True sense of the concept
of intermediation (توسل)
Some people are reluctant to
pray through the mediation of
the holy Prophet ( صلى الله
عليه وآله وسلم ) on
account of lack of knowledge.
They think that praying
through mediation is
incompatible with praying
directly to Allah. This attitude
is grounded in a
misunderstanding of the
Qur’ānic verses, which enjoin
upon the believers to pray
directly to Allah and to eschew
associating partners with Him.
As a result of misinterpretation
they believe that to approach
Allah through an intermediary
amounts to a denial of divine
unity. This conception is based
on ignorance and
misunderstanding and we should
try to correct it. To approach
Allah while praying, through a
prophet or a messenger, a
holy person or a pious deed, is
neither a denial of the oneness
of Allah nor is it inconsistent
with an unmediated appeal to
Him.
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In spite of the intermediation,
ReplyDeletewe pray to Allah directly and
not to the intermediary. One
commits the act of denying
Allah only when he, in
opposition to Him, regards
someone else as the arbitrator
of profit and loss, as the
absolute power and as the
granter of prayers. But the
situation here does not
warrant any such development.
The prayer is submitted only
to Allah, and while appealing to
Him to grant these needs and
desires, the mediation of the
holy Prophet ( صلى الله
عليه وآله وسلم ), a saintly
person or a pious deed is cited
because they enjoy Allah’s love
and favour and, therefore, He
has greater regard for them
than for other creatures. So
such form of intermediation not
only makes the words of
prayer more effective but also
raises its chances of
acceptance by Allah. Now his
prayer is not a simple prayer,
it is rather a blend of his
request and divine love. The
urgency of his need combines
with Allah’s magnanimity and
acquires a holier complexion. It
should be noted that the
grant of prayers is not
contingent on mediation but it
definitely expedites their
fulfilment. The holy Prophet
( صلى الله عليه وآله
وسلم) himself instructed his
companions to pray through his
mediation as we come to know
through a tradition narrated
by ‘Uthmān bin Hunayf that
the Prophet ( صلى الله عليه
وآله وسلم ) taught a blind
man to pray:
O Allah, I appeal to You, and
submit to You through the
mediation of the merciful
Prophet Muhammad. O
Muhammad, through your
mediation I submit myself to my
Lord to have my need granted.
O Allah, acknowledge his
intercession in my favour.[5]
[ [5]. Ibn Mājah transmitted it in
his Sunan, b. of iqāmat-us-salāt
was-sunnah fīhā (establishing
prayer and its sunnahs), ch.189
(1:441#1385) and declared it
sahīh (sound); Tirmidhī in al-
Jāmi‘-us-sahīh, b. of da‘awāt
(supplications), ch.119
(5:569#3578) and graded it
hasan (fair) sahīh (sound)
gharīb (unfamiliar or rare);
Ahmad bin Hambal in his
Musnad (4:138); and Hākim in
al-Mustadrak (1:313,519,526-7)
and Dhahabī also declared it
sahīh (sound). Bukhārī
narrated it in at-Tārīkh-ul-
kabīr (6:209-10); Nasā’ī, ‘Amal-
ul-yawm wal-laylah
(pp.417-8#658-60); Ibn
Khuzaymah, as-Sahīh
(2:225-6#1219); Bayhaqī, Dalā’il-
un-nubuwwah (6:166-7); Ibn-us-
Sunnī, ‘Amal-ul-yawm wal-laylah
(p.202#622); Subkī, Shifā’-us-
siqām fī ziyārat khayr-il-anām
(pp.123,125); Nawawī, al-Adhkār
(p.83); Ibn Kathīr, al-Bidāyah
wan-nihāyah (4:558-9); Ibn-ul-
Athīr, Asad-ul-ghābah (3:571);
Mundhirī, at-Targhīb wat-
tarhīb (1:473-4); Yūsuf Mizzī,
Tuhfat-ul-ashrāf bi-ma‘rifat-il-
atrāf (7:236#9760); Suyūtī,
Khasā’is-ul-kubrā (2:201);
Qastallānī, al-Mawāhib-ul-
laduniyyah (4:594); Zurqānī in
his Commentary (12:221-2); Ibn
Hajar Haythamī, al-Jawhar-ul-
munazzam (p.61); and Shawkānī
in Tuhfat-udh-dhākirīn
(pp.194-5).
]
‘Umar used to pray for rain
through the mediation of the
Prophet’s uncle ‘Abbās as is
attributed to Anas.[6]
[6]. Bukhārī narrated it in his
as-Sahīh, b. of istisqā’ (to
invoke Allah for rain at the
time of drought) ch.3
(1:342-3#964), and b. of fadā’il-
us-sahābah (the virtues of the
Companions) ch.11
(3:1360#3507); Ibn Hibbān, as-
Sahīh (7:110-1#2861); Ibn
Khuzaymah, as-Sahīh
(2:337-8#1421); Hākim, al-
Mustadrak (3:334); Ibn ‘Abd-ul-
Barr, al-Istī‘āb fī ma‘rifat-il-
ashāb (3:97); Bayhaqī in as-
Sunan-ul-kubrā (3:352) and
Dalā’il-un-nubuwwah (6:147);
Baghawī, Sharh-us-sunnah
(4:409#1165); Nawawī, al-
Adhkār (p.80); Subkī, Shifā’-us-
siqām fī ziyārat khayr-il-anām
(p.128); Ibn Hajar ‘Asqalānī,
Fath-ul-bārī (2:494); Qastallānī,
al-Mawāhib-ul-laduniyyah
(4:277); Zurqānī in his
Commentary (11:151-3);
Shawkānī, Tuhfat-udh-dhākirīn
(p.58); and Muhammad Zāhid
Kawtharī in his Maqālāt (p.380).
Once
ReplyDeletewhen Medina was in the grip
of a severe drought, ‘Ā’ishah
asked some of the Companions
and residents of the city to
visit the holy Prophet’s grave,
and on account of his
blessings, it rained in buckets.
[7]
[7]. Dārimī narrated it in ch.15
of the muqaddimah
(introduction) to his Sunan
(1:43#93); Ibn-ul-Jawzī, al-Wafā’
bi-ahwāl-il-Mustafā (2:801);
Subkī, Shifā’-us-siqām fī ziyārat
khayr-il-anām (p.128);
Qastallānī, al-Mawāhib-ul-
laduniyyah (4:276); and Zurqānī
in his Commentary (11:150).
In short, this blessed act has
been popular and prevalent
from the days of Adam (عليه
السلام) and other prophets
to the period of the holy
prophet ( صلى الله عليه
وآله وسلم ), the Companions
and the Successors and right
down to the present-day
Muslims. Now some people,
hopelessly deficient in a correct
understanding of dīn, are
raising unfounded objections
against its efficacy, and
treating it as a challenge to
the uniqueness of Allah.
Therefore, it is imperative that
the injunctions of Shariah
should be understood in their
true essence and perspective
so that we do not distort
them for lack of knowledge
and understanding.