Tahrir Al Wasilah Urdu Pdf Download
Elis Riebow
Both Raghib Isfahani and 'Allamah Sayyid Muhammad Husayn Tabataba'i opine that al-wasilah means to reach a certain goal through desire, inclination or willingness, and in fact wasilah towards God means observance of His path with knowledge and worship through adherence to the Shari'ah. In other words wasilah is a means of communication and spiritual link between mankind and God.
Malik answered him, why do you want to turn away from the Prophet (saws) when he (Prophet Muhammad (saws)) is the wasilah (means) for you and for your father Adam, towards Allah on the Day of Resurrection. Turn to him (the Prophet) and seek his intercession (shafa'at)6.
Except for this narration of Ibn 'Abidin, we find no opinion or view from either Abu Hanifah or his friend Abu Yusuf in the books of Hanafi scholars concerning tawassul to God through the wasilah (means) of the Prophet (saws).1111
Alusi thus believes that there is no objection in making tawassul to God by means of the dignity (jah) and prime position of the Prophet (saws), whether it is in his lifetime or after his death, since dignity here refers to an attribute which is one of the attributes of Almighty Allah. Alusi also says that tawassul by means of dignity of a person other than the Prophet (saws) is also permissible, provided that the one who is being considered a wasilah has a station and position of dignity in the sight of Allah.12
He writes in our opinion and that of our teachers, pilgrimage to the shrine of the Master of Messengers (my soul be sacrificed for him) is the most exalted of proximities, the most important of blessings, and the greatest of means (wasilah) for attaining lofty ranks. It could be said that it is an enjoinment almost to the degree of obligations, even if it requires the trouble of a journey to perform it and there is no other option other than to make efforts with life and wealth.
According to such prominent Imami 'ulama' as Shaykh al-Ta'ifah Tusi, Shaykh Amin al-Islam Tabrisi, 'Allamah Sayyid Muhammad Husayn Tabataba'i, Sayyid Ruhullah Khumayni and others, wasilah means faith, love and reverence for the Prophet (saws) and obedience to him.
It is evident that the Prophet (saws) and the Infallible Imams (as) who are considered the practical models of divine law and the finest exemplars of morals and etiquette, are the wasilah, since it is through obedience to them and adherence to their path that one can attain proximity to God.
Likewise, as stated by prominent Imami or Shia jurists, the laws of the Shari'ah are the wasilah, on the basis of adherence to which, proximity of Almighty Allah is attained. Accordingly, some prominent Imami jurisprudents like Shaykh Hurr al-'Amili, Ayatullah Abu al-Hasan Isfahani and Sayyid Khumayni have used the title wasilah for their jurisprudential treatises such as Wasa'il al-Shia, Wasilah al-Najat and Tahrir al-Wasilah, respectively. Wasilah al-Najat or the 'Means of Salvation' is the title of over 40 scientific treatises written by Shia 'ulama'.1616
Thus, as ascertained by Imami scholars, the Prophet (saws) is the wasilah towards God for Muslims since he is the best exemplar and is in fact the 'Practical Qur'an'. So also is the Prophet's (saws) infallible progeny (as), who along with the Book of Allah (Holy Qur'an), is the immortal legacy of the Prophet and continuation of his path as borne out by the Hadith al-Thaqalayn which is unanimously confirmed by both Shia and Sunni 'ulama'.
Muslims, through the wasilah of these two, hold fast to divine laws and strive to attain Allah's proximity, since good deeds, obedience and adherence to the Qur'an, the Prophet (saws) and his Infallible Ahl al-Bayt (as) are the basis of shafa'at.
Or they could be compared to a slave who is disobedient to his master, but without coming out of this state of insubordination and disobedience wants to be forgiven through intercession (shafa'at). In none of these two cases intercession is beneficial, since shafa'at is the wasilah or means for accomplishment of a cause and is not a cause in itself to make him a doyen of scholars in the first case, and in the second case to avail forgiveness from the master in the state of disobedience.1717
Similarly during the caliphate of 'Uthman ibn 'Affan, a needy person approached the Caliph and told him of his needs. 'Uthman asked him to make wudu, offer prayer in the mosque and then supplicate in the following manner O Lord! Through the wasilah of our Prophet Muhammad (saws), the Messenger of Mercy, I turn my face to you. O Muhammad (saws)! Through your wasilah I am facing Your Lord and I request you to grant me my wish. The person attained his goal.21
Another reason put forward by the Salafiyyah such as Muhammad Rashid Rida on non-permissibility of tawassul to the Prophet (saws) after his death is that any wasilah for proximity to God should be a thing which God has determined for mankind such as faith, action and supplication.
But those who make tawassul beseech Allah for their needs and regard Prophet Muhammad (saws) as a wasilah or means for the acceptance of their supplications, since he is the Messenger of Allah. To quote Rashid Rida himself, those who seek tawassul are like guests who approach the host for some of their needs, and at times request the members of the household or friends of the hosts who have been appointed to serve the guests, since they consider everything to be the favour of the host.2727
6. As part of their misinformation campaign against tawassul, the Salafiyyah attempt to exploit certain Ayahs of the Holy Qur'an which refer to the polytheists who worship idols instead of the One and Only God and who seek their wants from these lifeless man-made objects. However, it is clear that equating those who seek Tawassul to the Prophet (saws) with the polytheists and infidels is an erroneous idea, since Tawassul-seekers, unlike the idolators, address the Almighty Creator and seek their needs from Him by making the Prophet (saws) a wasilah for acceptance of prayer.
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