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Proofs that support the permissibility of Tawassul
through individuals There are three main ahadeeth to prove the ‘legitimacy’ of tawassul (seeking intercession) with the Prophet. 1) Hadeth of the blind man 2) Hadeeth of Malik bin Diyar 3) Hadeeth of Umar and Salatul Istisqaa The others you have mentioned are not stated by those who endorse tawassul of the Prophet. So I will not mention them as some are extremely weak if not fabricated. I will not go through all of the ahadeeth to explain how Muslims we do not seek intercession with the Prophet. As for the first two hadeteh and one athar (blind man [and by extension Uthman bin Hunayf] and Malik), then all of them are contentious in terms of authenticity. There have been some scholars who authenticated and others who have graded as inauthentic. I have decided not to go through all the details as I do not want to firstly re-invent the wheel as there are many responses to this, but highlight some issues that may not appear in them. 1) As for the hadeeth of the blind man: - In the hadeeth it states: Allahumma shaf3nee feehi (O Allah, cure me through him) and then later the man says: shaf3hu fiyya (cure him (the Prophet saw) through me). Now, what authority does the blind man have to cure the Prophet! 2) There is an explanation of the hadeeth of Malik bin Dar already You can email me privately to find out the reply to this. 3) As for the hadeteh of Istisqaa, the Umar (rad) clearly asked Abbas (rad)and did not go to the grave of the Prophet. As it states: “we used to make tawassul through your Prophet’s duaa, and now we do tawassul through the uncle of your Prophet…” We cannot seek aid through the rank of the Prophet. Ponder over this, the thousands and thousands of the scholars that were born and died two centuries after the Prophet (Saw), none of them encouraged to make tawassul through the station/rank of the Prophet including Imam Abu Hanifa (rh). In fact, there are so many narrations by the Imam. In al-Fatawa al-Hindiyya (5/280), and al-Quduri said in his large book of Fiqh called Sharh ul Kharkie in the chapter of detested matters: “Bishr Ibn al-Walid said: ‘Abu Yusuf (the students of Imam Abu Hanifa) narrated to us that Abu Hanifa said: ‘It is not right that anyone should supplicate to Allah except by Him, and I hate that anyone should say: ‘By the right of so and so’ or ‘By the right of your Prophets and Messengers’ or ‘By the right of your sacred house and the sacred area (of Muzdalifah).” Also refre to: Durr ul Mukhtar (2/630), Sharh ul Ihya (2/285) As for the narration of Imam Shafiee seeking blessing through the grave of Imam Abu Hanifa (rh), then it is a lie as mentioned in Iqtidâ as-Sirâtul-Mustaqîm (p.165) of Ibn Taymiyyah and others. In brief, this narration is inauthentic since ’Umar ibn Ishâq ibn Ibrâhîm is unknown and nothing is mentioned about him in the books of rijâl (biographies of narrators). In fact the only scholar in the first three centuries who allowed it was Imam Ahmad (rh), but then he also has another statement condemning it. To be honest, there are so many ways we can seek help from Allah that all of us agree with, so why do we not exhaust all those forms of worship before even going into issues that are questionable? Brothers and sisters, whenever there are any controversial/contentious issues whether it be in fiqh or aqeedah, there are some steps the scholars take in order to come to a conclusion. 1) Look at all of the ayaat and ahadeth on the subject and attempt to reconcile them, not preffering none evidence of another. 2) Desist from entering a subject/topic that the first few generations did not discuss. 3) Look at the Arabic language in understanding the texts, and whether we take the shari (technical) meaning or the lughawi (linguistic) meaning. 4) Restricting our views and understandings according to how the first few generations especially the companions. So if the sahabah had three views on an issue, then we do not have a fourth one. In fcat this is a type of ijmaa (consensus) that restricts us to those three views. Wasslmaualaiakum
Asif
