The Response to Those Who Argue for the Permissibility of Seeking Nearness to Allah through the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) by Citing the Story of "The Man Who Used to Go to 'Uthman ibn 'Affan (may Allah be pleased with him) for
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The questioner : That another incident occurred... in the era of the Companions, and that is "that a man came to Madinah during the caliphate of 'Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) and remained for days trying to gain access to him, but he was unable to"
The Shaykh : How did you say that a man
The questioner :"came to Madinah"
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : During the caliphate of our master 'Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him)
The Shaykh : Yes
The questioner :"and he tried to enter upon 'Uthman for a need he had with him, but he was unable to... he complained of his situation to a Companion who mentioned him, mentioning his name..."
The Shaykh : Yes
The questioner :"That great Companion said to him: 'I will teach you a hadith, I will teach you a supplication, it is the supplication of the blind man'"
The Shaykh : Yes
The questioner :"So go you... and seek nearness to Allah through Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), and the matter will be resolved for you. That man said: 'So I went, I prayed, and I sought nearness to Allah with the supplication of the blind man'"
The Shaykh : Yes
The questioner : The only difference is the issue of sight; it is the fulfillment of the need
The Shaykh : Yes, that is right.
The questioner :"And suddenly the messenger of the caliph came to him immediately and summoned him"
The Shaykh : Yes, that is right.
The questioner :"and he entered upon him to fulfill his need" I do not know the extent of the authenticity of this narration, but he...
The Shaykh : Yes
The Shaykh : The answer to your question is from two aspects:
The first: That this story is not authentic in its chain according to the method of the people of hadith. This story is, as its narrator 'Uthman ibn Hanif himself—who narrated the hadith of the blind man—mentions, an addition to all the authentic narrations of the hadith of the blind man that we cited earlier. The hadith of the blind man came in al-Tabarani's al-Mu'jam al-Kabir and al-Mu'jam al-Saghir with this story, with this very same story.
The questioner : I mean, it is not...
The Shaykh : It is from the books of hadith, al-Tabarani's al-Mu'jam al-Saghir and al-Kabir, from the books of hadith.
But the books of hadith are of two types. One section, which is the smaller, is restricted to mentioning established hadiths, such as Sahih al-Bukhari and Muslim. The other section, which is broader, is not restricted to narrating only authentic hadiths, but it narrates... for them, especially in the four books of Sunan, such as al-Tabarani's al-Mu'jam al-Kabir, al-Saghir, and al-Muttawwital, and other musnads, books, and parts and benefits. This addition came in al-Tabarani's al-Mu'jam, as we mentioned, through the route of 'Uthman ibn Hanif himself, who is the one who narrated the authentic story that we mentioned earlier. But the chain to 'Uthman in this addition has weakness, as I have mentioned in my commentary on al-Tabarani's al-Mu'jam al-Saghir. This is the first aspect, which shows to the people of knowledge that this addition is not authentic in its chain.
The second aspect: That this addition did not come in the authentic routes of the hadith. That is, all the trustworthy narrators narrated the hadith without the addition. And the addition is, as I mentioned... that 'Uthman ibn Hanif, after he mentions the hadith, mentions that a man came to him during the time of 'Uthman and complained to him that whenever he went to 'Uthman, 'Uthman would not pay attention to him or turn to him, until he complained of his situation to 'Uthman ibn Hanif—and peace be upon you—so he taught him this supplication and seeking nearness, so he did it, and the caliph sent for him, and he was kind to him and made him happy, and fulfilled his need.
This story, which is an addition to the story of the blind man with the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), is in reality weak in its chain, but it is invalid in its chain and text. And I mentioned and pointed to the reason for its weakness in terms of the chain, so I will now say the reason for its weakness in terms of the text... it is rejected in terms of the chain.
The questioner : In terms of the chain
The Shaykh : Yes, but it is invalid in terms of meaning. Therefore, if we recall the meaning of the hadith: Muhammad is before the blind man, he hears him. So where is Muhammad before the man with the need with 'Uthman ibn 'Affan? Is it permissible to call upon him (peace and blessings be upon him) without Allah? Of course, it is not permissible. So how can 'Uthman ibn Hanif, or Hanif, teach a man to call upon the Messenger of Allah where the Messenger of Allah does not hear him?
So this is the first difference between the actual incident in the era of the Messenger between him and the blind man, and the alleged story that occurred between 'Uthman ibn Hanif and the man with the need at 'Uthman ibn 'Affan's place. There, it is correct for the blind man, or rather it is correct for the Messenger to say to the blind man: "Call me, O Muhammad, so that I may participate with you; you supplicate and I supplicate." So the Messenger's teaching the blind man to call him "O Muhammad" is in accordance with the Shari'ah, because it is from the category of taking means.
But how can 'Uthman ibn Hanif teach a man after the death of the Messenger, in the era of 'Uthman ibn 'Affan, to say "O Muhammad"? This is shirk (associating partners with Allah),[Al-A'raf 7:194] [Fatir 35:14] This is the greatest difference. Yes.
