—they would not have turned away from tawassul through his very person ﷺ to tawassul through al-ʿAbbās’s supplication, as has already been noted.

Fourth: ʿUmar was not the only one who abandoned tawassul by the Prophet’s person ﷺ in favor of tawassul by supplication; Muʿāwiyah ibn Abī Sufyān did the same. He sought rain through the supplication of Yazīd ibn al-Aswad and made no tawassul through the Prophet ﷺ even though a number of Companions and renowned Successors were present. Shall we also claim that Muʿāwiyah and those with him were ignorant of the ḥadīth of the blind man? The same question may be asked concerning Ḍaḥḥāk ibn Qays, who likewise sought tawassul through this same Yazīd.

The author of al-Miṣbāḥ then advanced yet another answer, an argument repeated by certain ill-guided partisans. They said that ʿUmar’s intention in appealing to al-ʿAbbās was merely to emulate the Prophet ﷺ in honoring and venerating al-ʿAbbās. They assert that this is stated explicitly from ʿUmar, for al-Zubayr ibn Bakkār relates in al-Ansāb—through Dāwūd ibn ʿAṭāʾ, from Zayd ibn Aslam, from Ibn ʿUmar—that:

“During the Year of Ashes, ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb sought rain through al-ʿAbbās ibn ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib. ʿUmar addressed the people, saying, ‘The Messenger of Allah ﷺ regarded al-ʿAbbās as a child regards his father; so follow, O people, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and take him as a means to Allah….’”

Al-Balādhurī recorded the same through Hishām ibn Saʿd, from Zayd ibn Aslam, from his father.

The reply comprises several points:

First: we do not concede the soundness of this report. Its chain contains Dāwūd ibn ʿAṭāʾ al-Madanī, who is weak, as stated in al-Taqrīb. Al-Ḥākim transmitted it (3/334) from al-Zubayr ibn Bakkār and remained silent, but al-Dhahabī commented, “Dāwūd is discarded.” I add: the transmitter from him, Sāʿidah ibn ʿUbayd Allah al-Muzanī, has not