Ps. I will be travelling soon, so if there is a reply to this email, I may not be able to respond straight away. I was thinking of not sending this email out since it is the month of Ramadhan, but since many people will be making dua, I thought it would be better to mention it. Allah said in those same set of ayaat regarding fasting: “And when My slaves ask you concerning Me, then I am indeed near. I respond to the invocations of the supplicant when he calls on Me (without any mediator or intercessor). So let them obey Me and believe in Me, so that they may be led aright. [Surah Al Baqarah: (2):186] This form of verse appears a number of times in the Quran: ‘And when they ask you concerning the ‘Rűh (the spirit)’, ‘anfaal (spoils of war)’ ‘khamri wal maysir (alcoholic drink and gambling)’ and so on. This resulted in people asking the Prophet to ask Allah about an issue that they were inquiring about. Every single time Allah responds to their question, Allah would respond by saying: ‘qul’ (inform them) that it is such and such. However, when Allah was asked about Himself, he did not say ‘qul’. This firstly shows us that we do not need to go through anyone to reach Allah emphasising the greatness and importance of his tawheed. Secondly, this indicates how close Allah is to us. Allah also shows His closeness to us as this ayah compared to the other ayaat addresses the slave by name: “And when My slave asks you.” This shows us that Allah is with us and the fact that he attaches himself to his slave (My slave) shows the greatness of the human is by being a slave of Allah. The other ayaat refers to the slave as though they are distant and many, whilst here the slaves are being addressed as one who is close and one. Knowing how close Allah is to us and that He made a promise that He will respond to His slave. Now, imagine that this slave is one who is fasting and the Prophet said that the dua of the fasting Muslim will not be rejected (Tirmidhee). The bounties and opportunities of Ramadhan are many and the number of days in which we have to take advantage are few or limited. Let us make this Ramadhan different to all our previous Ramadhans. They say that actions speak louder than words, let our actions (worship) therefore be as though we are speaking to our Lord. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To: aawaz-e-dost@yahoogroups.com From: Date: Thu, 4 Sep 2008 23:36:54 -0700 Subject: [aawaz-e-dost] RE:Proofs that support the permissibility of Tawassul through individuals
Assalam Alaikum brother,
Intercession --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The issue of intercession is one of the most controversial issues within Islam. The Shi'a school of thought and some schools within the Sunni tradition accept intercession, while others reject it and say that whoever believes in it is not a Muslim. The Qur'an addresses this issue in three manners. First, there are the verses which negate the , such as 2:123 and 2:254. Then, there are the verses which say that the intercession is exclusively the domain of Allah - that is, that He and only He has the ability to intercede, such as 6:70 and 39:44. Finally, there are those verses which specialize the first two categories and give the complete verdict about the intercession in Islam. They state that the intercession is only the right of Allah, but He will, whenever He wishes, extend it to certain people in His creation. "No intercessor can plead with Him except after His permission. Qur'an 10:3 "Who is he that can intercede with Him except with His permission?" Qur'an 2:255 "On that Day, no intercession shall avail, except the one from whom Allah the Most Gracious has given permission and whose word is acceptable to Him." Qur'an 20:109 "And they cannot intercede, except for him with whom He is pleased. Qur'an 21:28 "None shall have the power of intercession except such a one as has received permission or a promise from Allah the Most Gracious. Qur'an 19:87 "Intercession with Him profits not except for he whom He permits. Qur'an 34:23 According to these verses, certain people who receive permission from Allah - such as the prophets, etc. - will be able to intercede and to help people by the permission of Allah. Without His permission, no intercession will be accepted. Even during this life, the prophets had the ability to intercede on behalf of those who repented and sought forgiveness and to return to the path of Allah: "We sent no messenger but to be obeyed by the leave of Allah. If they who have been unjust to themselves had come to you (Prophet Muhammad) and begged Allah's forgiveness, and the Messenger had begged forgiveness for them - indeed, they would have found Allah All-Forgiving, Most Merciful. Qur'an 4:64 There are numerous proofs that support the permissibility of Tawassul through individuals. The following are some substantiations:
