The Permissibility of Asking Allah for Things by Some of His Creation
If performing tawassul had been blasphemy, then the believers, i.e., the Prophet, sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam, his Companions, and the Salaf and Khalaf of this nation would not have done it. Yet it is mentioned in the sahih hadith of the Prophet that the Prophet used to ask Allah by saying:
which means: <<O Allah, I ask You by the status of those who ask You.{10} >> Without doubt, this is tawassul. The Prophet, sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam, used to teach this supplication (du^a') to his Companions and order them to say it. This issue was expounded upon in different books and treatises refuting Ibn ^Abdul-Wahhab.
There is a hadith related by al-Hakim that mentions after Adam ate from the tree, he performed tawassul by our Prophet, sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam. He did that, because he saw the name of the Prophet written on the ^Arsh, Adam said: <<O Allah, by the dignity of this son [Muhammad], forgive this father [Adam].>>
It was also related by Ibn Hibban, that upon the death of Fatimah Bint Asad, may Allah raise her rank, the Prophet, sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam, with his own honorable hands, put her in her grave and said: <<O Allah, forgive my mother{11}, Fatimah Bint Asad, and widen her place by the status of Your Prophet and the prophets who came before me. You are the most Merciful.>>
There is a hadith classified as sahih{12}, that a blind man asked the Prophet, sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam, to make a supplication (du^a') to Allah to return his sight. The Prophet ordered him to make ablution (wudu’) and pray two rak^ahs and then say:
"O Allah, I ask You and direct myself to You by Your Prophet, Muhammad, the Prophet of Mercy. O Muhammad, I ask Allah by you to fulfill my need. O Allah, enable him to intercede for me."
The blind man did what the Prophet taught him to do{13} and Allah brought his sight back. Moreover, as related by at-Tabaraniyy, the tawassul made by the blind man was used by the Companions and Salaf after the death of the Prophet.
^Umar Ibn al-Khattab performed the tawassul by al-^Abbas (the uncle of the Prophet), may Allah reward their deeds, when he prayed the Salah of ’Istisqa’{14} with the people. There are other proofs mentioned in the books of the Islamic scholars but we will not recount them at length here.
The one who pursues the saying of the Companions and their followers will find a great deal of proof about the validity of calling the prophet by saying "O Muhammad" in his presence as well as in his absence and in his life as well as after his death. In fact, many texts include the phrase which means, "O Muhammad". Calling the name of the Prophet, sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam, is permissible. An example is the saying of the Companion, Bilal Ibn al-Harith, may Allah reward his deeds, when he went to the grave of the Prophet. He said: "O Messenger of Allah, ask Allah to send rain to your Nation." His saying contains this format{15}.
Shaykh Muhammad Ibn Sulayman al-Kurdiyy{16} was among the authors who wrote refuting Ibn ^Abdul-Wahhab. He was Ibn ^Abdul-Wahhab’s own shaykh. Among what he said is as follows:
O Ibn ^Abdul-Wahhab, I advise you, for the sake of Allah, ta^ala, to hold your tongue regarding the Muslims. If you hear from anyone who asks for help from other than Allah that one has the power to effect things without the Will of Allah, then teach him the right thing about this issue, and show him the proofs which state no one other than Allah brings things from non-existence into existence. The one who rejects that is blasphemous. You have no right to label the majority of the Muslims as blasphemers{17} while you are deviant from the majority of the Muslims. In fact, it is more reasonable to consider the one who deviates from the majority of the Muslims as a blasphemer then to consider the Muslims as a nation as blasphemers--because the deviant one has followed a path other than the path of the believers. In Surat an-Nisa’, Ayah 15, Allah said:
This ayah means: [Whomever contends with the Messenger after the right path was exposed to him and follows other than the way of the believers, Allah will leave him to whatever he followed and put him in Hell (Jahannam)].
AND ALLAH KNOWS BEST- WAHHABIES ARE A DANGER, PROTECT YOUR SELF BY KNOWLEDGE
