Source: Fatāwā Shaykh al-Ḥadīth Mubārakpūrī, Volume 1, Page 41
Is it permissible to supplicate using the name or status of someone else or through ṣadaqah, such as saying:
❝O Allah, by the virtue of Your noble Prophet, cure me; or forgive my sins for the sake of the Qur’an; or grant us wealth through the status of such-and-such saint?❞
Some scholars claim Shah Ismāʿīl Shahīd considered this shirk, while some Ḥanafī scholars declared it recommended or even necessary for duʿā acceptance.
① Ḥadīth of Istisqāʾ (Rain prayer):
ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb رضي الله عنه sought rain through the duʿā of al-ʿAbbās رضي الله عنه.
② Ḥadīth of Ṣalāt al-Ḥājah:
"...اللهم اني اسألك وأتوجه إليك بنبيك محمد نبي الرحمة..."
(Reported in Tirmidhī, Nasāʾī, Ibn Mājah)
③ Durood Formula:
“اللهم صل علی محمد وسيلتي اليك وآله وسلم…”
④ Poetry of Shaykh Saʿdī رحمه الله:
“خدایا بحق بنی فاطمه…”
All religious practices must conform to Qur’an and Sunnah.
﴿فَإِن تَنَازَعْتُم فِي شَيْءٍ فَرُدُّوهُ إِلَى اللَّهِ وَالرَّسُولِ﴾
(An-Nisāʾ: 59)
Prophet ﷺ said:
“Whoever introduces something into this matter of ours (Islam) that is not part of it—it is rejected.”
(Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim)
The form mentioned in the question involves:
◈ Seeking Allah via someone who is not alive,
◈ Not present, nor making duʿā themselves,
◈ With no actual prayer being offered by that person.
No such practice is found in:
— The Qur’an
— Any authentic ḥadīth
— Companions, Tābiʿīn, or Imāms of fiqh
Hence, it is a religious innovation (bidʿah).
“The tawassul of the salaf was different—they would bring the person and ask them to supplicate.
Today's tawassul involves mere naming, without any condition of life or consciousness.
I do not affirm this from the salaf.”
(Fayḍ al-Bārī 3/433)
"ʿUmar used to ask for rain through the duʿā of al-ʿAbbās and said:
‘We used to do tawassul through our Prophet, now we do it through his uncle.’”
(Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī)
Clear proof that Companions sought duʿā from the living, not from deceased—even the Prophet ﷺ after his death.
The phrase from ḥadīth:
“اللهم فشفعه في”
shows tawassul via duʿā, not through the deceased’s status.
◈ Ṭabarānī’s narration involving ʿUthmān b. Ḥunayf is weak due to Rūḥ b. Ṣalāḥ, a weak narrator.
◈ Durood wording cited is not found in any authentic or even weak ḥadīth.
◈ Poetry of Shaykh Saʿdī is not Sharʿī evidence.
➤ Imām Abū Yūsuf, reported by Qudūrī in Sharḥ al-Karkhī, said:
"One should ask Allah directly—not through ‘the right of so-and-so’ or even the Kaʿbah."
➤ Nuʿmān Khayruddīn al-Ḥanafī in Jalāʾ al-ʿAynayn wrote:
“Imām Abū Ḥanīfah considered tawassul through the ‘rights’ of Prophets, saints, or the Kaʿbah as makrūh taḥrīmī and even a cause for Hellfire.”
“Tawassul through the duʿā of the Prophet ﷺ in his lifetime is valid.
Likewise, seeking duʿā from a righteous living person is permissible.
But invoking the Prophet ﷺ or righteous deceased after their death as a medium is not allowed.”
(Tuḥfat al-Aḥwadhī 4/283)
“We affirm only that tawassul means mentioning a pious person’s closeness to Allah, not seeking from the person directly.
Allah remains the sole source of effect.”
(al-Bunyān al-Mashīd commentary on al-Burhān al-Muʾayyad)
✔ Permissible:
➤ Tawassul bil-duʿā: Asking a righteous living person to supplicate.
➤ Done in the presence and awareness of the supplicating person.
Impermissible & Bidʿah:
➤ Tawassul bil-mayyit: Invoking the deceased or using their name/status or ṣadaqah as a means in duʿā.
✔ The Qur’an, authentic ḥadīths, and practice of Salaf al-Ṣāliḥīn all validate only the first type.
ـــ ❖ ـــ
ھٰذَا مَا عِندِي، وَاللّٰهُ أَعْلَمُ بِالصَّوَاب
❖ Question:
Is it permissible to supplicate using the name or status of someone else or through ṣadaqah, such as saying:
❝O Allah, by the virtue of Your noble Prophet, cure me; or forgive my sins for the sake of the Qur’an; or grant us wealth through the status of such-and-such saint?❞
Some scholars claim Shah Ismāʿīl Shahīd considered this shirk, while some Ḥanafī scholars declared it recommended or even necessary for duʿā acceptance.
