That is...

That is, it includes both the time when the Prophet (s) was alive and the time afterward. And there is no reason to distinguish between tawassul during and after his lifetime. Since the following verse reproaches tawassul to idols and regards it as a form of polytheism, some individuals might cite it as proof that tawassul to other than God leads to misguidance: ﴿وَقَالُوا لاَ تَذَرُنَّ آلِهَتَكُمْ وَلاَ تَذَرُنَّ وَدًّا وَلا