about tawassul,
-In Al-Mu^jam Al-Kabir and Al-Mu^jam As_Saghir, Imam at-Tabaraniyy related the hadith about the Prophet from the route of ^Uthman Ibn Hunayf who was in a circle with the Prophet when a blind man came to address Prophet Muhammad, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam:
The blind man addressed the Prophet by saying, "O Prophet of Allah, ask Allah for me to cure my blindness." The Prophet replied by saying, "If you wish, you would be patient with your calamity, and if you wish, I will ask Allah to cure your blindness."
However, the blind man told the Prophet: "The loss of my sight is a great hardship for me, and there is no one near to guide me around."
At this moment, the Prophet ordered the man to go to the place where al-wudu' would be performed, perform al_wudu', pray two rak^ah, end his salat by saying as-salamu ^alaykum, and then say the following words:
<<O Allah, I ask You, and I direct myself to You in supplication by our Prophet Muhammad, the Prophet of Mercy. O Muhammad, I direct myself to Allah by you, so my need [here the specific need is mentioned] would be fulfilled.>> The blind man went and did as the Prophet ordered. Shortly thereafter, he returned to the Prophet's session with his blindness cured.
Then, after the death of the Prophet, and during the time of the caliphate of ^Uthman Ibn ^Affan, a man came to ^Uthman Ibn Hunayf. This man complained to ^Uthman Ibn Hunayf about a matter which he needed to be fulfilled through the caliph, but which was not being fulfilled. ^Uthman Ibn Hunayf ordered the man to go to the place where al-wudu' would be performed, perform al-wudu', perform two rak^ah, and after saying as_salam to say the following words: 'O Allah, I ask You and I direct myself to You in supplication by our Prophet Muhammad, the Prophet of Mercy. O Muhammad, I direct myself to Allah by you, so my need [specify need] would be fulfilled.
^Uthman Ibn Hunayf told him to return after doing this, and they would go together to the caliph. This man went and performed what ^Uthman Ibn Hunayf ordered him to do. However, instead of returning to ^Uthman Ibn Hunayf, he elected to go on his own to the caliph--which he did. When he reached the door of the caliph, the gateman took him by the hand to the caliph. ^Uthman Ibn ^Affans at him on a carpet next to him and asked him, "What is your need that you wanted fulfilled? I forgot all about it until just now." The man informed the caliph about his need, which he fulfilled. The caliph told him, "Whenever you have a need, come to me and I will satisfy it for you."
It is because of the prayer this man performed, and the du^a' that he made--asking Allah for his need by the Prophet--that Allah made the heart of the caliph move towards fulfilling the need of that man. This prayer and the du^a' afterwards in which one is asking Allah to fulfill a need is called 'Salat al-Hajah'. Let the one who has a need: perform al-wudu', pray two rak^ah, and then say that du^a' as mentioned, and in sha' Allah, his need will be fulfilled.
This hadith was narrated by many scholars of hadith. Some of them related the part of the hadith which occurred during the lifetime of the Prophet, and some narrated both parts of the hadith, i.e., the part which took place during the lifetime of the Prophet and the part which took place after his death and during the caliphate of Sayyidina ^Uthman Ibn ^Affan. Imam at_Tabaraniyy is among those scholars who narrated the entire hadith, in both parts--the part that took place during the life of the Prophet, as well as the part that took place after the death of the Prophet. After narrating that hadith, he said, "The classification of this hadith is sahih."
This hadith carries the proof that it is permissible in Islam for one to ask Allah for things by the Prophet during the lifetime of the Prophet and after the death of the Prophet. Hence, there is no difference in the permissibility of asking Allah for things by the Prophet, whether done during the lifetime of the Prophet or after his death. The scholars of Ahl as-Sunnah wal Jama^ah said that it is permissible to make that tawassul during the lifetime of the Prophet and after his death. Knowing that, one concludes that the claim of some people that it is not permissible to ask Allah for things except by he who is alive and present, is something which is rejected.
The first person to make this false claim was a man who lived some 600 years ago, by the name of Ahmad Ibn Taymiyah. This man falsely stated that it is not permissible to ask Allah for things except by he who is alive and present. This is wrong! It is contrary to what is stated in the rules of the Religion of Islam. During the time of Ahmad Ibn Taymiyah, scholars of Ahl as-Sunnah refuted his argument, and as a result his false claim did not spread at that time. However, some 200 years ago, a man named Muhammad Ibn Abdul-Wahhab emerged in a place in the Arabian Peninsula called Najd which the Prophet dispraised. Al-Bukhariyy related a hadith about the Prophet in which he said:
<<From this spot, [which is called Najd] the tribulations and the sedition will occur.>> The Prophet conveyed the truth. Many tribulations and sedition have occurred from that region. Among the most recent was this man by the name of Muhammad Ibn ^Abdul-Wahhab. Muhammad Ibn ^Abdul-Wahhab followed Ahmad Ibn Taymiyah in the aforementioned case and in other cases as well. He started repeating the false statement of Ibn Taymiyah that it is not permissible for one to ask Allah for things except by he who is alive and present. This rule has no foundation whatsoever in the Religion of Allah. Rather, this rule and this statement were innovated by Ahmad Ibn Taymiyah__ an innovation of misguidance.
As a result of their stubbornness and arrogance, the leaders of the Wahhabiyyah movement rejected the part of the hadith which signifies the man asking Allah for things by the Prophet, after the Prophet's death. The great scholars of Ahl as-Sunnah told these people that the scholars classified that entire hadith as sahih, i.e., the part that took place during the lifetime of the Prophet and the part that took place after his death. Hence, one must reject the false claim of Ibn Taymiyah and Muhammad Ibn ^Abdul-Wahhab, because it stands against the sayings of those reliable and dependable scholars of hadith. Al_Hafidhat_Tabaran iyy narrated that hadith, among others, including al-Hafidh al-Bayhaqiyy and al-Hafidh as_Subkiyy and al_Hafidh al-^Ala'iyy; they all classified it as sahih. The status of those huffadh, i.e., their high knowledge and high level in the Science of Hadith, is a case of unanimous agreement among the scholars of Islam.
