Besides...

Besides, Hadrat Ya‘qub ( ‘a ) did not refuse their offer but promised to pray for the forgiveness of their sins. 3. Tawassul through spiritually dignified personages who enjoy special station and honor in the sight of God with the aim of seeking divine proximity.

Now, we shall review the proofs of hadith s and behavior of the of the Messenger of Allah (S) and great figures of Islam: Ahmad ibn Hanbal thus narrates in his Musnad on the authority of ‘Uthman ibn Hunayf: "إن رجلا ضرير البصر أتى النبيّ صلى الله عليه وأله وسلم فقال: ادع الله أن يعافيني ، قال: إن شئت دعوت لك وإن شئت أخرت ذاك فهو خير ، فقال: أدعه.

فأمره أن يتوضأ فيحسن وضوئه فيصلّي ركعتين ويدعو بهذا الدعاء: اللهم إني أسألك وأتوجه إليك بنبيّك محمد نبيّ الرحمة يا محمد إني توجهت بك إلى ربي في حاجتي هذه ، فتقضى لي اللهم شفعه فيّ." A blind man came to the Prophet (S) and said: “Pray for me and ask God to cure me.” Upon hearing this he said: “I will pray for you if you want and if you like I will postpone it and the latter is better.” The blind man said: “Will you?” The Holy Prophet commanded him to perform ablution as perfectly as possible, to say two rak‘ah s {cycles} of prayer and then supplicate with these words: “O God!

I beseech You and turn to You through Muhammad the Prophet of Mercy. O Muhammad! I turn to my Lord through you to grant this request. O God!

Let him be my intercessor.”[^5] Indeed, this hadith is considered acceptable by all muhaddithun so much so that after narrating the quoted hadith Hakim al-Nayshaburi describes it in his Mustadrak as an authentic { sahih } hadith while Ibn Majah who narrates it on the authority of Abu Ishaq says: “This tradition is authentic.” In the book, Abwab al-Ad‘iyyah , Tirmidhi confirms the authenticity of this tradition.

Also Muhammad Nasib ar-Rafa‘i says in At-Tawassul ila Haqiqah at-Tawassul : "لا شك أن هذا الحديث صحيح ومشهور وقد ثبت فيه بلا شك ولا ريب ارداد بصر الأعمى بدعاء رسول الله صلى الله عليه وأله وسلم له." “There is no doubt that this hadith is authentic and known… and it proves that through the supplication of the Messenger of Allah (S) the blind man has regained his sight.”[^6] This tradition clearly shows that tawassul through the Holy Prophet (S), with the aim of fulfilling one’s need, is permissible.

In fact, the Messenger of Allah (S) commanded the blind man to pray in such manner and to supplicate the Lord of the worlds by seeking mediation to God through the Prophet (S).