From the Outstanding Reference and How

to Debate the So-Called Salafiyyah:

Definitions, Proofs, References and
Arguments in Tawassul, Tabarruk &
Related Topics

THE ARSENAL
Of Proofs for Tawassul
THE DEFINITION OF ˆIBAADAH ................................................. 3
MERE OBEDIENCE IS NOT WORSHIP ...................................... 4
MERE HUMILITY IS NOT WORSHIP ......................................... 6
MERE CALLING IS NOT WORSHIP ........................................... 7
TAWASSUL BY THE PROPHETS AND WALIYYS IS LAWFUL, AND
IS NOT WORSHIP OF OTHER THAN ALLAAH ......................... 13
MERELY SEEKING HELP IS NOT WORSHIP ............................. 14
MERELY SEEKING REFUGE WITH SOMEONE IS NOT WORSHIP
............................................................................................. 15
SEEKING BLESSINGS FROM THE GRAVES OR SEEKING HELP AT
THE GRAVES IS NOT WORSHIP OF OTHER THAN ALLAAH,
NOR IS VISITING THE GRAVE OF A PIOUS MUSLIM .............. 16
SEEKING BLESSING FROM THE RELICS OF THE PROPHET ‫ﷺ‬20

THE MEANING OF WORSHIP AND TAWASSUL ........................ 23

THE CORRECT MEANING OF WORSHIP ................................ 24
TAWASSUL............................................................................ 29
CALLING AND SEEKING HELP (ISTIGHATHAH) ...................... 37
THE DEAD AND THE ABSENT ................................................ 44
HANGING WORDS AROUND ONE’S NECK FOR PROTECTION48
RECITING AT THE GRAVES .................................................... 52

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 ˆIBAADAH (WORSHIP), TAWASSUL AND
1

SEEKING BLESSINGS FROM RELICS

[In Sariyh Al-Bayaan2, the Shaykh has a chapter called:

،‫معنى العبادة وأن مجرد التوسل واالستغاثة والنداء وطلب ما لم تجر به العادة ليس شركا‬
‫وكذلك التبرك بآثار النبي صلى هللا عليه وسلم‬

“The Meaning of Worship, and that Mere Tawassul3, Requesting Help, Calling, and Seeking
What is not Normal is not Paganism, nor is Seeking Blessings from the Relics of the Prophet
‫ﷺ‬.”

In the Siraat, he has a chapter called:

‫ وأنه ليس شركا كما تقول الوهابية‬،‫إثبات أن التوسل باألنبياء واألولياء جائز‬

1 For what shall be presented, the Arabic term “ˆibaadah” should be preferred over the English
term “worship”, because the Muslim scholars explained the meaning of the specific term
“ˆibaadah” in Arabic. Here, “worship” is used as the Arabic word ^ibaadah is defined.
2First edition, pg. 222

3[Tawassul linguistically means: “to seek a means”]. Allaah said in His Book: ﴾‫﴿وابتغوا إليه الوسيلة‬

<Seek the means to Him>. This means seek everything that grants you a higher status to
Allaah, and by them, Allaah will make the results of those means manifest for you, and Allaah
has the power to make them manifest without those means. Technically, it is to seek from Allaah
the occurrence of a benefit or the repulsion of harm by mentioning the name of a Prophet or a
waliyy, out of honor of the one by whom the tawassul is made. Allaah made the matters of life
based on reasons and consequences, although He has the power to grant us reward without us
doing any deeds. Allaah made the tawassul by the Prophets and waliyys during their lives and
after their deaths a means for the manifestation of what we seek. We ask Allaah by them, hoping
that we would get what we asked for. We say, “O Allaah, we certainly ask You by the status or
honor of the Messenger of Allaah to fulfill our need or to relieve us of our calamity.” We also say,
“O Allaah, we ask you by the status of ˆAbdi-l-Qaadir Al-Jaylaaniyy…” and the like. This is
permissible and has only been made forbidden by the Wahhaabiyyah, thus they have deviated
from ‘Ahlu-s-Sunnah.

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“Confirmation that Tawassul by the Prophets and Saints is Permissible4 and not Paganism as
the Wahhaabiyyah Say”.

He also has an appendix for it in his big explanation of Tahaawiyy, and he never missed the
opportunity to clarify it in his other books, like Ad-Daliyl Al-Qawiym and Al-Bughyah.]

THE DEFINITION OF ˆIBAADAH

The ‘imaam, haafidh and linguist, Muhammad-Murtadaa Az-Zabiydiyy logged As-Subkiyy5
defining ˆibaadah as:

‫غاية الخضوع والخشوع‬

“The most extreme humbleness and humility.”

Others have mentioned the likes of this6. What we have presented as the definition of ˆibaadah is
what is linguistically confirmed, what is normal (ˆurf), and in compliance with what came in the

4 There is no real evidence that tawassul by the Prophets and the waliyys is forbidden, whether
that was done in their absence or after their deaths. The Wahhaabiyyah have claimed that this
is shirk, unless done in their presence or during their lifetimes. They followed Ibn Taymiyah in
that, and he was the first to prohibit making tawassul by the Prophet, as mentioned by Taqiyyu-
d-Diyn As-Subkiyy in his book Shifaa’u-s-Saqaam. He said, “Know that it is permissible and good
to make tawassul, to seek help (istiˆaanah), and to seek intercession (tashaffuˆ) by the Prophet ‫ﷺ‬
to one’s Lord, the Glorified and Exalted. The permissibility and goodness of that is known by every
religious person. It is known by the doings of the Prophets and Messengers, and the biographies
of the righteous Salaf, and no one has denied that from any religion, and the denial of it was never
heard of at any time in history until Ibn Taymiyah came and spoke about it with speech by which
he fooled those who are weak and unexperienced. He innovated what was not preceded before
him at any time in history.”
5 Taqiyyu-d-Diyn ˆAliyy Ibn ˆAbdi-l-Kaafiy
6 ‘Abuw Mansuwr Al-‘Azhariyy said in Tahthiyb Al-Lughah, conveying the words of Az-Zajjaaj,

who is among the most famous linguists: ‫ الطاعة مع الخضوع‬:‫^“ ومعنى العبادة في اللغة‬Ibaadah (worship) in
the Arabic language is the obedience with the humility.” Ibn Mandhuwr said similar to that
in Lisaanu-l-ˆArab, as well as Al-Farraa’ and Ar-Raaghib Al-‘Asbhaaniyy Mufradaatu-l-Qur’aan.
Al-Layth, one of the forerunning linguists, said: “It is said about the pagans that they are
worshippers of the devil, and it is said about the Muslims that they are the slaves of Allaah; they
worship Allaah. Allaah, the Mighty and Glorious, said: {(‫ربكم‬ ‫})اعبدوا‬
<Worship your Lord>, I.e. obey your Lord; and His saying: {(‫< })إياك نعبد‬It is You alone Whom we
worship, (O Allaah). means: We obey You with the obedience associated with the humility”. Ibn
Athiyr said, “ˆIbaadah in the language is the obedience with the submission.” Also, Al-
Fayyuwmiyy, one of the famous linguists, said in Al-Misbaah:
‫عبدت هللا ( أعبده ) ( عبادة ) وهي االنقياد والخضوع‬
“... it is the submission and the humility.”

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Religion7. This is the worship that is specific to Allaah, that which if it is directed to anyone else,
then the worshiper becomes a pagan8 (mushrik).

Hence, worship is not what some have claimed:

1. merely calling upon someone - alive or dead,

2. nor merely seeking help from someone other than Allaah,

3. nor fearing someone,

4. nor being hopeful of something from someone,

5. nor merely glorifying someone,

6. nor merely going to the grave of a saint seeking blessings,

7. nor requesting something from someone in an unusual way,

8. nor the mere use of the expression; wording (siyghah) of “istighaathah (seeking help)”
from someone other than Allaah.

This is because none of these matters intrinsically indicate the meaning of ˆibaadah according to
the linguists. According to the ill understanding of the Wahhaabiyyah, if someone says, “O
Muhammad, help,” then he is a blasphemer.

۞‫۞وسبحان هللا وبحمده‬

MERE OBEDIENCE IS NOT WORSHIP

In Taaj Al-ˆAruws, the explanation of Al-Qaamuws, Az-Zabiydiyy said: ‫“ العبادة الطاعة‬Worship
is THE obedience.” Shaykh Samir said that the definite article is for removing generality; not any
obedience is meant, rather, that special obedience reserved only for Allaah. This way of speech;

7The meaning of this paragraph is mentioned in the text of As-Siraat. The text is mentioned with
the explanation in Ash-Sharh Al-Qawiym, sixth edition, pg. 426.
8 “Pagan” herein will not be restricted to the idol worshiper; any person of shirk might be called

herein “pagan”.

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calling it “the obedience”, is “an unrestricted; absolute mentioning (‘itlaaq)”. What is meant by it
is: “the perfect example of that type (al-fard al-kaamil min al-jins)”; the example of that type
which has reached the extent of what that type can reach. This is similar to what Allaah said in His
Book9: ﴾‫< ﴿والكافرون هم الظالمون‬The Blasphemers, they are THE unjust ones>. This means that
they have reached the extent of injustice10.

The Shaykh said in Al-Bughyah11 that had worship been mere obedience to the creation, regardless
of being obedience to Allaah or a sin, then those who work under the unjust rulers would be
blasphemers. So, do those who charge the Believers who make tawassul by the Prophets and Saints
with blasphemy say that whoever works for the unjust rulers are pagans? Do they not obey those
unjust rulers in some sinful issues themselves? According to their talk, they charge themselves
with blasphemy without realizing! Let them learn the meaning of worship before letting their
tongues loose with charging with blasphemy the Believers who seek help from the Prophets and
Saints.

If those people or their likes say: Concerning the Saying of Allaah:

{(‫})اتخذوا أحبارهم ورهبانهم أربابا من دون َّللا والمسيح ابن مريم‬

<They took their priests and monks as gods besides Allaah, as well as the Masih, the Son of
Mary,> 12

was it not said about its interpretation that their worship of them was their obeying them in what
they deemed lawful and unlawful from their own whims?

The answer is: Their obeying them was not mere obedience, because mere obedience is not
worship. The difference is that those Christians believed that their priests and monks were entitled
to deem matters lawful or unlawful, which is only for Allaah, [not even the Prophets]. Thus, what
they did is included in the submission and humility that should be reserved for God, because they
submitted and humiliated themselves to those people believing that they were entitled to that
[extreme obedience] in reality. [On the other hand,] a Muslim might obey in a sinful matter

9 Al-Baqarah, 254
10 Even if Az-Zabiydiyy’s statement meant as the Wahhaabiyyah claim, there are still other
scholars who restricted the expression.
11Al-Bughyah, sixth edition, volume one, pg. 20
12 At-Tawbah, 31

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someone who has authority, but it would not be the same [kind of] obedience done by the
Christians towards their priests and monks.

The example of those priests and monks is like those who say to their followers, “Confess your
sins to me and I shall forgive you.” Such people have claimed godhood for themselves, because
forgiveness of the sins is something specific to Allaah:

{(‫})ومن يغفر الذنوب إال َّللا‬13

<Who forgives the sins except Allaah?>

The meaning is that no one is able to forgive the sins of the sinners except Allaah.

Therefore, the claim of godhood has different angles:

1. believing that a human can create from nothing,

2. believing that a human is entitled to deem matters lawful, unlawful or obligatory, and

3. believing that a human can forgive sins.

۞‫۞وسبحان هللا وبحمده‬

MERE HUMILITY IS NOT WORSHIP

Had mere humility (tathallul) been worship, then all who humble themselves to kings and high-
ranking people would commit blasphemy. It was confirmed that when Muˆaath Ibn Jabal came
from the Levant, he prostrated to the Messenger of Allaah ‫ﷺ‬, who then said: ‫“ ما هذا‬What is this?”
He said, “O Messenger of Allaah, I saw the people of the Levant prostrating to their commanders
and priests, and you are more worthy!” The Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬said14:

!‫ لو كنت آمرا أحدا أن يسجد ألحد ألمرت المرأة أن تسجد لزوجها‬،‫ال تفعل‬

13 ‘Aal ^Imraan, 135

14 This is narrated by Ibn Hibbaan, Ibn Maajah and others.

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 “Do not do that! Had I ordered anyone to prostrate to anyone, I would have ordered the
woman to prostrate to her husband!”

The Messenger of Allaah ‫ ﷺ‬did not say to him, “You have committed blasphemy,” nor “You have
committed shirk,” although prostration is among the most obvious signs of humility. [Hence, if
mere prostration to a person is not worship, then mere humility towards him is not worship].

۞‫۞وسبحان هللا وبحمده‬

MERE CALLING IS NOT WORSHIP

Calling upon Prophets and Saints is permissible, whether alive or dead or present or absent, as
proven by [the merit of] the religious evidence. This is [simply] because “calling out to; upon; on
someone” in itself is not worship15, as opposed to what the Wahhaabiyyah claim. In fact, this
meaning was not conveyed from any of the linguists when explaining ˆibaadah (worship), as
previously mentioned.

In Al-‘Adabu-l-Mufrad, Al-Bukhaariyy mentioned the permissibility of calling on the Prophet ‫ﷺ‬

after his death by saying, ‘Yaa Muhammad’, which is against the creed of the Wahhaabiyyah, for
to them it is shirk. Also, Ibnu-s-Sunniyy narrated it in ^Amalu-l-Yawmi wa-l-Laylah. Al-
Bukhariyy’s quote is:

15 [It is helpful to digress into the Arabic language in this issue. The ‘munaadaa’, literally: ‘the
called one’, and grammatically: ‘the vocative case’, is in essence a direct object (maf^uwl bih)
because had one said, “‫( يا عبد هللا‬O ^Abdallaah)”, it is as if he said “‫( أدعو عبد هللا‬I call ^Abdallaah).”
The verb (‫‘ أدعو‬I call’) is omitted, and the particle (‫‘ يا‬O’) took its place. There are a number of
particles used for it: Its most famous is (‫‘ يا‬Yaa’), like ‘Yaa Zayd (O, Zayd)’. With it, you can call
the close and the far, the present and the absent. Among them is (‫‘ أ‬A’), like: ‘A-Zayd!’; ‘O Zayd!’,
if he is close, and there are others. Al-Hariyriyy said:
‫أو همزة أو أي وإن شئت هيا‬ ‫وناد من تدعو بيا أو بأيا‬
“Call whomever you call by (using) ‘yaa (‫’)يا‬, ‘ayaa (‫’)أيا‬, by using a hamzah (‫)أ‬, ‘ay (‫’)أي‬, and if you
want, then by using ‘hayaa’ (‫)هيا‬.”
It has many cases and branches. One of those branches is the special munaadaa that is named
“al-mustaghaathu bih (one whose help is sought).” In his grammar book, the explanation of
Qatru-n-Nadaa, Ibn Hishaam, may Allaah have mercy upon him, defined this specific munaadaa
as:
‫وهو كل اسم نودي ليخلص من شدة أو يعين على دفع مشقة‬
‘Every name that is called (out) for being relieved of something harsh, or for assistance in
repelling difficulty’.
The only particle used for this type is (‫“ يا‬yaa”), which means, ‘O’. It has details that are not
directly to this discussion].

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‫ خدرت رجل‬:‫ عن عبد الرحمن بن سعد قال‬،‫ عن أبي إسحاق‬،‫ حدثنا سفيان‬:‫حدثنا أبو نعيم قال‬
‫ يا محمد‬:‫ فقال‬،‫ اذكر أحب الناس إليك‬:‫ فقال له رجل‬،‫ابن عمر‬

‘Abuw Nu^aym told us: Sufyaan told us from ‘Abuw ‘Ishaaq from ^Abdu-r-Rahmaan Ibn Sa^d,
that he said: “Ibn ^Umar’s leg got the ‘khadar’, so a man said to him, ‘Mention the most
beloved of people to you!’ So he said, ‘O Muhammad!’”

