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Tawassul is an Arabic word originated from wa-sa-la- wasilat (). The ''wasilah'' is a means by which a person, goal or objective is approached, attained or achieved. In another version of the meaning of tawassul in another text: Tawassul is an Arabic word that comes from a verbal noun, wasilah, which according to Ibn Manzur (d. 711/1311) in Lisān al-'Arab means "a station of King, a rank, or act of devotion". In other words, it refers to a position of power due to one's proximity to the king or sovereign. While the ''tawassul'' or ''tawassulan'' is the use of wasilah for this purpose. In religious contexts, the ''tawassul'' is the use of a wasilah to arrive at or obtain favour of Allah.


Etymology

Tawassul is an Arabic word that comes from a verbal noun, "wasilah", which means "closeness, nearness, proximity, neighbourship". According to Ibn Manzur (d. 711/1311) in Lisān al-'Arab, wasilah means "a station with King, a rank, or act of devotion. The word wasilat had been stated in the
Quran The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , sing. ...
two times ( :35 7:57. It is translated as “a means that can be used to gain nearness to God”. Therefore, the typical meaning of tawassul or tawassulanis use of wasilat to obtain nearness to God.


Concept

Tawassul, as the main habitude of
supplication Supplication (also known as petitioning) is a form of prayer, wherein one party humbly or earnestly asks another party to provide something, either for the party who is doing the supplicating (e.g., "Please spare my life.") or on behalf of someon ...
s, has key role in to acceptation of them. :''O you who believe! be careful of (your duty to) Allah and seek means (wasilah) of nearness to Him and strive hard in His way that you may be successful'' (Q5:35) Some classical commentators, including the great
Sufi Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, ...
exegetes, such as
al-Qushayri 'Abd al-Karīm ibn Hawazin Abū al-Qāsim al-Qushayrī al-Naysābūrī ( fa, , ar, عبد الكريم بن هوازن بن عبد الملك بن طلحة أبو القاسم القشيري; 986 – 30 December 1072) was an Arab Muslim sch ...
(d. 465/1074) explain the use of ''al-wasilah'' in this verse to mean avoiding what is prohibited, fulfilling what is enjoined on us, and drawing near to
God In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...
through good actions. Both Raghib al-Isfahani and Sayyid
Muhammad Husayn Tabataba'i Muhammad Husayn Tabataba'i or Sayyid Mohammad Hossein Tabataba'i (16 March 1903 – 15 November 1981) was an Iranian scholar, theorist, philosopher and one of the most prominent thinkers of modern Shia Islam. He is perhaps best known for his '' ...
opine that ''al-wasilah'' means to reach a certain goal through desire, inclination and willingness, and in fact wasilah towards
God In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...
means observance of his path with knowledge and worship through adherence to the
Sharia Sharia (; ar, شريعة, sharīʿa ) is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition. It is derived from the religious precepts of Islam and is based on the sacred scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran and the H ...
. It can be deduced from the verse above that intercession (tawassul) is only with the "permission" of Allah.Sunni Hanbali Position from Islam Tomorrow
/ref> Also, the practice of seeking intercession began during the time of the Islamic prophet
Muhammad Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد;  570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the monot ...
. An oft-cited Hadith in support of this is one narrated from Uthman ibn Hunaif regarding a blind man who Muslims believe was healed through the process. The Hadith is as follows: Various episodes from the life of Muhammad depict him interceding on behalf of his companions, mostly asking God to forgive their sins (
Istighfar Istighfar ( ar, ٱسْتِغْفَار '), is the act of seeking forgiveness from Allah, usually by saying ''ʾastaġfiru -llāh'' ( ar, أَسْتَغْفِرُ ٱللَّٰهَ, link=no). A longer variant is ''ʾastaġfiru -llāha rabbī wa-� ...
). For example, Aisha relates that he often slipped quietly from her side at night to go to the cemetery of
Al-Baqi' ''Jannat al-Baqīʿ'' ( ar, ٱلْبَقِيْع, "The Baqi'") is the oldest and the first Islamic cemetery of Medina in the Hejazi region of present-day Saudi Arabia. It is located to the southeast of the Prophet's Mosque, which contains the gr ...
to beseech forgiveness of God for the dead. Similarly, his istighfar is mentioned in the
Salat al-Janazah ( ar, صلاة الجنازة) is the Islamic funeral prayer; a part of the Islamic funeral ritual. The prayer is performed in congregation to seek pardon for the deceased and all dead Muslims. The is a collective obligation upon Muslims () ...
and its efficacy explained. Another early example of tawassul is represented by the idea of turning to God by means of Muhammad. This appears in an account concerning the story of a blind man who asked Muhammad to pray to God for his health because of his blindness. This hadith is quoted in some major collections of traditions, such as Ahmad ibn Hanbal's musnad:


