What is the ruling on tawassul (seeking a means to Allah) in the Hanbali School?

Tawassul—seeking a means to Allah—is a well-established practice in the Hanbalī school. Ibn Qāʿid al-Najdī states in his marginalia on Muntahā al-Irādāt: “Seeking intercession through the righteous is permitted, and it has been said to be recommended.”

Imām Aḥmad wrote to al-Marwūdhī regarding Ḥajj:

“Ask Allah for your need, seeking a means with His Prophet ﷺ, and Allah will grant it.” (Related by Ibn Taymiyyah in al-Radd ʿalā al-Akhnāʾī)

This is affirmed by numerous Hanbalī scholars across eras: Ibn Mufliḥ in al-Furūʿ, al-Mardāwī in al-Inṣāf, al-Ḥajjāwī in al-Iqnāʿ, Ibn al-Najjār in Muntahā al-Irādāt, and al-Buhūtī in his commentaries. Earlier Hanbalīs—such as Ibn ʿAqīl, ʿAbd al-Qādir al-Jīlānī, Ibn Qudāmah, and Ibn al-Jawzī—upheld the same.

After Ḥajj, visiting the grave of the Prophet ﷺ is recommended. In al-Sharḥ al-Kabīr, Abū al-Faraj Shams al-Dīn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān b. Qudāmah relates a number of manners for the visitation and mentions the famous narration of al-ʿUtbī: “I was sitting by the grave of the Prophet ﷺ when a Bedouin came and said:

السلامُ عليك يا رسولَ اللَّهِ

Peace be upon you, O Messenger of Allah.

I heard Allah say:

وَلَوْ أَنَّهُمْ إِذْ ظَلَمُوا أَنفُسَهُمْ جَاءُوكَ فَاسْتَغْفَرُوا اللَّهَ وَاسْتَغْفَرَ لَهُمُ الرَّسُولُ لَوَجَدُوا اللَّهَ تَوَّابًا رَحِيمًا

'If, when they wronged themselves, they had come to you and asked forgiveness of Allah, and the Messenger had asked forgiveness for them, they would have found Allah Accepting of Repentance, Merciful.' (al-Nisāʾ 4:64)

I have come to you seeking forgiveness from my sin, asking you to intercede for me before my Lord."

The Bedouin then recited lines of poetry and departed.

Al-ʿUtbī continues: “I fell asleep and saw the Prophet ﷺ in a dream. He said: ‘O ʿUtbī, go to the Bedouin and give him glad tidings—Allah has forgiven him.’”

This narration is also reported by Ibn Kathīr in his Tafsīr under verse 64 of Sūrat al-Nisāʾ, and mentioned by Imām al-Nawawī in al-Majmūʿ.

Abū al-Faraj Shams al-Dīn then records the recommended duʿāʾ, based on that story, which is to be recited at the grave while facing the Prophet (back toward the Qiblah), which includes the following,

اللَّهُمَّ إنَّكَ قُلْتَ، وقَوْلُكَ الحَقُّ: وَلَوْ أَنَّهُمْ... وقد أَتَيْتُكَ مُسْتَغْفِرًا مِن ذُنُوبى، مُسْتَشْفِعًا بِك إلى رَبِّى...

“O Allah, You have said—and Your word is truth—‘If, when they wronged themselves, they had come to you…’ I have now come to You, seeking forgiveness for my sins and seeking intercession with you to my Lord. So, I ask You, O my Lord, to make forgiveness incumbent for me—just as You made it incumbent for those who came to him (the Prophet) during his lifetime. O Allah, make him the foremost of intercessors, the most successful of those who ask, and the most honored among the first and the last, by Your rahmah, O Arham al-Rahimīn.”

Tawassul through righteous deeds is universally accepted. And if one may seek a means through created actions, despite Allah saying:

وَاللَّهُ خَلَقَكُمْ وَمَا تَعْمَلُونَ

“And Allah created you and what you do.” (al-Ṣāffāt 37:96)

then seeking a means with the Prophet ﷺ is even more fitting as he is the best of Allah’s creation.

And Allah knows best.

Written by Shaykh John Starling

June 8, 2025

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