The scholar 'Azim al-Haqq Abadi, the author of *Al-Awn*, cited the hadith of A'ishah: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to use the miswak

The questioner : The scholar 'Azim al-Haqq Abadi, the author of *Al-Awn*, cited the hadith of A'ishah: The Prophet (may Allah exalt him and his family and grant him peace) used to use the miswak, then give it to me to wash it. I would start by using it to clean my teeth, then wash it and hand it back to him. He cited this to prove the validity of seeking blessing from the traces of the righteous, taking pleasure in them, and using the miswak of another. Do you have any comment on this? May Allah guide you to the truth, and may Allah reward you with good.

The Shaykh : Before answering this question, I say: We have no doubt that the Companions used to seek blessing from some of the traces of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), such as his sweat, his hair, and his miswak. There are many hadiths regarding this, so many that even the most extreme person would have to believe in them and accept their implications, which include seeking blessing. This is a reality we believe in. However, this specific hadith cannot be forced into the category of seeking blessing from the traces of the Messenger (peace be upon him), because this occurred between two spouses, between a husband and his wife. As is well known, such things, and even more, occur between spouses. Therefore, this cannot be extended to a third party such that it would be permissible, for example, for another woman, a stranger to the Messenger (peace be upon him), to seek blessing from the remaining saliva of the Messenger (peace be upon him) on his miswak. It is well known that a husband may suck the lips of his wife, and he may suck her tongue. These are matters that concern only the spouses, so they cannot be extended to others. Thus, this text remains specific to the Messenger (peace be upon him) and his wife. The other texts we mentioned are sufficient and adequate, so there is no need to cite this hadith and force it into their category.
Seeking blessing from the Messenger (peace be upon him) is established. I think I discussed this in the treatise *Tawassul: Its Types and Rulings*, in the response to this doctor, al-Bouti, who claimed that seeking blessing from his urine (peace be upon him) and the like is a form of tawassul (seeking nearness to Allah through a means) through him. Yes, so I stated that tawassul—excuse me—seeking blessing from the traces of the Messenger that we mentioned earlier is one thing, and tawassul through them to Allah is another. Then I moved to a very important issue for the Muslims who came after the Companions: that this seeking of blessing should be restricted to the Companions only, because they knew tawhid (the oneness of Allah) and knew how to stand at the limits set by the Lawgiver, as in the saying of their Prophet (may Allah's prayers and peace be upon him): , and similar to his saying: . As for those who came after them, they fell into excess in this matter until it reached the point of istighathah (calling for aid) and falling into major shirk (associating partners with Allah). For this reason, we say: I personally, if I were in the time of the Messenger, I would have done what his Companions did in seeking blessing from him (may Allah's prayers and peace be upon him). But I do not see this being opened up for the later generations, from the perspective of sadd al-dhara'i' (blocking the means to harm), which is a great principle in the Shari'ah (Islamic sacred law).
This is what I have.

The questioner : So, if we were to find, for example, some of the traces of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) now, and this may be impossible.

The Shaykh: Yes.

The questioner : Is it also not permissible for us to seek blessing from them?

The Shaykh : Yes, that is correct, by way of blocking the means to harm.

The questioner: Yes.