What is the ruling on seeking nearness to Allah through the righteous friends of Allah, and does it lead to shirk (associating partners with Allah), or is it a matter of scholarly disagreement among the scholars?
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The questioner : If some of my brothers allow me to proceed, the questions are very numerous, very numerous. So we will focus on the questions that pertain to 'aqidah (creed), because 'aqidah is the foundation. If the 'aqidah is sound, the structure is sound. And if the foundation is defective, meaning the 'aqidah is defective, a person cannot erect a structure without 'aqidah, without a base, and without a foundation. The next question: What is the ruling on tawassul (seeking nearness to Allah through a means) through the righteous friends of Allah? And does it lead a person to shirk (associating partners with Allah), or is it a matter of scholarly disagreement among the scholars?
The Shaykh : The truth is that this issue involves precision, because tawassul (seeking nearness to Allah through a means) 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 (istighathah) is, without a doubt, contrary to tawhid (the oneness of Allah) al-uluhiyyah (oneness of worship), which we constantly mention with our tongues in accordance with the book of our Lord when we say in every rak'ah (unit of prayer) of our prayers:[Al-Fatihah 1:5]. Just as the meaning of is "You alone we worship," so too means "You alone we ask for help." Despite this, you find that millions upon millions 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 praise be to Allah, 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 precision involved. Tawassul is, in fact, in terms of its linguistic implication, a matter of scholarly disagreement. However, 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 am somewhat lengthy.
Tawassul (seeking nearness to Allah through a means) in the first, disputed sense is for the one who says: "O Allah, I ask You by Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) to 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:[An-Nisa 4:59] to the end of the verse. I want to say that there is a valid disagreement in this issue, but the truth is that tawassul (seeking nearness to Allah through a means) 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 we see... in 'aqidah (creed) or not, that is what I will clarify. I say there is disagreement because one of 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 he lived, which is the Zaydi madhhab in which some scholars lived whom we respect because they did not become fanatical about their madhhab, but rather 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-Akhabar". 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. He is rewarded in any case, because he is an imam (the one who leads the prayer) who is a mujtahid (a scholar qualified to derive rulings), and his ijtihad (independent legal reasoning) 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 that he is mistaken. Why? Because he understood the hadith of the blind man incorrectly, contrary to what our righteous Salaf (the earliest generations) were upon. Perhaps you notice that I am circling around the phrase "the righteous Salaf" because I believe that the call... of the call to the Book and the Sunnah is obligatory, and it is the salvation from the humiliation, degradation, and division that Muslims are in today, and the like. It is not sufficient to limit the call to the Book and the Sunnah only; rather, 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, which 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 an error because it contradicted what our righteous Salaf practiced.
The Shaykh : The truth is that this issue involves precision, because tawassul (seeking nearness to Allah through a means) 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 (istighathah) is, without a doubt, contrary to tawhid (the oneness of Allah) al-uluhiyyah (oneness of worship), which we constantly mention with our tongues in accordance with the book of our Lord when we say in every rak'ah (unit of prayer) of our prayers:
It is You we worship and You we ask for help.
إياك نعبد وإياك نستعينYou alone we worship
إياك نعبدAnd You alone we ask for help
وإياك نستعينTawassul (seeking nearness to Allah through a means) in the first, disputed sense is for the one who says: "O Allah, I ask You by Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) to 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:
And if you disagree over anything, refer it to Allah and the Messenger
فإن تنازعتم في شيء فردوه إلى الله والرسولSo 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 that he is mistaken. Why? Because he understood the hadith of the blind man incorrectly, contrary to what our righteous Salaf (the earliest generations) were upon. Perhaps you notice that I am circling around the phrase "the righteous Salaf" because I believe that the call... of the call to the Book and the Sunnah is obligatory, and it is the salvation from the humiliation, degradation, and division that Muslims are in today, and the like. It is not sufficient to limit the call to the Book and the Sunnah only; rather, 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, which 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 an error because it contradicted what our righteous Salaf practiced.