Mentioning the hadith of the blind man, its implication, and its correct meaning, and clarifying the disagreement that occurred regarding its direction and understanding.

The Shaykh : Perhaps some of you are wondering about two things related to my statement: "The hadith of the blind man." The first is: What is the hadith of the blind man? And the second is: What is its implication?
The hadith of the blind man, as it appears in "Sunan al-Tirmidhi," "Musnad al-Imam Ahmad," and "Al-Mustadrak of al-Hakim" with a valid chain of narration, states that a blind man came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and said to him: "O Messenger of Allah, call upon Allah to cure me." He (peace and blessings be upon him) said to him: . The man said: "Call upon Allah, O Messenger of Allah. I have no patience." So he chose what the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) offered him between two options; he chose one of them. He said: "Call upon Allah." There is no doubt that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), when he offered him a choice between two things, would fulfill his promise. However, he wanted to engage him in the prescribed means of seeking nearness to Allah through obedience and worship. Therefore, he said to him: "Bring the water vessel, perform wudu, and pray two rak'ahs for Allah, then say—and here is the point—: . So the man performed wudu and prayed two rak'ahs as the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) commanded him, and he made this supplication which the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) taught him. He returned seeing clearly, as if there had been nothing wrong with him...
This is the text of the hadith. Al-Shawkani and the majority of the later scholars who hold that seeking nearness to Allah through means (tawassul) is permissible relied on the statement of the Messenger to the blind man to say: . They took this tawassul at its apparent meaning: . It is known that this phrase, in terms of Arabic style, contains—as the grammarians say—an omitted possessive (mudaf ilayhi). For example, His saying (Glorified and Exalted is He): . The village? No, the people of the village. The caravan? No, the people of the caravan. Similarly, here , it is necessary to assume an omitted possessive. And here lies the disagreement: What is this omitted possessive? In the understanding of Al-Shawkani and those like him, means by the person of your Prophet, by the sanctity of your Prophet. In the understanding of the others, the followers of the righteous Salaf, means: by the supplication of your Prophet. It is necessary here to assume an omitted possessive. So is it the supplication, or is it the person of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) and his self? What is the correct answer?
If we examine the preceding events and the context of the story, we will find that the mind aligns with the second interpretation, or in the correct meaning, the second assumption, which is "by the supplication of your Prophet." Why? Because we ask: Why did the blind man come to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)? He came explicitly to ask him for supplication, to call upon Allah for him to return seeing clearly. Then, when he asked him, the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) offered him a choice between two things, one of which was supplication for him. So the man chose that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) would supplicate for him.
So, from the beginning of the story to the last moment, we are still at the point of supplication. There is no mention of anything other than supplication, such as the person of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) or his blessed self. This has not been mentioned at all yet. We proceed and find that in the supplication which the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) taught him, he said: . Again, here the same previous assumption applies: ; either by your person or by your supplication. What has indicated this so far? Is there any mention of the person? The answer is: No, only the supplication. This is confirmed by the completion of the supplication: . What is the meaning of ? Accept his intercession for me. What is his (peace and blessings be upon him) intercession? It is his supplication. So this is a third proof that the entire story revolves around seeking nearness to Allah through the supplication of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), and not through his person. ; meaning: Accept his supplication for me.
And the most amazing of all this is the completion of the hadith: . Each of us understands and comprehends that the Messenger would intercede for this blind man; because we are all in need of the intercession of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) on the Day of Resurrection, and he is not in need of anyone interceding for him. So how does the blind man, by the teaching of the Messenger and not by his own expression, say: ? That is because, if we know from what has preceded that the intended meaning of intercession is supplication, it is very clear from his saying: ; meaning: Accept my supplication that You accept the supplication of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) for me.
The story has ended, and as you see, it revolves from its beginning to its end around the fact that the man sought nearness to Allah, by the teaching of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), through his (peace and blessings be upon him) supplication.