In the Quran

The Qur'an states: This verse raised the question as to whether or not Muhammad's mediation was still possible after his death. A number of Islamic scholars including
Al-Nawawi Abū Zakariyyā Yaḥyā ibn Sharaf al-Nawawī ( ar, أبو زكريا يحيى بن شرف النووي;‎ (631A.H-676A.H) (October 1230–21 December 1277), popularly known as al-Nawawī or Imam Nawawī, was a Sunni Shafi'ite jurist and ha ...
,
Ibn Kathir Abū al-Fiḍā’ ‘Imād ad-Dīn Ismā‘īl ibn ‘Umar ibn Kathīr al-Qurashī al-Damishqī (Arabic: إسماعيل بن عمر بن كثير القرشي الدمشقي أبو الفداء عماد; – 1373), known as Ibn Kathīr (, was ...
and
Ibn al-Athir Abū al-Ḥasan ʿAlī ibn Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad ash-Shaybānī, better known as ʿAlī ʿIzz ad- Dīn Ibn al-Athīr al-Jazarī ( ar, علي عز الدین بن الاثیر الجزري) lived 1160–1233) was an Arab or Kurdish historian ...
in his exegesis relates the following episode, aiming to demonstrate its effectiveness: ''A Bedouin of the desert visited the Prophet’s tomb and greeted the Prophet, addressing him directly as if he were alive. “Peace upon you, Messenger of God!” Then he said, “I heard the word of God ‘If, when they had wronged themselves . . .,’ I came to you seeking pardon for my mistakes, longing for your intercession with our Lord!” The Bedouin then recited a poem in praise of the Prophet and departed. The person who witnessed the story says that he fell asleep, and in a dream he saw the Prophet saying to him, “O ‘Utbi, rejoin our brother the Bedouin and announce ohim the good news that God has pardoned him!”'' The Qur'an also states:The above verse lay emphasis on four things: * Faith * Piety (
Taqwa ''Taqwa'' ( ar, تقوى '' / '') is an Islamic term for being conscious and cognizant of God, of truth, "piety, fear of God."Nanji, Azim. "Islamic Ethics," in ''A Companion to Ethics'', Peter Singer. Oxford: Blackwells,n(1991), pp. 106– ...
) * Search for means of approach * Struggle for Allah's sake According to the verse, the third regulation after faith in God and piety is " seeking means (of approach to) His (presence and to His nearness and accessibility)". Some of the religious scholars have interpreted ''wasilah'' (the means of approach) mentioned in the Quranic verse as faith and good deeds while others, who are majority have explained the word as the prophets, the righteous and favorites of Allah. Also, the verse reveals that a person seeking means of approach to Allah will have in the first instance a believer and Muttaqeen (a person who fear Allah). Thus ''wasilah'' does not amount to associating partner with Allah but rather reaffirms the oneness of Allah, according to the opinion of
Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri ( ur, ‎; born 19 February 1951) is a Pakistani–Canadian Islamic scholar and former politician who founded Minhaj-ul-Quran International and Pakistan Awami Tehreek. He was also a professor of international cons ...
.


Types

There is this agreement among Muslim theologians that a means (tawassul) is acceptable concepts to draw near to Allah but they can't gain unanimity on what kind of means (Tawassul) is permissible. According to the main agreement people can draw near to Allah and invoke him by using of these permissible means such as their good act (their prayer, fasting and reciting the Quran) but there is the discussion on approach to Allah by means of the person of Muhammad and his dignity or other pious Muslims after the death.


