Tuesday, July 1, 2014

The Hadith of The Blind Man & The Man in Need





THE HADITH OF THE BLIND MAN

Tirmidhi relates, thru his chain of Narrators from 'Uthman ibn Hunayf, 
That a *blind man came to the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) and said, "I've been Afflicted in my eyesight, so please pray to Allah for me.
The Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) said: 
"Go make Ablution (Wudu), Perform two rak'as of prayer, and then say:

" Oh Allah, I ask You and turn to You thru my Prophet Muhammad, the Prophet of mercy; O Muhammad (Ya Muhammad), I seek your Intercession with my Lord for the return of my eyesight 

[and in another version: 

"for my need, That it may be Fulfilled. O Allah, grant him Intercession for me "].

" The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) added, "And if there is some need, do the same."

The hadith explicitly proves the validity of supplicating Allah (tawassul) through a living intermediary, as the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) was alive at the time. The author of the article holds That the hadith implicitly shows the validity of Supplicating Allah (Tawassul) thru a deceased intermediary as well, since:

The Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) Told the blind man to go Perform Ablution (Wudu) two rak'as pray, and then make the supplication containing the words, "O Muhammad, I seek your Intercession with my Lord for the return of my eyesight," which is a call upon somebody physically absent, a state of which the living and the dead are alike.

Supplicating Allah (Tawassul) thru a living or deceased intermediary is, in the author's words, "not Tawassul thru a physical body, or thru a life or death, but rather thru the positive meaning attached to the person in both life and death, for the body is but the vehicle That carries That significance.

And Perhaps the most telling reason, though the author does not mention it, is that everything the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) ordered to be done During his lifetime was "legislation" valid for all generations until the end of time unless proven otherwise by a subsequent indication from the Prophet himself (Allah bless him and grant him peace), the tawassul he taught during his lifetime not requiring anything else to be generalized Thereafter to any time. "...

Regarding the Authenticity of this Hadith

This hadith was recorded by:

Bukhari in his "al-Tarikh al-kabir",
Ibn Majah in his "Sunan", where he said it was rigorously authenticated (SAHIH), 
Nasa'i in "Amal al-Yawm wa al-layla", 
Abu Nu'aym in "Ma'rifa al-Sahaba", 
Baihaqi in "Dala'il al-Nubuwwa",
Mundhiri in "al-Targhib wa al-Tahrib", 
Haythami in "Majma 'al Zawa'id Manba wa' al-Fawa'id", 
Tabarani in "al-Mu'jam al-kabir", 
Ibn Khuzayma in his "Sahih", and by others.

Nearly 15 Hadith Masters ("Huffaz", hadith Authorities with more than 100,000 Hadiths and their chains of transmission by memory) have Explicitly stated that this hadith is rigorously authenticated ( Sahih ).
As mentioned above, it has come with a chain of transmission meeting the standards of Bukhari and Muslim , so there is nothing left for a critic to attack or to Slanderer Disparage concerning the authenticity of the hadith.
Consequently, as for the permissibility of Supplicating Allah (Tawassul) thru Either a living or dead person, it follows by human reason, scholarship, and sentiment, That there is flexibility in the matter. Whoever wants to can Tawassul Either take or leave it, without causing trouble or making accusations, since it has been this thoroughly checked ("Adilla Ahl al-Sunna wa al-Jama'a, 79-83).
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Also see: 

AUTHENTICITY OF THE HADITH OF THE BLIND MAN

Here or view: here
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THE HADITH OF THE MAN IN NEED

Moreover, Tabarani, in his "al-Mu'jam al saghir", reports a hadith from 'Uthman ibn Hunayf  That a man Repeatedly visited Uthman ibn Affan (Allah be pleased with him) concerning something he needed, but Uthman paid no attention to him or his need.

The man met Ibn Hunayf and complained to him about the matter 

* this being after the death (wisal) of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) and after the caliphates of Abu Bakr and Umar -

so Uthman ibn Hunayf, who was one of the Companions who collected Hadiths and was learned in the religion of Allah, said:

"Go to the place of Ablution and Perform Ablution (Wudu), then come to the mosque, Perform two rak'as of prayer therein, and say:

'O Allah, I ask You and turn to You thru our Prophet Muhammad, the Prophet of mercy; O Muhammad (Ya Muhammad), I turn to you thru my Lord, That He may Fulfill my need,'

and mention your need. Then come so that I can go with you [to the caliph Uthman]. "

So the man left and did as he had been Told, then went to the door of Uthman ibn Affan (Allah be pleased with him), and the doorman came, Took him by the hand, brought him to Uthman ibn Affan, and seated him next to him on a cushion.

'Uthman asked, "What do you need?" and the man mentioned what he wanted, and Uthman accomplished it for him, then he said, "I Hadn't remembered your need until just now," adding, "Whenever you need something, just mention it."

