The Salafi Dilemma

As mentioned in the introduction, Ibn Taymiyyah famously opposed tawassul (seeking intercession) and istighāthah (seeking help) from the Prophet or saints; views that ran counter to the prevailing beliefs of the vast majority of scholars. Prominent scholars like al-Jazari, Imam Subki, and others attempted to refute him, particularly on istighāthah. Imam Subki emphasized that no scholar before Ibn Taymiyyah had rejected the practices of tawassul and istighāthah, stressing that these acts had long been established as permissible within Sunni Islam. Abu Abdallāh Muhammad Ibn Musā al-Mālikī (d. 683 AH) even wrote a book defending istighāthah with the Messenger of God. His contemporary, Najm al-Dīn al-Tūfī, remarked that his generation and the ones after it had formed a consensus on the validity of such practices, meaning that rejecting istighāthah went against the scholarly consensus of the time.

The Prophet is also reported to have said within their own Hadith corpus, "Follow the great majority (of scholars)," a hadith authenticated by Al-Hakim, further supporting the idea that siding with the majority of scholars in these matters is crucial. However, despite these arguments, the Salafi movement, particularly influenced by Ibn Taymiyyah and later Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab, vehemently rejects tawassul and istighāthah, particularly when practiced through deceased figures like prophets or saints. They argue that seeking intercession or aid through anyone but God is a violation of tawhid (the oneness of God). Citing Quranic verses like 1:5, "You alone we worship, and You alone we ask for help," Salafis maintain that any invocation other than to God constitutes shirk (associating partners with God).