Source: Fatāwā Shaykh al-Ḥadīth Mubārakpūrī, Volume 1, Page 44
Is the modern practice of tawassul (seeking intercession) through the deceased—including the Prophet ﷺ—established in the life of the Prophet ﷺ or his Companions?
Was this practice prevalent during the best generations (Khair al-Qurūn)?
If not, does it not clearly fall under innovation (bidʿah)?
Can the public’s belief in pure monotheism remain intact under such practices?
◈ The often-cited narration from al-Ṭabarānī does *not include the weak narrator "Rūḥ ibn Ṣalāḥ” but rather Rūḥ ibn al-Qāsim, who is trustworthy and among the narrators of Ṣaḥīḥayn.
◈ The criticism by some scholars was made without full reference to Ibn Taymiyyah’s detailed explanation.
◈ The narration exists in two forms:
➊ Muṭawwal (detailed): includes the story of a blind man approaching ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān رضي الله عنه after the Prophet ﷺ’s demise.
➋ Mukhtaṣar (concise): only mentions the supplication taught by the Prophet ﷺ during his lifetime.
The concise narration appears through multiple strong chains:
➊ Shuʿbah → Abū Jaʿfar → ʿAmmār b. Khuzaymah → ʿUthmān b. Ḥunayf
➋ Ḥammād b. Salamah → Abū Jaʿfar
➌ Hishām Dastawā’ī → Abū Jaʿfar
➍ Aḥmad b. Shabīb → Shabīb b. Saʿīd → Rūḥ b. al-Qāsim
➎ ʿAbbās b. Muḥammad → ʿAwn b. ʿUmārah → Rūḥ b. al-Qāsim
The detailed (muṭawwal) narration has only one narrator: Shabīb b. Saʿīd, and is not found in Ṣiḥāḥ Sittah.
Even al-Ḥākim, though lenient, omitted the story in his version.
Conclusion: The supplication was taught by the Prophet ﷺ to be used during his life, not after his death. The phrase:
اللَّهُمَّ فَشَفِّعْهُ فِيَّ
indicates intercession while he is alive, not invoking him posthumously.
◈ During the famine of ʿĀm al-Ramādah, ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb رضي الله عنه sought duʿā from al-ʿAbbās رضي الله عنه, not from the deceased Prophet ﷺ.
◈ Muʿāwiyah appointed Yazīd b. al-Aswad to lead in duʿā during hardship.
✔ This indicates a consensual abandonment of seeking tawassul from the dead.
Ijmāʿ Sukūtī (silent consensus) implies collective approval, showing non-validity of tawassul bil-mayyit.
Ibn Taymiyyah, al-Tawassul wal-Wasīlah, p. 104–105:
The statements of any Companion are a proof only when there is no contradiction among them and no contradiction with the Qur’an or Sunnah.
Categories of Hadith:
➊ Ṣaḥīḥ
➋ Ḥasan (li-dhātih & li-ghayrih)
➌ Ḍaʿīf
Types of Ḍaʿīf Hadith:
◈ Matūruk: Rejected and not usable as proof.
◈ Ghayr Matūruk: Occasionally accepted in faḍāʾil (virtues) under strict conditions.
Conditions for acting upon a ḍaʿīf hadith:
✔ Tawassul bil-mayyit relates to ʿaqīdah and duʿā, hence requires only ṣaḥīḥ or ḥasan proofs.
◈ The narration stating that ʿUmar رضي الله عنه called on the Prophet ﷺ after his death is found in Ṭabarānī, al-Bayhaqī, and al-Ḥākim.
◈ ʿAbd al-Raḥmān b. Zayd b. Aslam is a weak narrator.
◈ Imām al-Ḥākim himself declared his reports fabricated (mawḍūʿah).
◈ Other narrators in the isnād are unknown (majhūl).
al-Dhahabī labelled the narration as “mawḍūʿ” and “bāṭil”.
Conclusion: No authentic hadith establishes tawassul through the deceased.
◈ Duʿā is an act of ʿibādah.
◈ Using a deceased person’s name or status in duʿā without Shar‘i evidence is impermissible.
◈ No ʿibādah—whether farḍ, sunnah, or mustaḥabb—is valid unless supported by Ṣaḥīḥ or Ḥasan hadith or Qur’anic verse.
◈ Tawḥīd demands that all worship and religious actions be strictly based on revealed evidence.
◈ A practice not found in the Qur’an, authentic Sunnah, or practice of the Companions is not part of Islam.
◈ No evidence from the Prophet ﷺ, Companions, or Tabiʿīn supports invoking or using the deceased as a medium.
◈ Such practices lead to erosion of tawḥīd and are categorized as innovations in religion (bidʿah).
✔ The practice of tawassul bil-mayyit (intercession through the deceased) is:
— Not found in the Qur’an
— Not established by any Ṣaḥīḥ or Ḥasan Hadith
— Not practiced by the Companions
— Declared bidʿah by leading imams and scholars
✔ The authentic narration of the blind man relates only to tawassul through the duʿā of the living Prophet ﷺ, not his person posthumously.
✔ Holding such a belief without valid evidence amounts to innovation in religion and undermines the purity of Islamic monotheism.
ـــ ❖ ـــ
ھٰذَا مَا عِندِي، وَاللّٰهُ أَعْلَمُ بِالصَّوَاب
❖ Question:
Is the modern practice of tawassul (seeking intercession) through the deceased—including the Prophet ﷺ—established in the life of the Prophet ﷺ or his Companions?
Was this practice prevalent during the best generations (Khair al-Qurūn)?
If not, does it not clearly fall under innovation (bidʿah)?
Can the public’s belief in pure monotheism remain intact under such practices?
