Who will be the luckiest person will gain prophet (ﷺ) Intercession on the Day of Resurrection

 

عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ، أَنَّهُ قَالَ قِيلَ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ، مَنْ أَسْعَدُ النَّاسِ بِشَفَاعَتِكَ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏ “‏ لَقَدْ ظَنَنْتُ يَا أَبَا هُرَيْرَةَ أَنْ لاَ يَسْأَلَنِي عَنْ هَذَا الْحَدِيثِ أَحَدٌ أَوَّلُ مِنْكَ، لِمَا رَأَيْتُ مِنْ حِرْصِكَ عَلَى الْحَدِيثِ، أَسْعَدُ النَّاسِ بِشَفَاعَتِي يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ مَنْ قَالَ لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ اللَّهُ، خَالِصًا مِنْ قَلْبِهِ أَوْ نَفْسِهِ ‏”‏‏.‏

 

The Hadith about the Prophet SAW Choosing Between Half of His Ummah Being Admitted to Paradise or Intercession and that His Choice was the Latter

 

حَدَّثَنَا هَنَّادٌ، حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدَةُ، عَنْ سَعِيدٍ، عَنْ قَتَادَةَ، عَنْ أَبِي الْمَلِيحِ، عَنْ عَوْفِ بْنِ مَالِكٍ الأَشْجَعِيِّ، قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏ “‏ أَتَانِي آتٍ مِنْ عِنْدِ رَبِّي فَخَيَّرَنِي بَيْنَ أَنْ يُدْخِلَ نِصْفَ أُمَّتِي الْجَنَّةَ وَبَيْنَ الشَّفَاعَةِ فَاخْتَرْتُ الشَّفَاعَةَ وَهِيَ لِمَنْ مَاتَ لاَ يُشْرِكُ بِاللَّهِ شَيْئًا ‏”‏

 

[Jami` at-Tirmidhi 2441]

 

 

[Sahih Muslim: 185]

[Sahih Bukhari: 7439]

 

Accepted and Rejected types of Waseela

 

Since many people have an incorrect understanding of this concept, and because of it fall into shirk or innovation, it is important that this topic be given greater attention.

From this intersession people derive that taking Waseela (Tawassul) is Halal. The general meaning of Tawassul is to seek nearness to Allah through performing good deeds. As for the specific meaning of Tawassul, it is to hope for and seek the answering of one’s duaa (supplication).

 

Types of Permissible Tawassul

 

1. a) All kinds of worshipping to Allah.
2. b) A way to have the call responded. This is divided in into 6 ways: –

1. By the Best Names of Allah.
2. By the Attributes of Allah.
3. By your Belief in Allah.
4. By presenting the state of the slave.
5. By call of a person (alive).
6. By the pious deeds.
7.  

1. Tawassul by calling the Best Names of Allah

 

This is the Tawassul (Use of a Means) for Allah by His Best Names, whether by all of them as a whole or by One of them only.

Allah says “The most beautiful Names belong to Allah: “so call on Him by them”

Another way of Tawassul for Allah by One of His Names, such as your saying, “O forgiver, forgive me, O Merciful, be Merciful with me, O Allah, You indeed Love pardon, so Pardon me”. So this is a call using a means which is One of His Best Names.

 

2. Tawassul by Attributes of Allah

 

This is the Tawassul by all of His Attributes as a whole or using One of them, including His Deeds for they are considered Attributes as well. Such as saying, “O Allah, I call You by Your Best Names and Your Superior Attributes”, and this is a sound Du’a’. 

 

3. By Your Belief in Allah

 

This is the tawassul to Allah by our belief in Him, so that we can ask Allah to respond our call because we believed in Him and His messenger ﷺ. This is correct as Allah says, “Our Lord, indeed we have heard a caller calling to faith, [saying], ‘Believe in your Lord,’ and we have believed. Our Lord, so forgive us our sins and remove from us our misdeeds and cause us to die with the righteous. 

This means that they asked their Lord to forgive them because they believed, so they made the faith a means of the call of forgiveness.

 

4. By Presenting the State of the Slave

 

Tawassul to Allah by Presenting the State of the Slaves that he would submit himself to his Lord without mentioning anything about his needs, such as saying, “O Allah! I am needy poor to You, I am the prisoner in Your hands“. This is clearly shown by what Musa said when he watered the two women’s flocks before he went to the shadow and said “O my Lord! truly am I in (desperate) need of any good that You have send me!” and did not mention anything about his needs. Obviously, what is important here is the miserable state that in directly necessitates Mercy & Kindness especially when it is concerned with the most merciful.