1. Sayyiduna Uthmaan ibn Hunayf [radhiallaahu anhu] narrates that once a blind person came to Rasulullah [sallallaahu alayhi wasallam] and said, 'Oh Rasulullah [sallallaahu alayhi wasallam]! Ask Allah to cure me.' Rasulullah [sallallaahu alayhi wasallam] replied, 'If you wish I will make Du'aa or else you may be patient and this is better for you.' The man said, 'Make Du'aa instead', Rasulullah [sallallaahu alayhi wasallam] then commanded him to make Wudhu properly and that he recites the following Du'aa, 'Oh Allah, verily, I ask of you and I turn to you through your prophet, the prophet of mercy, O Muhammad [sallallaahu alayhi wasallam], verily, I have turned to my Lord through you so that my need be fulfilled. Oh Allah, accept his intercession on my behalf.' (Musnad Ahmad vol.4 pg.138; Sunan Tirmidhi; Sunan ibn Majah; Mustadrak Haakim and others). Imaams Tirmidhi, ibn Khuzaymah and Haakim have classified this Hadith as authentic. The words, 'I turn to you through your prophet' clearly proves Tawassul through the position of a person. Rasulullah [sallallaahu alayhi wasallam] also told him that he should make the same supplication whenever he needed to. (al-Raddul Muhkamul Mateen pg.145)
2. Sayyiduna Anas ibn Maalik [radhiallaahu anhu] reports that when the mother of Sayyiduna Ali [radhiallahu anhu] passed away (Faatima bint Asad - radhiallaahu anha], Rasulullah [sallallaahu alayhi wasallam] made the following Du'aa before burying her: 'O Allah, The One who gives life and death, and Who is living and will never die, forgive my mother Faatima bint Asad [radhiallaahu anha], and make her arguments known to her, i.e. make the answering of Munkar and Nakeer easy, and make her grave spacious for her. (I ask you) through the right of your prophet and all the prophet's before me, for verily You are Most Merciful.' (al-Mu'jamul awsat vol.1 pg.152; Hilya vol.3 pg.121)
'Bi haqqi nabiyyika' (through the right of your prophet). This narration is classified as authentic according to the standards of Imaam ibn Hibbaan and Haakim. (Raf'ul Manaarah pg.147; Maqaalaatul Kawthari). Haafiz Ibn Hajar Al-Haytami(RA) that its chain of narrators is good.(Refer to his footnotes on Al-Manaasik of Imaam Nawawi(RA) pg.500…)
3.The following two proofs illustrate to us the practise of the Sahaabaas well.
4. Hereunder follows a list of some of the many illustrious Ulama of the past who had practised upon Tawassul through the rank of the pious, deceased or alive:
1. Imaam Hasan ibn Ibrahim al-Hallal [ra] has stated that whenever he had any urgent need, he would go to the grave of Imaam Moosa ibn Ja'far [ra] and make Tawassul through him. Allah Ta'ala would fulfil his need. (refer Taarikh Baghdaad) 2. Imaam Shaafi'ee [ra] would make Tawassul at the grave of Imaam Abu Hanifa [ra]. (Taarikh Baghdaad). Allaamah al-Kawthari has classified this incident as authentic. (Maqaalaatul Kawthari pg.381)
3. 4. Hafiz Al-Zarkashi [ra] has made Tawassul in the introduction to his commentary to Sahih al-Bukhari entitled, 'al-Tanqeeh'.
4. Imaam Ahmad bin Hambal(RA) has also encouraged making Tawassul through Rasulullah [sallallahu alayhi wasallam] in ones duas. (Fataawa ibn Taimiyyah vol.1 pg.140, Also see Mafaaheem pg.137)
More so when one realizes that this remained the practise of the Ummah for centuries. Allamah Taqee-ud-Deen Al-Subki(RA) and other Muhadditheen have stated that Haafiz Ibn-Taimiyyah(RA) - who passed away in the year 728 Hijri - was the first to refute the permissibility of this form of Tawassul (Shifaa-us-Siqaam pg.293) In fact, Abu-Abdillah Al-Tilmisani Al-Maaliki(RA) (a renown scholar of the 7th century) has written a book concerning how this remained the practise of the entire Ummah since its existence. (Refer Maqaalatul Kawthari pg.397)
Lastly, we would like to draw your attention to the fact that the above permissibility is in regard to one who asks Allah Ta'ala for a particular need and in doing so, he uses some honourable personality as his Waseela (means) without thinking or believing that the person is being supplicated to or that he will fulfil his need. Yes, if one asks directly from the deceased and he believes that the Anbiyaa [alayhimus salaam] and the pious [rahimahumullah] independently possess the power to provide, then this would be Shirk (polytheism) because he is now ascribing partners to Allah in the quality of 'Providing'.
