although i respect you and hold you dear, i do not respect that opinion and nor is it free from having ta'an practiced on it, because while this maybe the opinions of "some" scholars, it was never an opinion in any of the first, well actually first 3 generations. whatever was not islam with them cannot be islam now.
That is why the majority have opined that this opinion was a bid'a, hence its ruling and the attitude practiced towards it, particualrly by me.

Since we are on the topic, maybe you could bring some evidences as to why you follow this opinion.

asalamu alaikum

I have not been able to understand the "dispute" of Tawassul.
There are so many prayers by Prophets recorded in the

1. Holy Quran
2. Sahi ahdiths

Does anyone of them show this "Tawassul"? If not then what is debate for?
The Holy Quran and Sunnah are the standard.No one else.
The Holy Quran calls itself as

1. Meezaan = Standard for every opinion whether that is right or wrong
2. Furqan = A tool which differentiates between "Haq" and "Batil"
3. Burhaan = Argument

Best of luck

dear brother
asalamu alaikum.

You have to understand ONE THING in particular. That there were some from among this ummah who wished to implore the practices of jahiliyyah. Thus they used the quraan for their shubuhaat (satanic douubts). This setting gained much momentum under the guise of "the path to ihsaan and zuhd i.e. tassawuf.

And here are the quranic references "used' for the promotion of the jahiliyyah arguements.

The two main proofs, or actually the only two is

1. the quranic ayaah with the wording that goes like, well I can't find the ayaah so ill say by memory

"And that they seek the means of approach to Allah"


2. I forget this refence ayaah as well but it goes along he lines of

"Had they come to you (oh muhammad) when they were in the wrong, and sought your foregiveness"

Might I add to this ayaah the fact that there is a report that a lesser companion after the prophet died actully came to he grave of the prophet.

So you see, akhee their arguement is based on the assumption that the quraan condones the act, as i said, the key word here is "assumption"

However when these texts are analysed along with contexytual poof form other ibaarah an-nass, as well as underlying statements of the sahaba and the salaf, one willeasily land on a totally clearer, orthodox, approach to the matter as opposed to the unorthodox, doubtful approach.


so no matter how grossly misinterpreted these versus are in the support of bi'i or unfounded type tawassul, the founation for their dispute is still the quraan.

I had brought somehting in this regard long ago and I think it would be befiting to post it here.

asalamu alaikum

I think you are referring to the Aya :
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ اتَّقُواْ اللّهَ وَابْتَغُواْ إِلَيهِ الْوَسِيلَةَ وَجَاهِدُواْ فِي سَبِيلِهِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ﴿5:35﴾

(5:35) Believers! Fear Allah and seek the means to come near to Him, *58 and strive hard in His way; *59 maybe you will attain true success

But before discussing to the exact meaning of "wasila" which is being used a tool for misguidance ,let me tell you that concept of "intermediary" was already prevailing when the Holy Quran was revealed.Even the Mushrikeen of Mekka used to worship idols of Pious people not thinking them as "Allah" rather they used to take them as "intermediary".This is apparent from this Aya

مَا نَعْبُدُهُمْ إِلَّا لِيُقَرِّبُونَا إِلَى اللَّهِ زُلْفَى

and justify their conduct, saying): "We worship them only that they may bring us closer to Allah.

The minds of people were in complete control of these "Religious Leader" and the Quran tells us in the way:

اتَّخَذُواْ أَحْبَارَهُمْ وَرُهْبَانَهُمْ أَرْبَابًا مِّن دُونِ اللّهِ

9:31) They have made their scholars and monks as their Lords beside Allah,

And these leaders used to Cheat them of money :

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ إِنَّ كَثِيرًا مِّنَ الأَحْبَارِ وَالرُّهْبَانِ لَيَأْكُلُونَ أَمْوَالَ النَّاسِ بِالْبَاطِلِ وَيَصُدُّونَ عَن سَبِيلِ اللّهِ

(9:34) O Believers, indeed most of the scholars and monks of the people of the Book devour the wealth of others by evil means, and debar them

[b]But When Quran came one of its major tasks was that it released the people of these "Grips[/B]"

وَيَضَعُ عَنْهُمْ إِصْرَهُمْ وَالأَغْلاَلَ الَّتِي كَانَتْ عَلَيْهِمْ

and relieves them of their burden and the shackles which were upon them
(Note:Words are worth noting)