The questioner :[Fatir 35:14]
The Shaykh :[Fatir 35:14] So this is the greatest difference between calling the living to the living, like the calling of the blind man to the Messenger of Allah: "O Muhammad, I have sought nearness to Allah through you to my Lord to cure me, so supplicate for me with what you promised me." This is permissible and acceptable.
But for a man from the noble Companions to teach a man with a need to call upon the Messenger where the Messenger does not hear him, and where the supplication does not benefit him, would a Companion do this? Far be it from Allah.
Another third point,, did we understand how the blind man sought nearness to Allah through the Messenger of Allah, meaning through his supplication? How does 'Uthman ibn Hanif say to this man: , and he is a liar, he did not seek nearness to Allah through him, and how did he seek nearness to Allah through the Messenger of Allah? If we understand that the intended meaning is seeking nearness to Allah through the Messenger of Allah, meaning his supplication, then this is not present in this second alleged incident. Jami` at-Tirmidhi 3578Sahih (Darussalam), he did not turn to the Messenger, the blind man turned to the supplication, so by what does he turn? By the name of the Messenger, by the status of the Messenger, by his rank? So this became another issue different from the first issue that actually occurred between the blind man and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). That was seeking nearness to Allah through the supplication of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and here... the man with the need sought nearness to Allah, say what you want, except that you distance yourself from seeking nearness to Allah through his supplication, and you say he sought nearness to Allah through his rank, through his status with his Lord, and so on. But this seeking nearness is not of the type of the blind man's seeking nearness to Allah through the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). I think this is clear.
The student: Clear.
The Shaykh : Yes, so we continue, and the matter afterwards is even more astonishing and more astonishing. "I have sought nearness to Allah through you to my Lord to cure me, O Allah, so make him an intercessor for me" What does "make him an intercessor for me" mean?
The student: Supplication
The Shaykh : There is no supplication here, there is no supplication. Its Arabic meaning is "accept his intercession for me," and the meaning of intercession, as we said, is supplication. Here there is no supplication. How can he say , and the strangest and most pitiful thing is that and , how can he say , is it possible that there the blind man, as we mentioned, could say "make me an intercessor for the Messenger of Allah," because the meaning is "accept my intercession for you to accept the intercession of the Messenger for me." But as for the Messenger being in the highest company and not having supplicated for this man with the need, how can this supplicant say: "And make me an intercessor for him"? The meaning here is that the issue is reversed; "make me an intercessor for him" means the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) has become a prophet and the prophet has become in need of him. All of this comes
First, from the poor narration. A story comes with a weak chain, and some people find in it a desire and a purpose to support an innovation or a superstition or something else, and then they do not pay attention to the weakness in its chain, and finally they do not think about the meanings of these Arabic phrases and say, "Yes, this is seeking nearness to Allah, so we also seek nearness to Allah." So this story is weak in its chain, rejected in its text, and invalid in its meaning. Is it permissible to argue with a story that has these three calamities?
The student: ...
The Shaykh : ... in it there is weakness
The student: ...
The Shaykh : ... and the best one who spoke about this addition and explained its weakness and its rejection is Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah in his great book: *A Glorious Principle in Seeking Nearness to Allah and the Means of Nearness*. Do you have anyone else...
The Shaykh : How did you say that a man
The questioner :"came to Madinah"
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : During the caliphate of our master 'Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him)
The Shaykh : Yes
The questioner :"and he tried to enter upon 'Uthman for a need he had with him, but he was unable to... he complained of his situation to a Companion who mentioned him, mentioning his name..."
The Shaykh : Yes
The questioner :"That great Companion said to him: 'I will teach you a hadith, I will teach you a supplication, it is the supplication of the blind man'"
The Shaykh : Yes
The questioner :"So go you... and seek nearness to Allah through Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), and the matter will be resolved for you. That man said: 'So I went, I prayed, and I sought nearness to Allah with the supplication of the blind man'"
The Shaykh : Yes
The questioner : The only difference is the issue of sight; it is the fulfillment of the need
The Shaykh : Yes, that is right.
The questioner :"And suddenly the messenger of the caliph came to him immediately and summoned him"
The Shaykh : Yes, that is right.
The questioner :"and he entered upon him to fulfill his need" I do not know the extent of the authenticity of this narration, but he...
The Shaykh : Yes
The Shaykh : The answer to your question is from two aspects:
The first: That this story is not authentic in its chain according to the method of the people of hadith. This story is, as its narrator 'Uthman ibn Hanif himself—who narrated the hadith of the blind man—mentions, an addition to all the authentic narrations of the hadith of the blind man that we cited earlier. The hadith of the blind man came in al-Tabarani's al-Mu'jam al-Kabir and al-Mu'jam al-Saghir with this story, with this very same story.
The questioner : I mean, it is not...
The Shaykh : It is from the books of hadith, al-Tabarani's al-Mu'jam al-Saghir and al-Kabir, from the books of hadith.