✿ Cited Evidences by Proponents of Modern Tawassul:
① Ḥadīth of Istisqāʾ (Rain prayer):
ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb رضي الله عنه sought rain through the duʿā of al-ʿAbbās رضي الله عنه.
② Ḥadīth of Ṣalāt al-Ḥājah:
"...اللهم اني اسألك وأتوجه إليك بنبيك محمد نبي الرحمة..."
(Reported in Tirmidhī, Nasāʾī, Ibn Mājah)
③ Durood Formula:
“اللهم صل علی محمد وسيلتي اليك وآله وسلم…”
④ Poetry of Shaykh Saʿdī رحمه الله:
“خدایا بحق بنی فاطمه…”
✦ Response Based on Qur’an & Authentic Sunnah
1. Standard of Islamic Judgment:
All religious practices must conform to Qur’an and Sunnah.
﴿فَإِن تَنَازَعْتُم فِي شَيْءٍ فَرُدُّوهُ إِلَى اللَّهِ وَالرَّسُولِ﴾
(An-Nisāʾ: 59)
Prophet ﷺ said:
“Whoever introduces something into this matter of ours (Islam) that is not part of it—it is rejected.”
(Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim)
2. Invalidity of Modern Tawassul
The form mentioned in the question involves:
◈ Seeking Allah via someone who is not alive,
◈ Not present, nor making duʿā themselves,
◈ With no actual prayer being offered by that person.
No such practice is found in:— The Qur’an
— Any authentic ḥadīth
— Companions, Tābiʿīn, or Imāms of fiqh
Hence, it is a religious innovation (bidʿah).
3. Clarification by Mawlānā Anwar Shāh Kashmīrī رحمه الله
“The tawassul of the salaf was different—they would bring the person and ask them to supplicate.
Today's tawassul involves mere naming, without any condition of life or consciousness.
I do not affirm this from the salaf.”
(Fayḍ al-Bārī 3/433)
4. Ḥadīth of Istisqāʾ Explained
"ʿUmar used to ask for rain through the duʿā of al-ʿAbbās and said:
‘We used to do tawassul through our Prophet, now we do it through his uncle.’”
(Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī)
Clear proof that Companions sought duʿā from the living, not from deceased—even the Prophet ﷺ after his death.
5. Tawassul Through Duʿā Only
The phrase from ḥadīth:
“اللهم فشفعه في”
shows tawassul via duʿā, not through the deceased’s status.
6. Weak and Unreliable Evidence Refuted
◈ Ṭabarānī’s narration involving ʿUthmān b. Ḥunayf is weak due to Rūḥ b. Ṣalāḥ, a weak narrator.
◈ Durood wording cited is not found in any authentic or even weak ḥadīth.
◈ Poetry of Shaykh Saʿdī is not Sharʿī evidence.
7. Ḥanafī Position on Tawassul
➤ Imām Abū Yūsuf, reported by Qudūrī in Sharḥ al-Karkhī, said:
"One should ask Allah directly—not through ‘the right of so-and-so’ or even the Kaʿbah."
➤ Nuʿmān Khayruddīn al-Ḥanafī in Jalāʾ al-ʿAynayn wrote:
“Imām Abū Ḥanīfah considered tawassul through the ‘rights’ of Prophets, saints, or the Kaʿbah as makrūh taḥrīmī and even a cause for Hellfire.”
8. Summary of Shaykh Mubārakpūrī's Position
“Tawassul through the duʿā of the Prophet ﷺ in his lifetime is valid.
Likewise, seeking duʿā from a righteous living person is permissible.
But invoking the Prophet ﷺ or righteous deceased after their death as a medium is not allowed.”
(Tuḥfat al-Aḥwadhī 4/283)
Clarification by Some Deobandi Scholars:
“We affirm only that tawassul means mentioning a pious person’s closeness to Allah, not seeking from the person directly.
Allah remains the sole source of effect.”
(al-Bunyān al-Mashīd commentary on al-Burhān al-Muʾayyad)
Conclusion:
✔ Permissible:
➤ Tawassul bil-duʿā: Asking a righteous living person to supplicate.
➤ Done in the presence and awareness of the supplicating person.
Impermissible & Bidʿah:➤ Tawassul bil-mayyit: Invoking the deceased or using their name/status or ṣadaqah as a means in duʿā.
✔ The Qur’an, authentic ḥadīths, and practice of Salaf al-Ṣāliḥīn all validate only the first type.
ـــ ❖ ـــ
ھٰذَا مَا عِندِي، وَاللّٰهُ أَعْلَمُ بِالصَّوَاب
