WHAT IS THE WASILAH?
Raghib al-Isfahani, in his work al-Mufradat fi Gharibi al-Qur'an, defines "wasilah" as follows:
Vsl - و س ل
وَسِيلَة: It means striving to reach something with desire. Because it also includes the meaning of desire, it has a more specific meaning than the word وَصِيلَة, which means "the one who brings," "the one who leads," or "the one who finds." Allah says: وَابْتَغُوا إِلَيْهِ الْوَسِيلَةَ "Seek a way to approach Him" (5/Ma'idah 35). The true means to reach Allah is through knowledge and worship, walking in His path, and following the principles of good morals in Sharia. This, in terms of the word itself, is similar to قُرْبَة, which means "the one who brings near." وَاسِل, on the other hand, is the person who has a desire for and longs for Allah Almighty.
The word "wasila" appears in two places in the Quran. In the following verses, it is translated as "way" or "path".
O you who have faith! Be wary of Allah, and seek the means of recourse to Him, and wage jihad in His way, so that you may be felicitous.
The other verse is:
Those unto whom they cry seek the way of approach to their Lord, which of them shall be the nearest; they hope for His mercy and they fear His doom. Lo! the doom of thy Lord is to be shunned.
The first verse says to seek a path to reach God. However, the second verse, where the word is used, addresses the negative aspects of this path, mentioning the entities to whom some people pray. The issue of polytheism (shirk) arises again.
Now let's look at verse 56; what comes before it is related to this topic? Let's read it together with verse 57.
Say, ‘Invoke those whom you claim [to be gods] besides Him. They have no power to remove your distress, nor to bring about any change [in your state].
As seen in the previous verse, it appears that those who are invoked after Allah, who is criticized in verse 57 for not being able to alleviate or change your distress, are the same beings being invoked. The verse doesn't explicitly define what these beings are. Commentary scholars have suggested they could be humans, angels, jinn, or prophets. Ultimately, it's possible that this is a subtle attempt to draw attention to a wide range of possibilities without specifying a particular group.
So these two verses are saying, seek a means (path) to reach God. But while seeking this path, be careful not to fall into polytheism. The answer comes from Surah Az-Zumar.
(39:3)
Surely, the religion (i.e. the worship and the obedience) is for Allah only. And those who take Auliya' (protectors and helpers) besides Him (say): "We worship them only that they may bring us near to Allah." Verily, Allah will judge between them concerning that wherein they differ. Truly, Allah guides not him who is a liar, and a disbeliever.
People should draw closer to God through worship, good deeds, advancing in knowledge and uncovering God's miracles, applying the Quran to their lives through their faith, and reflecting the Prophet's example in their lives. They should not seek help from others, pray to them, and expect their mediation to bring them closer to God.
WHAT IS THE TAWASSUL?
Seeking wasilah is called tawassul.
Ibn Jarir al-Tabari states that, in the context of disagreements among Muslims, the issue of whether there were religious leaders considered to be God's proof after the Messenger of Allah was debated; he also attributes to Abu Hanifa an opinion that it is not permissible to use the phrase "for the sake of the prophets and saints" when making supplications to God (al-Tabsir, p. 156; cf. M. Nasib al-Rifai, p. 26). Based on such narrations, it is possible to say that discussions regarding the issue of tawassul emerged in the first half of the 2nd (8th) century. This shows that it is a practice that emerged over time.
You can read the details of what these verses are about in Fahreddin Razi's Tafsir, Mefatihul Gayb, from google traslation Turkish to English below. Let's see if it's talking about tawassul means, as it's presented to people...
Surah Isra, verses 56-57:
“Say: ‘Call upon those whom you invoke besides Allah, for they can neither remove any distress from you nor change your condition. And those whom they invoke seek a means of approach to their Lord, hoping for His mercy and fearing His punishment. Indeed, the punishment of your Lord is terrible.’”
Know that the purpose of these verses is to refute the polytheists. We have previously stated that the polytheists said, “We are not worthy to worship Allah directly. Therefore, we worship some of His servants who are close to Him, and these are angels.” Then, they made statues and likenesses of those angels they worshipped and, in this sense, engaged in worshipping them. Allah Almighty, however, uses this verse as evidence that their view is false and incorrect, saying, “Say: ‘Call upon those whom you invoke besides Allah.’” The word “those whom you invoke” in this verse does not refer to “idols.” Because when Allah describes them, He says, “Those whom they worship also seek intermediaries.” However, “seeking intermediaries” is absolutely incompatible with idols.
