This excerpt is taken from Sheikh al-Islam Imam Ibn Taymiyyah's book Al-Jawab al-Bahir fi Zuwar al-Maqabir, translated by Sheikh Ata Allah Saqib.
The Owner of Benefit and Harm is Only Allah
All this is because no creature in the heavens and the earth has control over the benefit or harm of another creature. The Divine command is:
قُلِ ادْعُوا الَّذِينَ زَعَمْتُم مِّن دُونِهِ فَلَا يَمْلِكُونَ كَشْفَ الضُّرِّ عَنكُمْ وَلَا تَحْوِيلًا ﴿٥٦﴾ أُولَٰئِكَ الَّذِينَ يَدْعُونَ يَبْتَغُونَ إِلَىٰ رَبِّهِمُ الْوَسِيلَةَ أَيُّهُمْ أَقْرَبُ وَيَرْجُونَ رَحْمَتَهُ وَيَخَافُونَ عَذَابَهُ ۚ إِنَّ عَذَابَ رَبِّكَ كَانَ مَحْذُورًا ﴿٥٧﴾
"Say, call upon those whom you claim besides Allah. They do not remove any harm from you nor can they change it. Those whom they call upon are themselves seeking a means of access to their Lord, to be nearer to Him, and they hope for His mercy and fear His punishment. Indeed, the punishment of your Lord is something to be feared."
Reference: (17-Al-Isra:56-57)
A group of the Salaf of the Ummah, including Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both), say that this verse refers to those people who used to worship angels and prophets, such as the worshippers of Sayyiduna Jesus and Uzair.
Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) says:
"Some people used to worship jinn; the jinn became Muslims, but these people remained steadfast in their shirk (polytheism)."
Reference: (Sahih Bukhari, Book of Tafsir: Surah Bani Isra'il, Chapter: Say, Call upon those you claim besides Him, Hadith: 4714; Sahih Muslim, Book of Tafsir: Chapter on the verse 'Those are the ones who call upon, seeking', Hadith: 3030)
The above verse applies to every person who calls upon any of the angels, humans, or jinn, even if those jinn or humans are righteous and close to Allah. The Divine command is:
قُلِ ادْعُوا الَّذِينَ زَعَمْتُم مِّن دُونِهِ فَلَا يَمْلِكُونَ كَشْفَ الضُّرِّ عَنكُمْ وَلَا تَحْوِيلًا ﴿٥٦﴾ أُولَٰئِكَ الَّذِينَ يَدْعُونَ يَبْتَغُونَ إِلَىٰ رَبِّهِمُ الْوَسِيلَةَ أَيُّهُمْ أَقْرَبُ وَيَرْجُونَ رَحْمَتَهُ وَيَخَافُونَ عَذَابَهُ ۚ إِنَّ عَذَابَ رَبِّكَ كَانَ مَحْذُورًا ﴿٥٧﴾
"Say, call upon those whom you claim besides Allah. They do not remove any harm from you nor can they change it. Those whom they call upon are themselves seeking a means of access to their Lord, to be nearer to Him, and they hope for His mercy and fear His punishment. Indeed, the punishment of your Lord is something to be feared."
Reference: (17-Al-Isra:56-57)
Ibn Atiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) writes in his Tafsir that Allah Almighty has informed that these deities themselves were seekers of nearness to Allah. This is the reality. The pronoun "their Lord" refers to the seekers of nearness to Allah or all of them. A means (wasilah) is called that which helps to reach the desired destination. Tawassul (seeking a means) is the name of the desire for the intended and sought-after. The statement of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) also indicates this meaning, in which he said:
من سال لي الوسيله
Reference: (Sahih Muslim, Book of Prayer: Chapter on the recommendation of saying like the Mu'adhdhin, Hadith: 384)
Some commentators have also discussed the following:
Which is the subject and which is the nearest news. The pronoun in يدعون refers to the disbelievers, and the pronoun in يتبغون refers to معبودانِ, the false deities. This means that their focus and center is on who among them is closer to Allah.
Regarding the Battle of Khaybar, Sayyiduna Umar Farooq (may Allah be pleased with him) said:
فبات الناس يدوكون ليلتهم أيهم يعطاها
"People kept pondering all night about who would be the fortunate one to whom the banner would be given in the morning."
Reference: (Sahih Bukhari, Book of Al-Maghazi: Chapter on the Battle of Khaybar, Hadith: 4210; Sahih Muslim, Book of Virtues of the Companions: Chapter on the virtues of Ali bin Abi Talib, Hadith: 2406)
Thus, the meaning of the mentioned verse is that in seeking nearness, they try to surpass one another.
Ibn Atiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) says that Zajjaj stumbled at both places because he quoted two opinions in the verse (ايهم اقرب) which are incorrect. Ibn Jauzi also quoted Zajjaj's view, and Mahdawi and Baghawi, etc., followed him.
Ibn Atiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) was the most expert in Arabic language and meanings among all. Regarding this, Ibn Atiyyah also quoted the methodology of Sibawayh and the Basri scholars, which clearly shows Zajjaj's mistake. There is no doubt that Zajjaj was an expert in Arabic and had a strong hand in expression and meanings, and there is no doubt that in many matters Zajjaj, Mahdawi, and Baghawi, etc., have precedence over Ibn Atiyyah, but from the Arabic linguistic point of view regarding the indication of words, Ibn Atiyyah was superior and more knowledgeable than them.