Ibn Taymiyah also narrated16 this in his book Al-Kalimu-t-Tayyib, and his quote therein is:

‫ فخدرت رجله فقال له‬،‫ كنا عند عبد هللا بن عمر رضي هللا عنهما‬:‫عن الهيثم بن حنش قال‬
‫ فكأنما نشط من عقال‬،‫ يا محمد‬:‫ فقال‬،‫ اذكر أحب الناس إليك‬:‫رجل‬

From Al-Haytham Ibn Hanash that he said: “We were with ^Abdullaah Ibn ^Umar, may Allaah
accept his and his father’s deeds, when his leg was afflicted with the ‘khadar’. So a man said to
him, ‘Mention the most beloved of people to you,’ and so he said, ‘O Muhammad,’ and it was as
if he was untied from a knot!’”

The Shaykh says:17

What took place from ^Abullaah Ibn ^Umar is ‘istighaathah (seeking help)’ of the
Messenger of Allaah by the expression, ‘O Muhammad’, and to the Wahhaabiyyah, this,
i.e., seeking his help after his death, is blasphemy. So what would the Wahhaabiyyah do?
Will they retract their opinion of charging with blasphemy whoever calls out ‘O
Muhammad’, or will they disown Ibn Taymiyah, who is the shaykh of ‘Islaam according to
them? O, what an exposure! He is their ‘imaam from whom Ibn ^Abdi-l-Wahhaab took
some of his ideas with which he opposes the Muslims. According to their creed, in this case
they have charged Ibn Taymiyah with blasphemy, for he has deemed what according to
them is an act of paganism as something good. If one of them said, ‘Ibn Taymiyah narrated
it from the route of a narrator upon whom there is difference in opinion,’ it is said to them,

16 This was also narrated by the shaykh of the reciters, Haafidh Ibnu-l-Jazariyy, in two of his
books, as well as by the Zaydiyy Shiite who is reliable to the Wahhaabiyyah, Ash-Shawkaaniyy,
and by Ibnu-l-Ja^d.
17Sariyhu-l-Bayaan, pp. 245-246, first edition (2004).

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 ‘Merely narrating it in his book is evidence that he deems it good, whether he considers it
authentic or not.’ This is because the one who narrates what is invalid in his book without
warning from it is a caller to that thing. Also, Al-‘Albaaniyy’s attempt to weaken this athar
has no consideration, for Al-‘Albaaniyy has been barred from the level of ‘hifdh’ which is
a condition for authenticating (tas-hiyh) and weakening (tad^iyf) according to the people
of hadiyth. In one of his sessions, he confessed that he was not a muhaddith of
memorization, and in fact said, ‘I am a book muhaddith.’ This was after a Syrian lawyer
asked him, ‘O, teacher, you are a muhaddith?’ He said, ‘Yes.’ He (the lawyer) said, ‘List
for us (from memory) ten hadiyths with their chains of narration.’ Al-‘Albaaniyy answered,
‘No, I am a book muhaddith.’ Then the lawyer responded, ‘Then I am able to do that.’ By
that he embarrassed Al-‘Albaaniyy. So let him and his imitators know that their
authenticating and weakening is futile according to the guidelines of the people of hadiyth,
and it has no consideration. Let them repent to Allaah. If showing-off is what lead them to
that, showing-off is a major sin.

[That “istighaathah (seeking help)” is a type of “nidaa’ (calling)” done by the Companion. There
is another type they did called “nadb18 (whining; moaning)”. The manduwb is ‘the one who is
whined over; cried about’. How do the Wahhaabis charge the Companions and the Followers in
the army at the time of ‘Abuw Bakr’s rule, whose chant was: ‫“ وامحمداه‬O Muhammad (as if
moaning for him)!”?]

Among the proofs that “calling on; to the dead or absent” is permitted19 is the hadiyth of the blind
man as narrated by At-Tabaraaniyy in his two books Al-Muˆjam Al-Kabiyr and Al-Muˆjam As-
Saghiyr:

18 It is done by usually using the particle ‘‫( وا‬waa)’, but by validly using the particle ‘‫( يا‬yaa)’, if it
does not lead to being confused with the regular munaadaa. For example, for a headache one
could say “‫( وا رأساه‬waa ra’saah)”; ‘O (my) head’, or if he suffered from a calamity, he could say “ ‫وا‬
‫( مصيبتاه‬waa musiybataah)”; ‘O, the calamity!’
19 Haafidh Al-Haythamiyy said that At-Tabaraaniyy narrated this hadiyth and its narrators are

trustworthy. Ibn Hajar also narrated this hadiyth in his sessions of dictation (‘amaaliy) as a
hadiyth of the Prophet ‫( ﷺ‬marfuwˆ), and he judged it as hasan. The different narrations of this
hadiyth support each other, and strengthen whatever weakness exists in some of the narrations.
It is also documented by the scholars of hadiyth, like Al-Bayhaqiyy in Al-Madkhal, that weak
narrations can be used for doing good acts, supplications, and interpretation of the Qur’aan.

Page 9 of 55
 :‫عن عثمان بن حنيف‬

From ^Uthmaan Ibn Hunayf:

‫أن رجال كان يختلف إلى عثمان بن عفان رضي هللا عنه في حاجة له‬

“A man used to go back and forth to ˆUthmaan Ibn ˆAffaan, may Allaah accept his deeds,
because of an issue that he needed fulfilled.

‫فكان عثمان ال يلتفت إليه وال ينظر في حاجته‬

ˆUthmaan did not look into his issue of need.

‫فلقي عثمان بن حنيف فشكا إليه ذلك‬

This man met ˆUthmaan Ibn Hunayf and complained to him about that.

‫ ثم قل اللهم إني أسألك وأتوجه إليك بنبينا محمد‬،‫ ثم صل ركعتين‬،‫فقال ائت الميضأة فتوضأ‬
‫نبي الرحمة يا محمد إني أتوجه بك إلى ربي في حاجتي لتقضي لي ثم رح حتى أروح معك‬

So ˆUthmaan Ibn Hunayf said to him, “Go to the place of wuduw’, perform wuduw’, pray two
rakˆahs, and then say, ‘O Allaah, I surely ask You, and direct myself to You by our Prophet, the
Prophet of Mercy. O Muhammad, I direct myself by you to my Lord in my need so that my need
would be fulfilled,’ then come to me so that I would go with you.”

‫فانطلق الرجل ففعل ما قال ثم أتى باب عثمان فجاء البواب فأخذ بيده فأدخله على عثمان بن‬
‫عفان‬

The man left and did as he said, but then went directly to the door of ˆUthmaan. The doorman
came, took him by the hand and took him in to see ˆUthmaan Ibn ˆAffaan.

‫فأجلسه على طنفسته فقال ما حاجتك؟ فذكر له حاجته فقضى له حاجته وقال ما ذكرت حاجتك‬
‫حتى كانت هذه الساعة‬

Page 10 of 55
He sat him on his carpet and said, “What is it that you need?” So he told him about his need, and
ˆUthmaan fulfilled his need for him and said, “I did not remember your need until this moment.”

‫ثم خرج من عنده فلقي عثمان بن حنيف فقال جزاك هللا خيرا ما كان ينظر في حاجتي وال‬
‫يلتفت إلي حتى كلمته في‬

Then the man left ˆUthmaan, met with ˆUthmaan Ibn Hunayf and said, “May Allaah compensate
you with goodness! He would not look into my need until you spoke to him about me!”

‫ ولكن شهدت رسول هللا صلى هللا عليه وسلم وقد أتاه‬،‫فقال عثمان بن حنيف وهللا ما كلمته‬
‫ضرير فشكا إليه ذهاب بصره‬

ˆUthmaan said, “I swear by Allaah, I did not speak to him. Rather, I witnessed the Messenger of
Allaah ‫ ﷺ‬when a blind man came to him and complained to him about the loss of his sight.

‫ إن شئت صبرت وإن شئت دعوت لك‬:‫فقال‬

He said to the blind man: “If you want, you will be patient, and if you want, I will supplicate
for you.”

‫فقال يا رسول هللا إنه شق علي ذهاب بصري وإنه ليس لي قائد‬

The man said, ‘O Messenger of Allaah, the loss of my sight has surely been a hardship on me,
and I certainly have no one to guide me.’

‫ ائت الميضأة فتوضأ وصل ركعتين ثم قل هؤالء الكلمات‬:‫فقال‬

So he said to the blind man: “Go to the place of wuduw’, perform wuduw’, pray two
rak^ahs, then say these words …”

‫ففعل الرجل ما قال فوهللا ما تفرقنا وال طال بنا المجلس حتى دخل علينا الرجل كأنه لم يكن به‬
‫ضر قط‬

Page 11 of 55
 The man did as he said, and I swear by Allaah, we had not dispersed, nor had the session been
long, when the man came to us as if he had never been blind!”

At-Tabaraaniyy judged this hadiyth as sahiyh in both of his books, although his habit was not to
judge the hadiyths as sahiyh despite the vastness of his Al-Muˆjamu-l-Kabiyr20. Our Shaykh said
that perhaps Allaah inspired him to feel that some people in the future would deviate in this issue,
and for that reason, he explicitly judged the hadiyth21.

۞‫۞وسبحان هللا وبحمده‬

20 Haafidh Al-Munthiriyy documented20 that this hadiyth is narrated by At-Tirmithiyy20, An-

Nasaa’iyy, Ibn Maajah, and Al-Haakim, and after that he said, “At-Tabaraaniyy narrated it and
mentioned a story at its beginning…” Then he narrated the narration of At-Tabaraaniyy in its
entirety and said immediately afterwards, “After mentioning his chains of narration, At-
Tabaraaniyy said, ‘The hadiyth is authentic.’” So how does Al-‘Albaaniyy weaken the hadiyth after
At-Tabaraaniyy authenticated it and Al-Munthiriyy agreed with him? As-Siyuwtiyy said in his
millinial poem:
‫أو من مصنف بجمعه يخص‬ ‫وخذه حيث حافظ عليه نص‬
“Take it whenever a haafidh has documented its authenticity, or documented it is a book specific
for the collection of authentic hadiyths.”
This means that the authentic hadiyth is known by a haafidh explicitly saying that it is authentic,
or by the hadiyth being in a book dedicated to mention only authentic hadiyths.
21 [This hadiyth perfectly discredits the claims of the Taymiyyuwn, that making tawassul or

calling upon someone is only permissible if that one were alive and present, or else it is shirk.
Within it is evidence that calling on someone is not worship, because the blind man was ordered
by the Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬to call upon the Prophet ‫ﷺ‬, who would never order someone to worship him.
The Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬said to him: ‫“ ائت الميضأة فتوضأ و صل ركعتين ثم قل هؤالء الكلمات‬Go to the place of
wuduw’, make wuduw’, then say these words…”. There is also proof that calling upon someone
in his absence is permissible, because the man went away from the Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬when he called
upon him, as proven by the saying of Ibn Hunayf:
‫قال فوهللا ما تفرقنا وال طال بنا المجلس حتى دخل علينا الرجل كأنه لم يكن به ضر قط‬
“I swear by Allaah, we had not dispersed, nor had the session been long, when the man came to
us sightful as if he had never been blind.” This means that he went away from the Prophet ‫ﷺ‬, as
the Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬ordered him, and then came back. There is also proof that calling upon someone
after his death is not worship, because the Companions continued to teach this supplication
after the Prophet’s death ‫ﷺ‬, as ˆUthmaan Ibn Hunayf did. Also, the hadiyth scholars continued
to narrate this supplication without forbidding the people from applying it after the death of the
Prophet ‫ﷺ‬. [These proofs about the validity of calling upon someone in his absence and after his
death are the same proofs for making tawassul by someone in his absence and after his death].

Page 12 of 55
 TAWASSUL BY THE PROPHETS AND WALIYYS
IS LAWFUL, AND IS NOT WORSHIP OF OTHER
THAN ALLAAH
More evidence22 for the validity of tawassul by the Prophets and the pious is the hadiyth narrated
from the route of ‘Abuw Saˆiyd Al-Khudriyy:

‫إذا خرج الرجل من بيته إلى الصالة فقال اللهم إني أسألك بحق السائلين عليك وبحق ممشاي‬
‫هذا‬

“If someone left his house to go to the prayer and said, ‘O Allaah, surely I ask You by the
right of those who ask You, and by the right of this walking of mine …’”

[The Prophets and the pious are among those who ask Allaah, so it is lawful to make tawassul by
them; this hadiyth promotes the meaning: “I ask you by the right of the Prophets”, or “by the right
of the waliyys”. “By the right of” means, “I ask you by that status that those have with You”.

Furthermore, those people have a higher status to Allaah than the status of the walking, so if it is
permissible to make tawassul by the status of the walking to the prayer, it is permissible to make
tawassul by the status of the Prophets and the pious people].

If it were said: “ˆUmar Ibn Al-Khattaab made tawassul by Al-ˆAbbaas after the Prophet’s death23.
Does that not prove that it is forbidden to make tawassul by him after his death, since ˆUmar would
not leave out doing what is best had it been permissible?”

22 Allaah said: {(‫})واستعينوا بالصبر والصالة‬22 <Seek help through patience and prayer>. He also
said: {(‫})وابتغوا إليه الوسيلة‬22 <Seek the means to Him>. This means to do everything that results
in gaining to higher status to Allaah. It means to take advantage of the means, and Allaah will
manifest for you the results you seek. There is no doubt that Allaah is able to manifest those
matters without their means. Allaah the Glorified and Exalted made tawassul by the Prophets
and the waliyys one of those specific means by which the manifestation of what we seek takes
place, whether that was during their lives or after their deaths, in their presence or in their
absence. So we say, “Allaah, we ask You by the status of the Messenger of Allaah”, or “by the
honor of the Messenger of Allaah to fulfill my need and to lift my troubles.” We may also say,
“Allaah, I ask You by the status of ˆAbdu-l-Qaadir Al-Jaylaaniyy”, for example. All of that is
permissible, and has only been forbidden by the Wahhaabiyyah. Thus, they have deviated from
Ahlu-s-Sunnah.
23 This incident is narrated by Az-Zubayr Ibn Bakkaar.

Page 13 of 55
The answer is: ˆUmar did not leave out tawassul by the Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬because he died. Rather, Al-
ˆAbbaas gave the reason for why they made tawassul by him when he said:

‫اللهم إن القوم توجهوا بي إليك لمكاني من نبيك‬

“O Allaah, certainly the people have directed themselves by me to You because of my status to
Your Prophet.”

He did not say, “They directed themselves by me to You because Your Prophet has died.” Thus,
ˆUmar did so out of observing the status of the relatives of the Prophet ‫ﷺ‬.

Furthermore, leaving out something is not evidence that it is forbidden, as confirmed in the books
of the Foundations of Fiqh. The Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬left out many permissible things, and that is not
evidence that they are forbidden. ˆUmar wanted to clarify the permissibility of making tawassul
by other than the Prophet ‫ﷺ‬, and that is why Ibn Hajar said after narrating this story, “Among the
benefits taken from the story of Al-ˆAbbaas is the recommendation of seeking intercession by the
people of goodness, piety, and the family of the Prophet (‘Ahlu-l-Bayt).”

۞‫۞وسبحان هللا وبحمده‬

MERELY SEEKING HELP IS NOT WORSHIP

The Shaykh said in the big explanation of At-Tahaawiyy24 that Tawassul (seeking a means),
Tawajjuh (directing oneself), and Istighaathah (seeking help) are all the same, as said by the
haafidh, faqiyh, grammarian, and linguist, Taqiyyu-d-Diyn As-Subkiyy. What proves that is what
came in [the various narrations of] the hadiyth of the Intersession. [In one of its narrated
expressions,] the Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬said: [‫“ ]استغاثوا بآدم‬They seek25 help from ‘Aadam.” In another
narration, he said that the people will say: [‫“ ]اشفع لنا إلى ربك‬Intercede for us to our Lord.”