But the books of hadith are of two types. One section, which is the smaller, is restricted to mentioning established hadiths, such as Sahih al-Bukhari and Muslim. The other section, which is broader, is not restricted to narrating only authentic hadiths, but it narrates... for them, especially in the four books of Sunan, such as al-Tabarani's al-Mu'jam al-Kabir, al-Saghir, and al-Muttawwital, and other musnads, books, and parts and benefits. This addition came in al-Tabarani's al-Mu'jam, as we mentioned, through the route of 'Uthman ibn Hanif himself, who is the one who narrated the authentic story that we mentioned earlier. But the chain to 'Uthman in this addition has weakness, as I have mentioned in my commentary on al-Tabarani's al-Mu'jam al-Saghir. This is the first aspect, which shows to the people of knowledge that this addition is not authentic in its chain.
The second aspect: That this addition did not come in the authentic routes of the hadith. That is, all the trustworthy narrators narrated the hadith without the addition. And the addition is, as I mentioned... that 'Uthman ibn Hanif, after he mentions the hadith, mentions that a man came to him during the time of 'Uthman and complained to him that whenever he went to 'Uthman, 'Uthman would not pay attention to him or turn to him, until he complained of his situation to 'Uthman ibn Hanif—and peace be upon you—so he taught him this supplication and seeking nearness, so he did it, and the caliph sent for him, and he was kind to him and made him happy, and fulfilled his need.
This story, which is an addition to the story of the blind man with the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), is in reality weak in its chain, but it is invalid in its chain and text. And I mentioned and pointed to the reason for its weakness in terms of the chain, so I will now say the reason for its weakness in terms of the text... it is rejected in terms of the chain.
The questioner : In terms of the chain
The Shaykh : Yes, but it is invalid in terms of meaning. Therefore, if we recall the meaning of the hadith:
O Allah, I ask You and I turn to You through Your Prophet, the Prophet of Mercy, O Muhammad
اللهم إني أسألك وأتوجه إليك بنبيك نبي الرحمة يا محمدSo this is the first difference between the actual incident in the era of the Messenger between him and the blind man, and the alleged story that occurred between 'Uthman ibn Hanif and the man with the need at 'Uthman ibn 'Affan's place. There, it is correct for the blind man, or rather it is correct for the Messenger to say to the blind man: "Call me, O Muhammad, so that I may participate with you; you supplicate and I supplicate." So the Messenger's teaching the blind man to call him "O Muhammad" is in accordance with the Shari'ah, because it is from the category of taking means.
But how can 'Uthman ibn Hanif teach a man after the death of the Messenger, in the era of 'Uthman ibn 'Affan, to say "O Muhammad"? This is shirk (associating partners with Allah),
Indeed, those you [polytheists] call upon besides Allah are servants like you
إِنَّ الَّذِينَ تَدْعُونَ مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ عِبَادٌ أَمْثَالُكُمْIf you invoke them, they do not hear your supplication; and if they heard, they would not respond to you
إِنْ تَدْعُوهُمْ لَا يَسْمَعُوا دُعَاءَكُمْ وَلَوْ سَمِعُوا مَا اسْتَجَابُوا لَكُمْThe questioner :
and if they heard, they would not respond to you
ولو سمعوا ما استجابوا لكمThe Shaykh :
and if they heard, they would not respond to you
ولو سمعوا ما استجابوا لكمBut for a man from the noble Companions to teach a man with a need to call upon the Messenger where the Messenger does not hear him, and where the supplication does not benefit him, would a Companion do this? Far be it from Allah.
Another third point,
O Muhammad, I have sought nearness to Allah through you.
يا محمد إني توسلت بكSay, O Muhammad, I have sought nearness to Allah through you.
قل يا محمد إني توسلت بكIndeed, I have turned to my Lord, by means of You
إني توجهت بك إلى ربيThe student: Clear.
The Shaykh : Yes, so we continue, and the matter afterwards is even more astonishing and more astonishing. "I have sought nearness to Allah through you to my Lord to cure me, O Allah, so make him an intercessor for me" What does "make him an intercessor for me" mean?
The student: Supplication
The Shaykh : There is no supplication here, there is no supplication.
Intercede for him.
شفعه فيIntercede for him.
شفعه فيIntercede for me in it.
شفعني فيهIntercede for me in it.
شفعني فيهFirst, from the poor narration. A story comes with a weak chain, and some people find in it a desire and a purpose to support an innovation or a superstition or something else, and then they do not pay attention to the weakness in its chain, and finally they do not think about the meanings of these Arabic phrases and say, "Yes, this is seeking nearness to Allah, so we also seek nearness to Allah." So this story is weak in its chain, rejected in its text, and invalid in its meaning. Is it permissible to argue with a story that has these three calamities?
The student: ...
The Shaykh : ... in it there is weakness
The student: ...
The Shaykh : ... and the best one who spoke about this addition and explained its weakness and its rejection is Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah in his great book: *A Glorious Principle in Seeking Nearness to Allah and the Means of Nearness*. Do you have anyone else...