[Tariqas] TAWASSUL/ Shafaa....part 1

Tue, 29 May 2001 17:40:21 EDT

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Asalamu'aliekum

Tawassul/Shafaa

Ha Mim Keller in Relliance of the Traveller:

w40.1 (n:Special vocabulary:

Tawassul: supplicating Allah by means of an intermediary, whetehr it be a 
living person, dead person, a good deed, or a name or attribute of Allah Most 
High)

w40.2  (Yusuf Rifa'i:)  I here want to convey the position, attested to by 
compelling legal evidence, of the orthodox majority of Sunni Muslims on th 
subject of supplicating Allah through an intermediary (tawassul), and so I 
say ( and Allah alone gives success) that since there is no disagreement 
among scholars that supplicating Allah through an intermediary is in 
principal legally valid, the discussion of its details merely concerns 
derived rulings that involve interschool differences, unrelated to questions 
of belief or unbelief, monotheism or associating partners with Allah (shirk); 
the sphere of the quetion being limited to permissibilty or impermissibility, 
and its ruling being tht it is either lawful or unlawful.  There is no 
difference among groups of Muslims in their concensus on the permissibility 
of three types of supplicating Allah through an intermediary (tawassul):

(1) tawassul through a living righteous person to Allah Most High, as in 
hadith of the blind man with the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) 
as we shall explain;

(2) the tawassul of a living peron to Allah Most High through his own good 
deeds, as in the hadith of the three people trapped in a acve by a great 
stone, a hadith related by Imam Bukhari in his sahih;

(3)  and the tawassul of a person to Allah Most High thorugh His entity 
(dhat), names, attributes (dis:w29.2 (6), and so forth.

Since the legality of these types i agreed upon, there is no reason to set 
forth the evidence for them.  The only area of disagreement is supplicating 
Allah (tawassul) through a righteous dead person.  The majority of the 
orthodox Sunni Community hold that it is lawful, and have supporting hadith 
evidence, of which we will content purselves with the Hadith of the Blind 
Man, since it is the central pivot upon which the discussion turns.

The Hadith of the Blind Man

w40.3  Tirmidhi relates, through his chain of narrators from 'Uthman ibn 
Hunayf, that a blind man came to the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him 
peace) and said, "I've  been afflicted in my eyesight, so please pray to 
Allah for me."  The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said: "Go 
make ablution (wadu), perform two rak'as of prayer, and then say:

"'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 the return of 
my eyesight [and in another version: "for my need, that it may be fulfilled.  
O Allah, grant him intercession for me"]."

The Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) added, "Andif there is some 
need, do the same."

Scholars of Sacred Law infer from this hadith the recommended character of 
the prayer of need, in which someone in need of something from Allah Most 
High performs such a prayer and then turns to Allah with his supplication 
together with other suitable supplications, traditional or otherwise, 
accoring to the need and how the person feels.  The express content of the 
hadith proves the legal validity of tawassul through a living person (n: as 
the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) was alive at the time).  It 
implicitly proves the validity of tawassul through a deceased one as well, 
since tawassul through a living or dead person is not through a physical body 
or through life or death, but rather through the positive meaning (ma'na 
tayyib) attached to the person in both life and death.  The body is but a 
vehicle that carries that significance, which requires that the person be 
respected whether alive or dead; for the words "O Muhammad" are an adress to 
someone physically absent ----in which state the living and dead are 
alike---an adress to the meaning, dear to Allah, that is connected with his 
spirits, a meaning that is the ground of tawassul, be it through a living or 
dead person.

The Hadith of the Man in Need

w40.4  Moreover, Tabarani, in his al Mu'jam al saghir, reports a hadith from 
'Uthman ibn Hunayf that a man repeatedly visited 'Uthman ibn Affan (Allah be 
well pleased with him) concerning something he needed, but 'Uthman paid no 
attention to him or his need.  The man met Ibn Hunayf and complained to him 
about the matter---this being after the death of the Prophet (Allah bless him 
and give him peace) and after the caliphates of Abu Bakr and 'Umar ---so 
'Uthman ibn Hanayf, who was one of the Companions who collected hadiths and 
were learned in religion of Allah, said: Go to the place of ablution and 
perform ablution (wadu), then come to the mosque, perform tow rak'as of 
prayer therein, and say,

"'O Allah, I ask You and turn to You through our prophet Muhammad, the 
Prophet of Mercy; O Muhammad, I turn through you to my Lord, that He may 
fulfill my need.'