۞‫۞وسبحان هللا وبحمده‬

24 Idhhaar Al-^Aqiydah As-Sunniyyah, fourth edition, Pg. 380

25The literal expression is a past tense verb: they sought.

Page 14 of 55
 MERELY SEEKING REFUGE WITH SOMEONE
IS NOT WORSHIP
[The proof that seeking refuge in itself is not an act of worship is the hadiyth] narrated by ‘Ahmad
in his Musnad, which has a hasan chain of narration, as said by Haafidh Ibn Hajar, that Al-Haarith
Ibn Hassaan Al-Bakriyy said in the presence26 of the Prophet ‫ﷺ‬:

[‫عاد‬ ‫“ ]أعوذ باَّلل ورسوله أن أكون كوافد‬I seek refuge with Allaah and His Messenger from
being like the delegate of the tribe of ˆAad.”

The Shaykh said that the evidence in the hadiyth is that the Messenger ‫ ﷺ‬did not say to Al-Haarith
that he committed shirk by saying, “And His Messenger” when he sought refuge. The Companion
did so because Allaah is Who creates the protection in reality, and the Messenger ‫ ﷺ‬is a reason for
someone to get the protection [by the creating of Allaah].

If one were to say: This was seeking refuge with the Messenger of Allaah ‫ ﷺ‬during his life and
in his presence, and this is acceptable! The unacceptable thing is seeking refuge with him after his
death!

We say: Seeking refuge is a single thing. If someone permissibly sought it from the one who is
alive and present, how would that be shirk when seeking it from the absent? This is irrational. If
the Believer sought refuge from the living or the dead, he believes, in both cases, that the one
whose protection is sought is a means to reach a goal if Allaah willed for that. This meaning does
not change between the one who is alive and present and the one who is dead or absent. Neither is
the creator of the protection. After relating the hadiyth in its entirety in As-Sariyh27, the Shaykh

26 The Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬did not object to him. Ar-Raˆiyniyy said: “(The saying) of someone, which takes
place in the presence of, and was (accepted by the one who comes with the Sacred Law) ‫( ﷺ‬is
the saying of the one who comes with the religious law), i.e. is like his saying. An example
is his acceptance ‫ ﷺ‬of Abu Bakr As-Siddiq’s saying about giving the spoils of the war casualty to
the one who killed him. This hadith is agreed upon. (And his acceptance), i.e. the one who comes
with the religious law, (of a doing) that was done by someone in his presence (is like his doing),
i.e. like the doing of the one who comes with the Sacred Law, like his acceptance of Khalid Ibn
Walid’s eating the dabb. This hadith is agreed upon. This is the ruling because he ‫ ﷺ‬is infallible
from approving the forbidden.”
27Sariyh Al-Bayaan, first edition, pg. 235

Page 15 of 55
said, “So what do those who consider tawassul by the Prophet as shirk say about ‘Ahmad Ibn
Hambal narrating this hadiyth? Do they consider that he approves shirk, or what?”

۞‫۞وسبحان هللا وبحمده‬

SEEKING BLESSINGS FROM THE GRAVES OR

SEEKING HELP AT THE GRAVES IS NOT
WORSHIP OF OTHER THAN ALLAAH, NOR IS
VISITING THE GRAVE OF A PIOUS MUSLIM
The Shaykh said in the big explanation of At-Tahaawiyy28 that the evidence of tawassul by the
Prophet and others that came in the ‘aathaar29 clarifies that using them as means for the
supplication to be answered during their lives and after their deaths is permissible. Those who
charge with blasphemy the people who, for seeking blessings, visit the grave of the Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬or
a Saint are ignorant about the meaning of worship. The early Muslims (Salaf), as well as the latter-
day Muslims (khalaf) never stopped visiting the Prophet’s grave ‫ ﷺ‬for seeking blessings. This does
not mean that the Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬creates the blessings for them; they are hopeful that Allah would
create the blessings for them by visiting his grave30.

If it were said: “Is there no evidence that the dead does not benefit in the hadiyth: [ ‫إذا مات‬
‫“ ]اإلنسان انقطع عمله إال من ثالث‬If the person died, his deeds are cut off, except three …”

The answer is: This hadiyth does not mean that he who died does not benefit others:

‫ أو ولد صالح يدعو‬،‫ أو علم ينتفع به‬، ‫إذا مات اإلنسان انقطع عمله إال من ثالث صدقة جارية‬
‫له‬

“If the person died, his deeds are cut off, except three: a lasting charity, knowledge that
continues to benefit, or a pious child that supplicates for him.”

28Idhhaar Al-^Aqiydah As-Sunniyyah, Pg. 380

29Plural of “athar”; narrations of the Companions and the Followers [At-Taabiˆuwn].
30As-Siraat. Check the explanation, sixth edition: pg. 429.

Page 16 of 55
This hadiyth proves that the deeds of accountability that increase his reward stop, except what is
mentioned. It is not impossible that someone can benefit others after his death. Proof for that is the

hadiyth about the Night Ascension into the skies, that Moses said to the Prophet ‫ﷺ‬: [ ‫ارجع إلى‬
‫“ ] ربك فسله التخفيف‬Go back to (where you heard the Speech of) your Lord, and ask your
Him for reduction.”

[This refers to the fact that the Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬was originally ordered with 50 prayers per day for his
nation. Moses told the Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬to seek a reduction, and thus it was eventually reduced to five
daily prayers]. This is a great benefit for the nation of Muhammad from Moses after his death by
thousands of years.

Another evidence for that is what Al-Bayhaqiyy narrated from the route of Maalik Ad-Daar, the
treasurer31 of ˆUmar Ibn Al-Khattaab. He said:

‫ أصاب الناس قحط فى زمان عمر‬: ‫عن مالك الدار قال‬

“The people were inflicted with famine32 during the time of ˆUmar.

‫ يا رسول هللا استسق ألمتك فإنهم قد‬: ‫ فقال‬- ‫ صلى هللا عليه وسلم‬- ‫فجاء رجل إلى قبر النبى‬
‫هلكوا‬

A man came to the grave of the Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬and said, “O Messenger of Allaah, seek the rain for
your nation, for they are surely perishing.”

‫ عليك الكيس‬:‫ أقرئ عمر السالم وأخبره أنهم يسقون وقل له‬:‫فأتي الرجل فى المنام فقيل له‬
‫الكيس‬

Then, the Prophet came to that man in his dream and said, “Convey the Salaam to ˆUmar, and
inform him that they shall be given the rain, and tell him, ‘Endeavor, endeavor!’”

31 This is in and of itself evidence that the man is not unknown, for ˆUmar would not appoint
anyone as treasurer unless he were trustworthy.
32 It lasted six months.

Page 17 of 55
 ‫ يا رب ال آلو إال ما عجزت‬:‫فأتى الرجل عمر فأخبره فبكى عمر وقال‬

So the man came to ˆUmar and informed him. ˆUmar cried and said, “O my Lord, I do not fall
short except in what I am unable to do.”

Haafidh Ibn Kathiyr narrated this and said immediately afterwards: [‫“ ]وهذا إسناد صحيح‬This is an
authentic chain of narration.”

The confirmation that who went to the grave was the Companion, Bilaal Ibn Al-Haarith is found
in another version of the story, also narrated by Ibn Kathiyr:

‫ إنما استبطأك في‬:‫ ففطنوا ولم يفطن فقالوا‬- ‫ وهو بالل بن الحارث‬- ‫فأخبرهم بقول المزني‬
‫االستسقاء فاستسق بنا‬

“… And so ˆUmar informed them about what Al-Muzaniyy said - and he is Bilaal Ibn Al-
Haarith - and they understood but he did not understand. They said, ‘He is only
considering that you have been slow in performing the prayer for seeking rain (al-
istisqaa’), so lead us in the prayer of seeking the rain!’”

He sought the grave of the Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬seeking blessing, and neither ˆUmar nor others objected to
him. Hence, the claim of Ibn Taymiyah that visiting the grave of the Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬is shirk is debunked.

It was narrated in the hadiyth that the Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬said about Moses, peace be upon him, that he

said: [‫بحجر‬ ‫“ ]رب أدنني من األرض المقدسة رمية‬My Lord, get me as close to the Holy Land
as the throw of a stone!” The Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬said about that:

[‫األحمر‬ ‫]وَّللا لو أني عنده ألريتكم قبره إلى جنب الطريق عند الكثيب‬

“I swear by Allaah, if I were there, I would have shown you his grave on the side of the
road by the red dune!”

Page 18 of 55
Haafidh Waliyyu-d-Diyn Al-ˆIraaqiyy said33 about this, “Therein is the recommendation of
knowing the graves of the pious and doing what is appropriately done there.” Our Shaykh said in
the explanation of As-Siraat:

‘Imaam ‘Abu-l-Wafaa’ Ibn ˆAqiyl Al-Hambaliyy, one of the pillars of the Hambaliyy
school, mentioned that among the recommended things to say when visiting the grave of
the Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬is: “O Allaah, You said in Your Book to Your Prophet:

‫﴿ولو أنهم إذ ظلموا أنفسهم جاءوك فاستغفروا َّللا واستغفر لهم الرسول لوجدوا َّللا‬
﴾‫توابا رحيما‬

<Had they come to you when they did injustice to themselves and sought the
Forgiveness of Allaah, and the Messenger sought forgiveness for them, they would
have known Allaah to be Forgiving, Merciful34>,

and I have come to Your Prophet repentant and seeking forgiveness, so I ask You to make
me deserving of forgiveness, as You have made those who came to Your Prophet in his
lifetime. O Allaah, I direct myself to You by Your Prophet ‫ﷺ‬, the Prophet of Mercy. O
Messenger of Allaah, I direct myself by you to my Lord so that He would forgive me of my
sins.” After that, how would some say that visiting the grave of the Prophet for seeking
blessings and tawassul is a visit of shirk? How far those people are from the truth …”

33 Our Shaykh said in the explanation of As-Siraat: “Muwsaa, may peace be upon him, was unable
to purify Jerusalem from the blasphemers who occupied it, in fact he died before he could enter
there. He requested from Allaah that He would get him close to the Holy Land. He said, “O my
Lord, get me close to the Holy Land, (even if) as close as the throw of a stone”. When his appointed
time of death came, Allaah drew him as close to the Holy Land as the throw of a stone and made
him die in a place close to the Holy Land. The Holy Land starts at the mountains after Jericho (and
extend) until Jerusalem. Muwsaa’s grave is before the Mountain of Al-Quds. There is a large grave
in Jericho with four doors; an eastern door, a western door, a northern door and a southern door.
The Muslims built it and the visitors take shelter in it. It is understood from the saying of the Prophet
about the grave of Muwsaa, may peace be upon him:
‫وَّللا لو أني عنده الريتكم قبره إلى جنب الطريق عند الكثيب األحمر‬
<I swear by Allaah, if I were there, I would have shown you his grave on the side of the
road by the red hill>,
and the place close to Jericho the indication that visiting the graves of the prophets and the
pious for seeking blessings is recommended. This is what the big scholars were upon, and this
is what they have documented.
34 An-Nisaa’ 64

Page 19 of 55
The Shaykh expounded on this issue and gave many other narrations from the scholars of hadiyth
and the historians, so let he who wants additional detail review the explanation of As-Siraat35, as
well as his books Sariyh Al-Bayaan36 and the big explanation of At-Tahaawiyy37.

۞‫۞وسبحان هللا وبحمده‬

SEEKING BLESSING FROM THE RELICS OF

THE PROPHET ‫ﷺ‬
[‘Ahlu-Sunnah also does not consider tabarruk (seeking blessings; seeking additional goodness)
as worship of the Prophet ‫]ﷺ‬. The Companions sought the blessings from the traces of the Prophet
during his life and after his death ‫ﷺ‬, and the Muslims after them until our present days have never
stopped doing that. The permissibility of this matter is known from the doings of the Prophet ‫ﷺ‬
when he personally distributed his hair upon shaving during the farewell Hajj38 to those who were
close to him; he gave some to ‘Abuw Talhah to distribute to the rest of the people, and he gave
some to ‘Umm Sulaym. In that is seeking blessings from the remnants of the Prophet ‫ﷺ‬. He
distributed his hair so that they would seek blessings from those hairs, and seek cure from Allaah,

35 Ash-Sharh al-Qawiym, sixth edition; The said chapter starts pg. 426.
36Sariyh Al-Bayaan: first edition. Said chapter starts on page 222.
37Al-‘Idhhaar, fourth edition. Said section starts on pg. 376.
38 As for the distribution of his hair, the Two Shaykhs have narrated from the route of Anas, and

this narration is the expression in Muslim38:

‫ الجمرة ونحر نسكه وحلق ناول الحالق شقه األيمن فحلقه ثم‬-‫صلى هللا عليه وسلم‬- ‫عن أنس بن مالك قال لما رمى رسول َّللا‬
‫ اقسمه بين الناس‬:‫ فحلقه فأعطاه أبا طلحة فقال‬.‫ احلق‬:‫دعا أبا طلحة األنصارى فأعطاه إياه ثم ناوله الشق األيسر فقال‬
“When the Messenger of Allaah threw the stones at the Jamrah, and slaughtered his sacrifices to
Allaah, and shaved his hair, he directed the barber to cut his right side, so he cut it. Then he called
Abuw Talhah Al-Ansaariyy and gave the hair to him. Then he directed the barber toward his left
side and said to him, “Shave,” so he shaved his hair. Then he gave it to Abuw Talhah and said,
“Distribute it among the people.”
In another narration of Muslim:
‫ فدفعه‬.‫ ها هنا أبو طلحة‬:‫ باأليسر فصنع به مثل ذلك ثم قال‬:‫فبدأ بالشق األيمن فوزعه الشعرة والشعرتين بين الناس ثم قال‬
‫إلى أبى طلحة‬
He started with the right half. Then he distributed a hair or two among the people. Then he said,
“The left side,” and so did the same as the first time. Then the Prophet said, “Over here, Abuw
Talhah!” and he gave the hair to Abuw Talhah.
In another narration by Muslim:
‫ ها وأشار بيده إلى الجانب األيمن فقسم شعره بين من يليه ثم أشار إلى الحالق إلى الجانب األيسر فحلقه فأعطاه‬:‫قال للحالق‬
.‫أم سليم‬
He said to the barber, “Haa!” and pointed with his hand to the right side, and distributed his hair
to whoever was close to him. Then he signaled to the barber to cut his left side. So he shaved him,
and the Prophet gave the hair to Umm Sulaym.

Page 20 of 55
and to have closer status to Allaah, and so that it would be a lasting blessing for them and a
souvenir. He also distributed his nails. He did that so that they would seek the blessings, and not
so that they would eat those items, because those items are not eaten.

The Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬guided his nation to seek the blessings from all of his remains, even his saliva. They
used to dip his hairs into water to give it to the sick. It was confirmed that the Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬spit into
the mouth of a child that would be possessed by the devil twice a day, every day. He said: ‫اخرج‬
‫“ عدو هللا أنا رسول هللا‬Leave the body of this child, enemy of Allaah! I am the Messenger of
Allaah!” Then the genie left the child’s body and he was cured.

The Shaykh said in the Siraat:

1. As for the distribution of his nails, ‘Imam ‘Ahmad narrated in his Musnad that the
Prophet clipped his nails and distributed them among the people. It is known that
that was not so that they would eat it, rather, it was so they would seek the blessing
by it.

2. As for his cloak, ‘Imam Muslim narrated in the Sahih from the servant of ‘Asma’
Bint ‘Abi Bakr that he said, “She brought out to us a cloak … and said, ‘This is the
cloak of the Messenger of Allah; ^A’ishah had it, and when she died, I took it. The
Prophet used to wear it, and we wash it for the sick to seek cure by it.’” In another
narration it is said, “We wash it for the sick among us.”

