Types of Prescribed Tawassul and Prohibited Tawassul
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
May Allah reward you. We move on to a question from our brother Ibrahim from Jeddah, who asks: What is the prescribed tawassul and what is the prohibited tawassul?
Answer:
The prescribed tawassul (seeking nearness to Allah through a means) is seeking nearness to Allah through righteous deeds, approaching Allah through righteous deeds, and likewise seeking nearness to Allah through His names and attributes,[Al-A'raf 7:180]. This is the prescribed tawassul. Likewise, seeking nearness to Allah through tawhid (the oneness of Allah) [Al-Anbya 21:87], as Yunus (peace be upon him) said. And likewise, seeking nearness to Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, through one’s need and poverty, as Ayyub (peace be upon him) said: “My Lord, indeed hardship has touched me, and You are the Most Merciful of the merciful.” These are the prescribed forms of tawassul.
In accordance with the Book and the Sunnah. As for the prohibited tawassul, it is seeking nearness through persons. That you seek nearness through such-and-such a person, or such-and-such a wali (close friend of Allah), or through his status, or otherwise. This is what is prohibited, because it is a means to shirk (associating partners with Allah), because there is no evidence for it, and because it is an exaggeration regarding the person through whom one seeks nearness. Yes.
May Allah reward you. We move on to a question from our brother Ibrahim from Jeddah, who asks: What is the prescribed tawassul and what is the prohibited tawassul?
Answer:
The prescribed tawassul (seeking nearness to Allah through a means) is seeking nearness to Allah through righteous deeds, approaching Allah through righteous deeds, and likewise seeking nearness to Allah through His names and attributes,
And to Allah belong the best names, so invoke Him by them.
وَلِلَّهِ الْأَسْمَاءُ الْحُسْنَىٰ فَادْعُوهُ بِهَاThere is no deity except You; exalted are You. Indeed, I have been of the wrongdoers."
لَّا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا أَنتَ سُبْحَانَكَ إِنِّي كُنتُ مِنَ الظَّالِمِينَIn accordance with the Book and the Sunnah. As for the prohibited tawassul, it is seeking nearness through persons. That you seek nearness through such-and-such a person, or such-and-such a wali (close friend of Allah), or through his status, or otherwise. This is what is prohibited, because it is a means to shirk (associating partners with Allah), because there is no evidence for it, and because it is an exaggeration regarding the person through whom one seeks nearness. Yes.
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، أنواع التوسل المشروع والتوسل الممنوع - الشيخ صالح الفوزان — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.