Reply: Tawassul means to resort to a sacred being for mediation with God.
Ibn Manẓūr thus says in Lisān al-‘Arab:
“.عليه تعطفه آصرةٍ بحرمة إليه تقرّب بكذا إليه توسّل”
“If you resort to others for mediation; that is, respect and honor them, they will treat you tenderly.”[1]
The Glorious Qur’an states:
﴿ يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ اتَّقُواْ اللّهَ وَابْتَغُواْ إِلَيهِ الْوَسِيلَةَ وَجَاهِدُواْ فِي سَبِيلِهِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ ﴾
“O you who have faith! Be wary of Allah, and seek the means of recourse to Him, and wage jihād in His way, so that you may be felicitous.”[2]
In his Ṣiḥāḥ al-Lughah, Jawharī describes “wasīlah” [means] in this manner:
“.الغير إلى به يتقرّب ما الوسيلة”
“Wasīlah [means] is something through which one seeks nearness to another.”
Therefore, a valuable being to which we resort for mediation may be meritorious deeds and sincere worship of God which bring us near to the Lord of the worlds, or a prolific person who enjoys a special station and esteem in the sight of God, the Exalted.