3. [It came] from the route of Handhalah Ibn Hadhyam that he said, “I came with my
grandfather Hadhyam to the Messenger of Allah. My grandfather said, ‘O
Messenger of Allah, I have sons who have beards and other than them, and this is
the youngest of them.’ So the Messenger of Allah brought me close and wiped my
head, and said ‘May Allah bless you.’” Adh-Dhayyal said, “I saw Handhalah
approached with a man having a swollen face or a sheep with a swollen udder, so
he would say ‘Bismillah’ on the spot where the Messenger of Allah wiped, then he
would wipe it and the swelling would go away.” …

4. It was narrated from the route of Thabit that he said, “I used to come to Anas, and
when I came, he would be informed about my arrival. I would enter and take him

Page 21 of 55
 by his hands, and kiss them saying, ‘For my father, these two hands that have
touched the Messenger of Allah!’ And I would kiss his two eyes, saying, ‘For my
father, these two eyes that have seen the Messenger of Allah!’”39

5. It was narrated from the route of Dawud Ibn Abi Salih that he said, “One day
Marwan [Ibnu-l-Hakam] came and found a man putting his face on the Prophet’s
grave ‫ﷺ‬. He said, “Do you know what you are doing?” So that man approached
him, and behold, it was Abu Ayyub [Al-‘Ansariyy], who said, “Yes! I came for the
Messenger of Allah, and I did not come for a stone! I heard the Messenger of Allah
saying, “Do not cry for the Religion if it is under the supervision of those who are
qualified; cry for it if it is under the supervision of those who are not qualified.”40

So there is no consideration after this given to the claim of those who reject seeking
blessings from his honorable traces ‫!ﷺ‬

Our Shaykh, may Allaah have mercy upon him, has given many details to this case in the
explanation of As-Siraat, so let he who wants more evidence review that.

۞‫۞وسبحان هللا وبحمده‬

39 Abu Ya^la narrated this, and the narrators are narrators of sahih except ^Abdullah Ibn Abi
Bakr Al-Maqdimiyy, and he is still trustworthy.
40 This is narrated by Ahmad and At-Tabaraniyy who narrated that in the Kabir and the Awsat.

Page 22 of 55
 THE MEANING OF WORSHIP AND TAWASSUL

A
mong their strongest fallacies and wickedest of heresies is their corrupted talk about
tawassul. Perhaps they misguide more people with this fallacy than with their talk about
likening Allah to the creations. They say to the unsuspecting person, “Do you worship the
graves? Do you worship the Prophets? Do you call upon the dead?” And of course, that blindsided
Muslim would say, “Never!” They would say to him, “Beware of those who do shirk throughout
the lands, calling upon the Prophets and Muslim Saints (Waliyys), rubbing themselves on their
graves and asking for their intersession!” They say more than this, and this is very treacherous
poison! It is like the bite of the so-called vampire, quickly turning its victims into practically
incurable deviants, its venom sickening their intellects. The one who learns before encountering
this talk of theirs can protect himself, but anyone caught off-guard and thus leant them a listening
ear may never return to the truth if he accepts what they say, even if he heard every piece of
evidence! In fact, once convinced, he will simply ignore all of the evidence and believe that it is
all weak, even if their own authorities authenticate the references! Some poor people prefer to
deprive themselves and avoid tawassul after hearing the talk of the Wahhabis, even if they do
not take the Wahhabiyy creed. Let not this introduction be longer than needed and let us bring
the medicinal potion for their sick poison.

Whoever wants to proficiently refute Wahhabis in the topic of tawassul must know that the key
to refuting them here is textual evidence; Qur’anic verses, hadiths, and traditions from the
Companions (athar). You must understand and memorize the documentary proofs. An essential
mistake of the Wahhabiyy in this topic is rejection of confirmed religious passages for his opinion,
but what may make you ineffective in the debate is an over-reliance on “trying to make sense”,
as if you are arguing about the Attributes with rational proofs and few textual proofs. Yes, you
must always make sense, but the approach here is in fact quite contrary to the approach to the
Attributes:

Page 23 of 55
In the case of the Attributes, he does not believe in what makes sense because of the literal texts.
When you explain rationally and clearly, he can understand that you are making sense, but he
thinks he should reject that sense because of the literal text. However, in the case of tawassul,
he thinks it does not make sense, because he thinks it is literally idolatry! So, you will have a
difficult time convincing him by some sensible examples. In his mind, he sees you as trying to
make sense out of committing shirk! Thus, you must show him the flaw of his reasoning by
imposing the literal texts on him like how he tries to impose the literal texts about the Attributes.
Prove to him that he simply has a misconception; he confused tawassul for something else and
mixed-up some issues. Consequently, to thoroughly refute them in this topic, it is imperative that
you know the documentary references, and that you enforce those references on them, meaning,
do not allow them to ignore them; make them respond.

THE CORRECT MEANING OF WORSHIP

The first thing one must do to protect himself and others, is understand the meaning of “ˆibadah
(worship)”, because they accuse the Muslims of worshiping other than Allah when they never
did so. Understand the difference between what worship (ˆibadah) is and what it is not.

For instance, one may walk, and depending on his intention, his walking may be worship or may
not be. In a hadith that we will revisit, the Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬taught us to say when walking to the
Masjid41:

َ ََ‫َََََقَََاءََََسََخََط‬
ََ‫ََََوابَََتَََغَََاء‬،‫ك‬ ‫تَات‬َ ََ‫َوََخََرَج‬، َََََ‫َوََلَََرََََيَء‬،‫ا‬
َََََ‫َوََلَََُسَََعََة‬، َََََ‫ََََفَإَََّنَََََلََأََََخَََرَجََأَََََشََر‬
َََََ‫َوََلَبََََطَََر‬،‫ا‬ َ،‫َهََذا‬
َََ‫اي‬ َ َََ‫َك ََََِبََََقَََم‬
َ ََ‫ش‬ َ ََ‫ََوأَََسَأَل‬

َ ََََ‫َمَََرَضَات‬
َ‫ك‬

“… And I ask You (O Allah) by the right of this walking of mine, for I have not gone out
haughty, nor conceited, nor to be seen, nor seeking a reputation. I have gone out fearing Your
punishment and seeking Your acceptance …”

41 [Ibn Majah. Sunan Ibn Majah. Volume 1. Page 256. Hadith Number 778.]

Page 24 of 55
One’s eating might be worship or might not be. The Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬taught the one who forgot to eat
in the Name of Allah to say42:

َََ‫َاَّللََأََََولَََهَََو‬ َ
ََ‫آخََره‬ َ َ ََََ‫بَسَ َم‬

“In the Name of Allah at its beginning and at its end!”

His fighting might be worship or it might not be. A man said the Prophet ‫ﷺ‬, “One may fight out
of anger, or to protect himself, so what is fighting for the sake of Allah?” The Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬said43:

َ‫َوََجَل‬ َََََ‫ََََََهَو ََََِفَََسبَيَََل‬ ََََ‫َاَّلل‬

َََََ‫َمَََنَََقَاتََََلََلَََتََََكوَََن ََكلََََمَة‬
َََ‫َاَّللَََعََز‬ َ َ َ َ‫َف‬،‫َالعَلََيََا‬
ََََ‫َهََي‬

“Whoever fights so that the Word of Allah will be dominant has fought for the sake of Allah.”

Even prostrating to someone might be worshiping that one or it might not be! For this reason,
when we prostrate to Allah, we are worshipping Him, and when the Angels prostrated to Adam,
they were not worshipping him, and when Muˆadh Ibn Jabal prostrated to the Prophet ‫ﷺ‬, he was
not worshipping him. Had he been worshiping the Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬by prostrating to him, the Prophet
would have deemed him a mushrik, and would not have merely said to him:

‫ال تفعل‬
“Do not do that!”

This is narrated by Ibn Hibban, Ibn Majah and others.

Q110: What if he says that it is forbidden to prostrate to a man in the law of Muhammad?
That is beside the point. Always beware of a Wahhabiyy reaching for something beside the point!
If you let him distract you, you will not progress with him. The point is: The great Companion
prostrated to the Prophet ‫ﷺ‬, and the Prophet did not accuse him of shirk! How is calling the
Prophet worshipping him while prostrating to him is not?44

42 [Abu Dawud. Sunan Abi Dawud. Volume 3. Page 347. Hadith Number 3767]
43 [Al-Bukhariyy. Sahih Al-Bukhariyy. Volume 1. Page 37. Hadith Number 123.]
44 Prostration is a greater indication of humility and servitude than calling out to someone. Also,

Allah commanded the Angels to prostrate to Adam: <(‫>)وإذ قلنا للمالئكة اسجدوا ِلدم فسجدوا‬44 <And when

Page 25 of 55
Why is seeking refuge with Allah worshipping Allah, and seeking refuge with the Messenger of
Allah ‫ ﷺ‬not worshipping him? Imam Ahmad narrated in his Musnad45, with a hasan chain of
narration, as said by Hafidh Ibn Hajar46, that Al-Harith Ibn Hassan Al-Bakriyy said in the presence
of the Prophet ‫ﷺ‬:

َ َ ََ‫اَّللَََوَََرَسََولَََهَََأََ َنَََأََك‬
َ‫ونَََكََوَأََفَََدَََعَاََد‬ َ َ
َ َ َََ‫َأَعََ َوذَََب‬
“I seek refuge with Allah and His Messenger from being like the delegate of the tribe of ˆAd.”

The Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬did not object to him. Had what he done been shirk, the Prophet would have
clarified that.

How we know that the Wahhabis are misguided in this issue, is that they would consider the one
who seeks refuge with Allah and His Messenger ‫ ﷺ‬a mushrik, even after knowing of the strong
hadith in this issue. If you were to tell him the hadith before he ever knew about it, he would
assume that it is weak or fabricated, and find such a doing very ugly and despicable. In fact, to
him, this is obvious and clear shirk, although ‘Imam ‘Ahmad narrated it and did not comment on
it; had it been such obvious shirk, he would have realized that when documenting it.

Worship is not “calling” or “asking” just as it is not walking or eating. It is the ultimate submission,
the extent of humility, and the maximum humbleness and fear for another. This is what the
Wahhabis missed. Take some of the quotes of the Sunniyy linguists for the true definition of
ˆibadah (worship):

We said to the Angels, “Prostrate to Adam,” so they prostrated…> So what makes one
prostration worship and the other not? Even the brothers of Prophet Yusuf prostrated to him:
<(‫< >)وخروا له سجدا‬They fell in prostration to him.>
45
[Ahmad. Musnad Ahmad. Volume 25. Page 307. Hadith Number 15954.]
46
[Ibn Hajar Al-^Asqalaniyy. Fath Al-Bari. Volume 8. Page 578 & 579.]

ََ‫َوَفَََيه‬ َ ََ‫َوََسلََمََاَََْلََََدي‬ َ ََََ ََ‫َاَّللََََصل‬ ََََ‫الَعَ ََلَءَبَََََنَاَََْلَََضََرََمَيََإَََََلَََرََس‬ َ َ ََ‫َأَْحَََدَََِبَََسنََََادََََحَسَنَََع‬َ َ ‫َأَخَرَجَقََََصََةَََعََادََالث‬

َََ‫ث‬ َََ‫ىَاَّللَََََعَلََيَََه‬ َ ََََ‫ول‬ َ َ َ َََ‫َو‬ َََ‫تَأَََََن‬ َ ََ‫يَََقَاََلَََََخََرَج‬ ََََ‫ََََبَََكََر‬
‫ساَََنَال‬ َََ‫نَاََْلََاََرََثَبََََن‬
َ َ‫ََح‬ َ َ َ ََََ‫َََََانََيَََة‬ َ َ َََََ‫ََوقَََد‬
ََ‫تَأََََعََوَذَََََِبَََّللََََوبََرَسولََََهََأََََنََأََََكَوََنَ ََكَوََافَََدَََعَََاد‬
َ ََ‫فَََقَل‬
َ َََ

Page 26 of 55
Taqiyyu-d-Din As-Subkiyy47 defined it as48:

‫َألخََشَوََ َع‬
ََََ‫وع‬ َ َ َََََ‫اية‬
ََََ‫َغ‬
َ ََ‫َألخَض‬
“The extremity of humbleness and humility.”

Az-Zajjaj, who is among the most famous linguists, said49:

َ‫َألطاعةَمعَألخضوع‬:‫ومعنىَألعبادةَفيَأللغة‬
“The meaning of ˆibadah (worship) in the (Arabic) language is the (special) obedience with the
(ultimate) humility.”

This does not mean that any obedience is worship, or any humility, or else anyone who obeyed
another, even his parent or employer, would be worshipping that one, and anyone who humbled
himself to another, even his parent or commanding officer, would be worshipping that other.

In Al-Misbah50:

َ‫وهيَأالنقيادَوألخضوع‬
“It is the submission and the humility.”

Ibn Mandhur said similar in Lisanu-l-ˆArab51, as well as Al-Farra’, and Ar-Raghib Al-Asbhaniyy in
Mufradatu-l-Qur’an52. Ibn Athir said, “ˆIbadah in the language is the obedience with the
submission.”

47 The hafidh, faqih and linguist, ˆAliyy Ibn ˆAbdi-l-Kafi, and that is mentioned by the imam,
hafidh and linguist, Muhammad Murtada Az-Zabidiyy in Al-Ithaf.
48 [As-Subkiyy. Fatawa As-Subkiyy. Volume 1. Page 10.]
49 [Al-Azhariyy. Tahdhib Al-Lughah. Volume 2. Page 138.]
50[Al-Fayyumiyy. Al-Misbah Al-Munir. Volume 2. Page 289.]
51[Ibn Mandhur. Lisan Al-^Arb. Volume 3. Page 271.]

(‫ فَلن عبد بين العبودة والعبودية والعبدية؛ وأصل العبودية الخضوع والتذلل‬:‫)ويقال‬
52 [Ar-Raghib Al-Asbhaniyy. Mufradat Al-Qur’an. Page 542.]

)‫ أال تعبدوا إال إياه‬:‫ ولهذا قال‬،‫ وهو هللا تعالى‬،‫ وال يستحقها إال من له غاية اإلفضال‬،‫ ألنها غاية التذلل‬،‫ والعبادة أبلغ منها‬،‫ إظهار التذلل‬:‫(العبودية‬

Page 27 of 55
Hence, to refute the Wahhabiyy, firmly understand that worship is not merely calling upon
someone - whether alive or dead - nor merely seeking help from someone, nor fearing someone,
nor being hopeful of something from someone, nor merely glorifying someone, nor merely going
to the grave of a Saint to seek blessings, nor building a structure over said grave, just as it is not
merely prostrating or merely seeking refuge or merely walking or eating or fighting53.

None of these matters in themselves are applicable to the meaning of ˆibadah according to the
linguists, as you have just seen. The Wahhabis use all of this to wrongfully define worship, and
then accuse the Muslims of worshipping someone other than Allah, like their Khawarij
predecessors. Now a Wahhabiyy will not be able to deceive you by abusing what Allah said about
the pagans.

What we have presented as the definition of ˆibadah is what is linguistically confirmed, what is
normal (ˆurf), and complies with the Religion. Take, for example, a person who goes to his
parent’s grave and falls to his knees crying, “O Father!” It is not normally thought that this person
has worshipped his dead parent, except by a Wahhabiyy! To him, calling a dead person is worship
of the dead! According to him, whoever says, “O, Prophet Muhammad!” has committed shirk for
calling upon someone who has died, although that very act came in the Tashahhud for the prayer:

َ‫َب‬
َ ََََََ
‫كَأَََيَََََهاَالن‬
َ َََ‫س ََلَمََََعَلَي‬
َ َََ‫ال‬
“Peace be upon you, O Prophet.”

Therefore, according to the Wahhabiyyah, the Four Imams are all mushriks for confirming this as
part of the Prayer after the Prophet’s death. Also, the Companions who passed this statement
on to the people after them, like Ibn Abbas and Ibn Masˆud should be mushriks! Not only is this
calling on the Prophet after his death, but it is part of the daily prayer! Despite that, the
Companions and the imams did not say it is forbidden, let alone shirk.

