Discussion of the Prescribed Tawassul and an Explanation of Its Categories

The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may Allah send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and his Companions, and upon those who follow them with excellence until the Day of Judgment. As for what follows, before we begin this morning’s lesson, we would like to ask about what we mentioned at the beginning of this evening’s discussion, because knowledge needs to be firmly established, and one of the strongest means of establishing it is for a person to discuss it with himself and to discuss it with others. We previously mentioned that tawassul (seeking nearness to Allah through a means) to Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, when making du'a' (supplication) is divided into two categories: permissible and prohibited. We mentioned that the permissible type has seven categories. The permissible type has seven categories. The first type is, yes, correct.
The student: Tawassul to Allah by His names.

The Shaykh : Tawassul to Allah by His names, for example, like the hadith of Ibn Mas'ud: until he said: Good, may Allah reward you. An example of tawassul by a specific name, please, what do you have?
The student: I ask You, O Ar-Rahman, to have mercy on me.

The Shaykh : Well done. “I ask You, O Ar-Rahman, to have mercy on me.” Here, a person makes tawassul to Allah, the Exalted, by a name appropriate to what he is asking for. If he wants to ask Allah for forgiveness, let him say, “O Al-Ghafur (The Forgiver),” and if he wants mercy, he says, “O Ar-Rahman.” So the name is what? Appropriate to the request. This is the first one. The second one, please, stand up.
The student: By His attributes, Exalted and Majestic is He.

The Shaykh : Tawassul to Allah, the Exalted, by His attributes. What is the example?
The student: That a person says, “O Al-‘Alim (The All-Knowing), O Ar-Rahman.”

The Shaykh : This is a name. “O Al-‘Alim, O Ar-Rahman” is a name.
The student: O ‘Alim (The Knowing).

The Shaykh : “O ‘Alim” is also a description. We want tawassul by the attribute itself. Please, go on.
The student: The hadith of istikharah (the prayer for guidance in a decision).

The Shaykh : Like the hadith of istikharah: and so on. And like: Good, may Allah reward you. The third one, please.
The student: Tawassul by the actions of Allah, Mighty and Majestic.

The Shaykh : Tawassul to Allah by His actions. What is the evidence?
The student: Our saying in the prayer upon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): “O Allah, send prayers upon Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, as You sent prayers upon Ibrahim and the family of Ibrahim.”

The Shaykh : Well done. That is the evidence, and the example is also our saying in the prayer upon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family): “O Allah, send prayers upon Muhammad and the family of Muhammad.” This is a du'a' of tawassul. “As You sent prayers upon Ibrahim and the family of Ibrahim, indeed You are Al-Hamid (The Praiseworthy), Al-Majid (The Noble).” For this reason, we parse the letter kaf here as a letter of what? Comparison or causation? It is a letter of causation. And thus, we do not need to address the difficulties raised by some scholars who asked, “How do we compare the prayer upon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) to the prayer upon Ibrahim and his family, when Muhammad is better?” We say there is no need for this, because the kaf here is not for comparison but for causation. For this reason, we classified it as tawassul. The fourth one, yes.
The student: Tawassul by faith in Allah, the Exalted.

The Shaykh : Tawassul by faith in Allah. What is the evidence and the example?
The student: .

The Shaykh : Well done. The fifth one.
The student: Tawassul by righteous deeds.

The Shaykh : Tawassul by righteous deeds. What is the example and the evidence?
The student: The people of the cave.

The Shaykh : The story of the people of the cave: three men entered a cave, and then a rock fell on them, and they could not remove it or move it. So they made tawassul to Allah, the Exalted, by their righteous deeds. May Allah reward you. The sixth one.
The student: Tawassul by the du'a' of a righteous man.

The Shaykh : Tawassul by the du'a' of a righteous man. Do you mean that you call him, or that you ask him to make du'a'?
The student: You ask him to make du'a'.

The Shaykh : That you ask him to make du'a'. What is the example and the evidence?
The student: The du'a' of 'Umar by al-'Abbas.

The Shaykh : 'Umar ibn al-Khattab made tawassul by the du'a' of al-'Abbas ibn 'Abd al-Muttalib. And likewise, the Companions made tawassul by the du'a' of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family). Good. The seventh one.
The student: Tawassul by following the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).

The Shaykh : Tawassul by following the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him).
The student: .

The Shaykh : .
The student: .

The Shaykh : May Allah reward you. Good, these are seven.
The student: Tawassul by the love of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).

The Shaykh : Tawassul to Allah by the love of the Messenger. “I ask You by my love for Your Prophet.” This is perhaps we can classify it as attached to righteous deeds, as one of the righteous deeds, because the love of the Messenger is among the best of deeds. Good, take a break. We have an eighth one left that I did not mention last night, which is tawassul by the state of the supplicant. Tawassul by the state of the supplicant means that a person mentions his state, makes tawassul with it, and moves his Lord, Mighty and Majestic, to compassion with it. Like the saying of Musa (Moses): And this was combined with other types in what the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) taught Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) when he said: “O Messenger of Allah, teach me a du'a' that I can make in my prayer.” He said, “Say:” This contains tawassul by the state of the supplicant, tawassul by an attribute of Allah, and tawassul by the names of Allah. Where is it? Where is the state of the supplicant?
The student: O Allah, I have wronged myself much.

The Shaykh : Well done. “O Allah, I have wronged myself much.” The attribute from the attributes of Allah.
The student: For indeed, none forgives sins except You.

The Shaykh : “And none forgives sins except You,” because forgiveness is an attribute. Take a break. And the names of Allah.
The student: Indeed, You are Al-Ghafur (The Forgiver), Ar-Rahim (The Merciful).

The Shaykh : “Indeed, You are Al-Ghafur, Ar-Rahim.” Regarding our saying “tawassul by the du'a' of a righteous man,” we all know that the intended meaning is the living righteous man from whom you ask to make du'a' for you, and it is not intended to be tawassul by the du'a' of a dead person. This is because the dead person does not make du'a', as his deeds have ceased, by the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family): For this reason, it is not permissible for you to stand at the grave of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) and say, “O Messenger of Allah, intercede for me,” because he does not have the power to do this, and he does not have the power to make du'a' for you for intercession. So he does not have the power to intercede, and he does not have the power to make du'a' for intercession, and he is dead. The evidence for this is the saying of Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He: As for the fact that he does not have the power to intercede in his state of death, it is by His saying, the Exalted, by the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family): And among the deeds is du'a', so du'a' is worship, and it is not possible for the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) to make du'a' for anyone for intercession after his death. The closest path by which you can obtain the intercession of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) is to make tawhid (the oneness of Allah) sincere for Allah. For this reason, Abu Hurayrah said: What did he say? He said: This is the happiest of people with the intercession of the Messenger. So if you want the intercession of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), say “La ilaha illa Allah” (There is no god but Allah) sincerely from your heart. And whenever you say “La ilaha illa Allah” sincerely from your heart, you will act in accordance with what this great testimony requires, which is the worship of Allah, Mighty and Majestic.