What is tawassul?

Tawassul is something that brings you closer to another object. In Islam, the general meaning is, any good deed, because it brings you closer to Allah. The specific meaning is “something used to increase the chance of your dua’ being accepted.” Allah says in the Quran:

يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ ٱتَّقُواْ ٱللَّهَ وَٱبۡتَغُوٓاْ إِلَيۡهِ ٱلۡوَسِيلَةَ وَجَـٰهِدُواْ فِى سَبِيلِهِۦ لَعَلَّڪُمۡ تُفۡلِحُونَ

“O you who believe! Do your duty to Allah and fear Him. Seek the means of approach to Him, and strive hard in His Cause as much as you can so that you may be successful.” [1]

1. With Allah’s Names and Attributes:

This is the strongest tawassul. There is no du’a you can think of, but there is a name of Allah that is appropriate for that du’a. Allah says in the Qur’an:

وَلِلَّهِ ٱلۡأَسۡمَآءُ ٱلۡحُسۡنَىٰ فَٱدۡعُوهُ بِہَا‌ۖ

“The most beautiful names belong to Allah, so call on Him by them.”[2]

2. Tawassul with one’s state- past and present:

“He (Moosaa) watered (their flocks) for them, then turned to the shade, saying, “My Lord, whatever provision you send to me, I am in dire need for it.” [3]

قَالَ رَبِّ إِنِّى وَهَنَ ٱلۡعَظۡمُ مِنِّى وَٱشۡتَعَلَ ٱلرَّأۡسُ شَيۡبً۬ا وَلَمۡ أَڪُنۢ بِدُعَآٮِٕكَ رَبِّ شَقِيًّ۬ا 

And, “He said: My Lord! surely my bones are weakened and my hair is aflame with gray. As I implore You, my Lord, I never despair.”[4]

The second du’a is by Zakariyyah and it combines all the states.

3. With one’s good deeds:

“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 Saa’s) of rice, but he departed, leaving it (i.e. his wages). I sow 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 Deenars (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 was just about to commit the act, she said, Be afraid of Allah, and do not come to me but legally (i.e. in marriage). I got up and left the hundred Deenars (for her). O Allah! If You consider that I did that for fear of you then please remove the rock. So Allah saved them and they came out (of the cave).” [5]

With the du’a of a living person:

“On a Friday a person entered the main Mosque through the gate facing the pulpit while Allah’s Messenger was delivering the Khutba. The man stood in front of Allah’s Messenger and said, O Allah’s Messenger! The livestock are dying and the roads are cut off; so please pray to Allah for rain. Anas said, Allah’s Messenger raised both his hands and said, “O Allah! Bless us with rain! O Allah! Bless us with rain! O Allah! Bless us with rain! Anas added, By Allah, we could not see any trace of cloud in the sky and there was no building or a house between us and the mountains of Sila. Anas added, a heavy cloud like a shield appeared from behind it (i.e. Sila Mountain). When it came in the middle of the sky, it spread and then rained. And the Prophet went down with his beard wet.”[6]

Tawassul that is bid’ah and therefore forbidden:

This is the attempt to draw close to Allaah by means of things that He does not like and that do not please Him, whether they be words, deeds or beliefs. One example of this is trying to draw close to Allah by calling on the dead or people who are absent, asking them for help, and so on. This is a form of major shirk (shirk akbar), which goes against tawheed and means that a person is no longer considered to be a Muslim. Calling upon Allah, whether it is for a purpose such as asking Him to grant some benefit or to ward off some harm, or as an act of worship to express humility and submission before Him, can only be addressed directly to Allah. If du’aas or prayers are addressed to anything or anyone else, this is shirk. Allah says:

وَقَالَ رَبُّڪُمُ ٱدۡعُونِىٓ أَسۡتَجِبۡ لَكُمۡۚ إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ يَسۡتَكۡبِرُونَ عَنۡ عِبَادَتِى سَيَدۡخُلُونَ جَهَنَّمَ دَاخِرِينَ

“And your Lord said: ‘Invoke Me (and ask Me for anything), I will respond to your invocation. Verily! Those who scorn My worship [i.e., do not invoke Me and do not believe in My Oneness], they will surely enter Hell in humiliation.”[7]

Allah says:

ٱدۡعُواْ رَبَّكُمۡ تَضَرُّعً۬ا وَخُفۡيَةً‌ۚ إِنَّهُ ۥ لَا يُحِبُّ ٱلۡمُعۡتَدِينَ

“Invoke your Lord with humility and in secret…”[8]

Allah says of the people of Hell:

قَالُواْ وَهُمۡ فِيہَا يَخۡتَصِمُونَ (٩٦) تَٱللَّهِ إِن كُنَّا لَفِى ضَلَـٰلٍ۬ مُّبِينٍ ٩٧

“[They say:] ‘By Allah, we were truly in a manifest error when we held you (false gods) as equals (in worship) with the Lord of the Worlds.” [9]

 Anything that results in equating something other than Allah with Allah in worship or acts of obedience is shirk, the crime of associating partners with Him. Allah says:

