V2:41- Explanation of sections of permissible and prohibited Tawassul (1)
- 4 years ago
41- Explanation of sections of permissible and prohibited Tawassul (1)
Q: A questioner from Sudan asks the following: Your Eminence Shaykh, what is Tawassul? Is it lawful to resort to Tawassul (supplicating to Allah in the name of..... by virtue of the status of...) when one invokes one's Lord, saying: "O Allah! Be Merciful with me and give me provision by virtue of the status of the Prophet (ﷺ)? Some Muslims may go to a Shaykh, and say: "Oh Shaykh! Invoke Allah for us" regarding some interests. In Your Eminence's point of view, what is the juristic ruling on this issue?
A: There are different forms of Tawassul; some of these are forbidden and others are permissible. As for the forbidden ones, it is Tawassul which is regarded as a sort of Shirk (associating others with Allah in worship) which stands for invoking the dead, seeking their help and offering sacrifices to them. Such practices are a kind of Tawassul which is regarded by scholars as a form of major Shirk. Therefore, Muslims should be on their guard against it. It is worth mentioning that invoking the dead, seeking their help, offering sacrifices to them, and so on, are all forms of major Shirk, even it is called Tawassul. Allah (Glorified be He) says: And they worship besides Allah things that harm them not, nor profit them, and they say: "These are our intercessors with Allah. 1 " Allah (Exalted be He) says: (And those who take Awliya (protectors, helpers, lords, gods) besides Him (say): 'We worship them only that they may bring us near to Allah. "}. The second type is minor Shirk which is the practice of supplicating Allah (Exalted be He) by virtue of the status of so and so such as invoking Allah (Exalted be He) by virtue of the status of our Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ), by virtue of the status of prophets, by virtue of the status of Shaykh `Abdul-Qadir, by virtue of the status of Abu Bakr or `Umar, by virtue of the status of some relatives, or by virtue of the status of `Umar or `Uthman. These all are forms of unacceptable Tawassul, which is called minor Shirk. It is worth mentioning that it is also a means of major Shirk. There is permissible Tawassul which is made by the supplications recited by a living person whom people can ask to invoke Allah (Exalted be He) for rain or some other interests; for example, a man asked the Prophet (ﷺ) saying, "O Allah's Messenger! Invoke Allah for me to return my eyesight.". You can say to your Muslim brother, "Invoke Allah to restore me to health.". This is a kind of Tawassul with the supplications recited by your fellow Muslims, not your supplications. It is Tawassul through their supplications for you as they are still alive. This kind of Tawassul is permissible. You can say to your fellow Muslim, "Invoke Allah to restore me to health!", "Invoke Allah to grant me a son" or "Invoke Allah to make me rich". It was authentically reported that the Prophet (ﷺ) said to `Umar when he was going to perform "Umrah (lesser pilgrimage): Do not forget to invoke Allah for us. (Related by Al-Tirmidhy and Al-Jma`ah (the Six Hadith Compilers: Al-Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Dawud, Al-Tirmidhy, Al-Nasa'y and Ibn Majah) with a weak Sanad (chain of narrators). Also, the Prophet (ﷺ) once said to his Companions: There would come to you a person from Yemen who would be called Uwais Al-Qarany. He was dutiful to his mother. He who among you meets him should ask him to supplicate for forgiveness (from Allah) for you.). The lawful Tawassul is the practice of supplicating to Allah by His Names and Attributes, belief in His Oneness and Iman (Faith in Allah). This is a permissible way of Tawassul. One can say, "O Allah! I invoke You by my belief in Your Oneness and obedience to Your Prophet and my obedience to You to forgive me", "O Allah! I ask You by Your Most Beautiful Names and Most Exalted Attributes or "O Allah! I invoke You by the fact that You are the Most Beneficent and the Most Merciful, that You are the Generous Lord, and that You are the Creator of all things..." It is permissible to invoke Allah by His Names and Attributes. That is why the Prophet (ﷺ) would say: O Allah! I invoke You by the fact that You are Allah and there is no god but You, the One and the Self-Sufficient Master."} These are forms of lawful Tawassul. Also, one can invoke Allah (Exalted be He) saying, "O Allah! I invoke You by my faith in You and my love for You to forgive me." When the Prophet (ﷺ) taught his Companions how to make Tawassul, he taught them to say: O Allah! I invoke You by the fact that I testify that You are Allah and that there is no god but You. Or in another wording: O Allah! I invoke You by the fact that all praise is due to You as there is no god but You. You are the Benefactor, the Creator of the heavens and the earth. O Allah! You are full of Majesty and Honor and You are the Ever-Living and the One Who sustains and protects all that exists.) These are ways of supplicating Allah by His Names and Attributes. The...