 

5. Tawassul by Asking a LIVING (Pious) Person to Make Dua 

 

It is allowed to make Tawassul by asking a living person to make dua on your behalf, if you feel that such a person is a true and righteous person. So, it is permissible to go to a scholar, and say, for example: “O so-and-so! I ask that you make a dua to Allah that he cure my son from such-and-such an illness“. 

The Prophet ﷺ used to say: “The dua of a Muslim for his brother in his absence is responded to. In his presence there is an angel that has been assigned to him; every time he makes a dua for his brother with good, the angel assigned to him says, ‘Amin. And to you the same.” (Sahih Muslim)

Although it is permissible to ask others to make dua for one’s self, it is better not to do so for personal duas.

 

6. By the pious deeds

 

Tawassul to Allah by the pious deeds is mentioning to Allah while calling him for help a good deed one has previously done, which he thinks he did purely for the sake of Allah and is useful as a means to have his need responded. It is clearly illustrated by the story of the three men which the Prophet ﷺ. told us about.

He ﷺ said “Once three persons (from the previous nations) were traveling, and suddenly it started raining and they took shelter in a cave. The entrance of the cave got closed while they were inside. They said to each other, ‘O you! Nothing can save you except the truth, so each of you should ask Allah’s Help by referring to such a deed as he thinks he did sincerely (i.e. just for gaining Allah’s Pleasure).’ So one of them said, ‘O Allah! You know that I had a laborer who worked for me for one Faraq (i.e. three Sas) of rice, but he departed, leaving it (i.e. his wages). I sowed that Faraq of rice and with its yield I bought cows (for him). Later on when he came to me asking for his wages, I said (to him), ‘Go to those cows and drive them away.’ He said to me, ‘But you have to pay me only a Faraq of rice,’ I said to him, ‘Go to those cows and take them, for they are the product of that Faraq (of rice).’ So he drove them. O Allah! If you consider that I did that for fear of You, then please remove the rock.’ The rock shifted a bit from the mouth of the cave. The second one said, ‘O Allah, You know that I had old parents whom I used to provide with the milk of my sheep every night. One night I was delayed and when I came, they had slept, while my wife and children were crying with hunger. I used not to let them (i.e. my family) drink unless my parents had drunk first. So I disliked to wake them up and also disliked that they should sleep without drinking it, I kept on waiting (for them to wake) till it dawned. O Allah! If You consider that I did that for fear of you, then please remove the rock.’ So the rock shifted and they could see the sky through it. The (third) one said, ‘O Allah! You know that I had a cousin (i.e. my paternal uncle’s daughter) who was most beloved to me and I sought to seduce her, but she refused, unless I paid her one-hundred Dinars (i.e. gold pieces). So I collected the amount and brought it to her, and she allowed me to sleep with her. But when I sat between her legs, she said, ‘Be afraid of Allah, and do not deflower me but legally. ‘I got up and left the hundred Dinars (for her). O Allah! If You consider that I did that for fear of you than please remove the rock. So Allah saved them and they came out (of the cave).”

This Hadith indicates that one can only ask Allah for help directly or through his performed good deeds. But to ask dead or absent prophets, saints, spirits, holy men, angels etc. is absolutely forbidden in Islam and it is a kind of disbelief and asking through them leads to Shrik so is again forbidden. 

 

The Prohibited Types of Tawassul

 

The prohibited Tawassul includes all the forms and types of Tawassul other than the allowed types that we have explained above. The scholars of Islam have firmly rejected the prohibited types of Tawassul throughout the centuries. We should note here that some scholars had allowed Tawassul by the Jah (the grade and the high status) of the Prophet ﷺ. However, there are no proofs in the Quran or the Sunnah that allow this type of Tawassul.

 

There are basically three types of the innovated Tawassul. 

 

1. Invoking other than Allah, such as a dead righteous person, for various needs and wants. This is clear Shirk. 
2. Asking a dead prophet or righteous person to invoke Allah on one’s behalf. This type is also disallowed, as it is innovated and thus an evil act that the Sahaba never practiced or allowed. 
3. Invoking Allah by the Jah, that is, the grade and status the prophets and the righteous ones have with Allah. None among the companions or the Tabi’een —the second generation of Islam— ever practiced this type. 

We should note here that in order for our acts of worship to be accepted by Allah, we are obliged to perform them for the sake of Allah alone and in accordance with the Sunnah of His Messenger ﷺ. We are thus required to refer to the Sunnah of our Messenger regarding every matter of the religion. This is also the command that the Messenger of Allah has issued to us, “I have left with you two matters with which you will never be misled as long you hold fast unto them: the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger.”

[Malik & Ibn Majah].

 

REFERENCE: https://learn-islam.org/