Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah. To proceed:
The hadith concerning Umar’s seeking rain through al-Abbas is authentic and was reported by al-Bukhari. According to the interpretation adopted by the scholars who hold this view, the tawassul mentioned in the hadith refers to seeking a means through the supplication of al-Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him), not merely through his person or his status before Allah.
Al-Bukhari narrated from Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him):
“When the people suffered drought, Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) would seek rain through al-Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib and say: ‘O Allah, we used to seek a means to You through our Prophet, and You would give us rain. Now we seek a means to You through the uncle of our Prophet, so grant us rain.’ He said: Then they would be given rain.”
The hadith is therefore authentic. The difference of opinion concerns the meaning of Umar’s words:
“We seek a means to You through the uncle of our Prophet.”
During the lifetime of the Prophet ﷺ, whenever the Companions suffered drought, they would come to him and ask him to supplicate to Allah for them.
For example, a man entered while the Prophet ﷺ was delivering the Friday sermon and said:
“O Messenger of Allah, the wealth has been destroyed and the roads have been cut off, so supplicate to Allah to give us rain.”
[Agreed upon]
The Prophet ﷺ then supplicated to his Lord, and rain fell.
Thus, their tawassul through the Prophet ﷺ during his lifetime meant benefiting from his supplication and his intercession for them before Allah.
After the death of the Prophet ﷺ, Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) asked al-Abbas to supplicate to Allah for the Muslims. Therefore, the tawassul here was likewise through the supplication of a living righteous man.
This is one of the strongest arguments used by those who hold this interpretation.
If what was meant by tawassul in the hadith were simply status and rank before Allah, then the status of the Prophet ﷺ would undoubtedly be greater than that of al-Abbas, and the Prophet’s ﷺ death would not diminish his rank before his Lord.
Nevertheless, Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), after the Prophet’s ﷺ death, turned instead to al-Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him). This indicates that what had changed was the possibility of requesting supplication. During the Prophet’s ﷺ lifetime they could ask him to supplicate for them, while after his death they asked al-Abbas, who was alive, to supplicate for them.
Therefore, Umar’s words:
“We seek a means to You through the uncle of our Prophet”
are understood to mean: we seek a means to You through his supplication for us.
It is permissible for a Muslim to ask a living fellow Muslim to supplicate to Allah for him, especially someone whose righteousness and whose supplication are hoped to be accepted.
The Companions did this with the Prophet ﷺ during his lifetime, and Umar and the Muslims did the same with al-Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him).
However, the basic principle is that a Muslim should frequently supplicate to Allah himself. The door of supplication is open to every person, and a servant does not need an intermediary for Allah to hear his supplication.
Allah says:
“And when My servants ask you concerning Me, indeed I am near. I respond to the supplication of the supplicant when he calls upon Me.”
[Al-Baqarah: 186]
Thus, the believer supplicates directly to Allah, while it is also permissible for him to ask a living fellow Muslim to supplicate for him.
Tawassul through the supplication of a living righteous person means asking him to supplicate to Allah for you, as the Muslims did with al-Abbas.
Tawassul through status, however, means that a person says, for example: “O Allah, I ask You by the status of so-and-so before You,” without that person actually supplicating for him.
The hadith does not explicitly state that Umar did the second form. Rather, the context of seeking rain and the practice of the Companions indicate — according to this interpretation — that they asked al-Abbas to supplicate to Allah for them.
The hadith of Umar’s tawassul through al-Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) is authentic, but it does not indicate that Umar sought a means to Allah merely through al-Abbas’s status or rank before Allah. Rather, what is meant is tawassul through his supplication.
The Companions used to ask the Prophet ﷺ during his lifetime to supplicate to Allah for them. After his death, Umar and the Muslims asked al-Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) to supplicate for them.
If what was intended were merely status, then the status of the Prophet ﷺ would have been greater and more worthy, and his death would not have been a reason to turn from him to al-Abbas.
And Allah knows best.