QUESTION
Assalamu Alaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa
Barakatuh, Sheikh.
May Allah reward you abundantly and
grant you Jannatul Firdaus.
My question is: What does tawassul mean? What are the legitimate ways through which a person may practise tawassul, based on evidence from the Qur’an and authentic Sunnah?
Thank you.
ANSWER
Wa Alaikumus Salam wa Rahmatullahi
wa Barakatuh.
May Allah reward you for your
question and guide us all to what pleases Him.
What
Does Tawassul Mean?
Tawassul
generally means seeking a means of drawing closer to Allah or seeking His help
through a means that the Islamic Shari'ah has recognised.
Allah says:
﴿يَا أَيُّهَا
الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَابْتَغُوا إِلَيْهِ الْوَسِيلَةَ﴾
Transliteration:
Yā ayyuhal-ladhīna āmanū ittaqū Allāha wabtaghū ilayhi al-wasīlah.
English translation:
“O you who believe, be mindful of Allah and seek a means of nearness to Him.”
(Qur’an 5:35)
The important question, therefore,
is: Which means of tawassul are established by the Qur’an and authentic
Sunnah?
1.
Tawassul Through Allah’s Names and Attributes
One established form of tawassul is
to call upon Allah using His beautiful names and attributes that are
appropriate to one's supplication.
Allah says:
﴿وَلِلَّهِ
الْأَسْمَاءُ الْحُسْنَىٰ فَادْعُوهُ بِهَا﴾
Transliteration:
Wa lillāhil-asmā’ul-ḥusnā fadʿūhu bihā.
English translation:
“And to Allah belong the Most Beautiful Names, so call upon Him by them.”
(Qur’an 7:180)
For example, a person seeking
forgiveness may call upon Allah by His name Al-Ghafūr (The Most
Forgiving), while someone seeking mercy may call upon Him as Ar-Raḥmān
and Ar-Raḥīm.
A person may therefore say:
“O Allah, by Your vast mercy, have
mercy upon me and fulfil my need.”
The supplication remains directed to
Allah alone.
2.
Tawassul Through Affirming Allah’s Oneness and Praising Him
The Sunnah also contains examples of
a person praising Allah and affirming His greatness and oneness before asking
Him for something.
A man once supplicated to Allah with
words including:
Arabic:
اللَّهُمَّ
إِنِّي أَسْأَلُكَ بِأَنَّ لَكَ الْحَمْدَ، لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا أَنْتَ،
الْمَنَّانُ، بَدِيعُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ، يَا ذَا الْجَلَالِ
وَالْإِكْرَامِ
Transliteration:
Allāhumma innī as’aluka bi-anna lakal-ḥamd, lā ilāha illā anta, al-Mannān,
Badīʿus-samāwāti wal-arḍ, yā Dhal-Jalāli wal-Ikrām.
English translation:
“O Allah, I ask You because all praise belongs to You. There is no deity worthy
of worship except You, the Bestower of favours, Originator of the heavens and
the earth, Possessor of Majesty and Honour.”
The Prophet ﷺ heard him and said that he had called upon Allah by His
Greatest Name, by which Allah answers when He is called upon and gives when
He is asked.
(Sunan Abī Dāwūd, 1495; Jāmiʿ
at-Tirmidhī, 3544; Sunan an-Nasā’ī, 1300)
This illustrates the legitimacy of
praising Allah and invoking Him through His names and attributes when making
supplication.
3.
Tawassul Through One’s Own Righteous Deeds
Another clearly established form is
to ask Allah while mentioning a sincere righteous deed that one has performed.
The well-known hadith of the three
men trapped in a cave provides a powerful example.
Three men were travelling when rain
forced them into a cave. A rock fell and blocked the entrance. Each man then
supplicated to Allah by mentioning a righteous deed he had performed sincerely
for Allah's sake.
One mentioned his exceptional
kindness to his parents. Another mentioned that he avoided committing a sinful
act despite having the opportunity to do so, out of fear of Allah. The third
mentioned his fulfilment of a trust entrusted to him.
After each man's supplication, the
rock moved further until Allah enabled them to escape.
The Prophet ﷺ narrated this incident in an authentic hadith.
(Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, 2272; Ṣaḥīḥ
Muslim, 2743)
This demonstrates that a person may
say, in meaning:
“O Allah, if I did this deed
sincerely for Your sake, then relieve me from this difficulty.”
The person is still asking Allah,
not the deed itself.
4.
Seeking the Supplication of a Righteous Person Who Is Alive
Another established matter is asking
a righteous person who is alive to make du'a for you.
The Companions would ask the Prophet
ﷺ to supplicate to Allah for them while he
was alive.
For example, during a drought, a man
asked the Prophet ﷺ to pray to Allah for
rain, and the Prophet ﷺ supplicated to Allah.
The Companions also sought the Prophet's supplication on other occasions.
This is different from directly
calling upon a deceased person to fulfil one's need.
Tawassul
Is Not the Same as Calling Upon Other Than Allah
It is important to distinguish
between tawassul and directly supplicating to someone other than
Allah.
In tawassul, the person asks Allah
for what he needs while using a legitimate means recognised by Islamic
teachings.
Allah says:
﴿وَقَالَ رَبُّكُمُ
ادْعُونِي أَسْتَجِبْ لَكُمْ﴾
Transliteration:
Wa qāla rabbukumu-dʿūnī astajib lakum.
English translation:
“And your Lord has said, ‘Call upon Me; I will respond to you.’”
(Qur’an 40:60)
Therefore, when we need forgiveness,
guidance, provision, healing, protection or relief from hardship, our
supplication should ultimately be directed to Allah alone.
What
About Tawassul Through the Prophet ﷺ
After His Death?
This is an area in which scholars
have discussed different forms of tawassul, and some details are subject to
scholarly disagreement. It is therefore important not to present a disputed
matter as though there were unanimous agreement.
What is beyond dispute is that
Muslims are to worship Allah alone and direct their supplications to Him.
During the Prophet's lifetime, the Companions could ask him to make du'a for
them. After his death, however, a person should not call upon the Prophet ﷺ as though he independently possessed the
power to fulfil needs or answer prayers.
The safest and clearest forms of
tawassul are those directly established by the Qur’an and authentic Sunnah: calling
upon Allah through His names and attributes, through sincere righteous deeds,
and by seeking the supplication of a righteous person who is alive.
In
Summary
The established forms of tawassul
include:
- Tawassul through Allah's beautiful names and
attributes.
- Tawassul through praising Allah and affirming His
oneness.
- Tawassul through one's own sincere righteous deeds.
- Asking a righteous person who is alive to make du'a for
you.
The essential principle is that Allah
alone is the One being asked and worshipped.
Tawassul should therefore be
practised according to what is established by the Qur’an and authentic Sunnah,
while matters over which scholars have differed should be approached with
knowledge, fairness and caution.
May Allah guide us to sound
understanding, accept our worship and supplications, and bring us closer to Him
through ways that He has approved.
Wallāhu Taʿālā Aʿlam — And Allah
knows best.
Zauren Fatawoyi Bisa Al-Qur’ani da Sunnah
Zauren Fatawoyi Bisa Alkur'ani Da Sunnah.
ﺳُﺒﺤَﺎﻧَﻚَ ﺍﻟﻠَّﻬُﻢَّ ﻭَﺑِﺤَﻤْﺪِﻙَ ﺃﺷْﻬَﺪُ ﺃﻥ ﻟَﺎ ﺇِﻟَﻪَ ﺇِﻻَّ ﺃﻧْﺖَ ﺃﺳْﺘَﻐْﻔِﺮُﻙَ ﻭﺃَﺗُﻮﺏُ ﺇِﻟَﻴْﻚ
WALLAHU A'ALAM.
https://t.me/TambayaDaAnsa
𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓𝐒𝐀𝐏𝐏👇
https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaA8YpB42DcZdoRuCj3G
𝐅𝐀𝐂𝐄𝐁𝐎𝐎𝐊👇
Https://www.facebook.com/groups/336629807654177
**************************
Wannan ɗaya ne daga cikin fatahowin Musulunci da aka gina su kan Ƙur’ani da Hadisan Manzon Allah (SAW) waɗanda ake samu a shafukan Tambayoyi da Amsoshi na Sheik Malam Khamis Yusuf a Facebook, Telegram, da WhatsApp. Za ku iya bibiyar shafukansa domin karanta ƙarin fatawowi.
0 Comments