Tawassul by Mentioning Allaah's Favours
Another manner in which a person may do tawassul is by mentioning the favours of Allaah upon him. So, for example, a person might say: " O Allaah! You have guided me to lslaam, and placed in me a love for knowledge and its people! 0 Allaah! Cause me to increase in this knowledge, and cause me to be amongst the righteous scholars!" This principle is shown in the du'aa of Zakariyya (alayhi salaam), when he asked Allaah to bless him with a child.
"He said: 0 My Lord! Indeed, my bones have grown feeble, and grey hair has spread over my head. And I have never been unb/est in (or deprived of) my du'aa to You,0my Lord!" (Q 19[Maryam]:4)
Shaykh al-lslam Ibn Taymiyyah said:
"The meaning is: you have made me accustomed to receiving your response, and You have not deprived me by rejecting me and cutting off (your help) from me. So it is a tawassul to Allaah by the blessings that He has previously given, of answering his du'aas, and His good. And this is very apparent here".
Tawassul by Mentioning Ones State
Another means of tawassul is by mentioning to Allah the dire circumstances that one is in, and the desperate need that one has for His Mercy and Blessings. ln the du'aa of Zakariyya quoted above, we find him saying:
"... 0 My Lord! Indeed, my bones have grown feeble, and grey hair has spread over my head. and I have never been unblest in (or deprived of) my du' aa to You, 0 my Lord! (QI9[Maryam]:4)
So he begins by mentioning the state that he is in of old age, and that he needs to be blessed with a son, for he might be on the verge of death. The Prophet Nuh (alayhi salaam), when he was rejected by his people, cried out:
"Then he made a du'aa to his Lord: I have been overpowered, so help (me)!"(Q54[QamarJ:10)
So he mentioned the appalling circumstance that he was in –that he had been overpowered by his enemies and used that as a tawassul so that his du'aa would be responded to. Likewise, when Musa was in the valley of Midyan, alone and with no supporter or helper, he cried out to Allaah
"0 My Lord! Verily I am faqir (needy) for whatever good that you can send down upon me." (Q [Qasas]:24)
And this type of tawassul is even used amongst people! For does not a beggar, when he stands up to ask for money, announce, "I am a person with a large family, and I have many debts to pay back, and cannot find work ... ?" All of this is used in order for him to obtain more sympathy from the people that hear him, and indeed to Allaah belongs the greatest example. So in this du'aa, tawassul was sought through the Attributes of Knowledge and Power.