"and mention your need.  Then come so that I can go with you [N: to the 
caliph 'Uthman]."  So the man left and did as he had been told, then he went 
to the door of 'Uthman ibn 'Affan (Allah be well pleased with him), and the 
doorman came, took him by the hand, brought him to 'Uthman ibn 'Affan and 
seated him next to him on the cushion.  'Uthman asked "What do you need?"  
and the man mentioned what he wanted, and 'Uthman accomplished it for him and 
then said, "I hadn't remembered your need until just now,"adding, "Whenever  
you need something, just mention it."  Then the man departed, met 'Uthman ibn 
Hunayf, and said to him, "May Allah reward you!  he didn't see to my need or 
pay any attention to me until you spoke with him."  'Uthman ibn Hunayf 
replied, "By Allah, I didn't speak to him, but I have seen a blind man come 
to the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) and complain 
to him of the loss of his eyesight.  The Prophet (Allah bless him and give 
him peace) said, 'Can you not bear it?' and the man replied, 'O Messenger of 
Allah, I do not have anyone to lead me around, and it is a great hardship for 
me.'  The Prophet (Allah bless hima nd give him peace) told him, 'Go to the 
place of ablution and perform ablution (wadu), then pray two rak'as of prayer 
and make these supplications.' "  Ibn Hunayf went on, "By Allah, we didn't 
part company or speak long before the man returned to us as if nothing had 
ever been wrong with him."  

  This is an explicit, unequivocal text from a prophetic Companions proving 
the legal validity of tawassul through the dead.  The account has been 
classed as rigorously atthenticated (sahih) by Bayhaqi, Mundhiri, and 
Haythami.

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<HTML>Asalamu'aliekum
 
 Tawassul/Shafaa
 
 Ha Mim Keller in Relliance of the Traveller:
 
 w40.1 (n:Special vocabulary:
 
 Tawassul: supplicating Allah by means of an intermediary, whetehr it be a 
 living person, dead person, a good deed, or a name or attribute of Allah Most 
 High)
 
 w40.2 &nbsp;(Yusuf Rifa'i:) &nbsp;I here want to convey the position, attested to by 
 compelling legal evidence, of the orthodox majority of Sunni Muslims on th 
 subject of supplicating Allah through an intermediary (tawassul), and so I 
 say ( and Allah alone gives success) that since there is no disagreement 
 among scholars that supplicating Allah through an intermediary is in 
 principal legally valid, the discussion of its details merely concerns 
 derived rulings that involve interschool differences, unrelated to questions 
 of belief or unbelief, monotheism or associating partners with Allah (shirk); 
 the sphere of the quetion being limited to permissibilty or impermissibility, 
 and its ruling being tht it is either lawful or unlawful. &nbsp;There is no 
 difference among groups of Muslims in their concensus on the permissibility 
 of three types of supplicating Allah through an intermediary (tawassul):
 
 (1) tawassul through a living righteous person to Allah Most High, as in 
 hadith of the blind man with the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) 
 as we shall explain;
 
 (2) the tawassul of a living peron to Allah Most High through his own good 
 deeds, as in the hadith of the three people trapped in a acve by a great 
 stone, a hadith related by Imam Bukhari in his sahih;
 
 (3) &nbsp;and the tawassul of a person to Allah Most High thorugh His entity 
 (dhat), names, attributes (dis:w29.2 (6), and so forth.
 
 Since the legality of these types i agreed upon, there is no reason to set 
 forth the evidence for them. &nbsp;The only area of disagreement is supplicating 
 Allah (tawassul) through a righteous dead person. &nbsp;The majority of the 
 orthodox Sunni Community hold that it is lawful, and have supporting hadith 
 evidence, of which we will content purselves with the Hadith of the Blind 
 Man, since it is the central pivot upon which the discussion turns.
 
 The Hadith of the Blind Man
 
 w40.3 &nbsp;Tirmidhi relates, through his chain of narrators from 'Uthman ibn 
 Hunayf, that a blind man came to the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him 
 peace) and said, "I've &nbsp;been afflicted in my eyesight, so please pray to 
 Allah for me." &nbsp;The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said: "Go 
 make ablution (wadu), perform two rak'as of prayer, and then say:
 
 "'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 the return of 
 my eyesight [and in another version: "for my need, that it may be fulfilled. &nbsp;
 O Allah, grant him intercession for me"]."
 