A REVOLUTIONARY PRINCIPLE WHICH DOES NOT EXEMPT EVEN PROPHETS:
مَا كَانَ لِبَشَرٍ أَن يُؤْتِيَهُ اللّهُ الْكِتَابَ وَالْحُكْمَ وَالنُّبُوَّةَ ثُمَّ يَقُولَ لِلنَّاسِ كُونُواْ عِبَادًا لِّي مِن دُونِ اللّهِ وَلَـكِن كُونُواْ رَبَّانِيِّينَ بِمَا كُنتُمْ
تُعَلِّمُونَ الْكِتَابَ وَبِمَا كُنتُمْ تَدْرُسُونَ﴿3:79﴾
(3:79) It does not befit a man that Allah should grant him His Book and sound judgement and prophet-hood, and thereafter he should say to men: 'Become servants to me apart from Allah.' He would rather say: 'Become dedicated men of Allah, *67 in accord with the dictates of the Book you have been teaching and studying.

This was in reality freedom of thought which established a DIrect Link between mankind and Allah Almighty;And Allah declared :
وَإِذَا سَأَلَكَ عِبَادِي عَنِّي فَإِنِّي قَرِيبٌ أُجِيبُ دَعْوَةَ الدَّاعِ إِذَا دَعَانِ

(2:186) And if My servants ask you, O Prophet. concerning Me, tell them that I am quite near to them. I hear and answer the prayer of the suppliant, when he calls to Me.

Not only this declaration rather Allah promises :

وَقَالَ رَبُّكُمُ ادْعُونِي أَسْتَجِبْ لَكُمْ

(40:60) Your *82 Lord says: "Call upon Me. I will answer your prayers

Note : No intemediary between mankind and His creator

When we recite Sura Fateha ,we declare two Links between us and Almighty Allah
;إِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ وإِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِينُ ﴿1:5﴾

(1:5) You alone do we worship *6, and You alone do we turn for help

No intermediary between our "ibaada " and Him and similarly no intermediary in "Istiaana" between us and HIm

What is meant by WASEELA which we quoted in the first Aya:
Arabic Dictionary of Misbah Ul Munir :

( و س ل ) : وَسَلْتُ إلَى اللَّهِ بِالْعَمَلِ أَسِلُ مِنْ بَابِ وَعَدَ رَغِبْتُ وَتَقَرَّبْتُ وَمِنْهُ اشْتِقَاقُ الْوَسِيلَةِ وَهِيَ مَا يُتَقَرَّبُ بِهِ إلَى الشَّيْءِ وَالْجَمْعُ الْوَسَائِلُ وَالْوَسِيلُ قِيلَ جَمْعُ وَسِيلَةٍ وَقِيلَ لُغَةٌ فِيهَا وَتَوَسَّلَ إلَى رَبِّهِ بِوَسِيلَةٍ تَقَرَّبَ إلَيْهِ بِعَمَلٍ.

In short according to it waseela is the means to get near to Allah and that is with GOOD DEEDS)

Even the different Tafasirs are giving the exactly the same meaning.No one has mentioned any "Righteous ,pious or prophet " as intermediary.According to them the mean of getting near to Allah is

1. Good deeds
2. Avoidance of Sins

تفسير الطبري - (ج 10 / ص 290)
"وابتغوا إليه الوسيلة"، يقول: واطلبوا القربة إليه بالعمل بما يرضيه. (2)
* * *
و"الوسيلة": هي"الفعيلة" من قول القائل:"توسلت إلى فلان بكذا"، بمعنى: تقرَّبت إليه،

تفسير الألوسي - (ج 4 / ص 470)
{ الوسيلة } هي فعيلة بمعنى ما يتوسل به ويتقرب إلى الله عز وجل من فعل الطاعات وترك المعاصي من وسل إلى كذا أي تقرب إليه بشيء

زاد المسير - (ج 2 / ص 206)
قوله تعالى : { وابتغوا إِليه الوسيلة } في «الوسيلة» قولان .
أحدهما : أنها القربة ، قاله ابن عباس ، وعطاء ، ومجاهد ، والفراء . وقال قتادة : تقربوا إِليه بما يرضيه . قال أبو عبيدة : يقال توسلت إِليه ، أي : تقرّبت إِليه . وأنشد :
إِذا غفل الواشُونَ عُدْنَا لِوَصِْلَنا ... وَعَاَد التَّصَافي بيننا وَالوَسَائلُ
والثاني : المحبة ، يقول : تحببوا إِلى الله ، هذا قول ابن زيد

