Tawhid and Dua

Legislated Tawassul and Responding to Doubts About Calling Upon Other Than Allah

All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and companions.

Tawassul is an important topic in dua and creed, and many people become confused about it. A Muslim must regulate this matter by the Quran, Sunnah, and the understanding of the Companions رضي الله عنهم, not by emotion, custom, or what has become popular among people.

The great foundation in this topic is that dua is worship, and worship is not directed except to Allah alone. A Muslim asks Allah, seeks rescue from Allah, hopes in Allah, relies upon Allah, and draws near to Allah through what Allah has legislated.

{وَقَالَ رَبُّكُمُ ادْعُونِي أَسْتَجِبْ لَكُمْ إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يَسْتَكْبِرُونَ عَنْ عِبَادَتِي سَيَدْخُلُونَ جَهَنَّمَ دَاخِرِينَ}Your Lord said: Call upon Me; I will respond to you. Indeed, those who are too arrogant to worship Me will enter Hell humiliated. [Ghafir 40:60]

Dua is worship.

Narrated by Abu Dawud and At-Tirmidhi; authenticated by scholars.

Definition

What Is Legislated Tawassul?

Legislated tawassul is drawing near to Allah through a lawful means that Allah loves and is pleased with.

{يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَابْتَغُوا إِلَيْهِ الْوَسِيلَةَ وَجَاهِدُوا فِي سَبِيلِهِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ}O you who believe, fear Allah and seek the means to Him, and strive in His cause so that you may succeed. [Al-Ma'idah 5:35]

The required means is a means to Allah, not calling upon other than Allah or making created beings intermediaries who are invoked besides Allah.

Type One

Tawassul to Allah Through His Names and Attributes

{وَلِلَّهِ الْأَسْمَاءُ الْحُسْنَى فَادْعُوهُ بِهَا}To Allah belong the Most Beautiful Names, so call upon Him by them. [Al-A'raf 7:180]

A Muslim says: O Most Merciful, have mercy on me. O Forgiving, forgive me. O Provider, provide for me. O Ever-Living, O Sustainer, rectify my affairs.

Type Two

Tawassul to Allah Through Faith and Righteous Deeds

{رَبَّنَا إِنَّنَا آمَنَّا فَاغْفِرْ لَنَا ذُنُوبَنَا وَقِنَا عَذَابَ النَّارِ}Our Lord, indeed we have believed, so forgive us our sins and protect us from the punishment of the Fire. [Aal Imran 3:16]

One of the clearest evidences is the hadith of the three men trapped by a rock in a cave. Each one made tawassul to Allah through a righteous deed he had done sincerely for Allah, so Allah relieved them.

The hadith is agreed upon.

Type Three

Asking a Living Present Muslim to Make Dua

It is permissible to say to a living present Muslim: Make dua to Allah for me.

The Companions رضي الله عنهم did this during the lifetime of the Prophet ﷺ; they would ask him to make dua to Allah for them.

O Allah, we used to make tawassul to You through our Prophet ﷺ and You would send us rain; now we make tawassul to You through the uncle of our Prophet, so send us rain.

Narrated by Al-Bukhari from Umar رضي الله عنه regarding seeking rain through Al-Abbas رضي الله عنه. Meaning: through his dua, because he was alive and present, making dua to Allah.

The Understanding of the Companions and the Difference Between Permissible and Forbidden Requests

The Measure

The Understanding of the Companions Is the Measure in This Topic

The Companions رضي الله عنهم knew the status of the Prophet ﷺ better than anyone, loved him the most, and honored his right the greatest. Yet after the Prophet ﷺ died, when hardships came upon them, they did not go to his grave to call upon him or ask him to fulfill needs.

Rather, when drought occurred during the time of Umar رضي الله عنه, they made tawassul to Allah through the dua of Al-Abbas رضي الله عنه, who was alive and present. They did not request dua from the Prophet ﷺ after his death.

This shows that the Companions’ honoring of the Prophet ﷺ was a lawful honoring based on following and tawhid, not calling upon him besides Allah.

Important Difference

The Difference Between Calling Upon Other Than Allah and Asking Help from a Living Able Person

Not every request from a created being is shirk. A person may ask his living present brother for something he is normally able to do, such as: help me, give me water, help me carry this, or make dua to Allah for me.

This is permissible because it is a request from someone living, present, and able in a matter he can do.

What is forbidden is asking a created being for what only Allah can do, or calling upon someone dead or absent, or seeking rescue from him in removing calamities, fulfilling unseen needs, forgiving sins, or granting healing that only Allah owns.

{فَاسْتَغَاثَهُ الَّذِي مِنْ شِيعَتِهِ عَلَى الَّذِي مِنْ عَدُوِّهِ}The one from his faction sought his help against the one from his enemy. [Al-Qasas 28:15]

This was seeking help from a living present person in a matter he was able to help with, unlike seeking rescue from the dead or absent in matters only Allah can do.

