Indeed, this hadīth is considered acceptable by all muḥaddithūn so much so that after narrating the quoted hadīth Ḥākim al-Nayshābūrī describes it in his Mustadrak as an authentic [ṣaḥīḥ] hadīth while Ibn Mājah who narrates it on the authority of Abū Isḥāq says: “This tradition is authentic.” In the book, Abwāb al-Ad‘iyyah, Tirmidhī confirms the authenticity of this tradition. Also Muḥammad Nasīb ar-Rafā‘ī says in At-Tawassul ilā Ḥaqīqah at-Tawassul:
لاريّب و بلاشكّ فيه ثبت قد و …مشهور و صحيح الحديث هذا أن لاشكّ”
“.له – وسلّم [وآله] عليه الله صلى – الله رسول بدعاء الأعمىٰ بصر ارتداد
“There is no doubt that this hadīth is authentic and known… and it proves that through the supplication of the Messenger of Allah (ṣ) the blind man has regained his sight.”[1]
This tradition clearly shows that tawassul through the Holy Prophet (ṣ), with the aim of fulfilling one’s need, is permissible. In fact, the Messenger of Allah (ṣ) commanded the blind man to pray in such manner and to supplicate the Lord of the worlds by seeking mediation to God through the Prophet (ṣ). This is the same type of tawassul as that of divine people and those who have proximity to God.
2. Abū ‘Abd Allāh al-Bukhārī thus says in his Ṣaḥīḥ:
إستسقىٰ قحطوا إذا كان عنه الله رضى الخطّاب بن عمر إنّ”
بنبيّنا إليك نتوسّل كنّا إنّا أللّهمّ :فقال المطلب عبد بن بالعبّاس
“.فيسقون قال: .فاسقنا نبيّنا بعمّ إليك نتوسّل إنّا و فتسقينا
Every time there was draught, ‘Umar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb would pray for rain seeking mediation through ‘Abbās ibn ‘Abd al-Muṭṭalib (uncle of the Prophet) and say: “O God! We used to seek access to You through our Prophet and You would shower us and now, we seek access to You through the uncle of our Prophet to shower us. And they would be granted their need.”[2]
3. The issue of tawassul through the saints of God was such common and prevalent that the Muslims of the early period of Islam used to refer to the Prophet (ṣ) as the mediator between them and God.
Sawād ibn Qārib recited a poem before the Holy Prophet (ṣ) and he thus said:
غَيرُهُ ربّ لا انّ أشْهَدُ و
غالِبٍ كلّ علىٰ مأمونٌ أنّكَ و
وسيّلة المرسلين أدنىٰ وانّك
الأطائب الأكرمين بن يا الله إلى
And I bear witness that there is no god but Him and that you are indeed entrusted with all the hidden,
And (I bear witness) that among the messengers, you—O son of the honorable and pure ones—are the nearest means [wasīlah] to God.[3]
Albeit the Holy Prophet (ṣ) heard this poem from Suwād ibn Qārib, he neither stopped him from reciting it nor accused him of polytheism [shirk] and innovation in religious beliefs [bid‘ah].
In the two lines we quote below, Imām ash-Shāfi‘ī also points to this fact:
ذريعتي النّبيّّ آل
وسيلتي إليه هم
غداً أعطيٰٰ أرجوبهم
صحيفتي اليمين بيدي
The progeny of the Prophet are my means [wasīlah] to God.
I hope that I will for their sake be given my account-book in my right hand.[4]
Although the transmitted traditions regarding the permissibility of tawassul through divine people are plenty, the traditions which we have mentioned testify to the permissibility of tawassul and its consistency with the Sunnah of the Prophet (ṣ), and the conduct of the Companions and great Muslim scholars, and they need no further comment.
What have been stated proves the groundlessness of the claim of those who say that tawassul through the nearest ones to God is an act of polytheism and innovation in religion.