تفسير الثعالبي - (ج 1 / ص 411)
{ الوسيلة } : القُرْبَةُ
تفسير الثعالبي - (ج 1 / ص 411)
وقد فسر النبيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم الوسيلةَ التي كان يَرْجُوها من ربه ، « وأَنَّهَا دَرَجَةٌ فِي الجَنَّةِ لاَ يَنْبَغِي أَنْ تَكُونَ إلاَّ لِعَبْدٍ مِنْ عِبَادِ اللَّهِ ، وَأَرْجُو أَنْ أَكُونَ أَنَا هُوَ
الكشاف - (ج 2 / ص 23)
لوسيلة : كل ما يتوسل به أي يتقرّب من قرابة أو صنيعة أو غير ذلك ، فاستعيرت لما يتوسل به إلى الله تعالى من فعل الطاعات وترك المعاصي
You may differ but it is what I understand.
Best of luck

Removed long quote.

well i agree with all you brought, Im not against you. but i htink you may have been a little restrictive with regard to wasela

you see, according to the interpretation of he majoirty of scholars, tawassul meant to "follow the prophet" i.e. the sunnah. I will clarify this inshallah in my next post with other added things to it.


and lastly, i dont think it is good for yourself to say "best of luck" rather you could say mabrook.

asalamu alaikum

I agree with you
Waseela = Taqarrub Illah = تقرب الى الله
What can be more effecient mean than following the Holy prophet and that is Ad-Deen (Quran /Sunna)???
Follow this Ad-Deen and you will get Taqarrub illahi.
Best of luck (Mabrook)

Ar-Rasa’il Aqeedatu-Ashaabul-Hadeeth fi Tawassul

Inal-hamdulillah wa salatu wa salamu 'ala ashraafil anbiyaa e wal mursaleen, wa salatu wa salamu ana nabiyeen wa ala aalihi wa sahbihi ajma'een
Ya ayuu ahlil-ikhwaa wal akhwaat, asalamu alaikum warahmatullahi wa barakatuhu wa maghfirtuhu

Muqadimah

Im preparing this risaalah for those wishing to read the creed of the Righteous Imaams of ahlu-sunnati wal-athaar on their positions and statements regarding at-Tawassul.

In the beginning I have brought the definition of the word "Tawassul" to clarify what is actually being discussed.

Another point in clarifying the outline of this article is that the requester of this information did not give precedence to the quraanic ayaah and hadeeth on the view of tawassul under the pretext of "throwing our own (the salafee tafseer) opinion into the meaning of tawassul". So in trying to please Allah and appease my brother I have not added the quraanic ayaah or hadeeth in its initial opening like all other books of the Imaams are done, yet I have added them where I have deemed necessary to prove a point

A. The Discussion on Tawassul

Of course in this topic one must know the definition of the matter discussed.

at-Tawassul- this word in the arabic as is referenced repeatedly in the quraan and the hadeeth in the linguistic meaning refers literally to seek the means to draw closer to what one needs and desires.

Imaam ar-Raazi has stated that "tawassul', as a religious term, entails drawing closer to Allah by performing good deeds" (Mukhtar As-Sihah)

Haafidh in Katheer said in his tafseer

"al-Wasilah (root word of tawassul) is the means that one uses to obtain a need. al-Wasilah is also the best grade grade in paradise, the grade of the Messenger of Allah that is his residence in paradise"further stated by Ibn Katheer
"Oh ye who beleive, do your duty to Allah and fear Him. Seek al-Wasilah to Him"
Ibn Katheer reported that Ibn abbass had stated that al-Wasilah here means good deeds. This is also the tafseer of the mujtahid Imaams Mujaahid, Abu Wa'il, Hasan al-Basri, Qatadah, as-Suddi, ibn Zayd and others who are all noted Imaams and mufassireen.
Ibn Katheer added that Qatadah said that the ayaah means "draw closer to Allah by obeying Him and by performing the deeds that please Him", then, Ibn Katheer commented on this that this tafseer by these scholars is unopposed.