Many contemporaries have mixed both these forms up; a) asking directly from the deceased and, b) asking Allah Alone, through the medium of some deceased) and have passed one ruling of Shirk for both forms. This is clearly a gross oversight on their path. and Allah Ta'ala Knows Best
Ml. Muhammad ibn Moulana Haroon Abasoomar FACULTY OF SPECIALTY IN HADITH SCIENCES CHECKED & APPROVED: Mufti Ebrahim Desai (Fatwa Dept.) Some more Hadiths Narrated 'Abdullah bin 'Umar: The Prophet said, "A man keeps on asking others for
something till he comes on the Day of Resurrection without any piece of flesh
on his face." The Prophet added, "On the Day of Resurrection, the Sun
will come near (to, the people) to such an extent that the sweat will reach up
to the middle of the ears, so, when all the people are in that state, they will
ask Adam for help, and then Moses, and then Muhammad (p.b.u.h)." The
sub-narrator added "Muhammad will intercede with Allah to judge amongst
the people. He will proceed on till he will hold the ring of the door (of ... 'Surely! Allah wrongs not even of the weight of an atom
(or a smallest ant) but if there is any good (done) He doubles it.' (4.40) The
Prophet added, "Then the prophets and Angels and the believers will
intercede, and (last of all) the Almighty (Allah) will say, ‘Now remains My
Intercession.’ He will then hold a handful of the Fire from which He will take
out some people whose bodies have been burnt, and they will be thrown into a
river at the entrance of Narrated Abu Huraira: Allah's Apostle said, "For every Prophet there is one invocation which is definitely fulfilled by Allah, and I wish, if Allah will, to keep my that (special) invocation as to be the intercession for my followers on the Day of Resurrection." (Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 9, Book 93, Number 566) --- On Thu, 4/9/08, Asif@yahoo.com <Asif@yahoo.com> wrote: From: Asif@yahoo.com <Asif@yahoo.com> Subject: RE: [aawaz-e-dost] Ramadan Mubarak / Mohammad Asif To: aawaz-e-dost@yahoogroups.com Date: Thursday, 4 September, 2008, 10:42 AM Wassalam brother, The proof is that there is not a single dua in Quran or Sunnah which is being asked through the waseela of created being and this is the sufficient proof. The only waseela in dua is allowed through the good deeds or the attribute of Allah or His names. Also Seeking to approach Allah by asking His Messenger saw to make Du’a’ for one during his lifetime, and the believers asking one another to make Du’a’ for one another, is encouraged and valid kind of waseela. All the Hadith which are quoted by some people regarding the validity of waseela or tawassul in dua are either fabricated or weak (daeef). Some scholars quote the below Qur’anic verse in the support of waseela, which is misinterpretation: O you who believe! Do your duty to Allah and fear Him. And seek the means of approach to Him, and strive hard in His Cause (as much as you can), so that you may be successful” [al-Maa’idah 5:35] The above ayah is regarding seeking to approach Allaah through His Names and Attributes, or by doing acts of obedience and worship by which one seeks to approach Allaah, and so on. Ibn Katheer (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: Allaah commands His believing slaves to fear Him (taqwa). When this word is accompanied by mention of obedience, it means refraining from haraam things. After that Allaah says, “And seek the means of approach to Him”. Sufyaan al-Thawri said, narrating from Talhah, from ‘Ata’, from Ibn ‘Abbaas: i.e., drawing close to Him. This was also stated by Mujaahid, Abu Waa’il, al-Hasan, Qataadah, ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Katheer, al-Saddi, Ibn Zayd and others. Qataadah said: i.e., draw close to Him by obeying Him and doing that which pleases Him, and Ibn Zayd recited (interpretation of the meaning): “Those whom they call upon [like ‘Eesa (Jesus) - son of Maryam (Mary), ‘Uzayr (Ezra), angels and others] desire (for themselves) means of access to their Lord (Allaah)” [al-Isra’ 17:57] Some scholar also quote the hadeeth of a blind man who came