53 Nor is it worship to request something from someone in an unusual way. When the Children
of Israel were searching for the body of Prophet Yusuf, a woman requested from Prophet Musa
to be his companion in Paradise, and she did not request that from Allah. Had she done an act
of shirk, Musa, the Messenger of Allah ‫ﷺ‬, would have clarified that.

Page 28 of 55
 TAWASSUL
Tawassul linguistically means: “to seek a means”. In the dictionary Al-Mukhtar54:

)‫ و(التوسيل‬.)‫ (الوسيلة) ما يتقرب به إلى الغير والجمع (الوسيل) و(الوسائل‬:‫و س ل‬

‫ و(توسل) إليه بوسيلة إذا تقرب‬،‫ (وسل) فَلن إلى ربه وسيلة بالتشديد‬:‫ يقال‬،‫و(التوسل) واحد‬
.‫إليه بعمل‬

The letters “waw-sin-lam”: the “wasilah” is that by which one draws near another. Its plural is
“wasil” and “wasa’il”. ¤ “Tawsil” and “tawassul” are the same; it is said: “So-and-so “wassala
(sought a wasilah [means])” to his Lord – with a shaddah, and he “tawassala (did tawassul)” to
his Lord by a “wasilah”: he sought His acceptance by some deed.

Therefore, when Allah said in His Book:

﴾ ‫﴿وابتغوا اليه الوس يل‬

<Seek the “wasilah (means)” to Him,>
it means seek whatever grants you a higher status to Allah, and by those means, Allah will make
the results manifest for you - if He so wills, just as Allah has the Power to make your goals
manifest without those means. This verse is not restricted, and therefore it is not valid for a
Wahhabiyy to restrict it to particular conditions that he believes in, as will be made clear. It
means: take advantage of whatever means Allah gave you, and Allah will manifest for you the
results you seek. So, technically, tawassul is to seek from Allah a benefit or repulsion of harm by
mentioning the name of a Prophet or a Saint55, out of honor of the one by whom the tawassul is
made. An example is what Al-Bayhaqiyy narrates in Dala’il An-Nubuwwah56:

‫ يا رب أسألك بحق محمد لما غفرت لي‬:‫ قال‬،‫لما اقترف آدم الخطيئة‬

54 [Ar-Raziyy. Mukhtar As-Sihah. Page 338.]

55 Muslim saint (Waliyy). Only Muslims can become saints in reality.
56 [Al-Bayhaqiyy. Dala’il An-Nubuwwah. Volume 5. Page 489.

Al-Hakim. Al-Mustadrak ^Ala Sahihayn. Volume 2. Page 672. Hadith Number 4228.]

Page 29 of 55
 “When Adam committed the sin, he said, ‘O my Lord, I ask you by the status of Muhammad
to forgive me’…”

As is clear, this is part of the Religion, and far from deviance, blasphemy or shirk.

Q111: Why make tawassul? Can Allah grant you what you seek without that?
Yes, just as He can grant us what we want without us even asking Him! Why do we make our
tongues run with supplication when Allah has the Power to give without any supplication? Allah
made tawassul an optional resort, like He made supplication by the tongue available for us to
use. There is nothing wrong with it, and in fact it is beneficial and helpful!” Allah made the matters
of life based on reasons and consequences, although He has the Power to grant us what we seek
without us doing any deeds. An-Nasafiyy stated our point in his tafsir57:

َ
‫ََََة‬
َ ‫قربَإلىَأإلجاب‬
َ َََ ََََ َََ‫تقديمَألوسيلةَقبلَطلبَألحاجةَأ‬
ََ َ ََ ََََ ََ ََ ََََ َََ َ ََََ ََ َََ
“Advancing the “wasilah (good deeds and offerings)” before seeking the need makes it more
likely for one to be answered.”

Allah made tawassul a means to get what we seek, like the famous story of the three men who
were trapped in a cave by a falling boulder: each made tawassul by a good deed of his, and each
time, Allah moved the boulder a little, until after the last they were able to escape. We make
tawassul, not only by our good deeds, but also by what is better than them: the Prophets and
Saints, and not only during their lives, but even after their deaths, like the Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬did when
he said58:

‫اللهم إني أسألك بحق السائلين عليك وبحق ممشاي هذا‬

“O Allah, surely I ask You by the right of those who ask You, and by the right of this walking of
mine …”

57
[An-Nasafiyy. Tafsir An-Nasafiyy. Volume 1. Page 32.]
58
[Ibn Majah. Sunan Ibn Majah. Volume 1. Page 256. Hadith Number 778.
Ibn Abi Shaybah. Al-Musannaf. Volume 6. Page 25. Hadith Number 29202.
Ibnus-Sunniyy. ^Amalul-Yawm Wal-Laylah. Page 76. Hadith Number 85.
Al-Bayhaqiyy. Ad-Da^awat Al-Kabir. Volume 1. Page 125. Hadith Number 65.]

Page 30 of 55
Here, he asked by ‘the askers’, and he asked by his deed of walking. We ask Allah by those askers,
like the Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬did, hoping that we get what we ask for. We say, “O Allah, we ask You by the
status/honor of the Messenger ‫ ﷺ‬to fulfill our need or to relieve our calamity,” or, “We ask you
by the status of ˆAbdi-l-Qadir Al-Jaylaniyy …” etc. And it is not a condition to say, “by the status
of”. One can merely say, “I ask you by Muhammad,” as will be seen. This is permissible and has
only been made forbidden by the Wahhabiyyah, thus they have deviated from ‘Ahlu-s-Sunnah.

Now that you know what tawassul is, let us take a deeper dive into the subject: There is no real
evidence that tawassul by the Prophets and the Waliyys is forbidden, whether that were done in
their absence or after their deaths. The Wahhabiyyah have claimed that this is shirk, unless
certain conditions are fulfilled:

1. That the tawassul is done in the presence of that Prophet or Saint,

2. And that they are alive when it is done.

Therefore, they say that if the person you are mentioning in your tawassul is neither present nor
alive – and they may add: “and if you name them without saying: ‘by the status of’, then you have
worshiped that Prophet or Saint; he must be alive and present, and you cannot ask by him, you
have to ask by his status.

Q112: What is the evidence that the Wahhabi’s conditions for tawassul are not needed?
This is an important question whose answer is needed in all sorts of debate, and it was tackled
previously in this book. You do not have to bring the evidence that these conditions are false;
they have to being the evidence that they are true. Don’t you remember that the Prophet ‫ﷺ‬
said59:

ََ‫ىَالَمَد‬
َََ‫َعي‬ َََََ ََ‫الَََبَََيََنَََةََََعَل‬
“The burden of evidence is upon the claimer.”

59
[Al-Bayhaqiyy. Sunan Al-Kubra. Volume 6. Page 326. Hadith Number: 12112.
At-Tirmidhiyy. Sunan At-Tirmidhiyy. Volume 3. Page 617. Hadith Number 1342.]

Page 31 of 55
‫‪He made the claim, he must bring the evidence. Not to mention that it is not permissible to‬‬
‫‪ also said60:‬ﷺ ‪make up conditions! The Prophet‬‬

‫ط‬ ‫‪َ،‬وإََنَ ََكاََنََََ‬

‫َمائََََةََََشَََرَََ‬ ‫ََََهَوََ َ‬‫ابَََََ‬‫َكََلََََشَََرََطَلَََيَََس ََََِف ََكَتََََ َ‬
‫َِبَطَلَََََ‬
‫َاَّللَفَ َ َ َ‬ ‫َ‬
‫‪“Every condition that is not in the Book of Allah is invalid, even if it were 100‬‬

‫”‪conditions.‬‬

‫‪Nevertheless, we can prove that those conditions are false, by first referring to “The Hadith of‬‬
‫‪the Blind Man (Hadithu-l-Aˆma)”. First take the hadith in its entirety as narrated by At-Tabaraniyy‬‬
‫‪in his two books Al-Muˆjam Al-Kabir and Al-Muˆjam As-Saghir61:‬‬

‫َ‬
‫نَرجالَكانَيختلفَإلىَعثمانَبنَعفانَرضيَهللاَعنهَفيَحاجةَلهَفكانَعثمانَالَيلتفتَإليهَوالَينظرََ‬
‫عنَعثمانَبنَحنيفَ‪َ:‬أَ َََ َ ََ ََ َََ َََ ََََ ََ ََ ََ َََ ََ َََ َََ َ ََ ََ ََ َََ ََ ََ َ َََ َََ ََ ََ ََ ََ ََ َََََ َ َََََ ََ َ ََََ َ‬
‫َ َ ََ ََ ََ َََ ََ َََ ََََ‬
‫َ َ َ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫َ‬
‫توجهََ‬
‫لكَوأََ َ َ‬
‫ساََ ََ َ‬
‫َثمَصلَركعتينَثمَقلَأللهمَإنيَأَ َ‬
‫ةَفتوضاَََ ََ َ َََ َ َََ َََ َََ َََََ َ ََََ ََ‬
‫فيَحاجتهَفلقيَعثمانَبنَحنيفَفشكاَإليهَذلكَفقالَأئتَألميضاَ ََََ َ َ‬
‫ََ ََ ََ ََ َََََ ََ ََ ََ َََ ََ َََ َََ َ ََََََ ََ ََ َََََ ََََ ََََ ََ َ‬
‫َ‬ ‫َ‬
‫روحَمعكَفانطلقَألرجلَففعلََ‬
‫توجهَبكَإلىَربيَفيَحاجتيَلتقضيَليَثمَرحَحتىَأَََ ََ َ َ َََََ ََ َََََ َ ََََ َ‬
‫إنيَأََ َ َ َََ ََََ ََ ََ َََ ََ ََ ََ َََََ َ َََ َََ َََ ََ ََ ََ‬
‫إليكَبنبيناَمحمدَنبيَألرحمةَياَمحمدََََ ََ‬
‫َ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫َ‬
‫جلسَهَعلىَطنفستهَفقالَماَحاجتك؟َفذكرَلهَ‬ ‫دخلهَعلىَعثمانَبنَعفانَفاَ ََ‬
‫خذَبيدهَفاَ َ ََ ََ ََ ََ ََ ََ َََ ََ َََ َََ‬
‫تىَبابَعثمانَفجاءَألبوأبَفاَ َ ََََ َ َََ‬
‫ماَقالَثمَأََ ََََ ََ ََ ََ َََ ََ َََََ ََ َََ‬
‫َ َََََ َََ ََ‬
‫حاجتهَفقضاَلهَحاجتهَوَقالَماَذكرتَحاجتكَحتىَكانتَهذهَألساعةَثمَخرجَمنَعندهَفلقيَعثمانَبنَحنيفَفقالَجزأكَهللاَ‬
‫خيرأَماَكانَينظرَفيَحاجتيَوالَيلتفتَإليَحتىَكلمتهَفيَفقالَعثمانَبنَحنيفَوهللاَماَكلمتهَولكنَشهدتَرسولَهللاَصلىَ‬
‫َ‬
‫تاهَضريرَفشكاَعليهَذهابَبصرهَفقالَ‪َ:‬‬
‫هللاَعليهَوَسلمَوقدَأَََ ََ َ ََ َََ َ َََ َََ ََ َ ََ َََ َ َ َََ ََ‬
‫َ ََ َََ ََ ََ ََ ََ ََ ََ‬
‫إن شئت صبرت و إن شئت دعوت لك‬
‫فقالَياَرسولَهللاَإنهَشقَعليَذهابَبصريَوَإنهَليسَليَقائدَفقال‪َ:‬‬
‫ائت الميضأة فتوضأ وصل ركعتين ثم قل هؤالء الكلمات‬
‫َ‬
‫نهَلمَيكنَبهَضرَقَََطَ‬
‫ففعلَألرجلَماَقالَفوهللاَماَتفرقناَوالَطالَبناَألمجلسَحتىَدخلَعليناَألرجلَكاََ َََ َََ َ َََ ََ َ‬
‫ََََ َ َََََ َ ََ َََََ َََ َ ََ َََََ َََََ َ ََ ََ ََََََََ َ ََ ََ ََ ََ َ َ ََ َََََََََ َ ََ َ‬

‫‪A man used to go back and forth to ˆUthman Ibn ˆAffan, may Allah accept his deeds, because of‬‬
‫‪an issue that he needed fulfilled. ˆUthman did not look into his issue. This man met ˆUthman Ibn‬‬

‫‪60‬‬ ‫]‪[Ibn Majah. Sunan Ibn Majah. Volume 2. Page 843. Hadith Number 2521.‬‬
‫‪61‬‬
‫‪[At-Tabaraniyy. Al-Mu^jam Al-Kabir. Volume 9. Page 17 & 18. Hadith Number 8311.‬‬
‫‪At-Tabaraniyy. Al-Mu^jam As-Saghir. Volume 1. Page 306. Hadith Number 508. (In Al-Mu^jam As-Saghir, At-‬‬
‫])‪Tabarnaiyy deems the narration to be sahih‬‬

‫‪Page 32 of 55‬‬
 Hunayf and complained to him about that. So ˆUthman said to him, “Go to the place of wudu’,
make wudu’, pray two rakˆahs, and then say, ‘O Allah, I surely ask You, and direct myself to You
by our Prophet, Muhammad, the Prophet of Mercy. O Muhammad, I surely direct myself to my
Lord by you in my need so that it would be fulfilled for me,’ then come to me so that I would go
with you.” The man left and did as he said, but then went directly to the door of ˆUthman. The
doorman came, took him by the hand and took him in to see ˆUthman Ibn ˆAffan. He sat him on
his carpet and said, “What is it that you need?” So, he told him about his need, and ˆUthman
fulfilled his need for him and said, “I did not remember your need until this moment!” Then the
man left ˆUthman, met with ˆUthman Ibn Hunayf and said, “May Allah compensate you. He
would not look into my need until you spoke to him about me.” ˆUthman said, “I swear by Allah,
I did not speak to him, however, I witnessed the Messenger of Allah ‫ ﷺ‬when a blind man came
to him and complained about the loss of his sight. He said to the blind man:

“If you want, you will be patient, and if you want, I will make supplication for you.”

The man said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, the loss of my sight has surely been a hardship on me, and
I certainly have no one to guide me!’ So he said to the blind man:

“Go to the place of wudu’, make wudu’, then say these words …”

The man did as he said, and I swear by Allah, we had not dispersed, nor had the session been
long, when the man came to us seeing as if he had never been blind.

Now see how this perfectly discredits their claims on every level:

1. Within it is evidence that mere calling is not worship, because the blind
man was personally ordered by the Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬to call upon the Prophet ‫ﷺ‬,
who would never order someone to worship him. The Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬said to
him:

‫ائت الميضأة فتوضأ وصل ركعتين ثم قل اللهم إني أسألك وأتوجه إليك بنبينا محمد‬
‫نبي الرحمة يا محمد إني أتوجه بك إلى ربي في حاجتي لتقضي لي‬

Page 33 of 55
 “Go to the place of wudu’, make wudu’, pray two rakˆahs, then say, ‘O Allah, I surely
ask You, and direct myself to You by our Prophet, Muhammad, the Prophet of Mercy.
O Muhammad, I surely direct myself by you to my Lord in my need so that it would be
fulfilled for me’.”

2. In it is also proof that calling someone in his absence is permissible,

because the blindman, obeying the Prophet ‫ﷺ‬, was away from the Prophet
‫ ﷺ‬when he called upon him. What proves that is the statement of Ibn
Hunayf, the Companion who told the story when he narrated the hadith.
He said:

‫قال فوهللا ما تفرقنا وال طال بنا المجلس حتى دخل علينا الرجل كانه لم يكن به ضر قط‬
“I swear by Allah, we had not dispersed, nor had the session been long, when the man
came to us seeing as if he had never been blind!”

This means that he went away from the Prophet ‫ﷺ‬, as the Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬ordered him, said
the supplication that contains calling on the Prophet, and then came back.