About the Ayah “ Seek Waseelah to Him”, Hanafi scholars said in tafseer "Seek Qurbah of Allah with actions of obedience and leaving sins”

Abu Layth Samarqandi, one of the big Hanafi scholar said about this Ayah : "Meaning seek Qurbah and Fadeelah with good deeds”

Imam Abu Su’ood Al ‘Imadi al Hanafi said in his tafseer
“It is Fa’eelatun with meaning what we do Tawassul with to Allah from actions of obedience and leaving sins”

Also an-Nassafi mentioned in Madariku Tanzeel that Tawassul as been used to
“What we do Tawassul with to Allah with actions of good and leaving sins”

Imam Mahmood Aloosi and his son Nu’man followed him :
“This is Fa’eelatun with meaning of what one does tawassul with from actions of obedience and leaving sins” and some people took daleel from this ayah to justify istighathah (to call upon others besides Allah) from Saliheen, making them Waeelah between Allah and slaves, and Qasam on Allah for them is to say : “O Allah we do Qasam on you with Fulan that you give us that” and some of them say to the absent or dead from pious slaves of Allah : “ Ya Fulan, invoke Allah that He gives us Rizq this and that”, and they think that it is from chapter of seeking Waseelah, and they tell from the Prophet saw : “ When things are difficult for you, then go to Ahle Quboor or seek help from Ahle Quboor” ( a fabricated narration), and all of this is far from the truth”

( Rooh Al Ma’ani v 6 p 124-125, Jala ul Aynayn p 494)

Imam Haskafi said in Durul Mukhtar, Fasl fil Bay’ :
“And in Tatar Khaniyah Ma’ziyan lil Muntaqa, from Abu Yussuf from Abu Haneefah : “ One should not invoke Allah except with Himself, and the Du’ah permitted in it and prescribed is what is taken from His Saying : “ And for Allah are beautiful Names, invoke with them” ( A’raf, 180), and this saying is makrooh : : Bi Haqq of Your Prophets or Nabi or Awliyah…”

Ibn Abideen As Shamee said in explanation of “except with Himself” : “ Meaning with his Dhat, His Sifat and His Names”

Allamah Rustami Al Hanafi said :
“Know that in this saying ( of Abu Haneefah) there is restriction to Tawassul of Tawassul Ismi in du’a in Names of Allah and His Sifat. And the condition of these muqalideen is that they leave the saying of their Imam, and follow their desire without knowledge…and our shaykh ( Ar Ribati) Al fadil Al Allamah Al Adeeb, Jami’ Al Ma’qool and Manqool, one of the Afadil Hanafiyah fair refuting Quburiyah, has some Kalam important in istidlal from this saying of Imam Abu Haneefah, and he quoted sayings of Hanafi scholars cutting backs of Quburiyah…” ( Tibyan p 182 of Rustami, see also “Kowakib Ad Duriyah fi tahqeeq Waseelah Shar’iyah” p 125 of Ribati Al Hanafi”

Mahmood Aloosi Sahib Roohul Ma’ani said about Tawassul of Sahabah :

“That one seek Du’a, Shafa’ah, so the Tawassul and Tawajuh is in truth with his du’ah and his Shafa’ah, and this is from what is not forbidden, as for what is in language of a lot of people, that meaning is to ask Allah with his dhaat, and do Qasam on him with it, this is subject of dispute, and you have known words on it, and it has been put in Iqsam not legislated the saying of someone : “ O Allah, I ask you with status ( Jahun) of Fulan” because this is not proven from any of the salaf that he invoked like that…And Tahqiq of kalam in this topic is that istighathah from creation, and making him a waseelah in meaning of asking for his du’a, there is no doubt for its permissibility, if the one asked is alive, and if the asked is dead or absent, then it is not hidden for the scholar that it is not permissible, and it is from the innovations that none of the Salaf did, and none of the Salaf came with this, while they were most desiring people from creation to do good deeds…and Taj Subki insulted Al Majd ( Ibn Taymiyah), as it is his ‘adat (meaning that it is the usual character of subki to act as a bigot as he is well known for this among the scholars) and said : “ And tawassul is Hassan, and Istighathah with Nabi saw to the Lord, and none from the Salaf or khalaf denied this until Ibn Taymiyah came, and he denied this, and deviated from Sirat Mustaqeem, and innovated…. (Al Aloosi answered ) : “And you know that Du’a Mathoorah from pure Ahle Bayt and others from Aimah, there is not in them Tawassul with his Respected Dhat…the one who claims a text, then he should present it”

Thus what Mahmud al-aloosi is saying in reply to as-subki is in order for your claim to be repected as "legitimate" then bring forth the claims that allow you to hold such beleifs, otherwise you will forever be rendered in the realm of bida and inacceptence.