False Gods Seeking Intermediaries to God
"Those whom they worship are also seeking intermediaries to their Lord," He has said.
There are two views on this matter:
First Opinion: Al-Farra says: "Yed'une is the action of those who worship; yebteune is the action of those who are worshipped. Therefore, the meaning is, 'those who are worshipped seek a means and a way to their Lord.' Accordingly, there is no dispute that angels turn to Allah for benefits and for the removal of harm, hoping for His mercy and fearing His punishment. They can be described as being in a state of helplessness and need, and since Allah Almighty is independent of everything and needs nothing, it is more appropriate to be occupied with worshipping Him." If they say, "We do not accept that angels are in need of God's mercy and fear His punishment," we say, "It can be said that angels are either necessarily existent by their very nature or contingent by their very nature. The first is false and impossible, because all disbelievers accept and acknowledge that angels are servants of God and are in need of Him. As for the second, this would require angels to be in need of God, both in their very nature and in their perfect attributes. Therefore, being preoccupied with worshipping God is better than being preoccupied with worshipping angels."
"Second Opinion: The phrase 'those whom they worship' refers to the prophets mentioned in the verse, 'Indeed, We have made some prophets superior to others' (Isra, 55). Therefore, the connection between this statement and the previous part is as follows: 'Those prophets, whose ranks are high, worship only Allah and seek only a means to Him. Therefore, it is more correct for you to follow those prophets and take them as guides. So, do not worship anyone other than Allah.' Those who adopt this view have reasoned to support its correctness in the following way: 'Angels do not disobey Allah. Therefore, they do not fear His punishment. Thus, it is established that this statement applies to prophets, not angels.'"
For verse 35 of Surah Maide:
O you who believe, fear Allah, seek means of drawing near to Him, and strive in His cause. Perhaps you will succeed" (Al-Maidah, 35).
There are several issues related to this verse:
1) Know that we have already explained that Allah Almighty informed His Prophet that a group of Jews intended to harm him, his believing brothers, and his companions through injustice and deceit, but He prevented them from achieving their aims. In this verse, Allah explains to the Prophet how extremely rebellious they were towards their prophets and how persistently they tried to torment them. The discussion on this matter has extended to this verse. In this verse, Allah Almighty returns to the first objective and says, "O you who believe, be mindful of Allah and seek means of approaching Him." It seems as if the intention was to say: "You have understood how audacious the Jews are in sin and rebellion, and how far removed they are from the acts of obedience that are the means by which a servant reaches his Lord... Therefore, O believers, do not be like them. Avoid rebelling against Allah and seek means of drawing closer to Him by obeying Him."
2) Allah Almighty narrates that the Jews said, "We are the children and friends of Allah" (Al-Ma'idah, 18), and "We are the children of Allah's prophets." Thus, they boasted about their fathers' deeds. Therefore, Allah Almighty says, "O you who believe, do not boast about the honor of your fathers and forefathers. Let your honor be in your own deeds. So fear Allah and seek the paths that lead to Him." Allah knows best.
The madness of corruption comes before the attainment of benefit.
Know that all obligations are grouped into two categories; there is no third.
a) To abandon forbidden things, which is what is indicated by the command, "Be mindful of God."
b) To do what is commanded, which He has indicated with the verse, "Seek means of approaching Him..."
Since avoiding prohibitions precedes performing commanded acts, God Almighty first mentioned the importance of respecting prohibitions. We stated that abandoning prohibitions comes before performing commanded acts because abandonment is simply leaving something in its original state of non-existence. Action, or doing, is to create and bring something into existence. There is no doubt that the non-existence of all things that come into being precedes their existence. Therefore, "abandonment" undoubtedly precedes doing something.
Isn't it possible to draw closer to God by abandoning sins?
If it is asked, "Even though we know that sometimes means of drawing closer to God are obtained by abandoning sins, why is the means of drawing closer to God exclusively reserved for action (doing something)?"
