What is tawassul?
Tawassul and wasilah literally mean indirect supplication or indirect prayer. It is permissible to ask Allah Almighty to accept a supplication (dua) through certain actions or the high status of certain people, as this may facilitate the acceptance of the supplication.
Types of tawassul
There are various forms of tawassul and wasilah:
1) Performing tawassul by asking Almighty Allah to accept the supplication through a person’s performance of a good deed. This is supported by a hadith of the Prophet ﷺ, which is quoted in Sahih al-Bukhari. This hadith describes three men who were trapped in a cave. Each of them recited a supplication to Allah, the Most High, to move the stone blocking the entrance to the cave and they asked Almighty Allah to accept their supplication because of certain good deeds they had performed in their lives.
2) Performing tawassul by naming the names and attributes of Almighty Allah. This is also permitted and is supported by the following ayah of the Koran (interpretation of the meaning): “Allah ﷻ has the Most Beautiful Names. So, call upon Him by them…” (Sura Al-A’raf, ayah 180).
For example, one could supplicate: “O Allah ﷻ! I ask You, through Your attributes and beautiful names, to fulfill my desire.”
3) Performing tawassul to Allah the Most High, through the status and position of certain people (living or deceased) before Allah ﷻ. These include prophets, martyrs (shahids) and any other righteous servants of Allah ﷻ. For example, one can supplicate the Almighty with the words, “O Allah ﷻ! I beg You to accept my supplication because of the high position the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ occupies before You.”
This form of tawassul is also permissible according to the overwhelming majority of scholars, who themselves continue to practice it.
4) There is a fourth form of tawassul: asking a righteous servant of Allah ﷻ to recite dua for them. This form of tawassul is also considered permissible by scholarly consensus.
Tawassul through people and arguments in favour of it
There are numerous arguments in favour of the permissibility of tawassul through people. Below are some of them:
1) Uthman ibn Hunayf, a companion of the Prophet ﷺ reports that a blind man once approached the Messenger of God ﷺ and asked, “O Messenger of Allah ﷺ ask Allah the Most High for healing for me.” To which the Prophet ﷺ replied, “If you wish, I will ask Allah the Most High for this but if you are patient, it will be better for you.” “Pray for healing for me,” the blind man asked again. Then the Prophet ﷺ commanded him to perform ablution properly and recite the following supplication, “O Allah ﷻ! Truly I ask You and turn to You through Your Prophet ﷺ, the Prophet of Mercy ﷺ. O Muhammad ﷺ, I have truly turned my face to my Lord through you so that my wish may come true. O Allah ﷻ, accept his intercession for me.” (Narrated by Ahmad).
Imams at-Tirmidhi, Ibn Khuzaymah, and al-Hakim classified this hadith as authentic. The words “...I turn to You through Your Prophet ﷺ” undoubtedly confirm tawassul through the person’s high status. The Prophet ﷺ also told the supplicant to recite this supplication whenever he needed it.
2) Uthman ibn Hunayf taught this supplication to a man after the Prophet ﷺ passed away. This man’s wish was also fulfilled by Allah through this supplication.
Abu Umamah ibn Sahl ibn Hunayf narrates that a man asked Uthman ibn Affan, when he was the caliph (leader of all Muslims), to fulfill his request. Uthman refused to help him. The man then complained of his need to Uthman ibn Hunayf, a companion of the Prophet ﷺ, who advised him to perform ablution, go to the mosque, pray two rak’ahs, and recite the following supplication, “O Allah ﷻ! Truly I ask You and turn to You through our Prophet ﷺ, the Prophet of Mercy ﷺ. O Muhammad ﷺ, I have truly turned to our Lord through you, so that He may grant my request.”
Some time later, Uthman ibn Affan sent a guard to the man and invited him to his presence. The Caliph immediately granted his request and told him that he could turn to him whenever he had a need. Imam at-Tabarani declared this hadith to be authentic.
3) Anas ibn Malik reported that when the mother of Ali ibn Abu Talib died (she was Fatima bintu Asad ), the Prophet ﷺ recited the following supplication before her burial, “O the only Allah, the One Who gives life and death, and the One Who lives forever and will never die, forgive my mother Fatima bintu Asad and inspire her with her proofs (make it easy for her to answer the questions of the angels Munkar and Nakir in the grave), and make her grave spacious for her. I ask You by the right of Your Prophet ﷺ and all the prophets before me, for verily You are the All-Merciful.” According to the criteria of Imam Ibn Hibban and al-Hakim, this hadith is also considered authentic.
4) It is advisable to recite the following supplication before leaving the mosque: “Allahumma inni as’aluka bi haqqi ssailina ilayka, wa bi haqqi mamshaya haza...” Meaning: “O Allah ﷻ, I ask You by the rights of those who ask You, and by the right of my walking to the mosque...”
5) Abu Jawza Aws ibn Abdullah reports that the residents of Medina were once experiencing a severe drought. They complained about it to the Mother of the Believers, Aisha. She advised them to make a hole in the roof of the Prophet’s ﷺ grave so that there would be no barrier between the grave and the heavens. He tells, “When they made the hole, heavy rains fell and the crops also began to grow.” (Narrated by ad-Darimi).
Scholars who performed tawassul through the righteous
Below are the names of some of the many renowned scholars of the past who performed tawassul through the high status of a pious person (deceased or living).
1) Imam Hasan ibn Ibrahim Khallal narrated that whenever he had any urgent need, he would go to the grave of Imam Musa ibn Ja’far and perform tawassul through him. Allah the Most High would fulfill his wish.
2) Imam ash-Shafi’i performed tawassul at the grave of Imam Abu Hanifa.
3) Sheikh Tajuddin as-Subki said that people would go to the grave of Imam Ibn Furak, the teacher of Imam al-Bayhaqi and recite dua and their wishes would be fulfilled.
4) Hafiz Taqi al-Din al-Subki, the father of Tajud al-Din al-Subki, approved of this form of tawassul and wrote a detailed treatise on the topic.
5) Imam al-Nawawi mentioned that the etiquette (adab) of visiting the grave of the Prophet ﷺ includes performing tawassul to Almighty Allah through the Messenger of God ﷺ for the acceptance of our supplication.
Imam al-Utabi narrated, “I was once sitting at the grave of the Messenger of God ﷺ when a Bedouin approached the grave and said, “Peace be upon you, O Messenger of God ﷺ. O Messenger of God ﷺ, I heard Almighty Allah say in the Koran (meaning of the commentary), ‘If they had sinned against themselves and come to you and asked forgiveness of Allah ﷻ, and the Messenger ﷺ had asked forgiveness for them, they would find Allah ﷻ accepting their repentance and forgiving.’ (Sura An-Nisa’, ayah 64). Therefore, I have come to you seeking forgiveness for my sins and seeking your intercession with my Lord.” After this, the Bedouin recited a few verses from the Koran and left. Then I fell asleep and saw the Messenger of God ﷺ commanding me, “Utabi, go to that Bedouin and give him the good news that Almighty Allah has forgiven him.”
After reflecting on all of the above, any sane believer will know beyond a doubt the permissibility of all these forms of tawassul, especially when one realizes that it has been practiced for centuries by the best representatives of this community (the Ummah of Muhammad ﷺ).
Source: “Radd Muhkam Matin”, “Tarihu Baghdadi”
