The Shaykh’s remarks on how those who advocate for forbidden tawassul liken Allah to creation.

The Shaykh: or by one of His names, or by one of His attributes—Blessed and Exalted is He—or that the one seeking nearness turns to Allah through his faith or through a good deed he has performed. This is what the evidence indicates. As for anything other than that, first: there is no evidence for it, and second: it involves likening the Just, Wise Creator to a tyrannical, unjust, ignorant king, and so on. And, unfortunately, we hear this from the very people who seek nearness through the prophets and messengers. They openly express disapproval of people like us when we denounce their seeking nearness to Allah through a prophet, a righteous person, or a wali. In a state of profound negligence, they say, "My brother, if you have a need with the king or the prince, can you ask for it except through an intermediary? Glory be to Allah ." This is because the meaning of this rhetorical question is that they are likening the Lord of the Worlds to this tyrannical, unjust ruler to whom you cannot approach and present your request except through an intermediary. I remember clearly, thirty or forty years ago, when I was returning from my journey in the path of da'wah from Aleppo, we stopped at the village of Ma'arrat al-Nu'man, where Abu Nuwas is buried.
The student: Abu al-'Ala.

The Shaykh: Abu al-'Ala, pardon me, yes. So we bought some necessities there, and the people gathered around us and learned that we were, as they claim, Wahhabis. They asked us about this tawassul, and I answered with what... Then one of them said to me, "My brother, if you have a need with the prince, the king, or the ruler, can you do it?" I was stunned, meaning I acted as if I were crazy and didn't understand him. I said to him, "No, it is not possible except through an intermediary." He fell silent. I said to him, "So, do you liken your Lord to a ruler to whom you cannot approach except through an intermediary? What do you think of 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him)? When a Bedouin from the desert came to him, did he address him directly with his need, or did he appoint an intermediary for him?" He said, "No, he did not appoint an intermediary for him." I said to him, "So, is 'Umar in your view more just than this ruler you used as an example, saying that you cannot reach him except through an intermediary?" He said, "'Umar." Look at where the negligence was and how the realization came. I said to him, "Poor man! If you liken the Lord of the Worlds to the just 'Umar, you have committed disbelief, for there is nothing like Him. How then do you refuse to liken Him to anything but the tyrants?" This is the logic of these heedless people. So we ask Allah—Mighty and Majestic—who guided us to this, and we would not have been guided had Allah not guided us.