Then, the man departed, met Uthman ibn Hunayf, and said to him, "May Allah reward you! He did not see to my need or pay any attention to me until you spoke with him. "

Uthman ibn Hunayf replied, "By Allah, I did 't speak to him, but I have seen a blind man come to the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) and complain to him of the loss of his eyesight. The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, "Can you not bear it? 'And the man replied,' O Messenger of Allah, I do not have anyone to lead me around, and it is a great hardship for me . ' The Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) Told him, 'Go to the place of Ablution and Perform Ablution (Wudu), then pray two rak'as of prayer and make the Supplications.' "

Ibn Hunayf went on, "By Allah, we did not part company or speak long before the man returned to us as if nothing had ever been wrong with him." "



This is an explicit, Unequivocal text from a prophetic Companion proving the legal validity of Tawassul thru the dead. The account has been classified as Rigorously Authenticated =           SAHIH = by Baihaqi, Mundhiri, and Haythami. "

Regarding the Authenticity of this Hadith: 


The Authenticity of Tabarani's hadith of the man in need During the Caliphate of Uthman (Allah be well pleased with him) is not Discussed by the article in detail, but deserves consideration '', since the Explicitly hadith proves the legal validity of Supplicating Allah (Tawassul) through the deceased, for 'Uthman ibn Hunayf (RAand indeed all the prophetic Companions, by scholarly Consensus (ijma '), were legally upright (' Udul), and are above being Impugned with teaching someone an act of Disobedience, much less Idolatry (Shirk).

The hadith is rigorously authenticated (Sahih),
as Tabarani Explicitly states in his "al-al Mu'jam-saghir. "

Hadith specialist Sheikh Shu'ayb Arna'ut , who after examining it, agreed That it was rigorously authenticated (Sahih) as Tabarani indicated, a judgment which was also confirmed to the translator by the Morrocan hadith specialist Sheikh 'Abdullah Muhammad Ghimari , who characterized the hadith as "very rigorously authenticated," That the noted and the hadith masters Haythami and Mundhiri had Explicitly Concurred with Tabarani on its being rigorously authenticated (Sahih).

The Upshot is that the Recommendedness of Tawassul to Allah Most High - thru the living or the dead - is the position of the Shafi'i school, which is why both our author Ibn Naqib Al-Misri, and Imam Nawawi in his "Al-Adhkar (281-282)", and "al-Majmu" explicitly record that " tawassul "through the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) and asking his intercession are recommended.
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Imam al-Bayhaqi (Rahimahullah)'s Dalail an Nubuwah. 
In Muqadmah of this book he made usooli discussion that he will only narrate authentic hadiths. He narrates:
Translation: " A person repeatedly visited Uthman bin Affan (ra) concerning something he needed but Uthman paid no attention to him. The man went to Uthman bin Hunaif (ra) and complained to him about the matter- 
[Note: this was after the demise of the Prophet and after the caliphates of Abu Bakr and Umar ] so Uthman bin Hunaif said : “Go to the place of Wudu, then come to the Masjid, perform two Rak'ats and then say : “O Allah!, I ask you and turn to you through the intercession our Prophet Muhammad, the Prophet of Mercy. O Muhammad! I turn through your intercession to my lord, that He fulfil my need” and mention your need. Then come so that I can go with you [to the caliph Uthman] So the man left and did as he had been told, then went to the door of Uthman ibn Affan (Allah be pleased with him), and the doorman came, took him by the hand, brought him to Uthman ibn Affan, and seated him next to him on a cushion. 'Uthman asked, "What do you need?" and the man mentioned what he wanted, and Uthman accomplished it for him ...(till the end of hadith) 
See [Dalail an Nubuwah (6/167-168)]

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It is a challenge to whole Wahhabism 
to prove the chains in Dalail to be weak.

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Imam Shawkani  [a major authority for the "salafis" due to his stance on Taqlid] says in al-Durr al-nadid fi ikhlas kalimat al-tawhid:

There is no harm in tawassul through any one of the Prophets or Friends of Allah or scholars of knowledge... One who comes to the grave as a visitor (za'iran) and invokes Allah alone, using as his means the dead person in the grave, is as one who says: "O Allah, I am asking that you cure me from such-and-such, and I use as a means to You whatever this righteous servant of Yours possesses for worshipping You and striving for Your sake and learning and teaching purely and sincerely for You." 
Such as this, there is no hesitation in declaring that it is permitted...

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al-Albani says:

"Imaam Ahmad allowed tawassul by means of the Messenger alone, and others such as Imaam ash-Shawkaanee allowed tawassul by means of him and other Prophets and the Pious. However *we [i.e. Albani and his party], as is the case in all matters where there is disagreement, follow whatever is supported by the proof whatever that is, without blindly sticking to the opinions of men." 
[At-Tawassul p. 38]
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Note 
*Albani and his party "forgot" to mention that Imam Malik and Imam Shafi`i also permitting Tawassul! 

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 (Edited by ADHM)


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Confused about The Hadith of The Blind Man & The Man in Need ?
Read Part 2: Here