وَمَنۡ أَضَلُّ مِمَّن يَدۡعُواْ مِن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ مَن لَّا يَسۡتَجِيبُ لَهُ ۥۤ إِلَىٰ يَوۡمِ ٱلۡقِيَـٰمَةِ وَهُمۡ عَن دُعَآٮِٕهِمۡ غَـٰفِلُونَ (٥) وَإِذَا حُشِرَ ٱلنَّاسُ كَانُواْ لَهُمۡ أَعۡدَآءً۬ وَكَانُواْ بِعِبَادَتِہِمۡ كَـٰفِرِينَ (٦)

“And who is more astray than one who calls (invokes) besides Allah, such as will not answer him until the Day of Resurrection, and who are (even) unaware of their calls (invocations) to them? And when mankind are gathered (one the Day of Resurrection), they (false deities) will become enemies for them and will deny their worshipping.” [10]

Allah says:

وَمَن يَدۡعُ مَعَ ٱللَّهِ إِلَـٰهًا ءَاخَرَ لَا بُرۡهَـٰنَ لَهُ ۥ بِهِۦ فَإِنَّمَا حِسَابُهُ ۥ عِندَ رَبِّهِۦۤ‌ۚ إِنَّهُ ۥ لَا يُفۡلِحُ ٱلۡكَـٰفِرُونَ 

“And whoever invokes (or worships) besides Allah, any other god, of whom he has no proof, then his reckoning is only with his Lord. Surely, al-kaafiroon (the disbelievers in Allah and in the Oneness of Allah) will not be successful.” [11]

 Allah states that anyone who calls on anything other than him is taking that thing as a god, as He says:

وَٱلَّذِينَ تَدۡعُونَ مِن دُونِهِۦ مَا يَمۡلِكُونَ مِن قِطۡمِيرٍ (١٣) إِن تَدۡعُوهُمۡ لَا يَسۡمَعُواْ دُعَآءَكُمۡ وَلَوۡ سَمِعُواْ مَا ٱسۡتَجَابُواْ لَكُمۡۖ وَيَوۡمَ ٱلۡقِيَـٰمَةِ يَكۡفُرُونَ بِشِرۡڪِكُمۡۚ وَلَا يُنَبِّئُكَ مِثۡلُ خَبِيرٍ۬ (١٤)

“…And those, whom you invoke or call upon instead of Him, own not even a qitmeer (the thin membrane over a date-stone). If you invoke (or call upon) them, they hear not your call, and if (in case) they were to hear, they could not grant it (your request) to you. And on the Day of Resurrection, they will disown your worshipping them. And none can inform you (O Muhammad), like Him Who is the All-Knower (of everything).” [12]

 In this verse, Allah explains that He is the only One Who deserves to be called upon, because He, and no one else, is the Sovereign who is directing everything. Those things that are worshipped cannot hear du’aas, let alone respond to the one who invokes them, and even if they were able to hear, they cannot respond, because they do not have the power to either benefit or harm.

The mushrik Arabs whom the Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wasallam) was sent to call were disbelievers because of this shirk. They would call upon Allah sincerely at times of difficulty, but they became disbelievers at times of ease and plenty, when they would call on others besides Him. Allah says:

فَإِذَا رَڪِبُواْ فِى ٱلۡفُلۡكِ دَعَوُاْ ٱللَّهَ مُخۡلِصِينَ لَهُ ٱلدِّينَ فَلَمَّا نَجَّٮٰهُمۡ إِلَى ٱلۡبَرِّ إِذَا هُمۡ يُشۡرِكُونَ

“And when they embark on a ship, they invoke Allah, making their Faith pure for Him only, but when He brings them safely to land, behold, they give a share of their worship to others.” [13]

  وَإِذَا مَسَّكُمُ ٱلضُّرُّ فِى ٱلۡبَحۡرِ ضَلَّ مَن تَدۡعُونَ إِلَّآ إِيَّاهُ‌ۖ فَلَمَّا نَجَّٮٰكُمۡ إِلَى ٱلۡبَرِّ أَعۡرَضۡتُمۡ‌ۚ وَكَانَ ٱلۡإِنسَـٰنُ كَفُورًا

 “And when harm touches you upon the sea, those that you call upon besides Him vanish from you excpet Him (Allah Alone). But when He brings you safely to land, you turn away (from Him)…” [14]

“… till when you are in the ships and they sail with them with a favorable wind, and they are glad therein, then comes a stormy wind and the waves come to them from all sides, and they think that they are encircled therein, they invoke Allah, making their Faith pure for Him Alone…” [15]

Asking the dead for anything is shirk, and asking the living for anything that no one except Allah is able to do, is also shirk.

And Allah knows best.

Source:

http://islamqa.com/en/ref/3297/

http://www.saheefah.org/2007/03/08/legislated-types-of-tawassul/

References:

[1] Surah al-Maaidah, 5:35

[2] Surah al-Araaf, 7:180

[3] Surah Qasas 28:24

[4] Surah Maryam, 19:4

[5] Al Bukhari, Vol. 3, Book 34, Hadith 418

[6] An-Nasai, Vol. 2, Book 17, Hadith 1505

[7] Surah al-Ghaafir, 40:60

[8] Surah al-A’raaf, 7:55

[9] Surah al-Shu’ara’, 26:96-97

[10] Surah al-Ahqaaf, 46:5-6

[11] Surah al-Mu’minoon, 23:117

[12] Surah Faatir, 35:13-14

[13] Surah al-‘Ankaboot, 29:65

[14] Surah al-Isra’, 17:67

[15] Surah Yoonus, 10:33