so accept his intercession for me.’

Some scholars have taken this ḥadith as evidence that it is permissible to seek Allah’s favor through the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—both during his lifetime and after his death.

They argue that such tawassul (seeking nearness to Allah through a means) contains no invocation of a created being and no plea for deliverance addressed to anyone but Allah. Rather, it is a supplication and an appeal for help directed to Allah alone, though it is couched in a request made by virtue of the Prophet’s rank.

They further cite what is recorded in the Sunan of Ibn Mājah, where the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—mentioned that the one who leaves for the prayer should say:

“O Allah, I ask You by the right of those who petition You and by the right of my setting forth for this prayer. I have not come out in insolence or pride, nor for show or reputation; I have come only to avoid Your displeasure and to seek Your good pleasure. I ask You to save me from the Fire and to forgive me my sins, for none forgives sins except You.”

They say that in this ḥadith he asks by the right of those who beseech Him and by the right of his walking to the prayer, and Allah