Second: even if the ḥadīth were authentic, it would prove nothing beyond what is already proven by the report of ʿUmar and the ḥadīth of the blind man, namely, seeking a means of approach through the supplication of the righteous. Al-Manāwī says in Fayḍ al-Qadīr: “He would istiftah,” meaning he would begin the battle, alluding to the verse, ‘If you seek a judgment, the judgment has now come to you’ (Q 8:19), as al-Zamakhsharī noted. “And he would seek victory (yastanṣir) through the ṣaʿālīk of the Muslims,” that is, through the supplication of their poor who possess no wealth.

I add: this very explanation is found in another wording of the ḥadīth. Al-Nasāʾī recorded it (2/15): “Allah grants victory to this community only through its weak—by their supplications, their prayers, and their sincerity,” and its chain is sound. The original wording is in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī (6/67). The narration clarifies that help is sought through the supplication of the righteous, not through their persons or their rank.

This is further confirmed by the version transmitted earlier through Qays ibn al-Rabīʿ: “He would seek an opening and seek victory….” Hence we know that seeking aid from the righteous is done by means of their supplications, their prayers, and their sincerity, and the same applies to seeking an opening. Accordingly, should the ḥadīth prove authentic, it would constitute evidence for the legitimate form of tawassul and a proof against the innovated form. All praise is due to Allah.

The sixth ḥadīth:

On the authority of ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb, traced back to the Prophet: “When Adam committed the sin he said, ‘My Lord, I ask You by the right of Muhammad to forgive me.’ Allah said, ‘O Adam, and how did you come to know of Muhammad when I have not yet created him?’ He replied, ‘My Lord, when You created me with Your own Hand and breathed into me of Your spirit…’.”