Usrah@Masat

Introduction

Linguistic Definition: That act which brings you closer to another object.

O you who have believed, fear Allah and seek the means [of nearness] to Him and strive in His cause that you may succeed. (Surah al-Maidah 5:35)

People often use the verse above to justify using a wali/imam/shaykh/righteous person to get closer to Allah.

Contrary to that, Ibn Jareer said in his Tafseer (interpretation) of the above verse: “And to seek to draw nearer to Him by doing good actions and by pleasing Him.”

He didn’t say that we have to seek saints to get closer to Allah now did he?

Two Conditions of a Valid Tawassul

1.   Must be prescribed by the Quran and the Sunna (the teachings of Prophet Muhammad PBUH).

2.   Must use the correct means.

Types of Tawassul

There are ONLY 4 types of Tawassul sanctioned in the Quran and the Sunna:

1.   With the specific Names and Attributes of Allah.

And to Allah belong the best names, so invoke Him by them. And leave [the company of] those who practice deviation concerning His names. They will be recompensed for what they have been doing. (Surah al-A’raf 7:180)

As we already know, Allah has 99 beautiful Names and Attributes. So, invoke/supplicate/make Du’a to Allah using those perfect Names and Attributes. For example, when you want forgiveness, invoke Allah by his Attribute “al-Ghaffur” which means “the All-Forgiving”.

2.   With one’s state, past and present.

And [mention] Zechariah, when he called to his Lord, “My Lord, do not leave me alone [with no heir], while you are the best of inheritors.” (Surah al-Anbiya 21:89)

This is the Du’a made by Prophet Zechariah. He couldn’t bear children. Since he became the guardian of Mary (the mother of Prophet Jesus), his desire to have a child became so intense that he made that Du’a, stating his pitiful state. Subhanallah, Allah gave him a child.

Another example which might be easily visualized is how a beggar uses his pitiful state to ask people to help him. In that same way, you would mention your pitiful state to ask Allah for forgiveness.

3.   With one’s good deeds.

Those who say, “Our Lord, indeed we have believed, so forgive our sins and protect us from the punishment of the Fire,” (Surah ali-Imran 3:16)

In a long Hadeeth reported by Imam Bukhari,

Narrated Abdullah Ibn Omar (may Allah be pleased with him): ‘I heard Allah’s Messenger (SAWS) saying: “Three men from among those who were before you, set out together until they reached a cave at night and they entered it. A big rock rolled down the mountain and closed the mouth of the cave. They said (to each other): ‘Nothing can save us from this rock but to invoke Allah by mentioning the righteous deeds that we have done (for Allah’s sake only).” So, one of them said: ‘O Allah! I had old parents (whom I used to provide with milk) and I never provided my family (wife, children, etc.) with milk before them. One day, by chance I was delayed, and I arrived late (at night) after they had slept. I milked the sheep for them and then took the milk to them, but I found them sleeping. I did not like to offer my family the milk before them, so I waited for them and the bowl of milk was in my hand and I kept on waiting for them to get up until dawn. Then they got up and drank the milk. O Allah! If I did that for Your sake only, I invoke You to relieve us from our critical situation that has been caused by this rock.’ So, the rock moved a little, but they could not get out. The Prophet (SAWS) added: “The second man said: ‘O Allah! I had a cousin who was the dearest of all people to me and I wanted to have sexual intercourse with her, but she refused. Later she came across hard times during a year of famine and she came to me, and I gave her one hundred and twenty dinars on the condition that she would not resist my desires, and she agreed. When I was about to fulfill my desires, she said: “It is illegal for you to violate my chastity except through legitimate marriage.” So, I realized it was a sin to have sexual intercourse with her and left her, though she was the dearest of all people to me. I also left the gold I had given her. O Allah! If I did that for Your sake only, please relieve us from the present calamity.’ So, the rock moved a little more, but still they could not get out from the cave. The Prophet (SAWS) added: “Then the third man said: ‘O Allah! I employed few laborers and I paid them all of them their wages, with the exception of one man who did not take his wages and went away. I invested his wages and I gained much profit from this. (Then after some time) he came and said to me: “O Allah’s servant! Pay me my wages.” I said to him: “All the camels, cows, sheep, and slaves that you see here, are yours.” He said: “O Allah’s slave! Don’t mock me.” I said: “I am not mocking you.” So, he took the herd and drove them away and left nothing. O Allah! If I did that for Your sake only, please relieve us from the present suffering.’ So, the rock moved completely and they walked out. (Sahih Bukhari)

Similarly we can invoke Allah by mentioning our good deeds that we have done SINCERELY for the sake of Allah. For example, “O Allah, I believed in you and gave so much in charity, so please give it to me.”

4.   With the Du’a of a living person.

Anas r.a. said that whenever drought threatened them, Umar bin al-Khattaab r.a. used to ask al-Abbas bin Abdil Muttalib to invoke Allah for rain. He used to say, “O Allah! We used to ask our Prophet PBUH to invoke You for rain, and You would bless us with rain, and now we ask his uncle to invoke You for rain. O Allah! Bless us with rain.” (Sahih Bukhari No. 123)

So, it rained.

In another Hadeeth,

Usair b. Jabir reported that a delegation from Kufa came to ‘Umar and there was a person amongst them who jeered at Uwais. Thereupon Umar said: Is there amongst us one from Qaran? That person came and Umar said: Verily Allah’s Messenger (may peace be upon him) has said: There would come to you a person from Yemen who would be called Uwais and he would leave none in Yemen (behind him) except his mother, and he would have the whiteness (due to leprosy) and he supplicated Allah and it was cured except for the size of a dinar or dirham. He who amongst you meets him should ask him to supplicate for forgiveness (from Allah) for you. (Sahih Muslim)

When Does It Becomes Shirk?

All OTHER types of Tawassul are either Bid’ah (innovations) or Shirk. To ask by the status of Prophet Muhammad PBUH is a Bid’ah, but not Shirk because it is ultimately from Allah.

Disclaimer

This note was taken from the course Lord of the Worlds, organized by AlKauthar Institute of Toronto. The course was taught by the founder of AlKauthar, Shaykh Tawfique Chowdhury. This note is in no way a substitute for this course for it is a different experience entirely. I would highly recommend that you attend this course, Insha Allah you can benefit more from it. If you wish to take anything from this note and include it in your own article, please provide a link to AlKauthar Institute so that people will know the source of the information. Allahua’lam.