06-05-2005, 07:06 PM
Assalamualaikum,Dear members please help me to
clear my doubts own tawassul..i.e approaching Allah in dua
through the status of prophet(pbuh)..saying oh Allah we approach u for so and so
through the status of our prophet( pbuh)...
i found two opinions.. some scholars say.its totally haraam,, but
shafii and hanafi scholars say its permissible ..as they got this hadith of
blind man who came to prophet and prophet taught him how to make dua using his(pbuh)
status..the whole text which i found on a shafii site is below
<b>Tawassul through the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) is permissible. In fact, it is recommended in du'a, as it has been established by the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace), and is agreed upon by the majority of the early and late scholars. This is conveyed by Shaykh al-Islam Taqi Subki, saying: “Tawassul to one's Lord through the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) is praiseworthy. Not one early or late scholar disapproved it, except for Ibn Taymiyah, who innovated something no scholar before him said”. </b>
Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah relate through a rigorous chain of narrators from 'Uthman ibn Hunayf (may Allah be pleased with them) that “A blind man came to the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) and said, 'Please pray to Allah for me that He may heal me.' The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said: 'If you wish I will pray [for you], but if you are patient, it is better for you.' The man said: 'Pray to Him'. The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) directed him to make a meticulous ablution (wudu), and then make the following du'a: 'O Allah, I ask You and turn to You through my Prophet Muhammad, the Prophet of Mercy; O Muhammad, I seek your intercession with my Lord for my need, that it may be fulfilled. O Allah, grant him intercession for me'”. Tirmidhi stated that the hadith is well or rigorously authenticated. [Translator's note: According to this hadith as mentioned in The Reliance of the Traveler (p. 935), one prays 2 rak'as after making wudu and before saying the above mentioned du'a.]
There is no difference between the tawassul made during the life the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace), and after his passing away. In both cases, it is permissible. This is because the above mentioned hadith contains a command to make tawassul, and does not specify that it be done during the life of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) or after his passing away. It is upon those claiming a differentiation to provide supporting evidence for their claim. Furthermore, the reality of tawassul is nothing but supplicating by means of the high station of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) with his Lord, Mighty and Majestic. His station exists during his life and after his death (Allah bless him and give him peace). Making tawassul does not imply the Prophet's (Allah bless him and give him peace) influence over or management of affairs, as this is exclusive to Allah, Mighty and Majestic.
Whoever deems it permissible to make tawassul through the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) during his life time, but impermissible to do so after his passage to the hereafter, believing that influence vanishes after death, holds a clearly problematic belief, for attributing an influence over affairs to other than Allah. According to the Ahlu Sunnah this a straying.
All of what is mentioned above concerning the Prophet also applies to the rest of the prophets (Allah bless them and give them peace), the awliya and the righteous. Therefore, it is permissible to make tawassul through them to Allah, whether during their life time or after their death. The proof for this is the hadith Bukhari narrates about 'Umar (May Allah be pleased with him) making tawassul through 'Abbas (May Allah be pleased with him), the uncle of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) as follows: “ Anas ibn Malik narrated that whenever there was a drought, 'Umar ibn Khattab (May Allah be pleased with him)used to pray for rain through 'Abbas ibn 'Abd al-Muttalib, saying: 'O Allah, we used to make tawassul to you by our Prophet and you would send us rain. Here we are making tawassul to you by the uncle of our Prophet, so send us rain.' He said and they would be given rain.” Al-Hafidh ibn Hajar mentioned in his commentary: “From the story of 'Abbas it follows that seeking intercession through the pious, the righteous and the Ahlul Bait (family of the Prophet) is praiseworthy”.