Impermissible forms of Tawassul

In the previous edition, I discussed the four permissible forms of التَّوَسُّلُ with proofs from the Qur’ān and Sunnah. It is necessary to mention some other forms of التَّوَسُّلُ that people make, some of which are harām and lead to sin, while some lead to kufr and shirk.

i. Seeking Tawassul with the honour of the Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم (Or any other Prophet)التوسل بجاه النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم أو بغيره من الأنبياء

As Muslims, we strongly affirm and uphold the honour of our noble Prophets from Ādam to Nūh, to Ibrahim, to Mūsā to Īsā, to Muhammad (may the peace and blessings of Allāh be on them all), without any exception or differentiation. In fact, whoever holds or believes that any of these Prophets or all of them has no honour in the sight of Allāh has committed an avt of kufr (disbelief).

However, the question is, “can we seek Tawassul with their honour?”. That is, can one say any of the following:

* Ubangizhi, ina rokonka don girma/daraja Annabi Muhammadu (Hausa);

* Soko, mi ye tan wo gwa ebo chinwan/alubarika Annabi Muhammadu o (Nupe);

* Ọlọhun, mó fi ọlá/alubarika Annabi Muhamma bẹ ó or wó ọlá Annabi Muhamma (Yorùbá);

* Jaumirawo am mido torama gam daraja burnado takle (Fulfulde);

* اللهم إنا نسألك بجاه أو ببركة النبي محمد (Arabic);

O Allah! I ask thee with the honour/blessings of Prophet Muhammad;

The answer is capital NO. Why? There are two reasons for this:

One: There is no credible evidence from the Qur’an or Sunnah to that effect;

Two: It is not the way of our pious predecessors from among the Sahābah and the subsequent generations of Muslims, who the Prophet ﷺ described as خير الناس (the best of people).

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As explained in the previous edition, Tawassul is a form of ibādah, the base rule of which is التحريم (forbidden) until there’s a clear evidence permitting it. Thus, since we find no provision in the authentic sources of legislation in Islām permitting it, it becomes imperative for every sincere Muslim to abandon it.

However, I have to clarify a few ahādīth here which are often cited to promote Tawassul with the honour of the Prophet ﷺ:

i. There’s a popular Hadīth among Muslim clerics and preachers that Prophet ﷺ said:

تَوَسَّلوا بِجاهي فإنَّ جاهي عند الله عظيم/عريض
“Seek Tawassul with my honour, for my honour with Allāh is great.”

Shaykh Al-Albānī رحمه الله said concerning this hadīth:
وهذا باطل لا أصل له في شيء من كتب الحديث البتة، وإنما يرويه بعض الجهال كما نبه على ذلك شيخ الإسلام ابن تيمية رحمه الله.

“This statement is false and unfounded. It cannot be traced to any book of hadith at all. It is only being related by some ignoramuses as explained by Shaykhul Islām ibn Taimiyyah (may Allāh have mercy on him).”

There’s no single scholar of hadīth science, past or present that has authenticated the attribution of this statement to the Prophet ﷺ. This is why it has not been recorded in any of the magnum opuses of the prophet’s tradition. It is a fabricated hadīth, and cannot be used as a basis for legislation in Islām.

ii. The second hadīth often cited in this regard is the following:
قال الحافظ في الفتح ” وروى بن أبي شيبة بإسناد صحيح من
رواية أبي صالح السمان عن مالك الداري وكان خازن عمر قال أصاب الناس قحط في زمن عمر فجاء رجل إلى قبر النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم فقال يا رسول الله استسق لأمتك فإنهم قد هلكوا فأتى الرجل في المنام فقيل له ائت عمر… الحديث.

” Says Al-Hāfidh bn Hajar, “Ibn Abī Shaybah reported via an authentic chain from the narration of Abi Sālih As-Sammān from Mālik Ad-Dārī… ‘The people experienced drought during the time of Umar, so a man went to the grave site of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم and said,” O Messenger of Allāh, seek rain for your Ummah, for they have been destroyed. So the Prophet ﷺ appeared to the man in his dream and said to him, “approach Umar.”

In critiquing this hadīth, Shaykh Al-Albānī رحمه الله wrote:” This hadīth can be faulted in three ways:

One: Its chain of narration is questionable. In it is found Mālik ad-Dār whose integrity suffers serious credibility problems because his character is shrouded in mystery (مجهول الحال). Furthermore, the clearance by ibn Hajar for its chain is only up to to Abū Sālih as himself had indicated.