( Rooh Al Ma’ani v 6 p 126-127 and Jala Ul Aynayn of his son Nu’man Al Aloosi p 497-498)

And Shukri Aloosi, great son of Mahmood Aloosi said in Ghayatul Amani in refutation of Nabbahani about Tawassul with du’a : “ And this is done with alive, and not dead, and this is tawassul with their du’a and their Shafa’ah, because the alive is sought for that, and for the dead, nothing is sought from him, not du’a nor anything else” ( Ghayatul Amani v 2 p 335)

For more on Tawassul and other innovations of graves, see the book of Nu’man Al Aloosi Al Hanafi “ Jala ul Aynayn fi Muhakamati baynal Ahmadayn” in which he refutes Ibn Hajar Al Haytami’s attack against ibn Taymiyah, on Tawassul, ibn Arabi, taqleed, Asma wa Sifat, Ismah of Anbiyah and many other attacks of AL Haytami, that Al Aloosi called unjust and leaving ways of scholars by attributing things to ibn Taymiyah he never said.

Also Ziyaratul Qubur of Al Barkawi Al Hanafi, Majalis ul Abrar of Roomi Al Hanafi, Khazeenatul Asraar translation of Majalis ul Abrar of Subhan Baksh Al Hindi Al Hanafi for refutation of innovated Tawassul that are done on graves of Saliheen, the many books of Shukri Al Aloosi against Yussuf Nabbahani Ash Shazili.


Now I beleive I shall bring the Indo pak monster on this discussion

In Faydul Bari, Kitab Jihad, v 3 p 434, al-Alaamah al-Imaam Anwar Shah Kashmiri said

Chapter : “ One who seeks help with weak and Salihin”
Know that the tawassul for Salaf was not as it is practiced between us, because when they wanted to do Tawassul with someone, they went to the one they wanted to do tawassul with, also with him, so he makes du’a for them, and they sought help from Allah, making du’a to Him, hoping His answer…

As for the Tawassul with names of Salihin, as it is known in our time, in which the one who is done tawassul with is not aware of our tawassul, rather his being alive is not a condition, and tawassul is only done with mention of their names, thinking they have status in front of Allah, and acceptation, so Allah will not make ( du’a) vain with mention of their names.

This matter, I do not like to enter it, nor do I claim any prove from Salaf, nor do I make Inkar. Look at Shami for that.

As for His Saying : “ Seek Waseelah to Him”, this, even if it necessitates seeking of Wasilah, there is no proof for Tawassul with only names, and Ibn Taymiyah went to its forbiddance, and Sahibu Durul Mukhtar enabled it, but he did not give any text from Salaf.: end of Kashmiri’s words

Anwar Shah Kashmiri also says in Faydul bari, Abwabul Witr v 2 p 379 :

“Allah we used to do tawassul with our Prophet saw” : There is not in this ( shar’i tawassul mentioned in hadeeth) the Tawassul known, that is done secretly, until he has no perception from basis ( meaning the one who is done tawassul with has no knowledge of that), rather there is in this the Tawassul of Salaf, and it is to come to a man of Satus in front of Allah, and he asks him to invoke Allah…as was done with Abbas, uncle of the Prophet saw, it was Tawassul of mutaakhireen, then why did they need to go to Abbas with them, Tawassul with their Prophet saw after his death was sufficient for them, or with Abbas without his presence, and this kind of things is permissible for mutakhireen, and Hafiz ibn Taymiyah forbade this, and I am doubtful ( mutraddidun) in this, because a text from Imam came in quoting of Qadoori that Iqsam to Allah without His Names is not permissible, and he took from negation of Iqasam negation of Tawassul, and if tawassul is Iqasam, then the case is as said by Ibn Taymiyah, and if it is not Iqsam, it remains permissible.

As for taking ( daleel) from his saying saw “ You are given Rizq with your weak” then this is not supporting this, because it is not Tawassul, but the meaning is that Allah gives you your rizq with Ri’ayat ( taking care) of weak and Ri’ayah of their being with them, not the Tawassul with toungue : “ Allah give us Rizq with Waseelah of Fulan”…

End of Kashmiri’s words

Oh student and seeker of knowledge and truth, how clear it is to understand the truth and from where falsehood departs from it.



