ভূমিকা

Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books The Shia Rebuts Question 25: Is to resort to the divine saints {awliya’} for mediation {tawassul} regarded as polytheism {shirk} and tantamount to innovation in religion {bid‘ah}? Reply: Tawassul means to resort to a sacred being for mediation with God.

Ibn Manzur thus says in Lisan al-‘Arab : "توسل إليه بكذا تقرب إليه بحرمة أصرةٍ تعطفه عليه." “If you resort to others for mediation; that is, respect and honor them, they will treat you tenderly.”[^1] The Glorious Qur’an states: ﴿يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ اتَّقُواْ اللّهَ وَابْتَغُواْ إِلَيهِ الْوَسِيلَةَ وَجَاهِدُواْ فِي سَبِيلِهِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ ﴾ “O you who have faith!

Be wary of Allah, and seek the means of recourse to Him, and wage jihad in His way, so that you may be felicitous.” [^2] In his Sihah al-Lughah , Jawhari describes “ wasilah ” {means} in this manner: "الوسيلة ما يتقرّب به إلى الغير." “ Wasilah {means} is something through which one seeks nearness to another.” Therefore, a valuable being to which we resort for mediation may be meritorious deeds and sincere worship of God which bring us near to the Lord of the worlds, or a prolific person who enjoys a special station and esteem in the sight of God, the Exalted.

Types of tawassul Tawassul can be divided into three types: 1. Tawassul by performing righteous deeds, as stated by Jalal ad-Din as-Suyuti who expounds on the noble verse, "وابتغوا إليه الوسيلة." “And seek the means of recourse to Him” : عن قتادة في قوله تعالى: "وابتغوا إليه الوسلية" قال: تقربوا إلى الله بطاعته والعمل بما يرضيه." “Qatadah said concerning the verse, “And seek the means of recourse to Him” : Seeking nearness to God by obeying Him and doing that which pleases Him.”[^3] 2.

Tawassul through the supplication of meritorious servants (of God), as the Holy Qur’an recounts in the tongue of the brothers of Yusuf (Joseph) ( ‘a ): ﴿ قَالُواْ يَا أَبَانَا اسْتَغْفِرْ لَنَا ذُنُوبَنَا إِنَّا كُنَّا خَاطِئِينَ ٭ قَالَ سَوْفَ أَسْتَغْفِرُ لَكُمْ رَبِّيَ إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ ﴾ “They said, ‘Father! Plead {with Allah} for forgiveness of our sins! We have indeed been erring’.

He said, ‘I shall plead with my Lord to forgive you; indeed He is the All-forgiving, the All-merciful’.” [^4] It is evident from the quoted verse that the sons of Ya‘qub (Jacob) ( ‘a ) had sought the means of recourse to Him through supplication, regarding this act as means of attaining forgiveness.

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