The Quran and authentic hadiths establish three kinds of tawassul. The first is tawassul through Allah’s Beautiful Names, the second through one’s own righteous deeds, and the third through the supplication of a living righteous person. Therefore, only these kinds of tawassul are permissible and lawful. All other kinds are unlawful, impermissible and forbidden. As for which tawassul is established from the Quran, readers have already seen the article «Tawassul and the Quran». In the light of authentic hadiths and the understanding of the early generations, the same is established regarding permissible tawassul, and there is also explicit prohibition and negation of the forbidden kinds of tawassul. Let us see:
The permissibility of tawassul through the supplication of a living righteous person
❀ Sayyidna Anas bin Malik may Allah be pleased with him narrates:
أن عمر بن الخطاب رضي الله عنه كان إذا قحطوا استسقى بالعباس بن عبد المطلب، فقال: اللهم إنا كنا نتوسل إليك بنبينا، فتسقينا، وإنا نتوسل إليك بعم نبينا فاسقنا. قال: فيسقون .
Whenever drought struck, Sayyidna Umar ibn al-Khattab may Allah be pleased with him would seek rain through Sayyidna Abbas bin Abd al-Muttalib may Allah be pleased with him (through his supplication). He would supplicate: O Allah, we used to seek nearness to You through our Prophet ﷺ (during his lifetime, through his supplication), and You would give us rain; and now we seek nearness to You through the uncle of our Prophet ﷺ (after his death, through his supplication), that is, we ask him to supplicate for us, so send rain upon us now as well. Sayyidna Anas may Allah be pleased with him said that rain would then be granted to them.
◈ Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah may Allah have mercy on him (d. 661–728 AH) explains the meaning of this hadith as follows:
وذلك أن التوسل به في حياته، ھو أنھم كانو يتوسلون به، أي يسألون أن يدعو الله، فيدعو لھم، ويدعون فيتوسلون بشفاعته ودعائه
This form of tawassul during the blessed lifetime of the Prophet ﷺ was that the Companions may Allah be pleased with them would request him to supplicate, and then they themselves would also supplicate. In this way they would obtain his intercession and tawassul through him.
◈ Hafiz Ibn Hajar may Allah have mercy on him (d. 773–852 AH), the commentator of Bukhari, writes:
ويستفاد من قصة العباس رضي الله عنه من استحباب الاستشفاع بأھل الخير وأھل بيت النبوة
From the story of Sayyidna Abbas may Allah be pleased with him, it is established that seeking intercession from people of goodness, people of righteousness and piety, and the Ahl al-Bayt is recommended.
◈ Some people try to prove from this hadith a forbidden kind of tawassul, although this hadith is in fact our evidence, because seeking supplication from living people is a legislated tawassul. If tawassul through the person of the deceased were permissible, the Companions would never have dared to present the person of an ordinary member of the Ummah before Allah, leaving aside the person of the blessed Messenger ﷺ. Thus it becomes clear that this hadith establishes only tawassul through the supplication of living righteous people.
◈ The muhaddithin and the jurists of the Ummah took this hadith to mean tawassul through supplication, not through the person. When the early scholars of the Ummah did not take it to mean tawassul through the deceased, what right do today’s non-mujtahid and non-faqih followers of taqlid have to state a new meaning for this hadith?
◈ From the statements of the muhaddithin it has become evident that supplicating through the tawassul of the Prophet ﷺ means only that the Prophet ﷺ was asked to supplicate, and then Allah was invoked with reference to that supplication: O Allah, Your Prophet is supplicating for us, so accept his supplication concerning us and fulfil our need!
◈ No reliable muhaddith or reputable scholar has established from this hadith the tawassul through the person of the Prophet ﷺ and Sayyidna Abbas may Allah be pleased with both of them.
Benefit No. ①
In one narration, when Sayyidna Umar may Allah be pleased with him asked Sayyidna Abbas may Allah be pleased with him to supplicate for rain, he supplicated with these words:
اللھم إنه لم ينزل بلاء الا بذنب، ولم يكشف إلا بتوبة، وقد توجه القوم بي إليك لمكاني من نبيك
“O Allah, every calamity descends because of some sin, and repentance is the only means of deliverance from it. The people have turned to You through me, because I held a station with Your Prophet.”
Commentary: This however is a false narration.
The one who fabricated it is Muhammad bin al-Sa’ib al-Kalbi, who is “matruk” and a liar.
