Part 3

them pass out. Then the third man supplicated: “O Lord, I hired some labourers and paid them their dues, but one of them left leaving behind what was due to him. I invested it into the business and the business prospered greatly. After a time the labourer came back and said: “O servant of Allah, hand over to me my wages.” I said to him: all that you see is yours, camels, goats, cattle and servants. He said: “Don’t play jokes with me O servant of Allah.” I assured him I am not joking. So he took all of it sparing nothing. Lord if I did this seeking only thy pleasure, do thou relieve us of our distress.” The rock then moved away, and all three came out of the cave safe and sound.'*

The above mentioned Hadith has many lessons which include 1. The obligation of placing ones trust in Allah 3 in times of distress 2. The permissibility of using ones pious deeds as a means of tawassul to accomplish ones aim and objective from Allah 3%. 3. The high merit of looking after one’s parents. 4. The importance of returning things that were entrusted to you. 5. The high merit of avoiding unlawful sexual intercourse.

Since all three men drew near to Allah 3% by the virtues of their pious deeds and beseeched Him to alleviate their plight by the excellence of their righteous actions, there can be no doubt that this hadith is one of the most splendid examples of the lawful tawassul.

Hence it is permissible for a Muslim today to say to Allah 3: O Allah 3% grant me your forgiveness due to my fast of Ramadhan or Hajj or Jihad etc. You can use all these pious deeds as tawassul as long as you did them solely for the pleasure of Allah 3% and not for fame or fortune.

'S Sahih Bukhari (Arabic/English) Vol. 3, p.260, No.472 - See also Riyadhus-Saleheen Vol. 1. p.8, No. 12.

The second halaal form of tawassul is to draw near to Allah 38% and seek his help, blessings or forgiveness by calling upon Him with some of His names and attributes. In this regard Allah 3% said:

aI 9585 yaya esl savas @ dyhiss [gs ga jase

“Unto Allah belongs the most perfect and beautiful names, so call upon Him by these names,”

Hence it is permissible for a Muslim to say in his du’aa: “O Allah 3% I ask You by Your name being the Most Merciful, the Bestower of Mercy to bestow upon me safety and blessings.” Or another believer who may say: “O Allah 3%, I call upon You with Your perfect names and attributes The Forgiving, forgive me of my blunders those that are concealed and those that are revealed. I call upon You by virtue of the fact that Your name is Al Ghafoor hence none can forgive me but You.”

The evidence from the sunnah in support of this second type of tawassul which is halaal is his 8 saying: “Whoever Jinds himself in a trouble and says: “O Allah | am Your slave, son of Your male and female slave. My forelock is in Your hand. Your judgement is continually operative upon me. Your verdict concerning me is just. I beseech Thee with every name which is Yours, with which You named Yourself, taught to anyone from Your creation or sent down in Your book, or which You kept to Yourself in the knowledge of the unseen with You, that You make the Quran the spring of my heart, the light of my chest, the removal of my sadness and of my anxiety." Then Allah 3% will

remove his anxiety and sorrow and replace it with joy.'

Anas (ra) reports about the Holy Prophet 3 that when a matter grieved the Prophet 23% he would say: “O Ever-living, O Sustainer and Protector of all that exists, by Your Mercy I beg for Your aid,""*

So these ahaadith and their like show the permissibility of tawassul to Allah 3 the Most High, with one of His names or His attributes, and that this is something which Allah 3% loves and is pleased with. Therefore it was done by Allah’s Messenger “5 and Allah 3%, the Blessed and Most High says:

“And whatsoever the Messenger 328 gives you, take it, and whatsoever he forbids you abstain from it.”

The third type of tawassul which is lawful is seeking a means of nearness to Allah 3%, the Most High by the supplication of a righteous man. If a Muslim falls into great difficulty or a great misfortune befalls him and he knows that he has been very negligent with regard to Allah, the Blessed and Most High. And he wishes to ask another Muslim who he knows to be a proper practising Muslim, one who is God fearing and is mindful of his or her duties to Allah 3%; to make du’aa

‘" Musnad Ahmad No.3712 and Al-Haakim Vol. 1, p.509 and classified sahih.

