The Ruling on Seeking Nearness to Allah Through the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)
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Q41: Is it permissible to seek nearness to Allah through the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)?
A41: The matter of seeking nearness (tawassul) is general and requires specification: Seeking nearness through the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), or through anyone else, if the intention is to ask a person for supplication while he is alive, such as coming to a person and saying, “Pray to Allah for me for such and such,” then there is nothing wrong with this. The Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) sought nearness through al-Abbas in the prayer for rain, and ‘Umar said: “O Allah, we used to seek nearness to You through Your Prophet, so You gave us rain. Now we seek nearness to You through the uncle of our Prophet, so give us rain.” Then he ordered al-Abbas to supplicate to Allah the Exalted and Majestic. So the type of seeking nearness that is of this nature, asking a person for supplication while he is alive, is permissible. As for seeking nearness in the sense of interposing the dead and the absent, this is an innovation and is not permissible, because Allah the Exalted and Majestic commanded us to supplicate to Him without
placing intermediaries between us and Him in supplication. The request for supplication from a living person came about because there is evidence for it, whereas regarding the dead and the absent, there is no evidence indicating that they are used for seeking nearness. Therefore, the one who does this has committed a newly invented innovation in the religion. If, in addition to this, he draws near to this intermediary with types of worship, then this is major shirk (associating partners with Allah), which is what the polytheists used to do. Allah the Exalted said:[Yunus 10:18], and He said: [Az-Zumar 39:3]. So if the meaning of seeking nearness is that one asks the dead or the absent, and draws near to them with types of worship, such as slaughtering for them or making vows for them, then this is major shirk. But if the meaning of seeking nearness is to say: “O Allah, I ask You by the right of so-and-so,” or “I seek nearness through so-and-so,” or the like, then this is among the innovations and newly invented matters in supplication. And Allah knows best.
A41: The matter of seeking nearness (tawassul) is general and requires specification: Seeking nearness through the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), or through anyone else, if the intention is to ask a person for supplication while he is alive, such as coming to a person and saying, “Pray to Allah for me for such and such,” then there is nothing wrong with this. The Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) sought nearness through al-Abbas in the prayer for rain, and ‘Umar said: “O Allah, we used to seek nearness to You through Your Prophet, so You gave us rain. Now we seek nearness to You through the uncle of our Prophet, so give us rain.” Then he ordered al-Abbas to supplicate to Allah the Exalted and Majestic. So the type of seeking nearness that is of this nature, asking a person for supplication while he is alive, is permissible. As for seeking nearness in the sense of interposing the dead and the absent, this is an innovation and is not permissible, because Allah the Exalted and Majestic commanded us to supplicate to Him without
placing intermediaries between us and Him in supplication. The request for supplication from a living person came about because there is evidence for it, whereas regarding the dead and the absent, there is no evidence indicating that they are used for seeking nearness. Therefore, the one who does this has committed a newly invented innovation in the religion. If, in addition to this, he draws near to this intermediary with types of worship, then this is major shirk (associating partners with Allah), which is what the polytheists used to do. Allah the Exalted said:
And they worship other than Allah that which neither harms them nor benefits them, and they say, "These are our intercessors with Allah
وَيَعْبُدُونَ مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ مَا لاَ يَضُرُّهُمْ وَلاَ يَنْفَعُهُمْ وَيَقُولُونَ هَؤُلاَءِ شُفَعَاؤُنَا عِنْدَ اللَّهِAnd those who take protectors besides Him [say], "We only worship them that they may bring us nearer
وَالَّذِينَ اتَّخَذُوا مِنْ دُونِهِ أَوْلِيَاءَ مَا نَعْبُدُهُمْ إِلاَّ لِيُقَرِّبُونَا
Source
www.alifta.gov.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.