[b]Tawassul as Worship

The Messenger of Allah (sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam) said:

“If you ask in prayer then ask only Allah, and if you seek help, seek it only from Allah.” (Reported by Ibnu Abbaas and collected by at-Tirmidhee. See Imam an-Nawawee’s 40 Hadeeth)

“Du’aa (invoking or calling upon) is worship.” (Sunan Abu Dawood vol.1 p387 no.1474)

And I (Allah) created not the jinn’s and humans except they should worship Me (Alone). (adh-Dhariyat 51:56)

Say (O Muhammad sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam): Verily, my Salat (prayer), my sacrifice, my living, and my dying are for Allah, the Lord of the 'Alamin (mankind, jinn’s and all that exists). (al-An'am 6:162)

Now it must be pointed out for further understanding of the matter that tawassul implies both religious and material. as for the material type, it entails the material means and methods that will help people attain benefit that ALlah has created for them on earth. This type of tawassul is the same for both beleivers and disbeleivers. Example, water is needed to quench thirst, and food is needed to satisfy hunger. So food is the wasilah of hunger and water is the wasilah of thirst.

As for the religious wasilah, it entails every method that help obtain the religious objectives that ALlah has legislated in His Book or by the tongue of His messenger in the sunnah. This type is exclusive for the beleivers, those who seek to obey Allah's commandments and satisfy the obligations that He has required them to fulfill. This type of wasilah also includes the uttering of the shahadah with sincerity, knowledge, love, and certainty of it (the shahadah). The shahada is a waasilah for the soul to be saved from the hellfire.

as for the religious wasilah, mankind is by defualt unable and religiously crippled to uncover the knowledge of religious wasilah except throuhg revelation. Hence the Past Imaams of the sunnah have stated that "Everything in the dunya (worldly affairs) is halal (permissible) unless there is a text making it haraam (impermissible), and everything in the ibaadah (Worship) is forbidden unless there is a text allowing it"

The legal types of tawassul are three

Tawassul by Allah's names and attributes, tawassul by the righteous and good deeds that one performs, and tawassul by soliciting the du'aa of a righteous, living person.

Tawassul to Allah by invoking His Most Beutiful of Names and Perfect Attributes is legislated for muslims, according to the Quraan and Sunnah and the consensus of the scholars of Islam throughout the ages.

The proof for this is that Allah said "And the Most Beautiful Names belong to Allah, so call on Him by them, and leave the company of those who belie or deny His Names"

As for the legislated tawassul by the righteous, good deeds that one performed, then invoking Allah by the slave's love for the prophet, which is one of the necessary elements of Islam, is included in this type of Wasilah that entails invoking Allah through one's good deeds. Loving and believing in the prophet and following his sunah are the origin of all good deeds.

Tawassul by asking a righteous living person to perform du'aa on one's behalf is yet another type of tawasul that is allowed. this is among the very known matters like believers asking each other for such an such. There are some hadeeth and actions of the sahaba that prove the validity of this tawassul which ahlu-sunnah is fully in 100 percent agreement with.

I hope this clarifies the matters

asalamu alaikum

Actually asking for Du'aa from the Righteous alive people is not under discussion.That is 100% permissible.
Many people came to Holy Prophet and asked for "Du'aa".And its permissibility not debatable.Moreover this not "Twassul" is strict sense.
I am mainly concerned about the sense of Tawassul which is the backbone of "sufism".
Mabrook.
(Is this ok ?)

actually it is not "sufism" as you say. it is only practiced by sufis, more particularly, the mystics.

the backbone of sufism is to purify the heart. it is a science, but in the case of people who call themselves "sufi" they are far removed form the actual science of purifying he heart since the 'sufism' that is known in our times a more of a monoplized sectarian ploys of attaining righteousness.

tawssaul itself is a fiqhi arguement mentioned in the books of fiqh, that actually reaches the aqeedah of the muslim, hence we have certain imaams making takfeer depending on the persons type of tawassul despite its fiqhi appearence.

asalamu alaikum

What purifies the Heart is "Al -Islam".Why to give another name ? I cannot understand.Is Sufism more effective than Islam? If both are same then kindly call it as Islam not Sufism.
Mabrook

who is the wali ullah?