3. There is also proof that calling upon someone after his death is not
worship, because the Companions continued to teach this supplication
after the Prophet’s death ‫ﷺ‬, as ˆUthman Ibn Hunayf did. Also, the hadith
scholars continued to narrate this supplication without forbidding the
people from applying it after the death of the Prophet ‫ﷺ‬.

Ibn Taymiyah was the first to prohibit making tawassul by the Prophet, as mentioned by Taqiyyu-
d-Din As-Subkiyy, in his book Shifa’u-s-Saqam. He said62:

‫ وجواز‬،‫اعلم أنه يجوز ويحسن التوسل واالستعانة والتشفع بالنبي صلى هللا عليه وسلم إلى ربه سبحانه وتعالى‬
‫ذلك وحسنه من األمور المعلومة لكل ذي دين المعروفة من فعل األنبياء والمرسلين وسير السلف الصالحين‬
‫والعلماء والعوام من المسلمين ولم ينكر أحد ذلك من أهل األديان وال سمع به في زمن من األزمان حتى جاء‬
‫ وابتدع ما لم يسبق إليه في سائر األعصار‬،‫ابن تيمية فتكلم في ذلك بكالم يلبس فيه على الضعفاء األغمار‬

62 Taqiyyud-Din As-Subkiyy. Shifa’ As-Saqam. Page 160.

Page 34 of 55
 Know that it is permissible and good to make tawassul, to seek help (istiˆanah), and to seek
intercession (tashaffuˆ) by the Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬to one’s Lord, the Glorified and Exalted. The
permissibility and goodness of that is known by every religious person. It is known by the doings
of the Prophets and Messengers, and the biographies of the righteous Salaf, and no one has
denied that from any religion, and the denial of it was never heard of at any time in history until
Ibn Taymiyah came and spoke about it with speech by which he fooled those who are weak and
inexperienced. He innovated what was not preceded before him at any time in history.”

It is permissible to make tawassul by what has life and what does not. Allah said:

63﴾‫والصَلة‬ ‫﴿واس تعينوا ِبلصْب‬

<Seek help through patience and prayer.>
But do not lead with this verse as proof, because a Wahhabiyy is likely too blind to see the
evidence in it. The validity of tawassul by the Prophets and the pious, and by what is alive and
what is not alive, is in the well-known, aforementioned hadith narrated from the route of Abu
Saˆid Al-Khudriyy64:

‫إذا خرج الرجل من بيته إلى الصَلة فقال اللهم إني أسألك بحق السائلين عليك وبحق ممشاي هذا‬
“If someone left his house to go to the prayer and he said, “O All ah, surely I ask You by the
right of those who ask You, and by the right of this walking of mine …”

The Prophets and the pious are among those who ask Allah, so it is lawful to make tawassul by
them. This hadith promotes the meaning: “I ask You by the right of the Prophets” and “by the
right of the waliyys” – without restricting that to them being alive or not. “By the right of” means,
“by the status that they have with You, O Allah”.

63 Al-Baqarah, 45
64
[Ibn Majah. Sunan Ibn Majah. Volume 1. Page 256. Hadith Number 778.
Ibn Abi Shaybah. Al-Musannaf. Volume 6. Page 25. Hadith Number 29202.
Ibnus-Sunniyy. ^Amalul-Yawm Wal-Laylah. Page 76. Hadith Number 85.
Al-Bayhaqiyy. Ad-Da^awat Al-Kabir. Volume 1. Page 125. Hadith Number 65.]

Page 35 of 55
Furthermore, those people, being Believers, have a higher status to Allah than the walking, so if
it is permissible to make tawassul by the act of walking to the prayer - which is not something
living - it is permissible to make tawassul by the Prophets and the pious people, whether living or
not. We have already presented the tawassul of Adam by the Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬as an example65:

‫ يا رب أسألك بحق محمد لما غفرت لي‬:‫ قال‬،‫لما اقترف آدم الخطيئة‬
“When Adam committed the sin, he said, ‘O my Lord, I ask you by the status of Muhammad
to forgive me’…”

If making tawassul by someone who is not alive is shirk, then according to the Wahhabis, Adam,
the father of men, along with the Four Imams, is a mushrik, because he made tawassul by the
Prophet although he was not alive, because that was before he was even created. Let us see what
other names will join this Wahhabi mushrik list …

Q113: Had tawassul by the Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬after his death been permissible, would ˆUmar Ibn Al-Khattab have
abandoned that to make tawassul by Al-ˆAbbas?
ˆUmar did not leave out tawassul by the Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬because he died. In fact, had the Wahhabiyy
understood that text at all, he would have never submitted it as evidence, because the answer is
contained in the story! Al-ˆAbbas himself gave the reason for why they made tawassul by him
when he said 66:

‫ك‬
َ ‫أللهمَإنَألقومَتوجهوأَبيَإليكَلمكانيَمنَنبي‬
“O Allah, certainly the people have directed themselves by me to You because of my status to
Your Prophet.”

He did not say, “They directed themselves by me to You because Your Prophet has died.” Thus,
ˆUmar did so out of observing the status of the relatives (Al) of the Prophet, as said by Ibn Hajar.

65[Al-Bayhaqiyy. Dala’il An-Nubuwwah. Volume 5. Page 489.

Al-Hakim. Al-Mustadrak ^Ala Sahihayn. Volume 2. Page 672. Hadith Number 4228.]
66
This incident is narrated by Az-Zubayr Ibn Bakkar.

[Ibn Hajar Al-^Asqalaniyy. Fathul-Bari. Volume 2. Page 497.

Badrud-Din Al-^Ayniyy. ^Umdah Al-Qari Sharh Sahih Al-Bukhariyy. Volume 7. Page 32-33.]

Page 36 of 55
Furthermore, leaving out something is not evidence that it is forbidden. The Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬left out
many permissible things, and that is not evidence that they are forbidden. ˆUmar wanted to
clarify the permissibility of making tawassul by other than the Prophet ‫ﷺ‬, and that is why Ibn
Hajar said after narrating this story, “Among the benefits taken from the story of Al-ˆAbbas is the
recommendation of seeking intercession by the people of goodness, piety, and by the family of
the Prophet (Ahlu-l-Bayt).” No one who knows how to argue said that this story proves that
tawassul by the Prophet after his death is forbidden.

CALLING AND SEEKING HELP (ISTIGHATHAH)

To refute a Wahhabiyy in this issue, you must memorize the proof and not be intimidated by his
spooky talk of grave worshippers. One proof that mere calling is not worship, whether the called
one were alive or dead - present or absent, is the aforementioned hadith of the blind man.
Remember where its points of evidence are:

The Prophet taught the blind man the supplication that contains calling
him,
The blind man did the supplication in the Prophet’s absence ‫ﷺ‬, as
commanded,
The Companions and the scholars continued to pass it on after the
Prophet’s death ‫ﷺ‬.
Q114: What if they say here that he was not requesting anything from the dead?
This is a merely him deflecting because he was caught red-handed in his contradiction, and does
not want to stop talking and appear defeated! So, just ask him then, a question that requires a
simple yes or no: “Is it permissible to call the dead?” Remember, it is they who came with this
talk in the first place! He will not say yes without restricting it, but he cannot say no, because the
hadith demonstrates otherwise! So, if he repeats himself, again saying, “It is not permissible to
call upon the dead to ask him for something!” - which is not your question, do not be distracted.
He is avoiding your close-ended question that only requires a yes or no. And know that he is
inwardly defeated, and is now ready to waste your time, taking you in as many circles as he can

Page 37 of 55
to not appear defeated, for as long as you are willing to waste your own time arguing with him!
Now take a few more references:

1. The story of Prophet Ibrahim and the revival of the dead birds67:

‫<<واذ قال ابراهمي رب أرِن كيف ُتي الموَت قال أولم تؤمن قال بَل ولكن ليطمئ قلِب قال فخذ أربعة من‬
>>‫الطْي فُصهن اليك ُث اجعل عَل ك جبل مْنن جزءا ُث ادعهن يأتينك سعيا واعَل أن اَّلل عزيز حكمي‬

<And when Abraham said: “My Lord, show me how You revive the dead!” Said God: “State why you
ask since you already believe.” He said: “Indeed I believe, I only ask to reinforce the certainty of my
heart.” Said God: “Then take four birds68, and incline them towards you (for inspection). (Then
dismember them), then place on every mountain a piece of them, then call them; they shall come to
you flying. And know that Allah is Undefeated, Wise.>

To this, the Wahhabiyy would laugh and say that we are being petty, but it is literally the act that
they claim is shirk: calling the dead! That is what proves that it is they who are the silly ones; their
claim is so ridiculous that they could not find it sensible to be consistent with it! In fact, upon
closer inspection of their claims, Prophet Ibrahim would be more evidently a mushrik than others
had they been correct because they say: Had you not worshiped that dead or absent one, you
would not have called him, because you would not have believed that he could hear you or do
anything for you. So, by calling him now that he is dead or absent, you must have thought he
could create, and hear and help you! Following that reasoning, if that dead one’s usually being
unable to hear or respond made calling him worship, then how would that not be more-so the
case when it comes to calling dead, dismembered birds that did not even have minds or speech
when they were alive?!

2. The permission to call upon Angels for help:

67 Al-Baqarah, 260
68 A peacock, rooster, crow and pigeon.

Page 38 of 55
Among what proves the validity of calling upon other than Allah without worshipping that one,
even if he were absent, is what was narrated by Al-Bazzar from the route of Ibn ˆAbbas69:

َ َ َ
َ‫حدكمَعرجة‬
َ ََ ََ َ َ َ َ‫صابَأ‬ َََ ََََ َ َ ََََ‫تبونَماَيسقطَمنَوََرق‬
ََ ََ َ‫َألشجرَفإذأَأ‬ ََ َََ ََ ََََََ َ ََََ‫ةَيك‬ َََ َ‫رضَسوىَألحفََ َظ‬
ََََ َ َ ََ ََ‫إنَهللَمالئكةَفىَأال‬
َََ َََ َ ََ َََ ََ ََ
َ َ
َ‫عينوأَعبادَََهللا‬
َََ َََ َََ َ‫رضَفالةَفلينادَأ‬
ََ َََََََ َ َََ ََ‫ََبا‬
“Surely, Allah has Angels who roam the earth, other than the record-keepers who document the
deeds, documenting what falls of tree leaves. So, if there afflicted one of you a difficulty in an
open land, let him call out, “Help, O slaves of Allah!”

So according to them, along with Prophet Adam, and the Four Imams, And the two greatest
Prophets, Ibn Abbas is also a mushrik, for teaching people to seek help from those who are not
present (how would one know those Angels are present?)70.

3. Ibn Taymiyah deeming it good to call upon the dead:

A decisive Wahhabiyy breaker is Ibn Taymiyah’s quote in his book Al-Kalimu-t-Tayyib71:

َ‫َأذكر‬:‫َفخدرتَرجلهَفقالَلهَرجل‬،‫َكناَعندَعبدَهللاَبنَعمرَرضيَهللاَعنهما‬:‫عنَألهيثمَبنَحنشَقال‬
َ َ
َ‫نماَنشطَمنَعقاَََل‬
ََ َََ َ ََََ ََ‫َفكا‬،‫َياَمحمد‬:‫َفقال‬،‫حبَألناسَإليك‬
َ َََ َ َ َ َََََََ َََََ َ َََََ ََََََ َ َ‫َأ‬
“From Al-Haytham Ibn Hanash that he said, ‘We were with ˆAbdullah Ibn ˆUmar, may Allah
accept his and his father’s deeds, when his leg was inflicted with the ‘khadar’. A man said to
him, ‘Mention the most beloved of people to you,’ so he said, ‘Ya Muhammad’, and it was as if
he was released from a tie around his shins.”

69 [Al-Bazzar. Musnad Al-Bazzar. Volume 11. Page 181. Hadith Number 4922.]
70 Hafidh Al-Haythamiyy said that At-Tabaraniyy narrated this hadith and its narrators are
trustworthy. Ibn Hajar also narrated this hadith in his sessions of dictation (amali) as a hadith
of the Prophet ‫( ﷺ‬marfuˆ), and he judged it as hasan. The different narrations of this hadith
support each other, and strengthen whatever weakness exists in some of the narrations.
71 [Ibn Taymiyah. Al-Kalim At-Tayyib. Page 96.]

Page 39 of 55
So, is Ibn Taymiyah a mushrik or not, O Wahhabiyy? Rather, the Wahhabiyy, being the hypocrite
he is, will make every excuse for Ibn Taymiyah for what he has done here and accuse anyone else
who does the exact same thing of shirk!

Q115: What if the Wahhabiyy says that the hadith of Ibn ^Umar is weak?
The report being weak or strong is beside the point. Ibn Taymiyah considered it a good practice,
weak or not. And even if it were weak, which it is not, weak narrations can still be used for doing
good deeds.

Q116: What if he says that Ibn ˆUmar only wanted to summon the Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬in his heart?
We refuse to be sidetracked by this attempt at: “There’s nothing to see here.” The report
verbatim says: “Ya Muhammad,” which is calling, and this incident was after the Prophet’s death
‫ﷺ‬. The real question is why is it that it is only Ibn ˆUmar who meant to conjure up the Prophet ‫ﷺ‬
in his heart, and anyone else does the exact same thing after the Prophet’s death is a mushrik
according to you (except Ibn Taymiyah)?

Q117: What if he says Ibn ^Umar was told to MENTION the most beloved person to him, not to CALL him?
Simply, he mentioned him by calling him. He could have mentioned him without calling him! And
if that were shirk, he would have known that, and then would not have called him! The fact that
a person told him to MENTION is beside the point. What he actually did is the point: he called the
Prophet after his death. They play all of these word games because they believe in Ibn Taymiyah
more than they believe in the Prophet ‫ﷺ‬. They did not play these word games for the sake of Ibn
ˆUmar; it was only for the sake if Ibn Taymiyah.

4. A Companion went to the Prophet’s grave and asked for help!

Among the evidence of tawassul by the Prophet and others, using them as a means for the
supplication to be answered, whether during their lives or after their deaths, is what was narrated
by Hafidh Al-Bayhaqiyy with his chain of narration mentioned in the Arabic text72:

72
[Al-Bayhawiyy. Dala’il An-Nubuwwah. Volume 7. Page 47.]

Page 40 of 55
 َ َ
َ‫َحََ َدَثََنَََا‬، َ ََََ‫يمَََبََ َنَََعََلَ َي‬
ََ َ‫َألذَهَلَ َي‬ َ ََ َ َ َ ََ َََ‫َحدثناَأ‬:
ََ ََ‫بوَعمروَبََ َنَََمََطََر‬
َ َََ‫َحََ َدَثََنَاََََإَبََرَأََه‬، َََََ َ َََ‫وَبََكََرََألََََفَََارََ َسَ َيَََقَََاال‬
ََ ََ‫وَنََصََرََََبََ َنَََقََتَََادََةََََوََأََب‬
ََ ََ‫َأََخََبََرََنََََاَأََب‬
َ:‫يَصَالَََ َحَََعََ َنَََمَالَََكََألدأرَقال‬ ََ َ‫َعََ َنََأََب‬،
ََ َ‫ش‬ َ َ َ َ َََ ََ‫وَمََ َعاَََوَيََة‬
ََ ََ‫َحََ َدَثََنََََاَأََب‬،‫ى‬
ََ َ َََ‫ىَبََ َنَََيََحََي‬ ََ َ َ‫َيََحََي‬
َ َ‫َعَ َنََََأالَعَم‬،
From the route of Malik Ad-Dar, that he said:

َ َ َ َ ََ َ َََ َََ َ َََ ََََََ ََ ََ‫َأ‬

َ ََ‫صابَألناسَقحطَفيَزمنَعََمَََرَََبَ َنَألََََخَطا‬
َ‫ب‬

The people were inflicted with a famine73 at the time of ˆUmar Ibnu-l-Khattab,

ََ‫كَََفََإَنََهََ َمَََقََ َدَََهَلَََكََوأ‬

َ ََ‫ََّللاََََالََمََت‬
َ َ ََ‫ََّللاََََأسََتََسََ َق‬ ََََ‫ىََّللاَََعََلََيََهَََوََسََلََ َمَََفََق‬
ََ ََ‫َيََََاَرََس‬:َََ‫ال‬ َ َََ َََ‫َفََجَََاءَََََرَجََ َلَََإل‬
َ َ ََ‫ول‬ َ َ َ ََ َ‫ىَقَبََرَََََألنََبََ َيََََصََل‬

So, a man came to the grave of the Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬and said: “O Messenger of Allah, seek the rain for
your nation, for certainly they are perishing!”

