Chapter One: Tawassul in Language and in the Qur’an

The Meaning of Tawassul in Classical Arabic

Before we examine the subject in detail, I wish to draw attention to one of the main reasons many people misunderstand the concept of tawassul, broaden it unduly, and introduce into it elements that do not belong there: they have not grasped its linguistic sense or its original connotation. The word tawassul is an authentic Arabic term that appears in the Qur’an, the Sunnah, and the speech of the Arabs in both poetry and prose. At its core it signifies seeking closeness to the desired object and striving to reach it with earnest longing.

Ibn al-Athir states in al-Nihayah: “al-waasil is the one who earnestly seeks; al-waseelah is nearness, an intermediary, or anything by which one gains access to something and draws close to it; its plural is wasa’il.”
Al-Fayruzabadi says in al-Qamus: “Wasala to Allah in tawassul means: he performed a deed by which he sought nearness to Him—that is, he practiced tawassul.”
Ibn Faris writes in Maqayis al-Lughah: “al-waseelah denotes desire and request. One says wasala when he longs for something; al-waasil is the one who yearns toward Allah.” He cites the verse of Labid:
I see that people are heedless of the true worth of their affair;
Yet every person of faith yearns toward Allah.

Al-Raghib al-Asfahani, in al-Mufradat, likewise affirms: “al-waseelah is the means of attaining…"