’
“and mention your need. Then come so that I can go with you [to the caliph
‘Uthman].”
So the man left and did as he had been told, then went to the door of
‘Uthman ibn ‘Affan (Allah be pleased with him), and the doorman came, took
him by the hand, brought him to ‘Uthman ibn ‘Affan and seated him next to
him on a cushion. ‘Uthman asked, “What do you need?” and the man mentioned
what he wanted, and ‘Uthman accomplished it for him and then said, “I
hadn’t remembered your need until just now,” adding, “Whenever you need
something, just mention it.” Then the man departed, met ‘Uthman ibn Hunayf,
and said to him, “May Allah reward you! He didn’t see to my need or pay any
attention to me until you spoke with him.” ‘Uthman ibn Hunayf replied, “By
Allah, I didn’t speak to him, but I have seen a blind man come to the
Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace) and complain to
him of the loss of his eyesight. The Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him
peace) said, ‘Can you not bear it?’ and the man replied, ‘O messenger of
Allah, I do not have anyone to lead me around, and it is great hardship for
me.’ The Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) told him, ‘Go to the
place of ablution and perform ablution (wudu), then pray two rak’as of
prayer and make these supplications.’ ” Ibn Hunafy went on, “By Allah, we
didn’t part company or speak long before the man returned to us as if
nothing had ever been wrong with him.”
This is an explicit, unequivocal text from a prophetic Companion proving
the legal validity of tawassul through the dead. The account has been
classed as rigorously authenticated (SAHIH) by Bayhaqi, Mundhiri, and
Haytami.
(Muhammad Hamid – a leading Hanafi scholar of this century:) As for calling
upon (nida’) the righteous [when they are physically absent, as in the
words “O (Ya) Muhammad” in the above hadiths], tawassul to Allah Most High
through them is permissable, the supplication (du’a) being to Allah Most
Glorious, and there is much evidence for its permissibility. Those who call
on them intending tawassul cannot be blamed. As for someone who believes
that those called upon can cause effects, benefit, or harm, which they
create or cause to exist as Allah does, such a person is an idolator who
has left Islam – Allah be our refuge! This then,and a certain person has
written an article that tawassul to Allah Most High through the righteous
is unlawful, while the overwhelming majority of scholars hold it
permissable, and the evidence that the writer uses to corroborate his view
point is devoid of anything that demonstrates what he is trying to prove.
In declaring tawassul permissable, we are not hovering on the brink of
idolatory (shirk) or coming anywhere near it, for the conviction that Allah
Most High alone has influence over anything, outwardly, is a conviction
that flows through us like our very lifeblood. If tawassul were idolatory
(shirk), or if there were any suspicion of idolatory in it, the Prophet
(Allah Most High bless him and give him peace) would not have taught it to
the blind man when the latter asked him to supplicate Allah for him,
though in fact he did teach him to make tawassul to Allah through him. And
the notion that tawassul was permissible only during the lifetime of the
person through whom it is done but not after his death is unsupported by
any viable foundation from Sacred Law (Rudud ‘ala abatil wa rasa’il al-
Shaykh Muhammad al-Hamid).
Mostly taken from “Reliance of the Traveller” (Umdat as-Salik) by Ahmad ibn
Naqib al-Misri [b. 702/1302 d. 769/1368] translated by Noah Ha Mim Keller.
Brother Asiff has expressed the other view very clearly. Jazakallaah. I would like to add that if the dead can be called upon to give Wasilah, then Umar Khattab (rad) was pre-eminently qualified to ask the Prophet (S) for him to intercede and ask for rain. Instead of which he asked the Prophet’s(S) uncle (who was living) to do so. This in keeping with the teachings of the Prophet(S)
We must also remember that the concept of Tawassul has its detractors such as among our Salafi brethren whose views reproduced in my book Sarandib I give below for the benefit of readers who may not be aware of the other side of the argument.
The absence of any form of wasīlah or intercession is clearly emphasized in the Qur’ān such as in its Opening Chapter, the Sūratul Fātiha which the believer is obliged to offer in his daily prayers and where one addresses the Almighty thus: “You alone We worship and from You alone do we seek help”. The absence of any need for intercession is also clearly indicated in Sūrah Al-Baqarah (V.186) where the Almighty tells the Prophet: “When My slaves ask you concerning Me, (Tell them) Verily I am close (to them). I respond to the invocation of the suppliant when he calls on Me. So let them obey Me and believe in Me so that they may be led aright”. It is further pointed out that wasīlah in the Prophet’s time was sought from the Prophet himself and that this seeking of wasīlah from the Prophet ceased when he had departed this world. This is borne out in the Sahih Al-Bukhāri where it is related by Anas that when there used to be a drought, Umar would supplicate for rain through the medium of Abbas. He would say: “O Allah! Verily we used to invoke the wasīlah of our Prophet (natawassalu ilaika bi nabiyyina) to You and You bestowed rain upon us. (Now) we invoke You by the wasīlah of the uncle of our Prophet. Therefore bestow rain on us”. He (Anas) said: “Then rain was bestowed to them”. It is clear from this tradition that the wasīlah was sought only from the living and not the dead as is evident from the fact that after the Prophet had passed away, the wasīlah was sought from his uncle. That this was indeed the case is borne out by another hadith occurring in Bukhāri where it is related by Anas that once when the Prophet was conducting the Friday sermon, a person came and said to him: “O Messenger of Allah! The rain has ceased. Supplicate Allah to bestow rain on us”. The Prophet then supplicated and it rained so hard that the people could not reach their houses. It rained until the next Friday when the same person or some other got up and said: “O Messenger of Allah! Supplicate Allah to turn it away from us” and the Prophet said: “O Allah! Around us, not against us” (Allāhumma hawālainā, walā alaynā) whereupon Anas saw the cloud splitting right and left so that it rained right and left (of Madina).
Also relevant is the tradition occurring in the Fath-ul-Bāri where it is related that once Umar went out to pray for rain and said to Abbas “Supplicate for rain” (fastaski) showing again that this wasīlah was sought from the living and not the dead. It is further argued that those who die pass a barrier or dimension called barzakh as is evident in the Qur’ānic verse (Sūrah Al-Mū’minūn.V.100) where the godless are said to beg to be allowed to return to earth to accomplish the good they have left undone in the course of their earthly life, but there is said to be a barrier known as barzakh behind them until the day when they will be resurrected. Thus such persons are unable to benefit the living though the consequences of their deeds may affect the living as borne out by the saying of the Prophet: “When a man dies, his deeds come to an end, except three types; charity of continuing benefit, knowledge beneficial to people and a righteous offspring who prays for him” (Muslim).
It is also contended that the criterion for walaya or closeness to the Divinity is not miracles (karāmat) as held by ignorant folk, but rather faith (īmān) and piety (taqwa), qualities which are shared by all true believers. Nowhere has God made the working of miracles a stipulation for being His wali. Indeed, all believers who have faith and piety are awliyas of Allah and He is their Wali. In support of this position may be cited various Qur’ānic verses such as Sūrah Al-Baqarah (V.257) where it is stated: “Allah is the Wali of those who believe” and Sūrah Yūnus (V.62-63) where it is stated: “Behold! Certainly no fear nor grief shall overcome the awliyā of Allah, those who believe and have piety”. It is also argued that the most pious individuals are known only to God as the seat of piety is the heart. Man can judge fellow men only by their outward deeds, which may or may not be misleading. Therefore it is not permissible for humans to designate certain people as wali (saint) and pious to a degree beyond the reach of ordinary mortals.