As for seeking nearness to Allah through the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and turning to Allah through him, the Companions used these expressions to mean seeking nearness through his supplication and intercession. In the usage of many later scholars, however, seeking nearness through him means adjuring Allah by him and petitioning Allah by him, just as they adjure Allah by other prophets, righteous people, and those they believe to be righteous.

Thus, the expression “seeking nearness through him” has two meanings that are valid by the agreement of the Muslims, and a third meaning for which no precedent has been transmitted in the Sunnah. As for the first two meanings, which are valid by the agreement of the scholars:

• The first is the very foundation of faith and Islam: seeking nearness to Allah through faith in the Prophet and obedience to him.
• The second is through his supplication and intercession, as explained above.

Both are permissible by the consensus of the Muslims. An example of this is the statement of ʿUmar ibn al-Khattāb:

“O Allah, whenever we suffered drought, we would seek nearness to You through our Prophet, and You would send us rain. Now we seek nearness to You through our Prophet’s uncle, so send us rain.”

That is, through his supplication and intercession. Likewise, Allah Most High says:

“Seek the means of drawing near to Him.”

This means drawing near to Him through obedience to Him; and obedience to His Messenger is obedience to Him. Allah Most High says:

“Whoever obeys the Messenger has indeed obeyed Allah.”

This first form of seeking nearness is the foundation of the religion, and no Muslim denies it. As for seeking nearness through his supplication and intercession—as ʿUmar said—he sought nearness through the Prophet’s supplication, not through his person. This is why they turned from seeking nearness through him to seeking nearness through his uncle al-ʿAbbās. Had this meant seeking nearness through his person, doing so would have been preferable to seeking nearness through al-ʿAbbās. So when they turned from seeking nearness through him to seeking nearness