Tawassul

Tawassul is an Arabic word originated from wa-sa-la- wasilat (Arabic: وسيلة-وسل‎‎). The wasilah is a means by which a person, goal or objective is approached, attained or achieved. In another version of the meaning of tawassul in another text: Tawassul is an Arabic word that comes from a verbal noun, wasilah, which according to Ibn Manzur (d. 711/1311) in Lisān al-'Arab means "a station of King, a rank, or act of devotion". In other words, it refers to a position of power due to one's proximity to the king or sovereign. While the tawassul or tawassulan is the use of wasilah for this purpose. In religious contexts,the tawassul is the use of a wasilah to arrive at or obtain favour of Allah.

We can find various examples of tawassul in the Books of Hadith.One good example is found in the well-known hadith of the young men trapped in a cave whose mouths were each covered by a stone: Each of them prays to God by mentioning some acts that he did for God's sake, in hopes that it might cause his prayer to be accepted.

Tawassul is an Arabic word that comes from a verbal noun, wasilah, which according to Ibn Manzur (d. 711/1311) in Lisān al-'Arab means "a station with King, a rank, or act of devotion. The word wasilat had been stated in the Quran two times ([5:35],[17:57]). It is translated as “a means that can be used to gain nearness to God”. Therefor the typical meaning of tawassul or tawassulanis use of wasilat to obtain nearness to God.

Tawassul , as the main habitude of Supplications, has key role in to acceptation of them.

O you who believe! be careful of (your duty to) Allah and seek means (wasilah) of nearness to Him and strive hard in His way that you may be successful (Q5:35)

The meaning of the term wasilah in the above verse according to Albani is a thing that is used to obtain closeness and favour of Allah. Some classical commentators, including the great Sufi exegetes, such as al-Qushayri (d. 465/1074) explain the use of al-wasilah in this verse to mean avoiding what is prohibited, fulfilling what is enjoined on us, and drawing near to God through good actions. Both Raghib Isfahan and Sayyid Muhammad Husayn Tabataba'i opine that al-wasilah means to reach a certain goal through desire, inclination and willingness, and in fact wasilah towards God means observance of His path with knowledge and worship through adherence to the Sharia.It can be deduced from the verse above that intercession (tawassul) is only with the "permission" of Allah. Also, the practice of seeking intercession began during the time of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. An oft-cited Hadith in support of this is one narrated from Uthman ibn Hunaif regarding a blind man who Muslims believe was healed through the process.

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