Doctrine of Tawassul (In the Light of Qur’ān)>>Argument No. 2: Search for means of approach is a valid act>PART9

Doctrine of Tawassul (In the Light of Qur’ān)>>Argument No. 2: Search for
means of approach is a
valid act>PART9


The holy Qur’ān has stated in
another context:
Those, whom they worship
(that is, the angels, jinn, ‘Īsā
( عليه السلام ) and ‘Uzayr
( عليه السلام ) etc., - they
make their portraits and
statues and worship them),
they (themselves) seek
nearness to their Lord,
through those who among
them are the nearest (to
Allah’s presence), and they
(themselves) hope for His
mercy, and (themselves) fear
His punishment. (Now you tell
how can they deserve to be
worshipped, they themselves
are bowing before the truthful
Lord.) Surely, the punishment
of your Lord is a thing to be
feared.[5]
During the era of ignorance,
the non-believers used to
worship the angels, the jinn,
‘Īsā ( عليه السلام ) and
‘Uzayr ( عليه السلام ) by
making their statues and
portraits. Before the advent of
Islam, the jinn had spared no
effort to misguide human
beings. They entered the
statues and played bizarre
tricks. The simple and naive
people worshipped the statues
when they saw them moving
and smiling. But when the light
of Islam dawned, the jinn
sought forgiveness of Allah for
their deeds of deviance and
embraced Islam. They discarded
their false notions and
practices and followed the
right path. They turned into
loyal and obedient followers of
Allah and were constantly in
search of finding means of
access to Him.
‘Abdullāh bin Mas‘ūd comments
that this Qur’ānic verse was
specifically revealed in favour
of an Arab community who
worshipped a particular group
of jinn. When these jinn
converted to Islam and their
worshippers were unaware of
the fact of their conversion,
Allah reminded them that those
they used to worship were
now prostrated before Him and
were seeking means of
approach to gain His nearness.
[6]
This elaboration makes it clear
that it is valid to rely on
those who are near to Allah
through their obedience and
acts of virtue. And those who
are near to Allah further rely
on those who are even nearer
to Him, and it is a continuous
process because the quest for
nearness to Allah is an
unending process. This also
clearly implies that there are
different degrees of nearness
to Allah, the nearest degree
enjoyed by the Holy Prophet
( صلى الله عليه وآله
وسلم).
This Qur’ānic verse clarifies
beyond any particle of doubt
that the gods worshipped by
the non-believers and who
called on them in their hour of
distress are not in fact gods
because they themselves are
busy seeking the pleasure of
Allah. If they had been gods
themselves, as the non-
believers ignorantly believed,
they would not have been in
need of worshipping someone
else to seek his goodwill. In
fact, they are as helpless as
their worshippers and the
obvious proof of their
helplessness is their lack of
self-reliance. The verse also
clarifies the point that to seek
access to Allah through those
who have already attained
nearness to Him is a valid act
as this has also been the
teaching and practice of these
divine favourites. A question
arises here how can those who
themselves are seeking means
of access to Allah possibly
serve as means of approach to
Him? A reflection on this
Qur’ānic verse itself provides
the answer: to worship anyone
except Allah is forbidden but
to rely on Allah’s favourites
and to request them to pray
to Him for the fulfilment of
one’s needs is quite valid. It is
a negation of worship, not a
negation of means of approach
to Allah. While it is valid only
to worship Allah and no one
else, it is also valid to seek
the means of coming close to
Him. Allah’s favourites serve
only as the means; they are
not substitutes for Him.
Therefore, it is correct to
believe that all favourites of
Allah are only means of access
to Him as it is Allah Alone Who
is to be worshipped.


REFERENCES:
[5]. Qur’ān (al-Isrā’) 17:57.
[6]. Bukhārī narrated it in his
as-Sahīh, b. of tafsīr
(interpretation of the Qur’ān)
ch.205 (4:1747-8#4437-8);
Muslim in as-Sahīh, b. of tafsīr,
ch.4 (4:2321#3030); Hākim in al-
Mustadrak (2:362); and
Baghawī cites it in tafsīr of
17:57 in Ma‘ālim-ut-tanzīl
(3:120).

SOURCE:
The Doctrine of Tawassul (In the Light of Qur’ān)
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