Warning

Forbidden Tawassul

Forbidden tawassul is when a person calls upon other than Allah, seeks rescue from someone dead or absent, or asks a prophet, wali, or righteous person for what only Allah can do, such as forgiveness, healing, provision, relief from distress, or fulfilling unseen needs.

{فَلَا تَدْعُوا مَعَ اللَّهِ أَحَدًا}Do not call upon anyone along with Allah. [Al-Jinn 72:18]

{وَمَنْ أَضَلُّ مِمَّنْ يَدْعُو مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ مَنْ لَا يَسْتَجِيبُ لَهُ إِلَى يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ وَهُمْ عَنْ دُعَائِهِمْ غَافِلُونَ}Who is more astray than one who calls upon besides Allah those who will not respond to him until the Day of Resurrection, while they are unaware of their supplication? [Al-Ahqaf 46:5]

{إِنْ تَدْعُوهُمْ لَا يَسْمَعُوا دُعَاءَكُمْ وَلَوْ سَمِعُوا مَا اسْتَجَابُوا لَكُمْ وَيَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ يَكْفُرُونَ بِشِرْكِكُمْ وَلَا يُنَبِّئُكَ مِثْلُ خَبِيرٍ}If you call upon them, they do not hear your call; and if they heard, they would not respond to you. On the Day of Resurrection they will deny your shirk. [Fatir 35:14]

Intercession

Intercession Is True, But It Is Requested Only from Allah

Ahl as-Sunnah believe in the intercession affirmed by Allah and His Messenger ﷺ, including the intercession of the Prophet ﷺ on the Day of Resurrection. But intercession belongs to Allah and only occurs by His permission and pleasure.

{قُلْ لِلَّهِ الشَّفَاعَةُ جَمِيعًا}Say: To Allah belongs all intercession. [Az-Zumar 39:44]

{وَلَا يَشْفَعُونَ إِلَّا لِمَنِ ارْتَضَى}They do not intercede except for one with whom He is pleased. [Al-Anbiya 21:28]

{مَنْ ذَا الَّذِي يَشْفَعُ عِنْدَهُ إِلَّا بِإِذْنِهِ}Who is it that can intercede with Him except by His permission? [Al-Baqarah 2:255]

A Muslim asks Allah to grant him the intercession of His Prophet ﷺ, saying: O Allah, allow Your Prophet to intercede for me, or: O Allah, grant me the intercession of Your Prophet ﷺ. He does not say to the dead: intercede for me, rescue me, or fulfill my need.

Common Doubts and Their Answers

Doubt One

We do not worship them; we only make them intermediaries to Allah.

This is the very argument Allah mentioned from the first mushrikin.

{مَا نَعْبُدُهُمْ إِلَّا لِيُقَرِّبُونَا إِلَى اللَّهِ زُلْفَى}We only worship them so that they may bring us closer to Allah. [Az-Zumar 39:3]

{وَيَعْبُدُونَ مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ مَا لَا يَضُرُّهُمْ وَلَا يَنْفَعُهُمْ وَيَقُولُونَ هَؤُلَاءِ شُفَعَاؤُنَا عِنْدَ اللَّهِ}They worship besides Allah what neither harms nor benefits them, and they say: These are our intercessors with Allah. [Yunus 10:18]

Allah called it worship, even though they claimed it was only mediation and intercession. The reality of the action matters, not the name people give it.

Doubt Two

We know that Allah is the Creator and Provider.

The first mushrikin affirmed that Allah is the Creator, Provider, and Controller, yet that did not enter them into Islam because they directed worship to others.

{وَلَئِنْ سَأَلْتَهُمْ مَنْ خَلَقَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ لَيَقُولُنَّ اللَّهُ}If you ask them who created the heavens and the earth, they will surely say: Allah. [Luqman 31:25]

{قُلْ مَنْ يَرْزُقُكُمْ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ وَالْأَرْضِ ... فَسَيَقُولُونَ اللَّهُ فَقُلْ أَفَلَا تَتَّقُونَ}Say: Who provides for you from the heaven and the earth... They will say: Allah. Say: Will you not then fear Him? [Yunus 10:31]

Affirming that Allah is the Creator is not enough until the servant singles out Allah alone in worship and dua.

Doubt Three

The Prophet ﷺ is alive in his grave, so we ask him to make dua.

We believe the Prophet ﷺ is alive in his grave with a special barzakh life, but it is not like his life in this world, and it does not mean people may ask him for dua after his death.

The practical evidence is the action of the Companions رضي الله عنهم. When drought struck during the time of Umar رضي الله عنه, they did not go to the grave of the Prophet ﷺ to ask him for dua. Rather, they asked Al-Abbas رضي الله عنه for dua because he was alive and present.

