Interesting hadith

[Shamlawar Khurasani]

I see. Perhaps the following may shed some light on the issue.

Istighathah | Deoband.org

The problem with an article like this is that it requires from the reader to:

- Accept akabir of Deoband as the ones who have final say in matters of religion
- Know who these scholars are and what their status is

How did the Sahaba, the early generations of Muslims, the founders of the 4 main schools of law answer to these questions?

[Talib Jan]

The problem with an article like this is that it requires from the reader to:

- Accept akabir of Deoband as the ones who have final say in matters of religion
- Know who these scholars are and what their status is

How did the Sahaba, the early generations of Muslims, the founders of the 4 main schools of law answer to these questions?

Yes I agree with your points and their validity. Just one thing though, as Muslims we believe that the scholars- in our case, of Ahlus Sunnah wal Jama`ah- are the inheritors of the Prophet salla Allahu `alayhi wa sallam which gives them authority (hence why they're referred to as '`ulul amr' in the Qur'an) in transmitting what they deem to be the soundest position according to the Qur'an, Sunnah and understanding of the salaf and the righteous scholars after them. And this is why the concept of isnad (chain of Islamic scholarship back to the Prophet) is so highly regarded in the orthodox Sunni school. That being said, this doesn't necessitate that a scholar who possesses isnad will be flawless but rather that different groups of scholarship from various parts of the world will more or less agree on the major issues of the religion with differences in furu`, or secondary aspects.

Therefore, Deoband is just one of those schools of traditional Islamic scholarship which attempts to present a sound (and correct, according to them) opinion on this issue. I have read and learned from those of other schools who also hold the same opinion, while others who disagree but to me it seems like an issue of difference in terminology and not `aqidah. But to avoid this ambiguity and to exercise the well-know principle of 'sadd ad-dara`i' ('blocking the means', in this case to shirk haqqiqi), I think the best approach is that of the Deobandi scholars on this issue while as a non-scholar remaining silent regarding those who hold another viewpoint.

[badmash_khel]

We can not take isolated hadiths from hadith books and come to our own conclusion and derive our own rulings. This way every Tom D!ick and Harry will have their own madhab.

Tawassul is allowed in all four madhabs wether through the living or dead prophets, awliya etc.

Here are some answers for those who follow the Hanafi madhab
Tawassul: Supplicating Allah through an Intermediary - Qibla Library - Articles

Tawassul of `Umar through al-`Abbas (Allah be pleased with them)