Moreover, Abu Salih, a narrator in it, is “da’if” and mukhtalit. There are further defects in its chain.
The chain of the narration related by Zubayr bin Bakkar was not found.
Benefit No. ②
Hafiz Ibn Abd al-Barr may Allah have mercy on him has also quoted these words of Sayyidna Umar may Allah be pleased with him in this incident:
اللھم إنا نتقرب إليك بعم نبيك ونستشفع به، فاحفظ فينا نبيك كما حفظت الغلامين لصلاح أبيھما
“O Allah, we seek nearness to You through the uncle of Your Prophet and present his intercession. Show consideration for us through Your Prophet in the same way that You showed consideration to the two boys because of the righteousness of their parents.”
Commentary: This has no chain, so it is not reliable.
Benefit No. ③
Sayyidina Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrated:
استسقي عمر ابن الخطاب عام الرمادة بالعباس بن عبدالمطلب، فقال : اللھم! ھذا عم نبيك العباس، نتوجه إليك به، فاسقنا، فما بر حوا حتي سقاھم الله قال : فخطب عمر الناس، فقال: أيھا الناس! إن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم كان يرى للعباس ما يري الولد لوالده، يعظمه، ويفخمه، ويبر قسمه، فاقتدو أيھا الناس برسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم في عمه العباس، واتخذوه وسيلة إلي الله عزوجل فيما نزل بكم
In the year of Ramadah (the year of famine and destruction), Sayyidina Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) sought rain through Sayyidina Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib (may Allah be pleased with him), taking him as a means (wasilah). He supplicated thus: “O Allah! This is the uncle of Your (honoured) Prophet ﷺ, Abbas. We turn to You through him, so send down rain upon us.” They had not yet dispersed when Allah granted them rain. The narrator said: Then Sayyidina Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) addressed the people and said: “O people! The Prophet ﷺ regarded Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) with the regard a son has for his father. He honoured and revered him, and he fulfilled his oaths. O people, follow the example of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ regarding his uncle Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him). Take him as a means to Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, for what has befallen you, so that He may send rain upon you.”
Commentary: The chain of this narration is extremely “da’if” (weak). In it, Dawud ibn Ata al-Madani is a narrator who is “da’if” and “matruk” (abandoned). No word of praise (tawthiq) for him has been established, not even the lowest.
◈ Imam Abu Hatim al-Razi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
ليس بالقوي، ضعيف الحديث، منكر الحديث “He is not strong; he is da’if al-hadith and munkar al-hadith.”
◈ Also, Imam Abu Zur’ah (may Allah have mercy on him) called him “munkar al-hadith.”
◈ Imam al-Bukhari (may Allah have mercy on him) also declared him “munkar al-hadith.”
◈ Imam al-Daraqutni (may Allah have mercy on him) declared him “matruk.”
◈ Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal (may Allah have mercy on him) said: ليس بشيء “He is nothing (of consequence).”
◈ Imam Ibn Adi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: وفي حديثه بعض النكرة “In his narrations there is some unacceptable content.”
◈ Hafiz al-Dhahabi (may Allah have mercy on him) declared him “matruk.”
◈ Furthermore, we have already explained that this narration mentions the wasilah of supplication (du’a), and in our view supplication is a legislated and permissible means.
In short, the wasilah mentioned in the hadith about the tawassul of Sayyidina Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) is solely the wasilah of supplication. Sayyidina Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) and the other noble Companions asked him to supplicate to Allah for rain, and then they invoked Allah by reference to his supplication: “The uncle of Your Prophet is also praying for us, so hear our plea.” This is the legislated and permissible wasilah. This hadith does not establish at all the wasilah of the person of the deceased. As:
◄ Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) (661–728 AH) said:
وهذا دعاء أقره عليه جميع الصحابة، ولم ينكره أحد مع شهرته، وهو من أظهر الإجماعات الإقرارية، ودعا بمثله معاوية بن أبي سفيان في خلافته، لا استسقي بالناس، فلو كان توسلهم بالنبي صلى الله عليه وسلم بعد مماته كتوسلهم به في حياته، لقالوا: كيف نتوسل بمثل العباس ويزيد بن الأسود ونحوهما؟ ونعدل عن التوسل بالنبي صلى الله عليه وسلم الذي هو أفضل الخلائق، وهو أفضل الوسائل وأعظمها عند الله؟ فلما لم يقل ذلك أحد منهم، وقد علم أنهم في حياته إنما توسلوا بدعائه وشفاعته، وبعد مماته توسلوا بدعاء غيره، وشفاعة غيره، علم أن المشروع عندهم التوسل بدعاء المتوسل به، لا بذاته
“This is a supplication about which all the Companions remained silent, although it was a well-known event; thus it is a clear silent consensus (ijma’ suki). When Sayyidina Muawiyah ibn Abi Sufyan (may Allah be pleased with him) led the people in the prayer for rain during his caliphate, he supplicated in the same way. If the Companions, after the death of the Prophet ﷺ, had sought his wasilah in the same way as they did during his life, they would certainly have said: ‘How can we seek wasilah through the likes of Abbas and Yazid ibn al-Aswad, and equate them with the wasilah of the Prophet ﷺ, who is the most excellent of all creation and the greatest means to Allah?’ Since none of the Companions said this, and since it is known that during his life they sought wasilah through his supplication and intercession, and after his death they sought wasilah through the supplication and intercession of others, it is established that in the view of the Companions, the wasilah of a righteous person’s supplication was permissible, not his person.”
