Clarification of the meaning of tawassul in language and the Shari'ah in the hadith of the blind man.

The Shaykh : Unfortunately, the general public today understands this issue in a foreign way that has absolutely no connection to the Arabic understanding. They use tawassul to mean saying in their supplication, "O Allah, by the right of Muhammad" or "by the status of Muhammad." The Arabs do not know this meaning at all. If an Arab says, "So-and-so used so-and-so as a means to so-and-so," no one ever understands it to mean that he placed an intermediary between himself and his Lord. Whether the listener is Muslim or non-Muslim, as long as he is an Arab and his Arabic is not affected by a foreign accent, every Arab understands that when one of them says, "So-and-so used the Prince as a means to the Minister," for example, it does not mean he placed an intermediary between himself and his Lord. Rather, this brief statement means that the one who used the Prince as a means to the Minister went to the Prince and spoke to him about a need he had with the Minister. So the Prince interceded, meaning he sought to help, on his behalf with the Minister. Of course, the point of this example is to understand the meaning of the word "means" (wasilah). And naturally, the intention is not to make a comparison, because that comparison is what we reject in these people who deviated in their understanding of this hadith, and thereby deviated in their creed and in their estimation of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) of His due right. They deviated completely from that, likening Him to His creation. And their likening Him to His creation was to human beings among His creation. This is because if you deny them this kind of tawassul—tawassul through a person to Allah, not through his supplication—and you say, "Why do you say in your supplication, 'O Allah, I ask You by the right of so-and-so, by the right of al-Baji, 'Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani, al-Badawi, and the like'?" they say, "My brother, if you have a need with the Prince or the Minister, do you ask him for it directly, or do you place an intermediary between you and him?" Look at the low level to which the understanding of these Muslims has fallen regarding the divine greatness. They liken Him to the Prince, saying, "If you have a need with Him, you must have an intermediary." They ask this as if it is a matter of course: if you have a need with a Prince or a Minister, do you ask for it directly from him, or do you place an intermediary? We often used to, and still do, debate with these people. We engage with them to lead them to the danger they have fallen into. We say, "Yes, we cannot do anything but place an intermediary with this Minister." He falls silent and thinks that the argument has been established against us because we agreed with him on this bad reality. But we quickly return and remind him: "But what do you think if this Minister is like 'Umar ibn al-Khattab? He does not need an intermediary or a gatekeeper. Which do you think is better: this one who is like 'Umar, from whom we ask our need without any intermediary, or that Prince whom you say we can address without an intermediary?"
He cannot do so, because the matter is clear, except to say, "No, by Allah, 'Umar ibn al-Khattab is more worthy than that Prince." So we say, "Look at what you have done to yourself. You have likened your Lord to the unjust Prince, and you refuse to liken Him to the just Prince. Had you done so, you would have committed disbelief. For Allah (Mighty and Majestic), as He said: , is not like anything of the humans or the angels. He is above what a human can imagine of perfection.
At that point, the argument falls into their hands and the truth becomes clear to them. But unfortunately, . Therefore, when we say that this hadith, the hadith of the blind man, contains the fact that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) taught him this supplication, and among what came in it is: , this blind man used the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) as a means. It is not in that ignorant meaning. I do not say "ignorant" because the people of the pre-Islamic age of ignorance themselves did not know this newly invented, innovated meaning that was introduced into the Arabic language. I say that understanding this interpretation with this meaning is a deviated understanding from the style of the Arabic language, let alone from the objectives of the Islamic Shari'ah.
So we find in this hadith, the hadith of the blind man, first, that he came to him saying, "Pray to Allah to cure me." So he did not come to use his own self (peace be upon him) as a means. Otherwise, the masses of Muslims today use the self of the Messenger (peace be upon him) as a means, and they are the furthest from him, especially since he is in his grave (peace be upon him).
So he came to use his supplication (peace be upon him) as a means. For this reason, he said to him: . So the Messenger (may Allah's prayers and peace be upon him) chose him frankly. He said to him: . He said, "So pray." So he (peace be upon him) taught him what to say. And you know that the meaning of "O Allah, accept his intercession" is "accept his intercession, meaning his supplication, for me," and "intercede for me in it" is "accept my intercession, meaning my supplication, in the acceptance of his supplication for me."