What is the ruling on seeking nearness to Allah through the status of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and other people?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : One of the brothers yesterday, a professor, was saying to people: there was an old Syrian shaykh, one of the shaykhs of Sham.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : And he was saying that seeking nearness to Allah through the status of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is shirk (associating partners with Allah), so I told him, this is something we do not know about our shaykh, andThe Shaykh : I divided tawassul (seeking nearness to Allah through a means) into three categories, which I mentioned.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : And I said that this tawassul is prohibited and we do not hold to it, even if some of the imams held to it, is that not so, professor?
The Shaykh: Yes.
The questioner : Did Imam Ahmad hold to it?
The Shaykh : Imam Ahmad held to it specifically regarding the Messenger.
The questioner : Yes, by the person of the Messenger (peace be upon him).
The Shaykh : That is all.
The questioner : Yes, and he said this is shirk. He reported that from Mahmud 'Atiyyah and 'Ali Khashan. I said, I was with them a week ago and they said this. I told him, it is possible you understood incorrectly.
The Shaykh : Incorrectly.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh: Yes.
The questioner : O Shaykh, is one excused due to ignorance?
The Shaykh : Perhaps, perhaps.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : And he was saying that seeking nearness to Allah through the status of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is shirk (associating partners with Allah), so I told him, this is something we do not know about our shaykh, andThe Shaykh : I divided tawassul (seeking nearness to Allah through a means) into three categories, which I mentioned.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : And I said that this tawassul is prohibited and we do not hold to it, even if some of the imams held to it, is that not so, professor?
The Shaykh: Yes.
The questioner : Did Imam Ahmad hold to it?
The Shaykh : Imam Ahmad held to it specifically regarding the Messenger.
The questioner : Yes, by the person of the Messenger (peace be upon him).
The Shaykh : That is all.
The questioner : Yes, and he said this is shirk. He reported that from Mahmud 'Atiyyah and 'Ali Khashan. I said, I was with them a week ago and they said this. I told him, it is possible you understood incorrectly.
The Shaykh : Incorrectly.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh: Yes.
The questioner : O Shaykh, is one excused due to ignorance?
The Shaykh : Perhaps, perhaps.
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.