by invoking the rank of the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—or of other righteous people. They argue that the Prophet taught the blind man to seek tawassul through him in his supplication, the blind man acted accordingly, and his sight was restored.

We, however, hold that this ḥadith offers them no proof for the disputed form of tawassul—namely tawassul through a person’s very essence. On the contrary, it is yet another evidence for the third type of lawful tawassul we mentioned earlier, for the blind man’s tawassul was solely through the Prophet’s supplication.

The proofs for our view, drawn from the very wording of the ḥadith, are numerous; the most important are:

First: The blind man came to the Prophet only so that he would pray for him, as shown by his words, “Pray to Allah that He grant me well-being.” He therefore sought nearness to Allah through the Prophet’s supplication, knowing that the Prophet’s prayer is more likely to be accepted by Allah than anyone else’s. Had the blind man intended tawassul through the Prophet’s person, rank, or right, there would have been no need to visit the Prophet and ask him to pray. He could have remained at home and said, for example, “O Allah, I ask You by the rank of Your Prophet and his standing with You to heal me and restore my sight.” But he did not do so. Why? Because, as an Arab, he fully understood the meaning of tawassul in the Arabic language: it is not merely a phrase uttered by the petitioner in which he names the one through whom he seeks tawassul; rather, it necessarily involves approaching someone he deems righteous and knowledgeable of the Book and Sunnah and requesting that person’s supplication.

Second: The Prophet promised to pray for him while also advising him about what was better for him, saying, “If you wish, I will supplicate; and if you wish, be patient, for that is better for you.” This second point is what the Prophet alluded to in the ḥadith narrated by