What is the ruling on the issues on which the Salaf disagreed, such as tawassul (seeking nearness to Allah through a means), the image, and the vision?

The questioner : What is the report from some of the Salaf regarding their disagreement on some issues of tawhid (the oneness of Allah) and creed, such as affirming the image in the image of Adam, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) seeing his Lord on the night of the Mi'raj, and for example in tawassul (seeking nearness to Allah through a means), and other such issues, O Shaykh? I mean, how do we reconcile this, given that it is well known that the Salaf (may Allah be pleased with them) did not disagree on matters of creed?

The Shaykh : First, you mentioned "tawassul (seeking nearness to Allah through a means)" among the things on which they disagreed; what do you mean by this question? Because my knowledge is that there is no disagreement between them regarding tawassul (seeking nearness to Allah through a means). This is the first point. Second, tawassul (seeking nearness to Allah through a means) is not part of the creed, but rather it is part of the rulings; that is, is it permissible for a person to make a supplication containing tawassul (seeking nearness to Allah through a means) through a created being, or is it not permissible? So tawassul (seeking nearness to Allah through a means) has no connection to the creed, except if a creed is associated with the tawassul (seeking nearness to Allah through a means) in the wording of the one making tawassul (seeking nearness to Allah through a means) that he intends by it; in that case, it takes on another dimension. But mere tawassul (seeking nearness to Allah through a means) through a created being does not bring the issue into the category of creeds.
The Shaykh: Second, what do you mean by saying that they disagreed?
The Shaykh: Third, what do you mean by saying that they disagreed on the image? And who are the ones who disagreed? They agreed on affirming the image for Allah (Mighty and Majestic) in general, not in the details. Rather, they disagreed on the referent of the pronoun in His saying (peace and blessings be upon him): ; so, likewise, classifying this disagreement regarding the referent of this pronoun has no connection, in my opinion, to the creed either. Because the image, as a creed, is agreed upon by the scholars of hadith and the Sunnah without takyif (asking how an attribute is) and without ta'wil (figurative interpretation). As for the referent of the pronoun in , this is a secondary disagreement that has no connection to the creed. Then, I do not remember if there was anything else in your question besides the image and tawassul (seeking nearness to Allah through a means), what was it?

The questioner : ... .

The Shaykh : Ah, they did indeed disagree on whether Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) saw his Lord? And this disagreement cannot be denied. But perhaps that, too, refers to the interpretation of His saying (Glorified and Exalted is He): . The majority of scholars, from the hadith scholars and others, are on the denial of his (peace and blessings be upon him) seeing his Lord with his eyes. And the disagreement referred to on this occasion here is what is reported from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: "The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) saw his Lord with his eyes." But this report, this hadith, it can be said that it is an athar (a report from a Companion or successor), and it can be said that it is a hadith. It is an athar (a report from a Companion or successor) in that its wording is from Ibn Abbas, and it can be said to be a hadith in that it speaks about the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). This athar (a report from a Companion or successor) or hadith reported from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) did not settle on this wording in which he saw his Lord with his eyes. Two other narrations came from him: one is the general statement of seeing, "He saw his Lord," without mentioning the eyes, and the other, which is the third, is: "He saw Him with his heart." So, on this basis, this athar (a report from a Companion or successor) or hadith is unsettled from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him), varying between he saw Him generally, he saw Him with his eyes, and he saw Him with his heart. And an unsettled hadith is among the categories of weak hadith. So, in that case, we cannot be certain that Ibn Abbas held in his creed that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) saw his Lord.
The Shaykh: But with this, it is not possible for every fair researcher to claim that there was no one who held the view of Ibn Abbas. But this person who held it is not known by name or identity. As for the fact that there was someone who held the view of Ibn Abbas, that can be taken from the hadith of the Lady Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) herself, reported in the "Sahihayn" (the two authentic collections) through the route of Masruq (may Allah have mercy on him); where he asked her, saying to her: "O Mother of the Believers, did Muhammad see his Lord?" The hadith. It is fine to complete it, but it is necessary to mention the point of reference in it. So Masruq's question to the Mother of the Believers, "Did Muhammad see his Lord?" indicates to the researcher that there was someone who said that Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) saw his Lord. Who was he? Allah knows best. It could have been Ibn Abbas himself. But Ibn Abbas did not settle his opinion on any of the three statements I mentioned earlier. We return to the hadith of Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her). When he asked her and said to her: "Did Muhammad see his Lord?" she said: "My hair stood on end from what you said." He said: "O Mother of the Believers, did not the Lord of the Worlds say: the verse?" She said: "I am the most knowledgeable of people about that. I asked the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and he said: ." So, the referent of this pronoun in the Prophet's (peace be upon him) own interpretation of this verse refers to Jibril (Gabriel), not to the Lord of the Worlds (Blessed and Exalted is He).
The Shaykh: Then she continued her explanation (may Allah be pleased with her) and said: "Three things: whoever tells you about them has committed a great lie against Allah. Whoever tells you that Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) saw his Lord has committed a great lie against Allah. Then she recited His saying (Glorified and Exalted is He): ."
The Shaykh: ; so there is no way for anyone to see Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) in this worldly life.
The Shaykh: She said: "And whoever tells you that Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) concealed something he was ordered to convey has committed a great lie against Allah. Then she recited His saying (Glorified and Exalted is He): . She said: And whoever tells you that Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) knew the unseen has fabricated and lied about Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He). Then she recited His saying (Mighty and Majestic): ."
The Shaykh: So, this hadith of Aisha indicates that there was someone who said that Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) saw his Lord. But she denied that with a firm denial and recited the aforementioned verse. So, in that case, I do not see, in the end in this area, that it should be said that there was a disagreement among the Salaf on a creedal issue like the issue of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) seeing his Lord.
The Shaykh: Then we say: hypothetically, if we assume that there was indeed a disagreement among the Salaf on a certain issue, that does not mean that this disagreement is harmful, as long as the evidence stands in support of the correct view or the correct statement among what they disagreed on. The statement that the Salaf did not disagree on any of the creedal matters is said by some of them, according to what their knowledge encompassed. If he is able to prove that, there is no harm; because the reference is to the evidence. And you know that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), when he was supplicating to his Lord (Blessed and Exalted is He) in the opening supplication of the night prayer, used to say in it: . And this was his (peace and blessings be upon him) teaching to his ummah (the Muslim community). So it is upon us, if we find a real disagreement, let alone an imagined one, to ask Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) to guide us to know the truth and follow it.
The Shaykh: This is the answer to what came in the question earlier.
Please proceed.