Sunni perspective

Various episodes from the life of Muhammad depict him interceding on behalf of his companions, mostly asking God to forgive their sins (
Istighfar Istighfar ( ar, ٱسْتِغْفَار '), is the act of seeking forgiveness from Allah, usually by saying ''ʾastaġfiru -llāh'' ( ar, أَسْتَغْفِرُ ٱللَّٰهَ, link=no). A longer variant is ''ʾastaġfiru -llāha rabbī wa-� ...
). For example, Aisha relates that he often slipped quietly from her side at night to go to the cemetery of
Al-Baqi' ''Jannat al-Baqīʿ'' ( ar, ٱلْبَقِيْع, "The Baqi'") is the oldest and the first Islamic cemetery of Medina in the Hejazi region of present-day Saudi Arabia. It is located to the southeast of the Prophet's Mosque, which contains the gr ...
to beseech forgiveness of God for the dead....Similarly, his istighfar is mentioned in the
Salat al-Janazah ( ar, صلاة الجنازة) is the Islamic funeral prayer; a part of the Islamic funeral ritual. The prayer is performed in congregation to seek pardon for the deceased and all dead Muslims. The is a collective obligation upon Muslims () ...
... and its efficacy explained. All jurists comprising
Imami Twelver Shīʿīsm ( ar, ٱثْنَا عَشَرِيَّة; '), also known as Imāmīyyah ( ar, إِمَامِيَّة), is the largest branch of Shīʿa Islam, comprising about 85 percent of all Shīʿa Muslims. The term ''Twelver'' refers t ...
,
Shafi'i The Shafii ( ar, شَافِعِي, translit=Shāfiʿī, also spelled Shafei) school, also known as Madhhab al-Shāfiʿī, is one of the four major traditional schools of religious law (madhhab) in the Sunnī branch of Islam. It was founded by ...
,
Maliki The ( ar, مَالِكِي) school is one of the four major schools of Islamic jurisprudence within Sunni Islam. It was founded by Malik ibn Anas in the 8th century. The Maliki school of jurisprudence relies on the Quran and hadiths as primary s ...
,
Hanafi The Hanafi school ( ar, حَنَفِية, translit=Ḥanafiyah; also called Hanafite in English), Hanafism, or the Hanafi fiqh, is the oldest and one of the four traditional major Sunni schools (maddhab) of Islamic Law (Fiqh). It is named afte ...
and
Hanbali The Hanbali school ( ar, ٱلْمَذْهَب ٱلْحَنۢبَلِي, al-maḏhab al-ḥanbalī) is one of the four major traditional Sunni schools (''madhahib'') of Islamic jurisprudence. It is named after the Arab scholar Ahmad ibn Hanbal (d ...
are unanimous on the permissibility of tawassul whether during the lifetime of Muhammad or after his death. Syrian Islamic scholars Salih al-Nu`man, Abu Sulayman Suhayl al-Zabibi, and Mustafa ibn Ahmad al-Hasan al-Shatti al-Hanbali al-Athari al-Dimashqi have similarly released
Fatwa A fatwā ( ; ar, فتوى; plural ''fatāwā'' ) is a legal ruling on a point of Islamic law (''sharia'') given by a qualified '' Faqih'' (Islamic jurist) in response to a question posed by a private individual, judge or government. A jurist i ...
s in support of the practice.
Al-Suyuti Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti ( ar, جلال الدين السيوطي, Jalāl al-Dīn al-Suyūṭī) ( 1445–1505 CE),; ( Brill 2nd) or Al-Suyuti, was an Arab Egyptian polymath, Islamic scholar, historian, Sufi, and jurist. From a family of Persian ...
in his book ''History of the Caliphs'' also reports Caliph Umar's prayer for rain after the death of Muhammad and specifies that on that occasion ‘Umar was wearing his mantle (al-burda), a detail confirming his ''tawassul'' through Muhammad at that occasion.
Sahih al-Bukhari Sahih al-Bukhari ( ar, صحيح البخاري, translit=Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī), group=note is a ''hadith'' collection and a book of ''sunnah'' compiled by the Persian scholar Muḥammad ibn Ismā‘īl al-Bukhārī (810–870) around 846. Alo ...
narrates similar situation as:


Shia perspective

Seeking Intercession (tawassul) is accepted and even advised in
Shi'a Islam Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, most n ...
. Shia Scholars refer to Quranic verses such a
5:312:97
an
12:98
and justify its permissibility. During the tawassul prayer Shia Muslims call on the names of Muhammad and the Ahl al-Bayt and use them as their intercessors/intermediaries to God. Shias always pray to and only to Allah, but as other Muslims, they accept tawassul as a means of seeking intercession. Shia Muslims consider that Tawassul through prophets and Imams of Allah is the great justification of wasilah, because they had gain to the high degree of humanity and after death, they are alive and they are blessed by Allah. So they are kind of means that people use to gain nearness to Allah. Shia Muslim does not consider Tawasull as
Bid‘ah In Islam, bid'ah ( ar, بدعة; en, innovation) refers to innovation in religious matters. Linguistically, the term means "innovation, novelty, heretical doctrine, heresy". In classical Arabic literature ('' adab''), it has been used as a for ...
and
Shirk Shirk may refer to: * Shirk (surname) * Shirk (Islam), in Islam, the sin of idolatry or associating beings or things with Allah * Shirk, Iran, a village in South Khorasan Province, Iran * Shirk-e Sorjeh, a village in South Khorasan Province, I ...
. According to their tenets, when Tawassul is forbidden that people don't attention that these means was created by Allah and their effect is raised from him. Shia Muslim
visit Visit refer as go to see and spend time with socially. Visit may refer to: *State visit, a formal visit by a head of state to a foreign country * Conjugal visit, in which a prisoner is permitted to spend several hours or days in private with a visi ...
from grave of Shia Imam and prophets of Allah and consider it as means to gain nearness to Allah.


References


Further reading

* Chiabotti, Francesco, Shafa'a (Intercession), in Muhammad in History, Thought, and Culture: An Encyclopedia of the Prophet of God (2 vols.), Edited by C. Fitzpatrick and A. Walker, Santa Barbara, ABC-CLIO, 2014.


External links


Supplication through the Prophet Muhammad (al-tawassul)
Dar al-Ifta al-Misriyyah Egypt's Dar al-Ifta ( ar, دار الإفتاء المصرية ) is an Egyptian Islamic advisory, justiciary and governmental body established as a centre for Islam and Islamic legal research in Egypt in 1313 AH / 1895 CE. It offers Muslims ...

Intercession in Islam

Tawassul in the Sunnah




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The Hadith Proofs for Tawassul (Intercession)
{{Authority control Islamic terminology Islamic prayer Salah Sufism Shia Islam