It is commanded by Almighty Allah as the holy Qur’ān states:
“O believers! Fear Allah and seek means (of approach to) His (presence and to His nearness and accessibility) and strive in His way so that you may prosper.”
The Qur’ānic verse stresses four things:
- faith,
- piety,
- search for means of approach, and
- struggle for Allah’s sake.
First of all, the Qur’ān mentions faith. After faith it enjoins piety upon the believers because a heart laced with fear of Allah, is in fact a heart laced with His obedience. A man who possesses piety never disobeys Allah. Each moment of his life is spent in pleasing Him and, incidentally, all of his other concerns are pushed into the background. As a matter of fact, obeying the divine regulations becomes a part and parcel of his existence. Virtue and good deeds shape up as inseparable parts of his character and conduct. His desire to be close to Allah elevates him in His eyes. He is always engaged in acts that will earn him the pleasure of Allah and nearness to Him. The word ittaqū [derivative of taqwā (piety)] is a comprehensive word and it embodies all acts that save him from Allah’s displeasure and bring him closer to Him.
The third regulation stresses the search for means of approach. The Qur’ān says, “Seek means (of approach to) His (presence and to His nearness and accessibility).” Some of the religious scholars have interpreted wasīlah (the means of approach) mentioned in the Qur’ānic verse as faith and good deeds while others, who are in the majority, have explained the word as the prophets, the righteous and the favourites of Allah. They argue that the expression ittaqullāh subsumes faith, good deeds and all forms of worship. But the fact is that the verse enjoins upon the believers to search means of approach to Allah’s presence. As far as faith and virtuous acts are the means of drawing close to Allah, the prophets and His favourites are ranked above all others. Thus, Shāh Walī Allah Muhaddith Dihlawī has explained wasīlah as allegiance to the guide [Shāh Walī Allah Muhaddith Dihlawī, al-Qawl-ul-jamīl (p.34)] while Shāh Ismā‘īl Dihlawī believes that wasīlah is the guide himself. He says:
It is almost impossible to receive (divine) guidance without the direction (provided) by the guide. [Ismā‘īl Dihlawī, Sirāt mustaqīm (p.58)]
Referring to the same situation, Mawlānā Rūm believes that he has attained nearness to Allah on account of the company of Shams Tabrīzī.[ Mawlānā Rūm, Mathnawī ma‘nawī.]
The fourth regulation relates to jihad. Jihad also serves as a means to promote Islam, to strengthen and consolidate it and to implement divine injunctions. When, in the same Qur’ānic verse, faith, piety and struggle in the way of Allah are vested with legitimacy, the fourth regulation relating to wasīlah becomes automatically legitimate. Thus wasīlah does not amount to associating partners with Allah. Instead of encouraging polytheism among the believers, it rather reaffirms the Oneness of Allah. And, besides, when reliance on it is being confirmed by the Qur’ān itself, any objections or reservations against it are in fact a denial of the Qur’ānic truth.
SEARCH FOR MEANS OF APPROACH IS A VALID ACT
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.”
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.
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.
[ The above explanation is taken from, Dr. Tahir ul qadiri book: Islamic Concept of Intermediation – Tawassul
http://www.minhajbooks.com/english/control/btext/cid/4/bid/253/btid/783/read/txt/The%20Doctrine%20of%20Tawassul%20%28In%20the%20Light%20of%20Qur%E2%80%99%C4%81n%29-Islamic%20Concept%20of%20Intermediation%20-%20Tawassul.html]
FOR MORE AND A DETAILED EXPLANATION (OF ABOUT 50 MINUTES) OF THIS QUR’ĀN(5:35) VERSE, LISTEN OR DOWNLOAD THE AUDIO OF DR. TAHIR UL QADIRI FROM HERE:
IN THIS AUDIO, HE ALSO EXPLAINS THE AUTHENTIC MEANING OF TAWASSUL AND WASEELA AS WELL AS SHORTLY DESCRIBES OTHER PROOFS OF TAWASSUL.
...INSHALLAH MORE DETAIL WILL BE ADDED IN THE FUTURE. AMIIN!