Two: The text of the hadīth contradicts the manner of seeking rain as taught by the Prophet ﷺ. It is established in the Sunnah that whenever there was drought, a group of Muslims should gather themselves and observe the صلاة الاستسقاء prayer for seeking rain. If this narration were correct, of what use will be such recommended Salāt henceforth?

Three: The text of the hadith indicates that the man did not do التَّوَسُّلْ with the Prophet, rather he did الاستغاثة (seeking assistance and succor) with him. In Islām, it is an act of kufr and shirk to seek assistance with the dead. (This shall be discussed in detail in the next edition titled: THE SHIRK OF ISTIGĀTHAH).

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Shaykh Al-Albānī wrote:
ليس فيها التوسل بالنبي بل فيها طلب الدعاء منه أن يسقى الله أمته، وهذه مسألة تتعلق بالطلب منه بعد وفاته ولم يجوزها أحد من علماء السلف الصالح.
“There’s no indication in the narration that he did Tawassul with the Prophet ﷺ. Rather, he sought prayer from him that Allāh should send down the rains on his Ummah. This issue is related to seeking supplications from him after his demise which none of the scholars of the past approved of.”

ii. Seeking Tawassul with the Awliyā (saints) and Sālihūn (righteous servants of Allāh); either dead or alive: It is equally common in our society to hear people making Tawassul with the Awliyā and Sālihūn . It should be noted that this carries the same ruling of impermissibility as making Tawassul with the Prophet ﷺ. Thus, it is wrong to use ‘ola awon baba/shehu’ as Tawassul to Allāh. One should stick to the permissible forms Tawassul earlier explained.

Shaykhī bn Bāz رحمه الله said:

شرك أصغر، وهو التوسل بجاه فلان، وبفلان، كالتوسل بجاه النبي محمد، أو بجاه الأنبياء، أو بجاه الشيخ عبد القادر، أو بجاه أبي بكر، أو عمر، أو بذواتهم أسألك بعمر، أو بعثمان، هذا من التوسل الذي هو منكر، وهو يسمى شركاً أصغر، وهو من وسائل الشرك الأكبر، هذا من وسائل الشرك الأكبر

“It is a form of minor shirk to make Tawassul with the honour of anyone, such as making Tawassul with the honour of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, or the honour prophets, or Shaykh AbdulQādir, or Abūbakr, or Umar. Or making Tawassul with their personalities (such as saying) ‘I ask you with the personality of Umar or Uthmān. This is detested form of Tawassul, and it is a monor shirk, as well as a means to the major shirk. It is a means to the major shirk.”

Other forms of impermissible Tawassul include: making Tawassul with one’s parents, the graveyards of saint; the Holy Land; Angel and other creatures of Allāh: living or non-living.

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Rather than make Tawassul with the saints and righteous people, what should be done is to make Tawassul with their supplication. That is, it is permitted to approach a righteous person, and seek that he/she prays for one. It is narrated in an authentic report that:

أن عمر بن الخطاب رضي الله عنه كان إذا قحطوا استسقى بالعباس بن عبد المطلب رضي الله عنه، فقال: “اللَّهُمَّ إِنَّا كُنَّا نَتَوَسَّلُ إِلَيْكَ بِنَبِيِّنَا صلى الله عليه وسلم فَتَسْقِينَا، وَإِنَّا نَتَوَسَّلُ إِلَيْكَ بِعَمِّ نَبِيِّنَا فَاسْقِنَا”، قَالَ: فَيُسْقَوْنَ

“Whenever drought occurs during the time of Umar, he sought for rain with (the Du’ā) of Al-Abbās bn AbdilMuttalib (may Allāh be pleased with him). He said, ‘O Allāh! We used to seek Tawassul to You with (the Du’ā) of our Prophet ﷺ, and you do answer us. Now, we seek Tawassul to you with (the Du’ā) of the uncle of our Prophet ﷺ.’ He(the narrator) said, ‘and they were given rain.’

In another narration, : “فقال عمر للعباس رضي الله عنه: قم فاستسق وادع ربك”

‘Umar said to Al-Abbās, ‘stand up, and seek rain for us, and invoke your Lord.’

In conclusion, it is incumbent upon the Muslim to stick to what is permitted in matters of the Dīn, to avoid falling into harām and shirk.

Dr. Sanusi Lafiagi is a lecturer in Department of Islamic Studies, Al-Hikmah University Ilorin