Continuation of the Categories of Permissible and Forbidden Tawassul

The Shaykh : With any name that belongs to You, especially seeking nearness to Allah through His names. Specifically, like the hadith in which the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) taught his most beloved people, Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him). Abu Bakr said to him, "Teach me a supplication I can recite in my prayer." He said to him, "Say: Then he said at the end: This is seeking nearness to Allah by a specific name because he said, "Forgive me and have mercy on me," so he sought nearness through the two names that necessitate these two descriptions: "Indeed, You are the All-Forgiving, the Most Merciful." And what comes after that? Seeking nearness by a specific name appropriate to what you are asking of Allah the Exalted and Majestic. Seeking nearness to Allah by His attributes, generally or specifically, is also permissible and recommended. So you say, "O Allah, I ask You by Your beautiful names and Your exalted attributes." In the hadith of the prayer for guidance in a decision, And likewise in the other hadith, And likewise the hadith, This is seeking nearness to Allah the Exalted by a specific one of His attributes.
The third: Seeking nearness to Allah by faith in Him, because faith in Him is a cause that necessitates mercy and necessitates granting the request. Among this is His saying, the Exalted: By what did they seek nearness? By faith in Allah. "We have believed, so forgive us," because this "fa" (so) indicates causality.
The fourth: Seeking nearness to Allah by righteous deeds. Among this is the story of the three men of the cave who were trapped when the cave collapsed on them and they were unable to move the rock that had collapsed. So each of them sought nearness with his righteous deed and said: How many are these? Four.
The fifth: Seeking nearness to Allah the Exalted and Majestic by His action. That is, you seek nearness to Allah the Exalted by an action that preceded from Him, and you ask Him for such an action that preceded. Among this is our saying while we pray: This is seeking nearness to Allah by what? By His action. That is, it has preceded from You, O our Lord, that You sent blessings upon Ibrahim and the family of Ibrahim, so send blessings upon Muhammad and the family of Muhammad. The "ka" (as) in this is for causation, not for comparison. I hope you pay attention, because there has been discussion among some scholars regarding this issue. Some scholars say the "ka" is for comparison. It is known that Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) is better than Ibrahim, so how? Yes, and the one being compared is lower than the one being compared to, so how did he say, "upon Muhammad as You sent blessings upon Ibrahim"? And they answered with answers, but the correct view is that there is no need for this problem. We say the "ka" is for causation. The "ka" in the language is used for causation, as Ibn Malik said in the Alfiyyah:
"The 'ka' is for comparison, and by it causation may be meant *** And for addition to emphasize, it has been reported"
And among this is His saying, the Exalted: Meaning, for your guidance. And His saying: to the end of it. The important point is that this is from the category of seeking nearness to Allah by what? By an action of His actions. The fifth.
The sixth: Seeking nearness to Allah the Exalted by mentioning the state of the supplicant. That is, he describes himself as poor, sick, an old man, and the like. This is permissible. Among this is the saying of Zakariyya: And the saying of Musa (peace be upon him): These are the types of permissible, recommended seeking nearness. As for seeking nearness by the essence of any of the created beings, this is not valid. Why? Because seeking nearness means asking by the thing that leads to the intended goal, and the essence of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), for example, has no relation to leading you to your goal. For this reason, the stronger opinion is that it is not valid to seek nearness by the essence of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) or by his status. Instead of seeking nearness by the essence of the Messenger or his status, seek nearness by the names of Allah and His attributes, so that you are following the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) in true following.
The student: ... .

The Shaykh : Yes, yes, this is also the seventh. Or is it the eighth?
The seventh: The supplication of the righteous man. That is, you seek nearness to Allah by the supplication of a righteous, living man who prays for you. Among this is what is established in the two Sahihs from the hadith of Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) that a man entered on Friday while the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was delivering the sermon and said: Anas said: Meaning, the sky was clear and there was nothing that would bring rain or from which rain would come. He said: Blessed is Allah, Allah is the Greatest. This is the divine power. A clear sky, no clouds, no pieces of clouds, nothing in it except that the Messenger raised his hands and said, "O Allah, send us rain," three times. So the rain came down before he descended from the pulpit. And the rain remained for a full week on Madinah and its surroundings. So a man, or the first man from the second Friday, entered and said: And he pointed with his hand, may the prayers and peace of Allah be upon him. He did not point to a direction except that it opened up, and they went out walking in the sun, while all around Madinah was raining. This is seeking nearness to Allah by the supplication of the righteous man, because the righteous man whose response is expected is closer to being answered. But notice, my brothers, that the measure of righteousness is not the claim of righteousness. The measure of righteousness is not the claim. Perhaps a man comes with a large turban, a long beard, a long miswak, wide sleeves, and claims to be one of the close friends of Allah, but he is not one of the close friends of Allah. So a person thinks he is a righteous man and asks him to pray for him. The measure of righteousness is what Allah mentioned in His saying: As for the claim of righteousness, "Everyone claims a connection to Layla *** But Layla does not accept that for them" Everyone claims to be righteous, but it is not accepted. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said: You come claiming to be a close friend of Allah, while you are a devourer of wealth, a deceiver, playing with people's minds. It is not correct. This is good, but it remains to be said: Is seeking nearness by the supplication of the righteous man among the things that are requested, or among the things that are permissible?
It is among the things that are permissible. So your own supplication and your seeking nearness to Allah the Exalted and Majestic by what you seek nearness with is more appropriate, better, more humble for your heart, and more beneficial for it.
Then, in asking for supplication from the man, there is a danger related to the man himself. What is it? That he may be tested and see himself as a righteous man who is intended to be asked for supplication, and thereby harm occurs. Then there is a third thing as well, which is that asking for supplication from the righteous man for the pure benefit of the asker himself has something of asking people and humbling the self. The Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) included among what they pledged to the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) For this reason, the Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) indicated that it is recommended for a person, when he asks for supplication from someone, to intend to benefit that person. Because if a person prays for his brother, he is doing him a favor, and if he prays for him in his absence, it is more hopeful for being answered. Because if a person prays for his brother in his absence, the angel says, "Ameen, and for you the like." Yes.