 The Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) added, "Andif there is some 
 need, do the same."
 
 Scholars of Sacred Law infer from this hadith the recommended character of 
 the prayer of need, in which someone in need of something from Allah Most 
 High performs such a prayer and then turns to Allah with his supplication 
 together with other suitable supplications, traditional or otherwise, 
 accoring to the need and how the person feels. &nbsp;The express content of the 
 hadith proves the legal validity of tawassul through a living person (n: as 
 the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) was alive at the time). &nbsp;It 
 implicitly proves the validity of tawassul through a deceased one as well, 
 since tawassul through a living or dead person is not through a physical body 
 or through life or death, but rather through the positive meaning (ma'na 
 tayyib) attached to the person in both life and death. &nbsp;The body is but a 
 vehicle that carries that significance, which requires that the person be 
 respected whether alive or dead; for the words "O Muhammad" are an adress to 
 someone physically absent ----in which state the living and dead are 
 alike---an adress to the meaning, dear to Allah, that is connected with his 
 spirits, a meaning that is the ground of tawassul, be it through a living or 
 dead person.
 
 The Hadith of the Man in Need
 
 w40.4 &nbsp;Moreover, Tabarani, in his al Mu'jam al saghir, reports a hadith from 
 'Uthman ibn Hunayf that a man repeatedly visited 'Uthman ibn Affan (Allah be 
 well pleased with him) concerning something he needed, but 'Uthman paid no 
 attention to him or his need. &nbsp;The man met Ibn Hunayf and complained to him 
 about the matter---this being after the death of the Prophet (Allah bless him 
 and give him peace) and after the caliphates of Abu Bakr and 'Umar ---so 
 'Uthman ibn Hanayf, who was one of the Companions who collected hadiths and 
 were learned in religion of Allah, said: Go to the place of ablution and 
 perform ablution (wadu), then come to the mosque, perform tow rak'as of 
 prayer therein, and say,
 
 "'O Allah, I ask You and turn to You through our prophet Muhammad, the 
 Prophet of Mercy; O Muhammad, I turn through you to my Lord, that He may 
 fulfill my need.'
 
 "and mention your need. &nbsp;Then come so that I can go with you [N: to the 
 caliph 'Uthman]." &nbsp;So the man left and did as he had been told, then he went 
 to the door of 'Uthman ibn 'Affan (Allah be well pleased with him), and the 
 doorman came, took him by the hand, brought him to 'Uthman ibn 'Affan and 
 seated him next to him on the cushion. &nbsp;'Uthman asked "What do you need?" &nbsp;
 and the man mentioned what he wanted, and 'Uthman accomplished it for him and 
 then said, "I hadn't remembered your need until just now,"adding, "Whenever &nbsp;
 you need something, just mention it." &nbsp;Then the man departed, met 'Uthman ibn 
 Hunayf, and said to him, "May Allah reward you! &nbsp;he didn't see to my need or 
 pay any attention to me until you spoke with him." &nbsp;'Uthman ibn Hunayf 
 replied, "By Allah, I didn't speak to him, but I have seen a blind man come 
 to the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) and complain 
 to him of the loss of his eyesight. &nbsp;The Prophet (Allah bless him and give 
 him peace) said, 'Can you not bear it?' and the man replied, 'O Messenger of 
 Allah, I do not have anyone to lead me around, and it is a great hardship for 
 me.' &nbsp;The Prophet (Allah bless hima nd give him peace) told him, 'Go to the 
 place of ablution and perform ablution (wadu), then pray two rak'as of prayer 
 and make these supplications.' " &nbsp;Ibn Hunayf went on, "By Allah, we didn't 
 part company or speak long before the man returned to us as if nothing had 
 ever been wrong with him." &nbsp;
 
 &nbsp;This is an explicit, unequivocal text from a prophetic Companions proving 
 the legal validity of tawassul through the dead. &nbsp;The account has been 
 classed as rigorously atthenticated (sahih) by Bayhaqi, Mundhiri, and 
 Haythami.
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