Tawassul

Tawassul to the Dead is Addressing the Non-Existent

Muhammad bin 'Abd al-Wahhab writes:Tawassul to a person who is alive has no objection, buttawassul to the dead is to address the non-existent and is an absurd, ugly and despised act.

Critique

  1. This statement is a clear violation of ALLAH (SWT)'s words in the Holy Qur'an:

"Reckon not those who are slain in the way of Allah, to be dead; Nay! They are alive and are being sustained by their Lord." (3:169)

  1. It is also in contradiction to the saying of Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.A.) as recorded in Sahih al-Bukhari, Sahih Muslim and all other authoritative (Sihah) Sunni works. After the Battle of Badr the Prophet (S.A.W.A.) stood near the well of the same name and addressed the dead withayah 46 of Surah al-A'raf. When some of his companions objected that how could the dead hear him, the Prophet (S.A.W.A.) replied: "You are not more hearing than them."[^34]

  2. It is in opposition to the statements of Islamic intellectuals such as al-Ghazzali who writes in Ihya' 'Ulum al-Din: "Some people think death as extinction and state of non-existent, and those who hold such beliefs have no faith and actually mean to deny ALLAH (SWT) and the Hereafter."

Hafiz al-Nawawi in al-Majmu' fi Sharh al-Muhadhdhab which says that while standing beside the tombs of Prophets, especially the shrine of Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.A.), it is recommended to request them to supplicate to God for our needs, since they are alive and as the Holy Qur'an says: "are being sustained by their Lord." (3:169)[^35]

Shaikh Khalil Ahmad Saharanpuri who states his fatwa and that of 75 'ulama' of different Islamic lands as follows: In our view, Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.A.) is alive in his holy tomb and his life is similar to worldly life but without its duties. 'Allamah Jalal al-Din Suyuti writes in his book Anba' al-Azkiya' bi-Hayat al-Anbiya' on the authority of Shaikh Taqi al-Din Subki that the proof of the life of Prophets and martyrs in their graves is the prayer offered by Prophet Moses in his own tomb as mentioned in a hadith. In this regard Shaikh Shams al-Islam Muhammad Qasim has written a booklet titled Ab-i Hayat.[^36]

  1. Ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab in answer to Shaikh Ja'far Najafi said that seeking help from the dead is an absurd act. But how could this be called shirk since there is no connection between absurdity and polytheism? And iftawassul with fellow humans is considered shirk, then how could the difference betweentawassul to the living andtawassul to the dead, be ascertained?

  2. Here Ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab has contradicted his own opinion, since as we saw earlier in this article he believed that Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.A.) is alive in his tomb and said that this state of life of the Prophet (S.A.W.A.) is superior than the life of the martyrs. Ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab also said that the Prophet (S.A.W.A.) hears the voice of those who send blessings on him.[^37]

  3. Farid Wajdi mentions in his encyclopaedia:

In our era God has opened two of the windows of knowledge for us and the proof of this two windows confirms beyond an iota of doubt that man has a soul, which without the need of the physical body can lead its own independent life.[^38]

From the 19th century onwards the science of spiritism or contacts with the souls of the departed has been discovered and developed upon by the world's researchers after precise study and experiments in this regard. In the US and Europe, the summoning of the souls of the departed is part of the world of science.[^39]

The information which modern scientists have discovered after witnessing the summoning of souls, is yet another instance of the fact that the human being has an independent soul outside the physical body that does not perish with death. The connection of the souls of the departed with the living is the finest proof of the independence and immortality of the soul, and most of its capability concerning many works is with the permission of Almighty God.[^40]

The souls of the righteous and pious persons, which have been released from the mortal world, have acquired superior perception and consciousness and in their ascendant journey are free of the limits of time and space. They penetrate with ease the skies and the depths of the oceans to observe the grandeur of God's creation.