The Difference Between Seeking Nearness to Allah Through Status and Asking the Righteous for Supplication

Question:
This questioner says: Honorable Shaykh! You have said that it is not permissible to make an intermediary between you and Allah in supplication, but a person might argue with the hadith of 'Umar ibn al-Khattab: "O Allah, we used to seek rain from You through our Prophet, and now we seek rain from You through al-Abbas." What is your comment?

Answer:
This, my brother, is clear. It is not directing the supplication to al-Abbas; rather, it is asking al-Abbas to make a supplication. They asked al-Abbas to pray for them, and it is permissible for you to ask a righteous man to pray for you or for the Muslims. However, saying "by the status of the righteous man," or "by the status of al-Abbas," or "by the status of the Messenger," this is not permissible, because this is something that did not come in the Book of Allah or in the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah. What 'Umar asked of al-Abbas was supplication, that he would pray for the Muslims for rain and the descent of rain.
We seek nearness to You through our Prophet means through the supplication of our Prophet. When he was alive, they would ask the Messenger, saying: "The rains have ceased and the land has become barren, O Messenger of Allah, ask for rain for us." He would raise his hands and supplicate, peace and blessings be upon him, and they would believe. This is the meaning of "we seek rain through our Prophet," meaning through his supplication. They asked for his supplication while he was alive, and when he passed away, they asked his uncle al-Abbas to supplicate for the Muslims.