◄ Allamah Ibn Abi al-Izz al-Hanafi (may Allah have mercy on him) (731–792 AH) said:
وإنما كانوا يتوسلون في حياته بدعائه، يطلبون منه أن يدعو لهم، وهم يؤمنون على دعائه، كما في الاستسقاء وغيره، فلما مات رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم قال عمر رضي الله عنه – لما خرجوا يستسقون -: اللهم ! إنا كنا إذا أجدبنا نتوسل إليك بنبينا فتسقينا، وإنا نتوسل إليك بعم نبينا. معناه: بدعائه ھو ربه، وشفاعته، وسؤاله، ليس المراد أنا نقسم عليك به, أو نسألك بجاهه عندك, إذ لو كان ذلك مراداً، لكان جاه النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم أعظم وأعظم من جاه العباس
“During the life of the Prophet ﷺ, the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) sought wasilah through his supplication, that is, they asked him to supplicate, and they said “Amin” to his supplication. This is what happened in the prayer for rain (istisqa) and other occasions. But when the Messenger of Allah ﷺ passed away, Sayyidina Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) went out to seek rain and said: ‘O Allah! Previously, when we were afflicted by drought, we used to seek wasilah through our Prophet, and You would give us rain. Now we seek wasilah to You through the uncle of our Prophet.’ That is, Sayyidina Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) would supplicate and intercede for us with You. He did not mean at all that Allah should be made to swear by Abbas, or that they should ask by his station and rank. If this method were permissible, then the status and rank of the Prophet ﷺ would be far, far greater than that of Sayyidina Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him)…”
◄ Allama Anwar Shah Kashmiri Deobandi (d. 1292–1352 AH) writes:
قوله: اللھم! كنا نتوسل إليك بنبينا صلى الله عليه وسلم، ليس فيه التوسل المعھود الذي يكون بالغائب حتي قد لا يكون به شعور أصلا، فيه توسل السلف، وھو أن يقدم رجلا ذاوجاھة عند الله تعالىٰ ويأمره أيدعو لھم، ثم يحيل عليه في دعائه، كما فعل بالعباس رضي الله عنه عم النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم، ولو كان فيه توسل المتأخرين لما احتاجوا إلي إذھاب العباس رضي الله عنه معھم ولكفي لھم التوسل بنبيھم بعد وفاته أيضا، أو بالعباس رضي الله عنه مع عدم شھوده معھم
“Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) used to supplicate for rain, saying: O Allah! Previously we would present our Prophet to You as a means (tawassul)… These words do not mention the prevalent form of tawassul in which an absent person is taken as a means, one who is not even aware that someone is seeking his means. This hadith affirms the tawassul practised by the righteous predecessors (salaf). The way of the salaf was that they would put forward a person who was eminent before Allah and ask him to supplicate for them, and then they would invoke Allah, citing that supplication as the means. This is what Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) did with al-Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him), the uncle of the Prophet ﷺ. Had this hadith mentioned the form of tawassul devised by later people, then the Companions would not have needed to take al-Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) along with them, and tawassul through the Prophet ﷺ himself would have sufficed for them even after his death, or the name of al-Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) would have been invoked in his absence.”
◈ It is established that from the hadith of al-Abbas’s tawassul, the tawassul by the essence (of a person) and tawassul of the dead is not proven at all. It is further supported by the narrations presented in this article, in which it is explicitly mentioned that the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) would have living righteous people supplicate, and then cite that supplication to Allah. This was their method of seeking tawassul through righteous people.
