Tawassul according to the Wahhabis
In this
chapter,
tawassul {resorting to intermediation} according to Wahhabism
shall be examined. The
'ulama' of this sect believe that
Tawassul
to other than God, paying homage {
ziyarah} to a grave and praying in a
place where there is a grave in front of the person praying are not consistent
with
Tawhid in Lordship. According to them, the requisite of
Tawhid
is that one should not resort to the intermediation of other than God even if
he is the Prophet of Islam (s), because
tawassul,
shafa'ah
{intercession} and the like are outside the
Sunnah of the Prophet and
the pious predecessors {
as-Salaf as-salih}, and the Qur'an also
regards this belief as polytheism.
[29]
It is thus
stated in the book, al-Tawhid bi'l-Lughati al-Farisiyyah:
Seeking
the help of other than God is polytheism and seeking refuge in other than God
is also within the sphere of polytheism… The Words {
kalimat} of God
are identical with the uncreated {
qadim} Essence of God. So, for this
reason, one may entreat {
istighathah} these Words otherwise, such act
of entreating will be regarded as polytheism.
[30]
In
refuting this proposition, it must be stated first of all that the pertinent
verse had been revealed with respect to the jinn. Concerning the
circumstances surrounding the revelation of this verse, it must be said that
the Arabs used to believe that the jinn live in the desert, and during
the pre-Islamic period of ignorance {al-Jahiliyyah}, they used to turn
to the “chief of the jinn” at the time of going out of the city for help,
addressing him thus: “O chief of the jinn! Save us from the evil of the jinn
and preserve us from their annoyance.”
Of course,
resorting to the jinn is absolutely unlawful because God has explicitly
prohibited this practice. In addition to this, seeking help from anyone who
denies God is obviously more so. Secondly, there are a lot of differences
between the prophets {anbiya'} and messengers {rusul} who
have direct connection with God, and the receivers of the divine revelation, on
one hand, and the jinn who do not recognize God on the other. Therefore, the
Islamic belief demands that we have to beseech and entreat God, the Exalted,
and seek the intercession of those who are closer to Him.
We have
mentioned earlier the viewpoint of the Wahhabi 'ulama' regarding the
status of tawassul to other than God. Now, we shall examine their
reasons:
First
reason: By citing as proof the noble verses,
﴿قُلْ
ادْعُوا
الَّذِينَ
زَعَمْتُمْ
مِنْ دُونِهِ
فَلاَ
يَمْلِكُونَ
كَشْفَ
الضُّرِّ
عَنكُمْ
وَلاَ
تَحْوِيلاً.
أُوْلَئِكَ
الَّذِينَ
يَدْعُونَ
يَبْتَغُونَ
إِلَى رَبِّهِمْ
الْوَسِيلَةَ
أَيُّهُمْ
أَقْرَبُ وَيَرْجُونَ
رَحْمَتَهُ
وَيَخَافُونَ
عَذَابَهُ.﴾
Say, 'Invoke those whom you claim {to be
gods} besides Him. They have no power to remove your distress nor to bring
about any change {in your state}. They {themselves} are the ones who
supplicate, seeking recourse to their Lord, whoever is nearer {to Him},
expecting His mercy and fearing His punishment.' Indeed your Lord's punishment
is a thing to beware of,[31]
they have
concluded that one should never seek help and resort to anyone other than God.
Analysis of the above verses
If one
contends oneself with the literal meaning and not take into consideration other
Qur'anic verses, these two verses will conform to the statements of the Wahhabi
'ulama' because based on these words of God, when man abandons the “nearer
means” (that is, God Himself) in order to get closer to God and resorts to a
“remote means” (that is, “other than God” {min duni allahi}) and one
who has no power to remove distress and the like, it will fall within the
spheres of polytheism in Lordship {shirk-e rububi}.
It must be
noted, however, that there are other verses indicating that with God's
permission, one may also resort to other than God, in which case, the issue of
polytheism would be irrelevant, and one could turn for help from the individuals
approved by God. If these 'ulama' had only paid attention to these
other verses, they would have never committed such a glaring mistake.
Turning for help {istimdad} of the weak to the
strong
In
principle, tawassul is one of the laws of creation and it means
resorting to a superior means in order to attain an objective. One
manifestation of tawassul is a child's tawassul to his mother
when something happens to him. This meaning is true in all spheres of human
life—social, political, ideological, material, and spiritual. Tawassul
to God is the same tawassul to that which is perfect in power and
force. Tawassul to the prophets and the saints of God is a case of the
tawassul of the weak to the strong, because the prophets are stronger
than other human beings. One may resort to the prophets and saints for help and
take their practical conduct, which we called sunnah, as models for
ourselves.
Tawassul in the Qur’an
Many
verses of the Qur'an and Prophetic traditions speak about the subject of tawassul
to the awliya'. As an example, one may refer to the verses related to
the sons of Ya'qub (Jacob) ('a):
﴿قَالُوا
يَا أَبَانَا
اسْتَغْفِرْ
لَنَا ذُنُوبَنَا
إِنَّا كُنَّا
خَاطِئِينَ.
