we were in need of rain, for instance, we would go to the Prophet ﷺ and ask him to pray to Allah, majestic is His glory, on our behalf.
- ʿUmar’s next words place the matter beyond doubt: “And now we seek tawassul with You through the uncle of our Prophet, so send us rain.” In other words, after our Prophet had passed away we came with al-ʿAbbās, the Prophet’s uncle (Allah be pleased with him), and asked him to implore our Lord, exalted be He, to shower us with relief.
Why, then, did ʿUmar abandon tawassul through the Prophet ﷺ and turn instead to al-ʿAbbās, even though, whatever al-ʿAbbās’s standing, it fades before the rank and stature of the Prophet ﷺ?
In our view the answer is clear: tawassul through the Prophet ﷺ is no longer possible after his death. How could they go to him, lay out their situation, ask him to supplicate for them, and say “āmīn” to his prayer when he has departed to the Highest Companion and entered a state utterly unlike the conditions of this world—a reality known only to Allah? How could they hope for his supplication or his intercession when, as Allah Most High says, “And behind them is a barrier until the Day they are resurrected”⦗1⦘?
For that reason ʿUmar—an unadulterated Arab who kept the Prophet’s company in most circumstances, knew him intimately, grasped his religion thoroughly, and whose judgments were confirmed by the Quran on several occasions—resorted to a form of tawassul that was actually possible. He chose al-ʿAbbās for his kinship to the Prophet ﷺ on the one hand, and for his righteousness, piety, and devotion on the other. He asked him to pray for rain and relief. It was inconceivable for ʿUmar, or for anyone else, to forsake tawassul through the Prophet