BASIC CONCEPTIONS OF INTERMEDIATION (توسل)

 BASIC CONCEPTIONS OF INTERMEDIATION (توسل)

The relevance and wholesomeness of the concept of intermediation is an established fact. The negation of this reality is in fact the negation of the Qur’ānic injunctions. This attitude is simply inconceivable for any Muslim, irrespective of his group affiliation. Intermediation is a twofold act: on the one hand, it acknowledges the humility and helplessness of the creature who has a pressing need to be fulfilled; on the other hand, it asserts the superiority of an act which has been hallowed by divine sanction, or of a personage who enjoys divine approval through a series of noble deeds. The idea behind intermediation is not to vitiate or supplant divine authority but to facilitate the acceptance of human needs through the act of prayer. Thus the act of intermediation involves a sliding-scale of graded functions: at the bottom is the humble creature who hopes for a favourable divine response; in the middle is the sanctified act or the personage who has developed closer affiliation with God through meditation, prayer and human service and at the top is God Himself Who Alone possesses the power to grant the prayer.

The concept does not imply that the intermediary will grant the prayer or that he will pressurize God to grant the prayer of an individual or condone his sins. This is an egregious misconception, which haunts the minds of a number of people. In fact, the prayee believes that when he mediates his prayer through divinely blessed persons, after positing his own helplessness and after articulating the praise of God, He will fulfil his need as a token of courtesy to the intermediary. He does not even have the creeping notion that the intermediary is a partner in divinity. It is, therefore, vitally significant to grasp the reality of intermediation to obviate any misunderstanding, especially on the part of those who are prone to interpreting it in a characteristically un-Islamic sense.

It should be understood at the very outset that intermediation is only a form of prayer to be answered by God Alone. The intermediary is only a medium who serves as a means to activate the process of its fulfilment.

It should also be noted that the choice of an intermediary depends on two vital factors; first he is loved by the prayee and secondly he is also loved by God. Therefore, to love someone simply because he is loved by God is in itself a virtuous act, so his choice as an intermediary becomes indisputable. This is the factual position and if someone harps on another string, he is not only mistaken but is also committing an ignominious deed. This contention is easily endorsed by the logic of commonsense. If the prayee believes that the intermediary can harm or benefit like God, he is guilty of a heinous sin and will be dismissed as a believer on the basis of this erroneous belief.

Besides, it is not necessary that mediation alone should serve as a guarantee for the realization of prayer, because Allah says:

And (O beloved,) when My servants ask you about Me, (tell them,) “I am Near.”[1]

(O beloved,) say, “Call upon Allah or call upon ar-Rahmān (the most Merciful), by whichever name you call on Him, His are the most beautiful names.”[2]

The misunderstanding that intermediation is a form of coercion should end now as the intermediary cannot force God to grant a prayer against His Own will. No one can dictate to Him, we can only beseech Him. It is only an expression of His infinite mercy that he has upscaled some of His creatures on the grounds of their love and obedience and turned them into agents of redemption for millions of ordinary people who, without their mediation, might have drifted in sheer hopelessness and frustration. This is an indirect divine recognition of their services that God puts a positive spin on whatever is associated with them. It is for the same reason that sacred places and objects are offered as means. The purpose is to boost human expectation for the divine reprieve.

Different views about intermediation (توسل)

There is complete agreement on some aspects of intermediation while a fractious climate of opinion marks its other aspects.

The Muslim scholars agree that virtuous deeds like prayer, fasting, pilgrimage to Makkah, zakat and recitation of the holy Qur’ān can serve as legitimate means of intermediation. There are, of course, some people who deny intermediation without action (passive intermediation) i.e. through prophets, righteous ones, saints and relics, though the Muslim scholars have affirmed the possibility of intermediation through these means. These differences have been eloquently highlighted by Muhammad bin ‘Alawī al-Mālikī:

“The conflicting view relates to intermediation without action (passive intermediation), i.e. when individuals and personalities are taken as means, for example, to say, “O God, I take Your Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) as an intermediary to You,” or “I take Abū Bakr as-Siddīq or ‘Umar bin al-Khattāb or ‘Uthmān or ‘Alī as intermediaries to You.” Some scholars treat it as forbidden. I believe that this difference is only superficial because in intermediation through an individual, the intermediary powers are vested in that individual on the basis of his deeds and intermediation through action is unanimously acceptable. People who deny intermediation have adopted a stubborn posture. If they had cared to look at the problem perceptibly, it would have cleared up, the doubts would have vanished and the conflict would have resolved which has led them to hurl unsavoury allegations against the Muslims. Intermediation without action is actually attributed to the intermediary and he has acquired this status on the basis of his actions. A man tends to choose someone as his intermediary because he loves him and reposes unqualified trust in his spiritual superiority as a consequence of this love, or he believes the intermediary is loved by Allah Himself. As He says:

(Allah) loves them and they love Him.[3]

Or he believes that all these qualities are found in the intermediary. If you reflect on it, you are bound to find this matrix of love. And this belief is the action of the intermediary because belief is a form of action, which grips his heart. The intermediatee seems to say:

“O, my Lord! Undoubtedly, I love such and such person and I truly believe that he also loves You, he is Your loyal servant and he wages jihad for Your sake, and I believe You love him too, and You are pleased with him, and I offer him as an intermediary on account of my love for him, and I believe You will grant my prayer.”

“But there are a number of religious scholars (intermediationists) who limit its scope to the One Whose knowledge spans the secrets of the heavens and the earth and Who can detect the waywardness of the eyes and penetrate the secrets of the hearts. A person who says, “I take the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) as my intermediary,” and the other who says, “I take the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) as my intermediary because I love him,” are both on the same footing because he has chosen the first source of intermediation on the basis of his trust in the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) and his love for him. If the prayee had not loved and trusted the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم), he would not have chosen him as his intermediary. The same applies to the saints and the holy personages.

“This discussion lifts the haze off of the concept of intermediation. It clearly shows that the difference is only superficial and does in no way insinuate that the prayees (intermediatees) should be maligned as non-believers and chucked out of the fold of Islam. It is a moral stigma.”[4]

True sense of the concept of intermediation (توسل)

Some people are reluctant to pray through the mediation of the holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) on account of lack of knowledge. They think that praying through mediation is incompatible with praying directly to Allah. This attitude is grounded in a misunderstanding of the Qur’ānic verses, which enjoin upon the believers to pray directly to Allah and to eschew associating partners with Him. As a result of misinterpretation they believe that to approach Allah through an intermediary amounts to a denial of divine unity. This conception is based on ignorance and misunderstanding and we should try to correct it. To approach Allah while praying, through a prophet or a messenger, a holy person or a pious deed, is neither a denial of the oneness of Allah nor is it inconsistent with an unmediated appeal to Him.

In spite of the intermediation, we pray to Allah directly and not to the intermediary. One commits the act of denying Allah only when he, in opposition to Him, regards someone else as the arbitrator of profit and loss, as the absolute power and as the granter of prayers. But the situation here does not warrant any such development. The prayer is submitted only to Allah, and while appealing to Him to grant these needs and desires, the mediation of the holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم), a saintly person or a pious deed is cited because they enjoy Allah’s love and favour and, therefore, He has greater regard for them than for other creatures. So such form of intermediation not only makes the words of prayer more effective but also raises its chances of acceptance by Allah. Now his prayer is not a simple prayer, it is rather a blend of his request and divine love. The urgency of his need combines with Allah’s magnanimity and acquires a holier complexion. It should be noted that the grant of prayers is not contingent on mediation but it definitely expedites their fulfilment. The holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) himself instructed his companions to pray through his mediation as we come to know through a tradition narrated by ‘Uthmān bin Hunayf that the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) taught a blind man to pray:

O Allah, I appeal to You, and submit to You through the mediation of the merciful Prophet Muhammad. O Muhammad, through your mediation I submit myself to my Lord to have my need granted. O Allah, acknowledge his intercession in my favour.[5]

‘Umar used to pray for rain through the mediation of the Prophet’s uncle ‘Abbās as is attributed to Anas.[6] Once when Medina was in the grip of a severe drought, ‘Ā’ishah asked some of the Companions and residents of the city to visit the holy Prophet’s grave, and on account of his blessings, it rained in buckets.[7]

In short, this blessed act has been popular and prevalent from the days of Adam (عليه السلام) and other prophets to the period of the holy prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم), the Companions and the Successors and right down to the present-day Muslims. Now some people, hopelessly deficient in a correct understanding of dīn, are raising unfounded objections against its efficacy, and treating it as a challenge to the uniqueness of Allah. Therefore, it is imperative that the injunctions of Shariah should be understood in their true essence and perspective so that we do not distort them for lack of knowledge and understanding.