قَالَ سَوْفَ
أَسْتَغْفِرُ
لَكُمْ
رَبِّي
إِنَّهُ هُوَ
الْغَفُورُ
الرَّحِيمُ.﴾
They said, 'Father! Plead {with Allah} for
forgiveness of our sins! We have indeed been erring'. He said, 'I shall plead
with my Lord to forgive you; indeed He is the All-forgiving, the All-merciful'.[32]
In these
verses, the sons of Ya'qub ('a) resorted to the intermediation of
their father. They had committed mistakes so many times; they had annoyed and
disturbed two prophets of God (Ya'qub and Yusuf (Joseph) ('a)), and
transgressed the command of God by annoying their parents and telling lies.
Since those mistakes required the sons to seek forgiveness, they took their
father as their intercessor; so this action has not been denied or rejected in
the Qur'an.
Since God
does not reproach the sons of Ya'qub for resorting to two persons of those who
are near to Him {muqarrabun}, it can be concluded that there is
nothing wrong in entreating the Prophet (s) especially since the eminence of
his rank and the loftiness of his station are not hidden to anyone.
The other
verse which may be cited is the following:
﴿وَلَوْ
أَنَّهُمْ
إِذْ
ظَلَمُوا
أَنفُسَهُمْ
جَاءُوكَ
فَاسْتَغْفَرُوا
اللَّهَ وَاسْتَغْفَرَ
لَهُمُ
الرَّسُولُ
لَوَجَدُوا
اللَّهَ
تَوَّابًا
رَحِيمًا.﴾
Had they, when they wronged themselves,
come to you and pleaded Allah for forgiveness, and the Apostle had pleaded for
forgiveness for them, they would have surely found Allah All-clement,
All-merciful.[33]
It can be
deduced from this verse that the intermediation of the Holy Prophet (s) can
also be resorted to in asking God for forgiveness of sins.
It is
possible to criticize the deduction based on the first verse with the answer
that the tawassul of the sons of Ya'qub ('a) to their father
had been confined to their own time; that is, one may seek the help of the
living and not the dead. We shall talk about this point later on in the section
concerning tabarruk.
What can
be inferred from the second verse is that tawassul to the Prophet (s)
is in a general sense. That is, it includes both the time when the Prophet (s)
was alive and the time afterward. And there is no reason to distinguish between
tawassul during and after his lifetime.
Since the
following verse reproaches tawassul to idols and regards it as a form
of polytheism, some individuals might cite it as proof that tawassul
to other than God leads to misguidance:
﴿وَقَالُوا
لاَ
تَذَرُنَّ
آلِهَتَكُمْ
وَلاَ
تَذَرُنَّ
وَدًّا وَلاَ
سُوَاعًا
وَلاَ يَغُوثَ
وَيَعُوقَ
وَنَسْرًا.
وَقَدْ أَضَلُّوا
كَثِيرًا
وَلاَ تَزِدْ
الظَّالِمِينَ
إِلاَّ
ضَلاَلاً.﴾
They say, 'Do not abandon your gods. Do not
abandon Wadd, nor Suwa', nor Yaghuth, Ya'uq and Nasr,' and they have certainly
led many astray. Do not increase the wrongdoers in anything but error'.[34]
In reply,
it must be said that if what is meant by “other than God” are idols, then one
cannot find fault with this statement, but if “other than God” includes the
prophets and awliya', then it would be contrary to the truth because
these beloved ones are approved by God and are vicegerents of Allah {khulafa'
Allah}. Idols are in contrast and contradiction with God while the prophets
('a) and saints are concordant with Him and are means of His grace. In
the same manner, idols are a source of deviation from God while the prophets ('a)
are means of guidance and righteousness. In sum, the comparison between tawassul
to the prophets ('a) and tawassul to the idols is an
asymmetrical and false analogy.
The other
point is that an idol is basically an object of worship and not a means of
nearness to God {taqarrub}. There are two types of means of nearness
to God: One is legitimate, referring to the prophets ('a) and the
saints, and the other is illegitimate such as idols and the like which religion
has made forbidden to man.
Death according to the Wahhabis
There are
different viewpoints concerning death, and we shall deal with the viewpoint of
the Wahhabis on the subject. Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah is reported to have said:
Tawassul
to the dead, even if he be the Prophet of Islam (s), is an act of polytheism
because based on the statement of the Qur'an, he is dead and extinct:
﴿إِنَّكَ
مَيِّتٌ
وَإِنَّهُمْ
مَيِّتُونَ.﴾
You will indeed die and they {too} will die
indeed.[35]
He then
continues:
Entreating
the dead and uttering words such as: “O my master, O the Messenger of Allah!
Help me,” “O my master 'Ali ibn Abi Talib! Assist me,” and the like are acts of
polytheism.