َ
َََ ََ ََ َ َ ََ َ ََ َ َََ‫ََََََأ‬
َ‫َوقلَله‬،‫نهمَمسقون‬ ‫قرهَمنيَألسالمَََ َوأََخبره‬
َ َ ََََ ََ ََ َََ‫تَعمرَفا‬ َََََ َََ ََََ َََ‫ىََّللاَََعََلََيَََهَََوََسََلََ َم‬
َََ َ َ ََ َ‫َََأئ‬:‫َفيَألمنامَفقال‬ َ َ ََ ََ‫ََّللاَََصََل‬ ََ ََ‫َفََاََتََََاهَََرََس‬
َ َ ََ‫ول‬
َ
ََ‫عليكَبالكيسَألََََكََيََس‬
ََ َََََ َََ َ

Then, the Messenger of Allah ‫ ﷺ‬came to him in a dream and said: ‘Go to ˆUmar and pass the
salam to him from me and inform him that they will be irrigated. And say to him: “Endeavor!
Endeavor!”

َ
ََ‫اَربَماَأَََلوأََََإَالَََمََََاَعََجَََزَ َتَََعََنََه‬ ََََ‫ىَألرَجََ َلَََفََاََخََبَََرَََعََمَََرَََفََق‬
َََ ََ َََََ‫َي‬:َََ‫ال‬ َََََ ََ‫َفََاََت‬

And so, the man came and informed ˆUmar, then ˆUmar said, “O my Lord, I do not fall short
except in what I am unable to do!”

Hafidh Ibn Kathir, who is trustworthy to them, narrated this and said immediately afterwards74:

73 The drought lasted six months.

74
[Ibn Kathir. Al-Bidayah Wan-Nihayah. Volume 10. Page 74.]

Page 41 of 55
 َ ََ‫َوََهََ َذأََََإَسََنَََادََََصََ َح‬
َ‫يح‬
“This is an authentic chain of narration.”

The identity of that person who went to the grave was the Companion, Bilal Ibn Al-Harith. That
is found in another version of the story, also narrated by Ibn Kathir75:
َ َََََ‫َََََإَنََم‬:‫وأَوَلَََ َمَََيََفََطََ َنَََفََقَالََََوأ‬ َ ََ َ َ
ََََ َ‫اَأسََتََبََطَاََ َكَََف‬
‫يَأالَسََتََسََقَاَََءَََفَََاسََتََسََ َقَََبَنََا‬ َََ ََ‫ََفََفََ َطَن‬-َ‫ث‬ َ ََ
َ ََ‫ََوََهََوَََبَالَلَََبََ َنَألََََحَََار‬-ََ‫َفَاَخَبََرََهََ َمَََبَقَوََ َلَألََََمََزََنَ َي‬
“… And so [ˆUmar] informed them about what Al-Muzaniyy said - and he is Bilal Ibn Al-Harith -
and they understood, and he did not understand. They said: “He is only considering that you
have been slow in performing the rain prayer, so lead us in the rain prayer …”

Q118: What if the Wahhabiyy claims that the hadith is weak?

Produce Ibn Kathir’s authentication of the hadith. He is reliable to them.

Q119: What if the Wahhabiyy claims that there is no evidence in dreams?

Tell them that that is beside the point. The evidence is not in the dream, it is in the doing of the
Companion while no one objected to him!

Q120: What if they say their silence to his deed was their objection?
Tell them, “Then stop talking since you claim to follow the Salaf; do like them and be silent!” Also,
objecting to a bad deed is by speaking up, not by being silent! The Messenger of Allah said76:

َ‫منَرأىَمنكمَمنكراَفليغريهَبيدهَفإنََلَيستطعَفبلسانهَفإنََلَيستطعَفبقلبه‬
“Any one of you who saw something forbidden, then let him change it by his hand. If unable,
then by his tongue. If unable, then with his heart (he must hate it)…”

5. The Arabic Language does not support their claim:

Q121: Does calling in Arabic imply worship?

Not at all! In fact, Arabic’s equivalent to the vocative case is literally called “the munada (the
called one)”. The scholars said that it is in essence a direct object (mafˆul bi-hi), because had one
said, “Ya (O) ˆAbdallah!” it is as if he said: “I call ˆAbdallah.” This is literally what they said, check

75
[Ibn Kathir. Al-Bidayah Wan-Nihayah. Volume 10. Page 73.]
76 [Muslim. Sahih Muslim. Volume 1. Page 69. Hadith Number 49.]

Page 42 of 55
any book of nahw77. There are a number of particles used for it, namely (‫‘ يا‬ya’), like “Ya (O) Zayd!”
They also literally discuss which of the calling particles is for calling some close or far. They said
that with this particle in particular, you can call the close and the far, and with the hamzah of
calling: (‫‘ أ‬A’), like: “A-Zayd! (O Zayd),” you can call who is close, and there are others. Al-Haririyy
said78:

َ ََ ََ‫وَأََ َي‬ َ
‫َشئتَََهََيََا‬
َ ََ ََ‫َوإن‬ ََ ََ‫وَهمزَََةَََأ‬
َ ََ ََ‫َأ‬ ‫وَبيََََاَأََوَََبَاَيََا‬ َ َََ ََ‫َوناََََدَََم‬
َََ ََ‫نَتدع‬
َ
Call whomever you call by (using) “( ) ya” or “ ( ) aya”; َ‫َيَا‬ ‫َأَيََا‬
َ
‫ا‬
Or by “( ) a” or “( ‫ )َأَ ََي‬ay” - and if you want: “(َ‫ )َهََيَا‬haya!”
The munada has many cases and branches. One is the special munada called “mustaghath bi-hi
(one whose help is sought).” In his grammar book, the explanation of Qatru-n-Nada, Ibn
Hisham79, may Allah have mercy upon him, defined this specific munada as:

َ ََ ََ ََ ََ ََ ََ َََ ََ‫ةَأ‬
َ‫وَيعينَعلىَدفعَمشقة‬
َََ َ َ ََ َ ََ ََ ََََ َ َ ََ‫مَن‬
ََ َ‫وديَليخلصَمنَشد‬ َََ َ َََ‫َوََهََو‬
ََ ََ‫َكلَأس‬

“It is every name called for relief from trouble, or for assistance in repelling difficulty.”

An example of this is that story of Ibn ˆUmar. The point of what has been mentioned here is to
clarify that the scholars have already known what it means to call someone seeking his help and
the difference between calling who is present or absent, and they never said that in the case of
death or absence, calling turns into worship. Had that been a meaning given by the Arabic,
someone on God’s green earth would have documented it! Therefore, for the Wahhabis to say
that Ibn Taymiyah did not approve of “calling on the dead” - as they so creepily call it - or of
“seeking help (isthighathah) from the dead” is a great lie that he only commits for his sire Ibn
Taymiyah!

77 Arabic syntax
78
[Al-Haririyy. Mulhah Al-‘I^rab. Page 28.]
79 [Ibn Hisham. Sharh Qatr An-Nada. Page 219.]

Page 43 of 55
 THE DEAD AND THE ABSENT
Q122: Why does the Wahhabiyy think that calling someone who has died or is absent is shirk?

The Wahhabis claim: It is not permissible to call someone who is not alive or is absent, because
they do not hear, and that if you did so you committed shirk because you must have believed in
the godhood of the dead or absent one to think that he can hear you and then help you.

The response: This claim lacks evidence, and in fact is against the evidence!

Ibn ˆAbbas narrated80:

‫قام إبراهيم على الحجر فقال يا أيها الناس كتب عليكم الحج فأسمع من في أصَلب الرجال‬
‫وأرحام النساء فأجابه من آمن ومن كان سبق في علم َّللا أنه يحج إلى يوم القيامة لبيك اللهم‬
‫لبيك‬

Ibrahim stood upon the stone and said, “O people, Hajj has been made obligatory upon you!” He
made those who were in the spines of the men (as seminal fluid) and the wombs of the women
hear. And whoever was to believe and whoever was eternally known by Allah that he would
perform the Hajj until Judgment Day responded: “Labbay-Ka-llahumma, labbayk!”

According to some narrations, he made everyone in the heavens and earth hear him. Is not Islam
supposed to be the religion of Abraham? It seems the Wahhabiyyah know better, because that
is a second reason why Prophet Ibrahim is a mushrik in their religion!

Q123: What if the Wahhabiyy excuses Abraham by saying that he was a Prophet?

Say: Then you are going back on your invalid rule, like you did the last time; you claimed that
those who are not alive or who are far cannot hear! You did not say: ‘Unless the one who calls
them is a Prophet’, nor do you truly believe that, because you misinterpret the verse that we will
clarify:

80[Ibn Hajar Al-^Asqalaniyy. Fath Al-Bari. Volume 6. Page 406. (Ibn Hajar said: Al-Fakihiyy
narrated with a sahih chain via Mujahid from Ibn ^Abbas)]

Page 44 of 55
 ‫َالَمََوتَ َََى‬ َ َََ‫ك‬ َ ََ‫﴿إَن‬
ََََََ‫ََلَتََََسََمَع‬
81
﴾

< Surely, you cannot make the dead hear (O Muhammad). >
So, we pose a question wanting only a “yes” or “no”: Is it a condition that the one who hears be
alive and present? He must say no. If he says, “Not if the caller is a Prophet,” then what about
what is confirmed about ˆUmar, who is not a Prophet, giving a speech in Al-Madinah, then
suddenly interrupting himself to call out to Sariyah, the commander of the army in Persia:
“Sariyah, the mountain, the mountain!” Later, the army’s messenger came and told of how the
enemy had prepared an ambush, how they heard ˆUmar’s voice saying to take the mountain, so
they took the mountain as cover and avoided the ambush! This is narrated by Al-Bayhaqiyy in Al-
Iˆtiqad82, and by others83, and is very famous and confirmed. The imams use this story as
evidence for Karamat Al-Awliya’84. Most likely, the ignorant Wahhabiyy will deny this story -
without evidence, of course - because he would rather adhere to his empty, false beliefs than
submit to religious evidence. As for the one who knows the story but never connected the dots,
he will be silent. So, if calling someone depends on him being alive and present, or else it is shirk,
then to the Wahhabis, along with Adam, Ibn Abbas, Prophet Muhammad, the Four Imams and
Ibrahim the Messenger of Allah, ˆUmar is a mushrik.

Q124: Is there any evidence that the dead can hear?

We confirm that the dead can hear because of our belief in the barzakh (life in the grave). When
a person is buried, his soul and consciousness return, but he is in a state different than the people

81 An-Naml, 80
82
[Al-Bayhaqiyy. Ali^tiqad. Page 314.]
83
[Al-Lalika’iyy. Sharh ‘Usul I^tiqad Ahl As-Sunnah Wal-Jama^ah. Volume 7. Page 1409. Hadith Number 2537.
Ibn ^Asakir. Tarikh Dimashq. Volume 44. Page 336.
Al-Bayhaqiyy. Dala’il An-Nubuwwah. Volume 6. Page 370.
Ibn Kathir. Al-Bidayah Wan-Nihayah. Volume 10. Page 175.]
84 Miracles of the Saints; that should not be confused for Mu^jizat Al-Ambiya’ (miracles of the

Prophets). The Muslims believe in prophetic miracles, as well as saint miracles. The miracles of
the saints are truly miracles for their respective Prophets. An example is the pregnancy of the
virgin Mary. Also, Prophet Sulayman’s companion relocated a giant throne from Yemen to Syria
within the blink of an eye. Those are in the Qur’an.

Page 45 of 55
who did not yet lose their souls. He remains like that until his body decays - if his body is among
those that decay. For example, there is the hadith of Ibn ˆAbbas from the Prophet85:

ََ‫عليه‬ َََََ‫َماََََمنَََََأحََدََََيََرََبََقََب‬
‫أخَََيهََاملؤم‬
َََََ‫ََََََنَََكاََنََيََََع‬
َ َََ‫رفهََِفَالََََدََنياََفَََي‬
ََََ َََ‫سلَََمَََعلَيََهَإَل َعَََرَفََهََََورََد‬ َ َ َ
َ‫َلم‬
َ َ‫س‬َ َََ‫ال‬
“There is not one of you that passes by the grave of his fellow Believer that he knew in the
dunya and gives him the salam, except that he [i.e., the dead one] would know him and
return his salam.”

Also, Al-Bukhariyy and Muslim narrated from the route of Anas from the Prophet ‫ﷺ‬, that he
said86:

َ‫َََََهَلَيَََسَََمَعَََقَََََرَعَََنَََعََََاِل َََمَإََذَاََانََََصَََرَفََوا‬ ََََ ََ‫َََََو ََلَََعَنََهََََأص‬

‫حابهََوإن‬ َ َ‫العبَََدََإََذَاَََو‬
َ‫ضَعَََِفََقَََبََهَوت‬ َ ََََََ‫إََن‬
“Certainly, when the slave is put into his grave and his companions turn away from him, he
will surely hear the steps of their sandals as they leave…”

There is no evidence for them in that saying of Allah that they always use:

‫الَمََوتَ َََى‬ َ َََ‫ك‬ َ ََ‫﴿إَن‬

َََََََ‫ََلَتََََسََمَع‬
87
﴾

< Surely, you cannot make the dead hear (O Muhammad). >

It likens the blasphemers to the dead, as proven by the fact that the Prophet was calling living
people to Islam, not dead people. It does not mean that the dead cannot hear, because there are

85
^Abdul-Haqq Al-Ishbiliyy deemed it as authentic.
[^Abdul-Haqq. Al-‘Ahkam As-Sughra. Volume 1. Page 345.
Ibn ^Abdil-Barr. Alistidhkar. Volume 1. Page 185.]
86
[Al-Bukhariyy. Sahih Al-Bukhariyy. Volume 2. Page 98 & 99. Hadith Number 1374.
Muslim. Sahih Muslim. Volume 4. Page 2200 & 2201. Hadith Number 2870.]
87 An-Naml, 80

Page 46 of 55
several pieces of evidence proving that the dead do hear, like what was just mentioned, as well
as:

The belief in the questioning of Angels Munkar and Nakir. They ask the
dead, and the dead people answer them.
The incident when the Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬said to the casualties of the Battle of
Badr:

َ‫َحقََا؟‬
ََََ‫اَوَعَََدَََرَبَََكَم‬
َََََ‫ََوََجََدََُتََََم‬
“Have you found what your Lord promised you to be true?”

It was then said to the Prophet, “O Messenger of Allah, do you call the dead?” He responded88:

ََََ‫َولَََكَََنََََل‬،
َ‫َُيَيبَََوََن‬ َ
َََََ‫ََََنَََتَََمَََََبَََُسََعََََمنَََََهَم‬
‫َمَاَأ‬
“You do not hear better than they do, however, they do not answer.”

You should know that the Prophets are alive in their graves and their bodies do not decay. It was
narrated in the hadith of Anas from the Prophet89:

َ‫ِف قبورهم يَََصَلَوََن‬

َ َ‫ياء‬
َََََ‫بياءََ ََأح‬
َََََ‫اََألَن‬
“The Prophets are alive in their graves praying.”

