Tawassul — seeking nearness to Allah ﷻ through an intermediary — is one of the most misunderstood concepts in contemporary Islamic discourse. This article clarifies what tawassul means, its Qurʾānic and Prophetic basis, and the position of the Hanafi school and mainstream Sunni scholarship.
The Qurʾānic Command
“O you who believe! Fear Allah and seek a means of approach (wasīlah) to Him, and strive in His cause, so that you may succeed.”
Sūrah al-Māˮdidah (5:35)
Imām al-Qurṭubī (d. 671 AH) writes in his Tafsīr: “The wasīlah is that which is sought as a means of approach to Allah. The scholars of Tafsīr agree that it refers to drawing close to Allah ﷻ through acts of obedience and through those whom He has honoured.” Imām Ibn Kathīr similarly explains that wasīlah means seeking nearness to Allah ﷻ through what He loves.
Types of Tawassul
The classical scholars identify several forms of tawassul, all of which are permitted:
- Tawassul through one’s own deeds: Asking Allah ﷻ by one’s good deeds — as in the story of the three men trapped in a cave who each called upon Allah ﷻ by their sincere acts. (Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, no. 2272)
- Tawassul through the Prophet’s ﷺ duʾāʾ (while alive): The Companions regularly asked the Prophet ﷺ to make duʾāʾ for them. (Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī)
- Tawassul through the Prophet’s ﷺ station: Asking Allah ﷻ by the rank and honour of His Prophet ﷺ — whether alive or after his passing.
- Tawassul through the righteous: Asking Allah ﷻ by the honour of His Awliyāʾ.
The Blind Man’s Hadith
The most powerful evidence for tawassul is the famous Ḥadīth of the blind man:
“A blind man came to the Prophet ﷺ and said: O Prophet of Allah, pray to Allah to cure me. He said: If you wish, I will pray for you, or if you wish, you can be patient and that is better for you. He said: Pray for me. So he commanded him to perform wuḍū and pray two rakʿahs and to say: O Allah, I ask You and turn to You through Your Prophet Muḥammad, the Prophet of mercy. O Muḥammad, I turn through you to my Lord for my need, that it may be fulfilled. O Allah, accept his intercession for me.”
Sunan al-Tirmidhī, no. 3578 — Ṣaḥīḥ. Also recorded in Sunan Ibn Mājah, al-Ḥākim, and authenticated by Imām al-Nawawī
This Ḥadīth is one of the clearest proofs. Crucially, Imām al-Ṭabarānī records that this duʾāʾ was used by the Companions after the death of the Prophet ﷺ — confirming that tawassul is not restricted to his lifetime.
ʿUmar’s Tawassul Through ʿAbbās ؓ
When ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb ؓ prayed for rain during a drought, he sought tawassul through the Prophet’s uncle ʿAbbās ؓ, saying: “O Allah, we used to seek tawassul to You through our Prophet ﷺ and You would give us rain; now we seek tawassul to You through the uncle of our Prophet, so give us rain.” (Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, no. 1010)
Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī comments: this proves that seeking tawassul through a living person is valid. And many scholars — including Imām al-Subkī and Imām al-Sakhāwī — affirm that ʿUmar’s shifting to ʿAbbās ؓ was out of reverence for the Prophet’s ﷺ grave rather than a denial of tawassul through him.
The Hanafi Position
Imām Ibn ʿAbīdīn (d. 1252 AH) states in Radd al-Muḥtār that seeking tawassul through the Prophet ﷺ and the pious is established and recommended. Imām al-Ṭahāwī’s ʿAqīdah — one of the foundational texts of Sunni belief — states that the Prophet’s ﷺ intercession (shafāʿah) for his Ummah is a truth we believe in. The Qādirī tradition in particular holds the seeking of the Prophet’s ﷺ and Ghawth al-Aʿẓam’s intercession as central to its spiritual practice.
Tawassul — seeking nearness to Allah ﷻ through the Prophet ﷺ, the righteous, and one’s own deeds — is firmly established in the Qurʾān, Sunnah, and the practice of the Companions. It is the way of Ahl al-Sunnah wa al-Jamāʿah. May Allah ﷻ accept our tawassul through His Beloved ﷺ and grant us His mercy. Āmīn.
