What is the ruling on seeking nearness to Allah through the righteous friends of Allah? Does it lead to shirk (associating partners with Allah), or is it a matter of scholarly disagreement?

The questioner : If some of the brothers allow me, the questions are very numerous, very numerous, so we will focus on the questions that touch upon 'aqidah (creed); because 'aqidah is the foundation, and if the 'aqidah is sound, the structure is sound, and if the foundation is defective—that is, if the 'aqidah is defective—then a person cannot establish a structure without 'aqidah, without a rule, and without a foundation.
The next question: What is the ruling on seeking nearness to Allah through the righteous friends of Allah? Does it lead a person to shirk (associating partners with Allah), or is it a matter of scholarly disagreement?

The Shaykh : The truth is that this issue has a degree of subtlety; because seeking nearness to Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) through one of His righteous servants or one of His chosen, noble prophets is one thing, while calling out to these prophets and the righteous and seeking aid from them in times of distress is another thing.
Seeking aid is, without a doubt, contrary to tawhid (the oneness of Allah), specifically tawhid al-uluhiyyah (oneness of worship), which we constantly mention with our tongues in following the book of our Lord; when we say in every rak'ah (unit of prayer) of our prayers: , just as the meaning of is: You alone we worship, and likewise means: You alone we ask for help. Despite this, you find that the millions of people in the Islamic world seek help from the dead, claiming that they are intermediaries between them and Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He). I do not wish to delve into this; for it is—praise be to Allah—that today many Muslims are clearly aware that seeking help and seeking aid from the awliya (close friends of Allah) and the righteous is shirk (associating partners with Allah) in worship. As for tawassul (seeking nearness to Allah through a means), there is subtlety in it. Tawassul is, in fact, in terms of its linguistic implication, a matter of scholarly disagreement, but in terms of its reality in the Islamic world, it is connected to 'aqidah (creed) and is contrary to pure tawhid (the oneness of Allah). This requires some explanation; so do not hold it against me if I lengthen this somewhat.
Tawassul (seeking nearness to Allah through a means) in the first, disputed sense is for a person to say: "O Allah, I ask You by Muhammad that You forgive me." There is disagreement on this, but not every disagreement has a share of consideration. For that reason, Allah (Mighty and Majestic) said in the previous verse: to the end of the verse. So I want to say: there is valid disagreement in this issue, but the truth is that seeking nearness to Allah through one of the servants of Allah is not part of the Shari'ah (Islamic sacred law) in any way. As for whether it has a connection to 'aqidah (creed) or not? That is what I will clarify.
I say there is disagreement in it; because an imam (a scholar or teacher) among the imams of the Muslims, whom Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) guided to the correct Islam by virtue of their return to the Book and the Sunnah, contrary to the madhhab (school of jurisprudence) in which they lived; and that is the Zaydi madhhab in which some scholars lived, whom we respect; because they did not become fanatical about their madhhab, but rather they returned to the Book of Allah and the hadith (a report of the Prophet's words or deeds) of the Messenger of Allah, as is obligatory for every Muslim; I mean by this the imam "Muhammad ibn Ali al-Shawkani," the author of the book "Nayl al-Awtar Sharh Muntakha al-Akhbar." This noble man explicitly holds the view that tawassul (seeking nearness to Allah through a means) to Allah by Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) is permissible; because he understood the hadith of the blind man according to its apparent meaning; so he is rewarded in any case; because he is an imam who performs ijtihad (independent legal reasoning), and his ijtihad by returning to the Book and the Sunnah is what saved him from the Zaydiyyah and deviation from the madhhab of the people of the Sunnah and the community.
So do we say that this imam, al-Shawkani, is a mushrik (one who associates partners with Allah)? Far be it from Allah, but the most we can say is: he is mistaken; why? Because he understood the hadith of the blind man incorrectly, contrary to what our Salaf (the earliest generations) were upon. Perhaps you notice that I am circling around the phrase "the righteous Salaf"; because I believe that the obligatory call from the call to the Book and the Sunnah is an obligatory call; and it is the salvation from what the Muslims today are in of humiliation, degradation, and division, and the like. It is not sufficient to limit the call to the Book and the Sunnah only, but it is necessary for us, the later generations in this century, to add and include with the call to the Book of Allah and the hadith of the Messenger of Allah a very great word; and that is: "upon the methodology of the righteous Salaf"; because the community is our righteous Salaf; therefore, the interpretation of imam al-Shawkani of the hadith of the blind man was incorrect; because he contradicted what our righteous Salaf were upon.