We say that abandonment means leaving something in its original state of non-existence. However, it is impossible to attain something definitively through this continuous non-existence. Therefore, abandonment cannot be a means to an end. On the contrary, even if lust tempts someone to commit a vile act, but that person refrains from it with the intention of obtaining God's pleasure, then the means of reaching God is realized through not committing that act. However, this act of not doing something is also a type of action. Therefore, the learned scholars have said: "To abandon something is to do its opposite."
When you fully grasp this, we say: Abandonment and action are two aspects considered in the outward appearance of actions. Therefore, what is obligatory to abandon are forbidden things; and what is obligatory to do are obligatory things. These two things are also considered in ethics. Therefore, what is obligatory to do are good habits; and what should be abandoned are bad habits. These are also considered in thoughts. Therefore, what is necessary to do is to contemplate the proofs that point to the oneness of God, prophethood, and the afterlife. What should be abandoned is to disregard doubts. These are also considered in the realm of manifestation. Therefore, what is necessary to do is to be immersed in God; and what should not be done is to not turn to anything other than God. Ascetics (self-disciplinarians) refer to action and renunciation as "Delegation and Emancipation," "Negation and Affirmation," and "Annihilation and Subsistence." In all stages, negativity (i.e., non-existence) precedes affirmation (existence). Therefore, in our expression "La ilahe illa'llâh" (There is no god but Allah), negativity is placed before affirmation.
A Response to the Talimmiye Party, Which Exploited the Concept of "Means"
"Vesile" is a word in the "fa'ila" form, derived from the expression "He approached it," used when someone gets close to something. Indeed, the poet Labid said: "I see that people are unaware of the state of their affairs. Know well that everyone with intellect desires God." That is to say, "They seek a way to Him." Therefore, "vesile" is the thing by which the goal is achieved.
"Ta'limiyya" states: "The verse indicates that reaching God is only possible through a teacher who introduces Him to us and a guide who leads us to His knowledge. This is so because God Almighty has absolutely commanded that we reach Him. Faith in Him is the highest of goals and the most honorable of purposes. Therefore, a means is necessary here as well."
"We can answer this as follows: Allah Almighty has commanded us to seek a 'means' after believing in Him. Believing in Him consists of knowing and recognizing Him. Thus, this becomes a command related to seeking a means that leads to Him after believing in Him and recognizing Him. Therefore, it is impossible for this to be a command related to seeking a means that leads to knowing Him. So, what is meant is to seek a means that leads to Him in order to obtain His pleasure, and this is achieved through worship and obedience."
In Zemahshari's commentary on the Quran, titled Al-Kashshaf, the verses are described as follows:
Verse 35 of Surah Al-Maidah:
The word "wasilah" refers to anything used as a means to approach God, such as kinship, kindness, etc. Later, through metaphor, it came to be used to mean things used as a means to draw closer to God, such as performing acts of obedience and abandoning sins.
Isra verses 56-57:
Verse 56, “Say: Call upon those whom you attribute as gods besides Him,” refers to angels. It has also been said to include Jesus son of Mary and Uzair (peace be upon them), as well as some jinn. Some Arabs worshipped these jinn, but later, even though these jinn converted to Islam, those Arabs were unaware of it. The meaning is, “Call upon them, but they cannot avert any harm from you, such as illness, poverty, or punishment, nor can they transform any of these into another.”
Verse 57 [1976] In the expression “those things they call upon,” the part “those things” is the subject, the part “those things they call upon” is its attribute, and the expression “they hope” is its predicate. The meaning is, “Their gods are themselves; they seek a means to draw closer to Allah.” Eyyü is a relative pronoun, meaning, “Even those among them who are closest to Him strive to draw closer to Him; how then are those who are not close!” Or the expression “they hope for a means” implies “they strive,” in which case it is as if it is said, “They strive to draw closer to Allah, which is through more worship, good deeds, and virtue. Again, they both fear and hope, just like the other servants of Allah. So how can they claim that they are gods!?” “Indeed, the punishment of your Lord is ‘worthy of being avoided!’” Not only ordinary people, but even a close-to-the-heart angel or a messenger prophet should fear and be wary of him.
Below are screenshots of the relevant sections from the Turkish version of related Tafsirs (commentaries):