✿ Summary of Refutation Based on 8 Core Shar‘i Principles:
✦ ❶ Clarification on the Ṭabarānī Narration
◈ The often-cited narration from al-Ṭabarānī does *not include the weak narrator "Rūḥ ibn Ṣalāḥ” but rather Rūḥ ibn al-Qāsim, who is trustworthy and among the narrators of Ṣaḥīḥayn.
◈ The criticism by some scholars was made without full reference to Ibn Taymiyyah’s detailed explanation.
◈ The narration exists in two forms:
➊ Muṭawwal (detailed): includes the story of a blind man approaching ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān رضي الله عنه after the Prophet ﷺ’s demise.
➋ Mukhtaṣar (concise): only mentions the supplication taught by the Prophet ﷺ during his lifetime.
✦ ❷ Analysis of the Chain of Narration (Isnād)
The concise narration appears through multiple strong chains:
➊ Shuʿbah → Abū Jaʿfar → ʿAmmār b. Khuzaymah → ʿUthmān b. Ḥunayf
➋ Ḥammād b. Salamah → Abū Jaʿfar
➌ Hishām Dastawā’ī → Abū Jaʿfar
➍ Aḥmad b. Shabīb → Shabīb b. Saʿīd → Rūḥ b. al-Qāsim
➎ ʿAbbās b. Muḥammad → ʿAwn b. ʿUmārah → Rūḥ b. al-Qāsim
The detailed (muṭawwal) narration has only one narrator: Shabīb b. Saʿīd, and is not found in Ṣiḥāḥ Sittah. Even al-Ḥākim, though lenient, omitted the story in his version. Conclusion: The supplication was taught by the Prophet ﷺ to be used during his life, not after his death. The phrase:اللَّهُمَّ فَشَفِّعْهُ فِيَّ
indicates intercession while he is alive, not invoking him posthumously.
✦ ❸ Consensus of the Companions (Ijmāʿ Sukūtī)
◈ During the famine of ʿĀm al-Ramādah, ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb رضي الله عنه sought duʿā from al-ʿAbbās رضي الله عنه, not from the deceased Prophet ﷺ.
◈ Muʿāwiyah appointed Yazīd b. al-Aswad to lead in duʿā during hardship.
✔ This indicates a consensual abandonment of seeking tawassul from the dead.
Ijmāʿ Sukūtī (silent consensus) implies collective approval, showing non-validity of tawassul bil-mayyit.
Ibn Taymiyyah, al-Tawassul wal-Wasīlah, p. 104–105:The statements of any Companion are a proof only when there is no contradiction among them and no contradiction with the Qur’an or Sunnah.
✦ ❹ Principles Regarding Weak (Ḍaʿīf) Aḥādīth
Categories of Hadith:
➊ Ṣaḥīḥ
➋ Ḥasan (li-dhātih & li-ghayrih)
➌ Ḍaʿīf
Types of Ḍaʿīf Hadith:
◈ Matūruk: Rejected and not usable as proof.
◈ Ghayr Matūruk: Occasionally accepted in faḍāʾil (virtues) under strict conditions.
Conditions for acting upon a ḍaʿīf hadith:
- Subject matter must relate to virtue, not belief or rulings.
- Narrator must not be a liar or accused.
- The action should be already supported by other valid evidence.
- The practitioner must not firmly believe it is established.
- ʿIbādah (worship) requires direct proof from Qur’an or authentic Sunnah.
✔ Tawassul bil-mayyit relates to ʿaqīdah and duʿā, hence requires only ṣaḥīḥ or ḥasan proofs.
✦ ❺ Detailed Refutation of a Fabricated Report
◈ The narration stating that ʿUmar رضي الله عنه called on the Prophet ﷺ after his death is found in Ṭabarānī, al-Bayhaqī, and al-Ḥākim.
◈ ʿAbd al-Raḥmān b. Zayd b. Aslam is a weak narrator.
◈ Imām al-Ḥākim himself declared his reports fabricated (mawḍūʿah).
◈ Other narrators in the isnād are unknown (majhūl).
al-Dhahabī labelled the narration as “mawḍūʿ” and “bāṭil”. Conclusion: No authentic hadith establishes tawassul through the deceased.✦ ❻ The Nature of Duʿā as ʿIbādah
◈ Duʿā is an act of ʿibādah.
◈ Using a deceased person’s name or status in duʿā without Shar‘i evidence is impermissible.
◈ No ʿibādah—whether farḍ, sunnah, or mustaḥabb—is valid unless supported by Ṣaḥīḥ or Ḥasan hadith or Qur’anic verse.
✦ ❼ Qur’an and Sunnah Are the Sole Valid Sources for Worship
◈ Tawḥīd demands that all worship and religious actions be strictly based on revealed evidence.
◈ A practice not found in the Qur’an, authentic Sunnah, or practice of the Companions is not part of Islam.
✦ ❽ Calling on the Dead Is an Innovation and Deviates from Pure Tawḥīd
◈ No evidence from the Prophet ﷺ, Companions, or Tabiʿīn supports invoking or using the deceased as a medium.
◈ Such practices lead to erosion of tawḥīd and are categorized as innovations in religion (bidʿah).
Conclusion:
✔ The practice of tawassul bil-mayyit (intercession through the deceased) is:
— Not found in the Qur’an
— Not established by any Ṣaḥīḥ or Ḥasan Hadith
— Not practiced by the Companions
— Declared bidʿah by leading imams and scholars
✔ The authentic narration of the blind man relates only to tawassul through the duʿā of the living Prophet ﷺ, not his person posthumously.
✔ Holding such a belief without valid evidence amounts to innovation in religion and undermines the purity of Islamic monotheism.
ـــ ❖ ـــ
ھٰذَا مَا عِندِي، وَاللّٰهُ أَعْلَمُ بِالصَّوَاب
