Permissible and Prohibited Tawassul

Question:
With Allah's blessing, we begin this session with a question from the questioner in Sudan, Ali Muhammad al-Tayyib. He says in this question: Your Eminence, what is tawassul (seeking nearness to Allah through a means)? And is it valid to act upon it? When the servant asks his Lord, saying: "O Allah, have mercy on me and provide for me by the status of the Chosen One (peace and blessings be upon him)," and perhaps some of the brothers in Islam go to the shaykh and say to him, for example: "Ask Allah for us in some matters."
So what is the ruling of the Shari'ah in your view, Your Eminence, regarding this issue?

Answer:
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon the Messenger of Allah, and upon his family and his Companions, and upon those who follow his guidance. As for what follows:

Tawassul has categories: categories that are prohibited, and categories that are permissible:

So the prohibited categories are: Like the tawassul that is shirk (associating partners with Allah), which Muslims call tawassul, and it is calling upon the dead, seeking aid from the dead, and making vows to them. This is what Muslims call tawassul, and it is major shirk. So it is obligatory to be cautious of it. Calling upon the dead, seeking aid from them, making vows to them, and the like of that, all of this is major shirk, even if it is called tawassul. He (Glorified and Exalted is He) said: [Yunus: 18], and He said : [Az-Zumar: 3].

And the second type: Minor shirk, which is tawassul by the status of so-and-so, and by so-and-so, such as tawassul by the status of the Prophet Muhammad, or by the status of the prophets, or by the status of Shaykh Abd al-Qadir, or by the status of Abu Bakr, or Umar, or by their persons: “I ask you by Umar,” or “by Uthman.” This is from the tawassul that is blameworthy, and it is called minor shirk, and it is from the means to major shirk. This is from the means to major shirk.

And there is a third permissible tawassul: And it is tawassul by the supplication of a living person and asking him to make du'a' (supplication) for you, just as the man said to the Messenger: “O Messenger of Allah! Make du'a' to Allah for me that Allah may restore my sight.” You say to your brother: “Make du'a' to Allah for me that He may cure me.” This is tawassul by his du'a', by his du'a' for you while he is alive and present. This is permissible, permissible tawassul. You say: “O my brother, make du'a' to Allah that He may cure me, make du'a' to Allah that He may give me a child, make du'a' to Allah that He may free me from poverty.” Just as it is narrated from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said to Umar when he went for 'Umrah (the lesser pilgrimage): , narrated by al-Tirmidhi and a group, and there is weakness in its chain. And like this, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said to the Companions: .

As for Shari'ah tawassul: It is tawassul by the names of Allah and His attributes, and by tawhid (the oneness of Allah) and faith in Him. This is Shari'ah tawassul. You say: “O Allah, I ask You by my tawhid of You, my following of Your Prophet, and my obedience to You, that You forgive me. O Allah, I ask You by Your beautiful names and Your exalted attributes. O Allah, I bear witness that You are the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate, that You are the Generous Lord, that You are the Creator of all things.” So tawassul by Allah and by His names and attributes is prescribed (mashru'). And from this is the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): . All of this is from Shari'ah tawassul. “O Allah, I ask You by my faith in You and my love for Your Prophet that You forgive me.” And from this is his saying (peace and blessings be upon him) in his teaching of some of the Companions, when he taught them to make tawassul, he taught them to say: , and in the other wording: . All of this is tawassul by His names and attributes. And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) approved the Companions for that, and mentioned that these tawassuls are from the causes of acceptance. In some of them, he asked Allah by His Greatest Name. So tawassul by the tawhid of Allah, and faith in Allah, and by the names of Allah, and by the attributes of Allah, is Shari'ah tawassul, and is from the causes of acceptance.