You should also know that the Wahhabiyy conviction about the Prophet is that he loses his status
after death, and for that reason many of them insult the Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬and call him a “jifah (corpse)”,
or they say that a stick is more useful than him, because he has died. They would never dare to
say something like that about Ibn Taymiyah and would probably punish whoever does!

88 [Al-Bukhariyy. Sahih Al-Bukhariyy. Volume 2. Page 98. Hadith Number 1370.]

89 Al-Bayhaqiyy deemed it authentic and the Hafidh Ibn Hajar Al-^Asqalaniyy agreed with him.

Page 47 of 55
 HANGING WORDS AROUND ONE’S NECK FOR
PROTECTION
A paper or the like on which Qur’an and supplications for protection are written is called ‘hirz’,
or ‘hijab’ or ‘taˆwidh’. It is religiously substantiated90, and neither kufr (blasphemy) nor shirk
(worship of other than Allah). The Religious evidence has priority over all opinions. At-Tirmidhiyy
narrates the hadith91:

:‫عن عمرو بن شعيب عن أبيه عن جده أن رسول هللا ﷺ قال‬

From the route of ˆAmr Ibn Shuˆayb, from his father, from his grandfather:

That the Messenger of Allah ‫ ﷺ‬said:

‫إذا فرغ أحدكم في النوم فليقل أعوذ بكلمات هللا التامات من غضبه وعقابه وشر عباده ومن‬
.‫همزات الشيطان وأن يحضرون فإنها لن تضره‬
“If one of you wakes up frightened, then let him say, ‘I seek refuge with the perfect Words of
Allah, from His Ghadab and His Punishment, the evil of His slaves, from the whispers of the
devil, and that the devil would afflict me.”

‫ وكان عبد هللا بن عمرو يعلمها من بلغ من ولده ومن لم يبلغ منهم كتبها في صك ثم علقها‬:‫قال‬
‫في عنقه‬
He said: And ˆAbdullah Ibn ˆAmr used to teach it to his pubescent children, and whoever did not
reach puberty among his children, he wrote it and hung it on their necks.

Al-Albaniyy’s weakening this hadith is weightless because he is not qualified to grade any hadith.
He is not a hafidh of hadith, or even a muhaddith. In fact, he is not even a ‘musnid’, contrary to
what those who follow him and need his opinions for their beliefs would say. Here are some

90 Approved
91
[At-Tirmidhiyy. Sunan At-Tirmidhiyy. Volume 5. Page 541 & 542. Hadith Number 3528.]
At-Tirmidhiyy said, “This hadith is “hasan gharib,” which means the hadith is reliable. “Gharib”
means that it was narrated through one route. An ignorant Wahhabiyy might think he is saying
that the hadith is strange. May Allah protect you from a deviant who tries to fool you by telling
you, “This means the hadith is strange.”

Page 48 of 55
references about this practice from the old scholars and imams; from the Salaf and beyond. In
Al-Majmuˆ, the explanation of Al-Muhadhdhab, An-Nawawiyy said92:

... ‫قال القاضي حسين وغيره يكره للمحدث حمل التعاويذ يعنون الحروز‬

Judge Husayn and others said that it is disliked for the one who needs to make wudu’ (muhdith)
to carry the taˆawidh, and they mean the hirz93…”

“Disliked” without having wudu means “not forbidden”, and with wudu’ would not even be
disliked! There is a great difference between disliked and shirk! An-Nawawiyy also says:

‫وقال (أبو عمرو بن الصَلح) في فتوى أخرى يجوز تعليق الحروز التي فيها قرآن على النساء والصبيان‬
‫والرجال‬

Abu ˆAmr Ibnus-Salah said in another fatwa (religious answer) that it is permissible to hang the
hirz having Qur’an on the women, children and men.

‫ويجعل عليها شمع ونحوه ويستوثق من النساء وشبههن بالتحذير من دخول الخَلء بها‬

Some wax or the like would be used to seal it. The women and their likes are discouraged from
entering the bathroom with it.

‫والمختار أنه َل يكره إذا جعل عليه شمع ونحوه ِلنه لم يرد فيه نهي‬

What is preferred is that it is not disliked if it were sealed with wax or the like, because there was
no prohibition narrated about it.

‫ونقل ابن جرير الطبري عن مالك نحو هذا فقال قال مالك َل بأس بما يعلق على النساء الحيض والصبيان‬
‫من القرآن إذا جعل في كن كقصبة حديد أو جلد يخرز عليه‬

92[An-Nawawiyy. Al-Majmu^ Sharh Al-Muhadhdhab. Volume 2. Page 70.]

93 I.e., it is not forbidden, let alone an act of worshipping other than Allah or any other type of
blasphemy.

Page 49 of 55
 Ibn Jarir At-Tabariyy documented about Malik what is similar to this. He said: Malik said that
there is no problem about the Qur’an being hung on the menstruating women and the children
if it were put in some metallic container or a leather pouch that is stitched shut.

‫وقد يستدل لإلباحة بحديث عمرو بن شعيب عن أبيه عن جده أن رسول َّللا صلى َّللا عليه وسلم (كان‬
:‫يعلمهم من الفزع كلمات‬

Evidence that this is permissible is the hadith of ˆAmr Ibn Shuˆayb, from his father, from his
grandfather that the Messenger of Allah ‫ ﷺ‬used to teach them words for waking up from a
nightmare:

‫أعوذ بكلمات َّللا التامة من غضبه وشر عباده ومن همزات الشياطين أن يحضرون‬

"I seek refuge with the perfect Words of Allah, from His Ghadab, the evil of His slaves, from the
whispers of the devils, and that the devil would afflict me!"

‫قال وكان عبد َّللا بن عمرو يعلمهن من عقل من بنيه ومن لم يعقل كتبه فأعلقه عليه‬

And ˆAbdullah Ibn ˆAmr used to teach them to whoever had mental discrimination among his
children, and whoever did not reach mental discrimination, he wrote it down and hung it on
their necks."

‫رواه أبو داود والترمذي وقال حديث حسن‬

This is narrated by Abu Dawud and At-Tirmidhiyy, who said the hadith is hasan (strong,
reliable).

Validating this practice you have:

1. An-Nawawiyy,
2. At-Tirmidhiyy,
3. Judge Husayn (a high ranking Shafiˆiyy scholar, nicknamed ‘Habrul-
Ummah [the scholar of the nation]’),

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 4. Ibnus-Salah (the fore-runner of the science of hadith terminology, a strong
scholar, and a high ranking waliyy),
5. At-Tabariyy (who is a mujtahid, hafidh of hadith and Qur’an interpreter
from the Salaf),
6. Malik (who needs no introduction),
7. The Companion ˆAbdullah Ibn ˆAmr,

And others. These are among the biggest scholars; much, much bigger than Al-Albaniyy, who is
not truly a scholar, and over a thousand years earlier. They definitely know better about what is
shirk and what is not than he does! However, we have already established in the beginning of
the book that they believe that the majority of the nation believes in kufr, so this does not
embarrass them.

Q125: Did not the Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬forbid talismans and amulets?

The “tama’im (talismans/amulets)” that the Prophet said are shirk are trinkets from the Jahiliyyah
(Era of Ignorance) that are not the same as the hirz; they do not have the same ruling in our
Religion. This is what was established by ‘Ahlu-s-Sunnah and understood from the hadith
centuries before people misunderstood the case and mixed the two issues. Those people from
the Era of Ignorance believed that those talismans created benefit, and this is blasphemy. The
hirz does not create anything. It is hoped that Allah will create the benefit by it.

Q126: Why rely on these written words? Can Allah protect you without them?

This is the Wahhabi’s exact question about making tawassul, and the answer is the same:
Wearing the hirz is another example of seeking a sabab (reason) to get what you want (which is
the protection), like drinking water for quenching the thirst, or taking medicine seeking cure. A
person should not believe that these reasons create anything, or that they benefit without the
Power and Creating of Allah. To believe these words create benefit is shirk, because Allah is the
only Creator, like believing that water creates the quench or that medicine creates the cure. The
benefit of wearing them is that one hopes that Allah will create the benefits by them, and not
that they create anything. Allah is the only Creator.

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Therefore, it is valid for us to also ask them, “Why do you drink water and not merely rely on
Allah? Can Allah relieve that thirst without water? Why do you have a lock on your door? Why
do you take medicine? Why do you recite words for protection? Even reciting the words of
protection with the tongue is done with the same reasoning - one HOPES that Allah will protect
him by those uttered words. Those uttered words do not create. Likewise, the Muslims are
innocent of shirk or believing in a creator other than Allah when wearing a hirz. If drinking water,
taking medicine, using a lock, and uttering words do not make a person fall into shirk, then also
wearing written words would not make a person fall into shirk. What made those pagan talismans
shirk was their belief that they create.

So again, the tama’im mentioned in the hadith are not the same as the hirz. They are the practice
of the superstitious pagans of the Jahiliyyah; they used to believe that they create the benefit -
not that Allah creates it - just like they used to worship the idols and believe that sicknesses were
contagious by themselves, not by the creating of Allah, and they believed in luck and fortune
tellers. Those who used the hadiths about the tama’im to forbid the hirz did not learn or believe
about this issue properly.

RECITING AT THE GRAVES

Those mean people also forbid the Muslims from reciting Qur’an over the graves of their dead.
They have nothing to substantiate this but their callousness and dry character, may Allah deform
their faces. Let us give brief yet ample clarification of its being a religious recommendation:

‘Ahlu-s-Sunnah have a consensus that the dead benefit from the supplication of the living and
their charities given on the behalf of the dead. An-Nasafiyy, may Allah have mercy upon him, said
in his famous document about the Muslim Creed:

.َ‫َهلم‬
َ ََ‫فع‬
َََََََ ََ َََ‫َوصََدقَتَََه‬
‫مَعنهمَن‬ َ ََََ
َََ‫ات‬ ََََ‫َاألحياء‬
‫َلألمو‬ َََ َ ََََ‫عاء‬
ََ ََ‫ويفَد‬
ََ ََ
And in the supplication of the living for the dead and their charity on their behalf is benefit for
(the dead).

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As-Suyutiyy said in the explanation of As-Sudur94:

As for reciting the Qur’an at the grave, our scholars and colleagues95 as well as others, are
definitive of its religious legitimacy. Az-Zaˆfaraniyy said, ‘I asked Ash-Shafiˆiyy about
reciting at the grave, and he said there is no problem with it.’ An-Nawawiyy said in the
explanation of Al-Muhadhdhab: ‘It is recommended for the one who visits the graves to
recite what is easy for him of the Qur’an and to supplicate for them afterwards. Ash-
Shafiˆiyy explicitly mentioned this and the mujtahids within the Shafiˆiyy school have
agreed upon it.’ An-Nawawiyy added in another place: ‘If he completes the recitation of
the entire Qur’an that would be even better!’ It is mutawatir that Ash-Shafiˆiyy visited the
grave of Al-Layth Ibn Saˆd and praised him a lot and recited the Qur’an from the beginning
to the end there, and said, “I hope that this will continue,” and it persisted.

Al-Qurtubiyy said96:

“Some of our scholars have used as evidence for the recitation of the Qur’an over the grave
the hadith of the moist stick, the one that the Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬broke into two, then planted a
half into one grave and a half into another, and then he said:

‫لعلهَخيففَعنهماَماََلَييبسَا‬

“It is so that the torture will be lightened for them as long as the sticks did not dry.”

That is narrated by the Two Shaykhs97. This promotes the legitimacy of planting trees on
the graves and reciting the Qur’an, for if it is lightened for them by the plants, then how
about by the Qur’an recitation of a believing person?

An-Nawawiyy said:

94 As documented by Muhaddith Murtada Az-Zabidiyy said in the explanation of Al-Ihya’.

95 Meaning the Shafiˆis.
96
[Al-Qurtubiyy. Tafsir Al-Qurtubiyy. Volume 10. Page 267.]
97
[Al-Bukhariyy. Sahih Al-Bukhariyy. Volume 1. Page 53. Hadith Number 218.
Muslim. Sahih Muslim. Volume 1. Page 240. Hadith Number 292.]

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 “The scholars have recommended the recitation of the Qur’an at the grave and they
considered it good by the hadith of the two sticks. They said that if the benefit reached the
dead by the ‘tasbih (saying subhanallah)’ of the sticks while they were moist, then for the
dead to benefit from the recitation of the Qur’an at the grave is even more so valid,
because the recitation of the Qur’an from a person is greater and more beneficial than the
‘tasbih’ of a stick.”

Among what testifies to the dead benefiting from the recitation is the hadith of Maˆqil Ibn Yassar
that the Messenger of Allah ‫ ﷺ‬said98:

َ‫اقرءواَعلىَمواتكم‬

“Recite on your dead.”

Abu Dawud99 narrated it. There is also the hadith:

َ‫اقرءواَيسَعلىَمواتكم‬

“Recite Ya-Sin on your dead.”

That is narrated by An-Nasa’iyy100, Ibn Majah, and Ibn Hibban101. There is also the hadith:

‫َفاقرؤهاَعلىَمواتكم‬،‫يسَقلبََالقرءانََلَيقرؤهاَرجلَيريدَهللاَوالدارَاآلخرةَإَلَغفرَله‬

“Ya-Sin is the heart of the Qur’an. No man who wants the reward from Allah and the
(pleasure of) the Hereafter recites it except that he would be forgiven, and so recite it over
your dead.”

Ahmad narrated it102.

98
[Al-Lalika’iyy. Sharh ‘Usul I^tiqad Ahl As-Sunnah Wal-Jama^ah. Volume 6. Page 1226. Hadith Number 2173.]
99
[Abu Dawud. Sunan Abi Dawud. Volume 3. Page 191. Hadith Number 3121.]
100
[An-Nasa’iyy. ^Amal Al-Yawm Wal-Laylah. Page 581. Hadith Number 1074.
An-Nasa’iyy. As-Sunan Al-Kubra. Volume 9. Page 394. Hadith Number 10846.]
101
[Ibn Hibban. Sahih Ibn Hibban. Volume 7. Page 269. Hadith Number 3002.]
102
[Ahmad. Musnad Ahmad. Volume 33. Page 417. Hadith Number 417.
An-Nasa’iyy. ^Amal Al-Yawm Wal-Laylah. Page 581. Hadith Number 1075.]

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Q127: What if he says that some of the Tabi^un explained these to be about the one who is dying?

Some of the Followers of the Companions have interpreted the “mawta (dead)” here as
“muhtadar (upon his deathbed)”, but this non-literal inference (ta’wil) is against the apparent
meaning of the hadith, and there is no need to make such an inference. Furthermore, it would
be said that if the one on his deathbed benefits from the recitation of Ya-Sin although this
recitation is not from his own deeds, then the dead person would likewise benefit, because the
dead person is like the present, living person; he hears like the present living person, as confirmed
in the hadith.

It was narrated from ˆAliyy Ibn Musa Al-Haddad that he said:

I was with Ahmad Ibn Hambal in a funeral, and Muhmmad Ibn Qudamah Al-Jawhariyy
was with us. When the dead was buried, a blind man came to the grave, and Ahmad said,
“Hey you! Certainly, reciting at the grave is an innovation!” When we left from the graves,
Muhammad Ibn Qudamah said, “O ‘Aba ˆAbdillah103, what do you say about Mubashshir
Ibn Ismaˆil Al-Halabiyy?’ (‘Ahmad) said: “Trustworthy. Have you copied anything from his
route?” (Muhammad Ibn Qudamah) said, “Yes. Mubashshir Ibn Ismaˆil informed me from
ˆAbdur-Rahman Ibn ˆAla’ the son of Al-Lajlaj, from his father, that he made a will that
when he is buried, the beginning and end of Al-Baqarah would be recited at his grave, and
I heard Ibn ˆUmar making the same will.” Then Ahmad said, “Go back to the man and tell
him to recite!”

This is how Al-Qurtubiyy narrated it in his book At-Tadhkirah, and Allah knows best.

103 ‘Imam ‘Ahmad.

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