Tawassul and Istigatha by Shaykh Yahya Al Ninowy

BismillahHirRahmanNirRahim "As I was sitting by the grave of the Prophet, a Bedouin Arab came and said: 'Peace be upon you, O Messenger of Allah! I have heard Allah saying: "If they had only, when they were unjust to themselves, come unto thee and asked Allah's forgiveness, and the Messenger had asked forgiveness for them, they would have found Allah indeed Oft-returning, Most Merciful" (4:64), so I HAVE COME TO YOU asking forgiveness for my sin, seeking your intercession with my Lord.' Then he began to recite poetry: O best of those whose bones are buried in the deep earth, And from whose fragrance the depth and the height have become sweet, May I be the ransom for a grave which thou inhabit, And in which are found purity, bounty and munificence! Then he left, and I slept and saw the prophet in my sleep. He said to me: 'O `Utbi, run after the Bedouin and give him glad tidings that Allah has forgiven him.'" (Imam an-Nawawi, Kitab al-Adhkar [al-Maktaba al-Tijariyya, Mecca, 1412/1992], Chapter: Regarding visiting the grave of the messenger of Allah and its remembrances, pp. 253-254; source; see also al-Idah fi manasik al-hajj (Dar ibn Khaldun, Damascus, n.d.) p. 144, and an-Nawawi's Majmu`, volume 8, pp. 212f.; bold, capital and italic emphasis ours) And here is what Ibn Kathir stated concerning this narration, providing some additional information: "Allah is instructing the sinners when they commit a sin to come to the messenger of Allah and ask forgiveness in his presence and then they ask him to request forgiveness. And certainly if they did that, Allah would relent towards them and have mercy on them, and for that reason He said "they would have found Allah Oft-Returning, Merciful." And Shaykh Mansur as-Sabbagh recollected in his book "The Perfections" (ash-Shama'il) the well-known (famous) transmission from 'Utbi: "I was sitting by the grave of the Prophet and a Bedouin came and said: 'Peace be upon you O Prophet of Allah. I heard Allah say: "And if they had come to thee when they had wronged their souls, and asked forgiveness of Allah, and if the Messenger had also asked forgiveness for them, they would have surely found Allah Oft-Returning with compassion and Merciful." And I came to you asking forgiveness for my sin, taking you as intercessor to my Lord.' "Then he started reciting verses: 'O You best of those whose bones are buried in al-Qa'a from the sweet scents of those bones the whole area of al-Qa'a and Akamu became perfumed. My self I sacrifice to the grave that you live in it is purity and in it is incredible generosity.' "Then the Bedouin departed and sleep overcame me. And I saw the Prophet in my sleep and he said: 'Ya 'Utbi, follow the Bedouin and give him the glad tidings that Allah has forgiven him.'" (Ibn Kathir, Tafsir of Qur'an al-Adheem [Dar al-Fikr, Beirut, 1992/1412], volume I, p. 643; A similar report is sourced through Shafi'i Shaykh Sufyan ibn `Uyayna and through Abu Sa`id al-Sam`ani on the authority of Ali. The above narrative is further referenced by Ibn Qudamah Al-Maqdisi in his Al-Mughni, under the chapter, "Chapter on Visiting the Grave of the Prophet," volume 3, pp. 556-557 Here is a list of some of the Muslim scholars who narrated this hadith: Its grading is mashhur (established and well-known) and was related by an-Nawawi (Adhkar, Mecca ed., pp. 253-254; al-Majmu`, 8:217; al-Idah fi manasik al-hajj, chapters on visiting the grave of the prophet). Ibn Kathir (Tafsir, 2:306; al-Bidayat wa al-nihayat, 1:180). al-Bayhaqi (Shu`ab al-iman, #4178). al-Qurtubi (Tafsir of 4:64 in Ahkam al-Qur'an, 5:265). Ibn al-Jawzi (Muthir al-gharam al-sakin ila ashraf al-amakin, p. 490). Ibn `Asakir (Mukhtasar tarikh Dimashq, 2:408). Taqi al-Din al-Subki (Shifa' al-siqam, p. 52). Ibn `Aqil (al-Tadhkira). Ibn Qudama (al-Mughni, 3:556-557). Ibn Jama`a (Hidayat al-salik, 3:1384). Samhudi (Khulasat al-Wafa, p. 121 -- from an-Nawawi). Dahlan (Khulasat al-Kalam, 2:247). Abu al-Faraj ibn Qudama (al-Sharh al-kabir, 3:495). al-Bahuti al-Hanbali (Kashshaf al-qina`, 5:30). Ibn Hajar al-Haytami (al-Jawhar al-munazzam [commentary on Nawawi's Idah]). Ibn al-Najjar (Akhbar al-Madina, p. 147) ----------------- The supplication is stopped between Heaven and Earth and none of it ascends till you invoke blessing on your Prophet. Narrated By Umar ibn al-Khattab. Transmitted by Tirmidhi.