What is the ruling on slaughtering and making vows for the awliya (close friends of Allah) and the righteous, on the pretext of seeking nearness to Allah through them?

The questioner : ... the awliya, a question about ... I direct myself to the status of our master Muhammad (peace be upon him), to the status of your Lord, O Lord, by the status of the awliya with You, that You may relieve my distress ... out of ignorance or ... .

The Shaykh : I am the one asking you.

The questioner: O Lord.

The Shaykh: I am asking you a question.

The questioner: By the status of my Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) and by the status of the awliya with You, relieve my distress.

The Shaykh: I am asking you, O professor: Do you have a question regarding the previous research? You tell me: Yes, did I address the topic of tawassul (seeking nearness to Allah through a means) in the previous discussion? I did not address the topic of tawassul, ... according to the topics and according to what was read, meaning ... You started your speech ... with vows, and then you ended with tawassul, I ... .

The questioner: ... and it was said that if one agrees to tawassul, the matter is by the status of ... .

The Shaykh: And they slaughter here for the Prophet, by the status of the Prophet?

The questioner : If...

The Shaykh: They slaughter for the Prophet.

The questioner: Du'a'.

The Shaykh: Do you know the reality that we are dealing with? Do you know that the people who go and slaughter for the awliya?

The questioner : Yes.

The Shaykh: Okay, for this one who slaughters for a wali (close friend of Allah), what does tawassul by status have to do with it here? This is slaughter for other than Allah, and I hope from you and those like you that you are not influenced by the atmosphere in which you live to the extent that you must be influenced by the verses that are recited to you. I have said more than once: He (Mighty and Majestic) said: , my sacrifice. Okay, if you believe in this verse, how do you say: it is permissible to slaughter for the awliya and the righteous? This slaughter is not for Allah; it should be for Allah, , there is no partner for Him in my prayer, there is no partner for Him in my ritual and my sacrifice, there is no partner for Him in my life and my death, there is no partner for Him ... beyond that. So you are telling me to mix one issue with another. When you speak about the issue of tawassul, it has another research, and perhaps it will come up here. Now, we have questions that could fill the lecture until the break of dawn. Perhaps there will be a question about tawassul, so you have the right to ask, like our other brothers: What is your opinion on tawassul? What is your opinion on the saying of some Muslims today: O Allah, by the status of so-and-so, have mercy on me, grant me well-being, and so on? We will give you the answer, but we do not mix Sha'ban with Ramadan. We do not say: this tawassul is like slaughter for other than Allah and vows for other than Allah. And the Messenger said: . What is the relationship between slaughter for other than Allah, O my brother, and the saying of the one who errs? And I say it clearly: What is the relationship between the one who slaughters for other than Allah, who is cursed by the explicit text of the Messenger's hadith, and the saying of the one who errs: O Allah, by the status of Muhammad, have mercy on me?! Instead of saying: O Lord, by Your status, by Your great name, have mercy on me; he says: O Allah, by the status of Muhammad, by the status of such-and-such a Prophet. This is another issue in which there is disagreement among Muslims, and we may be able to discuss it if time permits.
But you must know that slaughter for other than Allah and vows for other than Allah are major shirk (associating partners with Allah). It does not benefit this one who slaughters for other than Allah and makes vows for other than Allah; it does not benefit him anything from his righteous deeds, ever. The first of which is his saying: There is no god but Allah; because Allah (Mighty and Majestic) says in the Noble Qur'an about the mushrikin (those who associate partners with Allah): , and He said, addressing the Muslim community in the person of their Prophet (peace be upon him): . So shirk, unfortunately, the masses of Muslims today, and among them are great shaykhs, have not yet known its danger; even though the Messenger (peace be upon him) said: . So we must know shirk and fear it, as Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "The people used to ask the Prophet (peace be upon him) about good, and I used to ask him about evil, fearing that I would fall into it." This is a wise man, this is a rational man. And from here the poet said:
"I knew evil not for the sake of evil, but to avoid it,
And he who does not know evil falls into it from good."
So we must know shirk along with our knowledge of tawhid (the oneness of Allah), so that when we know shirk, we do not fall into it; because then, if we fall into it, our deeds are nullified and we will be among the losers, may Allah forbid! So slaughter for other than Allah, vows for other than Allah, and calling for aid from other than Allah: "O falcon, help me"; all of this is shirk. But the saying of the one who says: "O Allah, help me by the status of the falcon" is one thing. And instead of saying: "O Allah, help me by the status of the falcon"; he says: "O falcon, help me"; this is shirk. This is not shirk; the saying of the one who says: "O Allah" is direct address to Allah, but he puts an intermediary and says: "O Allah, help me by the status of the falcon." We say this is wrong, but this is not shirk, except according to what some ignorant people express, and we hear this often. We have incidents with people; we were in Ma'arrat al-Nu'man, we entered the market there, we stopped in front of ... .