is that Allah the Exalted has legislated three kinds of tawassul and encouraged His servants to employ them. Some of these are explicitly mentioned in the Quran, and the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) himself practiced them and urged others to follow suit. None of these sanctioned forms involves appealing to people’s persons, prestige, merits, or spiritual stations. This indicates that such practices are not legally endorsed and do not fall under the general term al-wasīlah (the “means”) referred to in the two preceding verses.