Tawassul (seeking nearness to Allah through a means) in Du'a' (supplication) by the Status of the Prophet

Question:
I said: O Shaykh, may Allah make you truthful, if someone says, “O Allah, I ask You by the status of Your Prophet,” is this statement shirk (associating partners with Allah) or bid'ah (religious innovation)?

Answer:
It is bid'ah (religious innovation). I do not advise it; it is bid'ah (religious innovation). Tawassul (seeking nearness to Allah through a means) by this is bid'ah (religious innovation). So I said: I call upon Allah without tawassul (seeking nearness to Allah through a means) by status, nor by the right of any individual, nor by the person of any individual. You should make du'a' (supplication) and call upon Allah without such status, because this is something that has not come. Worship is definitive; in it, one does not do anything except what is established in the Book of Allah or the Sunnah of His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him).
Asking by status, what is that? It is not in the Book of Allah, nor in the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). And the hadith, “Seek nearness to Allah by my status, for my status with Allah is profound,” is fabricated. Shaykh al-Islam refuted it in the chapter on tawassul (seeking nearness to Allah through a means) and wasilah (means of approach), stating that it is a fabricated hadith and is not found in any of the books of hadith. Yes.