Q: A questioner from Sudan asks the following: Your Eminence Shaykh, what is Tawassul? Is it lawful to resort to Tawassul (supplicating to Allah in the name of..... by virtue of the status of...) when one invokes one's Lord, saying: "O Allah! Be Merciful with me and give me provision by virtue of the status of the Prophet (ﷺ)? Some Muslims may go to a Shaykh, and say: "Oh Shaykh! Invoke Allah for us" regarding some interests. In Your Eminence's point of view, what is the juristic ruling on this issue?
A: There are different forms of Tawassul; some of these are forbidden and others are permissible. As for the forbidden ones, it is Tawassul which is regarded as a sort of Shirk (associating others with Allah in worship) which stands for invoking the dead, seeking their help and offering sacrifices to them. Such practices are a kind of Tawassul which is regarded by scholars as a form of major Shirk. Therefore, Muslims should be on their guard against it. It is worth mentioning that invoking the dead, seeking their help, offering sacrifices to them, and so on, are all forms of major Shirk, even it is called Tawassul. Allah (Glorified be He) says: And they worship besides Allah things that harm them not, nor profit them, and they say: "These are our intercessors with Allah. 1 " Allah (Exalted be He) says: (And those who take Awliya (protectors, helpers, lords, gods) besides Him (say): 'We worship them only that they may bring us near to Allah. "}. The second type is minor Shirk which is the practice of supplicating Allah (Exalted be He) by virtue of the status of so and so such as invoking Allah (Exalted be He) by virtue of the status of our Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ), by virtue of the status of prophets, by virtue of the status of Shaykh `Abdul-Qadir, by virtue of the status of Abu Bakr or `Umar, by virtue of the status of some relatives, or by virtue of the status of `Umar or `Uthman. These all are forms of unacceptable Tawassul, which is called minor Shirk. It is worth mentioning that it is also a means of major Shirk. There is permissible Tawassul which is made by the supplications recited by a living person whom people can ask to invoke Allah (Exalted be He) for rain or some other interests; for example, a man asked the Prophet (ﷺ) saying, "O Allah's Messenger! Invoke Allah for me to return my eyesight.". You can say to your Muslim brother, "Invoke Allah to restore me to health.". This is a kind of Tawassul with the supplications recited by your fellow Muslims, not your supplications. It is Tawassul through their supplications for you as they are still alive. This kind of Tawassul is permissible. You can say to your fellow Muslim, "Invoke Allah to restore me to health!", "Invoke Allah to grant me a son" or "Invoke Allah to make me rich". It was authentically reported that the Prophet (ﷺ) said to `Umar when he was going to perform "Umrah (lesser pilgrimage): Do not forget to invoke Allah for us. (Related by Al-Tirmidhy and Al-Jma`ah (the Six Hadith Compilers: Al-Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Dawud, Al-Tirmidhy, Al-Nasa'y and Ibn Majah) with a weak Sanad (chain of narrators). Also, the Prophet (ﷺ) once said to his Companions: There would come to you a person from Yemen who would be called Uwais Al-Qarany. He was dutiful to his mother. He who among you meets him should ask him to supplicate for forgiveness (from Allah) for you.). The lawful Tawassul is the practice of supplicating to Allah by His Names and Attributes, belief in His Oneness and Iman (Faith in Allah). This is a permissible way of Tawassul. One can say, "O Allah! I invoke You by my belief in Your Oneness and obedience to Your Prophet and my obedience to You to forgive me", "O Allah! I ask You by Your Most Beautiful Names and Most Exalted Attributes or "O Allah! I invoke You by the fact that You are the Most Beneficent and the Most Merciful, that You are the Generous Lord, and that You are the Creator of all things..." It is permissible to invoke Allah by His Names and Attributes. That is why the Prophet (ﷺ) would say: O Allah! I invoke You by the fact that You are Allah and there is no god but You, the One and the Self-Sufficient Master."} These are forms of lawful Tawassul. Also, one can invoke Allah (Exalted be He) saying, "O Allah! I invoke You by my faith in You and my love for You to forgive me." When the Prophet (ﷺ) taught his Companions how to make Tawassul, he taught them to say: O Allah! I invoke You by the fact that I testify that You are Allah and that there is no god but You. Or in another wording: O Allah! I invoke You by the fact that all praise is due to You as there is no god but You. You are the Benefactor, the Creator of the heavens and the earth. O Allah! You are full of Majesty and Honor and You are the Ever-Living and the One Who sustains and protects all that exists.) These are ways of supplicating Allah by His Names and Attributes. The...