[36]
It is
indeed amazing that Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah and the Wahhabis could have no
belief in the purgatorial life {
hayat al-barzakh}, thinking that the
dead cannot establish spiritual relations with others, while the Qur'an affirms
that those who are in the
barzakh are alive.
[37]
How could the Wahhabis regard the martyrs {
shuhada'} as dead while the
Qur'an says,
﴿وَلاَ
تَحْسَبَنَّ
الَّذِينَ
قُتِلُوا فِي
سَبِيلِ
اللَّهِ
أَمْوَاتًا
بَلْ أَحْيَاءٌ
عِنْدَ
رَبِّهِمْ
يُرْزَقُونَ.﴾
Do not suppose those who are slain in the
way of Allah to be dead; rather they are living and provided for near their
Lord.[38]
Accordingly,
how could Shaykh Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab also say that “Anyone who dies
would be annihilated,”36
while the Holy Qur'an says,
﴿فَكَشَفْنَا
عَنْكَ
غِطَاءَكَ
فَبَصَرُكَ
الْيَوْمَ
حَدِيدٌ.﴾
We
have removed your veil from you, and so your sight is acute today.[39]
In another
place, it states thus,
﴿وَلَهُمْ
رِزْقُهُمْ
فِيهَا
بُكْرَةً وَعَشِيًّا.﴾
And therein they will have their provision
morning and evening.[40]
Since
there is morning and evening in the world of barzakh according to the
verse quoted, and that the dead have provisions, those who are in the world of
sojourn (barzakh) cannot be regarded as nonexistent {ma'dum}.
Of course, morning and evening are special characteristics of barzakh because
there is no sun on the Day of Resurrection which could portray this case. So,
death is not equivalent to nonexistence, and the theory of the Wahhabis is
consequentially rendered false.
The permission to resort to the sacred personages
In the
following verse, the Holy Qur'an regards it permissible and acceptable to
resort to and seek the intermediation of the chosen ones of God in seeking
nearness to Him {taqarrub}:
﴿يَا
أَيُّهَا
الَّذِينَ
آمَنُوا
اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ
وَابْتَغُوا
إِلَيْهِ
الْوَسِيلَةَ
وَجَاهِدُوا
فِي سَبِيلِهِ
لَعَلَّكُمْ
تُفْلِحُونَ.﴾
O you who have faith! Be wary of Allah, and
seek the means of recourse to Him, and wage jihad in His way, so that you may
be felicitous.[41]
Although
in this verse seeking the means of recourse is discussed in a general sense,
based on the other proofs and pieces of evidence mentioned in the Holy Qur'an
and the traditions, one of its vivid manifestations is the prophets and saints.
Therefore, the purport of this verse may be expressed in the following words:
Though
approaching God is the outcome of grace, you have to observe God-wariness {taqwa}
perfectly and since it is possible that the persons resorted to have no
independence of their own and have obtained such station through sincerity {ikhlas}
and God-wariness {taqwa}, you also have to maintain God-wariness in
resorting to them.
Istimdad and tawassul to the living ones
Seeking
help and assistance from the living is permissible and it cannot be treated as
a form of polytheism. This is a point which has been endorsed and affirmed by
stories in the Qur'an. For example, when Hadrat Yusuf (Joseph) ('a)
was in prison he requested his cellmate, that if the latter was released, he
should mention his case to the king:
﴿اذْكُرْنِي
عِنْدَ
رَبِّكَ.﴾
Mention
me to your master.[42]
Or, when Hadrat
Musa and Khidr ('a) arrived at a certain village, they made a request
to the inhabitants of the village, hence:
﴿فَانطَلَقَا
حَتَّى إِذَا
أَتَيَا
أَهْلَ قَرْيَةٍ
اسْتَطْعَمَا
أَهْلَهَا.﴾
So they went on. When they came to the
people of a town, they asked its people for food.[43]
It can be
said that the acts of these three great personalities, apart from not being
acts of polytheism, they are rational and customary behaviors, having no
inconsistency with their infallibility {ismah}. Also, in confirming
this statement, the following verse, which is addressed to the Prophet (s), can
be cited as proof:
﴿وَلَوْ
أَنَّهُمْ
إِذْ
ظَلَمُوا
أَنفُسَهُمْ
جَاءُوكَ
فَاسْتَغْفَرُوا
اللَّهَ
وَاسْتَغْفَرَ
لَهُمُ الرَّسُولُ
لَوَجَدُوا
اللَّهَ
تَوَّابًا
رَحِيمًا.﴾
Had they, when they wronged themselves,
come to you and pleaded Allah for forgiveness, and the Apostle had pleaded for
forgiveness for them, they would have surely found Allah all-clement,
all-merciful.[44]
Based on
this verse, the Prophet (s) has been granted the permission to be the
intercessor of sinners. According to the Shi`ah, this intercession is still
valid and is not confined to the lifetime of the Prophet (s).
