At MuslimHymns.com, we clearly mark songs and poems that contain within their lyrics tawassul (invoking the sanctity of a pious person in one’s prayer) or istighātha (directly beseeching a pious person for help). This page provides some guidance on this topic, respecting scholarly differences of opinion.
Tawassul
🥜 In a nutshell: Tawassul is deemed permissible by the vast majority of classical Sunni scholars.
Tawassul, literally “taking as an intermediary”, refers to the act of supplicating to Allah while invoking some pious person (or sacred place, object, verse of the Qur’an, etc.) as an intermediary. That is, one says “O Allah, by So-and-so, I ask you for such-and-such” (or “for the sake of So-and-so”, or “by the sanctity/status of So-and-so”). The majority of classical scholars, within all four schools of Sunni Islam, agreed that such formulations are valid and permissible, citing hadith evidence where the Prophet instructed companions to invoke him in their supplications. A small minority of scholars, including Ibn Taymiyya, held tawassul to be impermissible. (Sometimes, tawassul through the Prophet ﷺ was considered a solitary exception to this prohibition.) Several modern Salafi scholars follow this latter view and prohibit tawassul. However, the majority classical view remains that tawassul is permissible.
Istighātha
🥜 In a nutshell: There is legitimate scholarly disagreement regarding the permissibility of istighātha. Thus, it is not permissible to censure or criticise those who practice it.
Istighātha, literally “asking for help”, differs from tawassul in that instead of saying “O Allah, by So-and-so, I ask you for such-and-such” one addresses the request directly to the saint: “O So-and-so, grant me such-and-such”. The most common form is beseeching the Prophet ﷺ, or one of the pious saints (awliyā’) of previous generations, for their help (madad).
All Muslims agree that if the supplicant in such a case were genuinely to believe that the person they are addressing is capable, independently of Allah, to grant them some benefit, such a belief would amount to kufr. It is highly doubtful, however, that anyone who engages in istighātha actually holds such a belief. Rather, they intend to invoke the sanctity of the person being addressed, and maintain that it is Allah who is the one that answers their prayers and meets their needs.
Scholars within the four classical schools of Sunni Islam differed regarding the permissibility of istighātha. Many scholars considered it permissible, arguing based on common metaphorical language – we say, for example, that the rain makes the crops grow, knowing full well that it is Allah who is the true cause of the crops’ growth, while the rain is just a means. Other scholars, however, prohibited istighātha, based on the consideration that it is easily misinterpreted and could lead to confusion in someone’s beliefs.
Both opinions are to be found among the ulama, and both are based on reliable reasoning from the sources of the religion. It is therefore not permissible to rebuke or harass someone for following one of the two positions, since both are religiously valid.