If asking the Prophet ﷺ for dua after his death were legislated, the Companions would have been the first to do it.

Doubt Four

The hadith of the blind man proves tawassul through the Prophet after his death.

The hadith of the blind man occurred during the lifetime of the Prophet ﷺ. The man came to the Prophet ﷺ and asked him to make dua to Allah for him, so the Prophet ﷺ taught him a dua by which he would call upon Allah.

So it was tawassul through the dua of the Prophet ﷺ during his life, not calling upon the Prophet besides Allah, nor asking him after his death.

The difference is clear between saying to a righteous living man: make dua to Allah for me, and calling upon someone dead or absent and saying: heal my sick one, relieve my distress, or fulfill my need.

Doubt Five

We only ask them for intercession.

Intercession is true, but it belongs to Allah and is only requested from Allah.

{قُلْ لِلَّهِ الشَّفَاعَةُ جَمِيعًا}Say: To Allah belongs all intercession. [Az-Zumar 39:44]

{مَنْ ذَا الَّذِي يَشْفَعُ عِنْدَهُ إِلَّا بِإِذْنِهِ}Who is it that can intercede with Him except by His permission? [Al-Baqarah 2:255]

A Muslim does not say to the dead: intercede for me. Rather, he says: O Allah, grant me the intercession of Your Prophet ﷺ.

Doubt Six

The awliya have miracles.

The miracles of the awliya are true, but a righteous wali does not accept being called upon besides Allah, nor that worship be directed to him.

{أَلَا إِنَّ أَوْلِيَاءَ اللَّهِ لَا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ * الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَكَانُوا يَتَّقُونَ}Unquestionably, the allies of Allah will have no fear, nor will they grieve: those who believed and had taqwa. [Yunus 10:62-63]

A wali is known by iman and taqwa, not by exaggerating about him, calling upon him besides Allah, or building worship around his grave.

Doubt Seven

We intend love, not shirk.

True love is through following the Sharia, not contradicting tawhid.

{قُلْ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ تُحِبُّونَ اللَّهَ فَاتَّبِعُونِي يُحْبِبْكُمُ اللَّهُ}Say: If you love Allah, then follow me; Allah will love you. [Aal Imran 3:31]

Whoever loves the Prophet ﷺ loves him by following his Sunnah, sending prayers and peace upon him, and supporting his religion, not by calling upon him besides Allah.

The Prophet's Status

Is the Status of the Prophet ﷺ Great?

Yes. The status of the Prophet ﷺ is great, and his rank with Allah is the greatest rank of any created being. He is the master of the children of Adam ﷺ.

But the greatness of his status does not mean we call upon him besides Allah or ask him after his death for what only Allah can do. Loving him is through following him and honoring his Sunnah.

Clear Examples

The Difference Between Legislated Tawassul and Calling Upon Other Than Allah

Legislated tawassul:

O Allah, I ask You by Your Most Beautiful Names to forgive me.
O Allah, by my faith in You, my love for Your Prophet, and my following of him, forgive me.
My brother, make dua to Allah for me.

Calling upon other than Allah:

O so-and-so, forgive me.
O so-and-so, provide for me.
O so-and-so, heal my sick one.
O so-and-so, relieve my distress.
O so-and-so, rescue me.

This is asking for what only Allah can do and directing dua to other than Allah.

Important Note

This discussion is about clarifying the Islamic ruling and warning against shirk and its means. As for judging specific individuals, that has its conditions with the scholars and requires fulfillment of conditions, absence of barriers, and establishment of proof.

A Muslim must not be careless in declaring specific individuals disbelievers, just as he must not be careless in clarifying tawhid and warning against calling upon other than Allah.

Summary

Summary of the Article

Legislated tawassul is to Allah alone, through what Allah legislated, such as:

Tawassul through Allah’s Names and Attributes.
Tawassul through faith and righteous deeds.
Asking a living, present, able Muslim to make dua.

As for calling upon the dead, the absent, or awliya, asking them to remove calamities, or making them intermediaries in worship, that is not legislated tawassul.

Conclusion

Tawassul is worship and a means of drawing near to Allah. Worship is not built upon customs or emotion; it is built upon evidence. Whoever wants nearness to Allah should call upon Allah alone, seek nearness to Him through what He legislated, and beware of calling upon other than Allah.

{وَإِذَا سَأَلَكَ عِبَادِي عَنِّي فَإِنِّي قَرِيبٌ أُجِيبُ دَعْوَةَ الدَّاعِ إِذَا دَعَانِ}When My servants ask you concerning Me, then indeed I am near. I answer the call of the caller when he calls upon Me. [Al-Baqarah 2:186]

Allah is near. He hears dua, answers the distressed, forgives sin, and relieves hardship. The servant does not need to place an intermediary between himself and his Lord in worship.