to Prophet saw and sought to call upon allah (to cure him from his blindness)
by virtue of the Prophet saw during his Life Time, so the prophet saw
interceded for him and prayed for him, and Allaah restored his sight – this was
a case of seeking the help of Allaah by means of the du’aa’ and intercession of
the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), not by means of his
status and virtue. This is clear from the hadeeth… And similarly, the people
will seek his intercession on the Day of Resurrection for Judgement to be
passed, and the people of Paradise will seek his intercession on the Day of
Resurrection for them to be admitted to whether that is in this world or in the Hereafter, and it is seeking the help of Allaah through his du’aa’ and intercession, not by virtue of his person or status, as was clearly stated by the scholars. It is narrated in Saheeh al-Bukhaari (954) from Anas ibn Maalik that if a drought came, ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab (may Allaah be pleased with him) would ask al-‘Abbaas ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib to pray for rain. He would say: “O Allaah, we used to beseech You by means of (the du’aa’ of) Your Prophet for rain and You would give us rain; now we beseech You by means of (the du’aa’ of) the paternal uncle of Your Prophet, so grant us rain.” Then it would rain. From above hadeeth it is clear that it is permissible and encoraged to ask pious people to make dua, but it is not permissible to ask dua through the people who have passed away. Therefore when the drought came in madeena, Umar RA instead of asking waseela of Prophet Mohammad saw, he approached his uncle for dua. Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: No one has the right to pride himself before Allaah on the righteousness of his forebears, for their righteousness is not part of his deeds for which he may deserve reward, as in the case of the three people in the cave. They did not beseech Allaah by the righteousness of their forebears, rather they beseeched Allaah by virtue of their own righteous deeds. Lets see when Adam and Hawwa committed mistake in Jannah, they ask forgiveness from Allah swt without any waseela as mentioned in below ayah: "They said: 'Our Lord! We have wronged ourselves. If You forgive us not, and bestow not upon us Your Mercy, we shall certainly be of the losers'" [al-A'raaf 7:23] ALLAH is our creator,He loves us.therefore he gives us honour to call him direct, check the below ayah from Quran:- When my servants ask thee concerning Me I am indeed close (to them); I listen to the prayer of every suppliant when he calleth on Me; let them also with a will listen to My call and believe in Me; that they may walk in the right way (Surah Al-Baqara, Ayah 186 )
And your Lord says: "Call on Me; I will answer your (Prayer): But those who are too arrogant to serve Me will surely find themselves in Hell in humiliation (Surah Al-Mu'min, Ayah 60) And He listens to those who believe and do deeds of righteousness and gives them increase of His Bounty: but for the Unbelievers there is a terrible Penalty (Surah Ash-Shura, Ayah 26) If you still believe that asking dua through waseela is valid than you need to bring the proof from Quran or authentic sunnah. Also go read below Qur’anic Ayah:
Is it not to Allah that sincere devotion is due? But those who take for protectors other than Allah (say): "We only serve them in order that they may bring us nearer to Allah." Truly Allah will judge between them in that wherein they differ. But Allah guides not such as are false and ungrateful (Surah Az-Zumar, Ayah 3) When Allah the One and Only is mentioned the hearts of those
who believe not in the Hereafter are filled with disgust and horror; but when
other than He are mentioned behold they are filled with joy! ( May Allah guide all of us and make the one who understand the true message of islam without any prejudice, customs and wrong family beliefs.
Regards Mohammad Asif http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aawaz-e-dost/message/5612 |
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