'8 Reported by At-Tirmidi Vol. 1, p.267

' Surah Hashr 59:7.

for him and beseech Allah 3 to remove from him his difficulties and hardships. The example of this prescribed type of tawassul are numerous in the sunnah of our beloved Prophet “3% and the traditions of his noble companions. Anas Ibn Malik (ra) reports saying “The people were afflicted with drought, in the time of the Prophet 32 so whilst the Prophet was delivering the khutba (upon the minbar) standing, on the day of Jumu‘ah, a Bedouin stood and in a narration: entered from the people of the desert through a door which faced the minbar near to a house sold for the repayment of a debt’, and Allah's Messenger 2% was standing. So he stood facing Allah's Messenger “5 and said “O Messenger of Allah, the livestock are dying and the children are hungry [and in a narration: destroyed] [and in another narration: the horses are dying and the sheep are dying] {and in another wording: the cattle are dying and the roads are cut off] so supplicate to Allah for us (that he should give us rain) and in another: that he should give us a downpour. So he raised up his hands and supplicated (until I saw the whiteness of his armpits): O Allah bless us with rain, O Allah bless us with rain, and the people raised up their hands along with him supplicating, and he did not mention that he had turned his cloak inside out, nor that he faced the Qiblah, and by Allah we could not see any clouds nor any trace of clouds nor anything, and there was no building or house between us and Sal’, and in a narration: Anas (ra) said ‘And the sky was clear as glass." He said: So I then saw a large cloud like a shield and when it came to the middle of the sky it spread and it rained. By Him in whose hand is my soul, as soon as he lowered his hand clouds like mountains had gathered, and did not descend from the minbar until I saw the rain dripping from his beard, [and in a narration: suddenly the wind blew gathering clouds which came together and then rain poured down from the sky] {and he

“ Daamil-Qadaa: A house which belonged to Umar Ibn Al-Khattaab and which was sold in order to repay a debt. A small mountain in Al-Madinah,

came down from the minbar and prayed the Salah] so we went out and waded through the water until we reached our homes [and in a narration: and it was such that a person could hardly reach his home]. So it continued to rain that day and the next and the next, and that which followed, until the following Jumu'ah and it had not ceased so the water wells of Madinah were filled [and in a narration: so by Allah we did not see the sun for a week]. Then that Bedouin or someone else stood up and in a@ narration: then a man entered from that door in the next Jumu‘ah and Allah's Messenger 228 was standing giving a khutba, so he stood facing him and he said, “O Messenger of Allah, buildings are being destroyed, [and in a narration: houses are collapsing, roads are cut off and the cattle are dying] [and in a narration: travellers cannot proceed and the roads are blocked and livestock are being drowned]. So supplicate to Allah to withhold it for us so the Prophet ae smiled and he raised his hands and said: “O Allah, around us and not upon us, O Allah upon the hills and river beds and places where trees grow. So he did not point with his hand in any direction except that the clouds cleared way producing a clear circular hole [and in a narration: so I looked up and saw the clouds separating around Al-Madinah to the right and the left forming a sort of crown and in another narration so the clouds cleared away from Al-Madinah just as clothes are removed and it was now raining all around us, but not raining upon us at all [in another narration: not a drop] and we went out walking in the sunshine]. So Allah showed them a miracle of His Prophet 325 and His response to his du’aa. The valley of Qanart was flooded for a month, and no one came from outside except that he told of abundant rain.”

The above hadith is evidence for the permissibility of using a righteous person as tawassul i.e. by asking him to beseech Allah 3 on our behalf to bestow on us the blessings

* Sahih Bukhari (Arabic/English) Vol. 2. p.26, No.55.

that are desired. Consequently Allah 2 grants such blessings because the supplicant who is a pious person is dear to Him Allah 3%

Another example of making tawassul with a pious person is as follows: Anas Ibn Malik (ra) narrates from Umar Ibn AlKhattaab (ra) that when the people suffered from drought he used to ask Al-Abbaas Ibn Al-Muttalib (ra) to pray for rain for them. He used to say: “O Allah we used to request our Prophet

BE to supplicate to you for rain i.e. we used to make tawassul to you O Allah with the Prophet 3 aes for rain, and You blessed

us with rain. Now we use the uncle of the Prophet 3S as tawassul by asking him to supplicate to You for rain so grant us rain.” The narrator, Anas (ra) said then it rained”!

What the saying of Umar (ra) [Innaa Kunnaa Natawassulu ilaika Bi nabiyyinaa wa innaa Natawassulu ilaika Bi ammi Nabiyyinaa] means is: We used to go to our Prophet