WHAT IS VASEELA?

Vaseela وسیلہ

There is a lot of confusion about the Vaseela theory amongst people of every school of thought; even those whose 'ancestral belief' contains Vaseela theory. Before we proceed it is important to mention that if someone says 'Vaseela' is not allowed in Islam, then it is his responsibility to prove from authentic sources. Anything or act is halaal and allowed according to Shariah which is 'even not mentioned' in Koran or Hadith. Only those things and acts would not be allowed which are specifically forbidden by Shariah which is derived from Koran and Hadith. In contrast, Vaseela is not only mentioned in Koran, but also numerous Hadiths and rawayats present this concept, so 'Vaseela' is not only allowed, but it is recommended to use in your prayers. This is also the kind of Vaseela that Prayers (Salat; Namaz) is not accepted until you use the Vaseela of Prophet, Peace be upon Him. No Salat is accomplished without 'Atahiyatu Lilliahe...' in the end. All muslims must send blessings upon the Prophet, Peace be upon Him, and the Muslim Ummah, even at upon themselves. Only remembering Allah in the Salat will not complete the Salat, nor accepted.
For the reference in Koran, please recite Verse:35 from Surah Al-Maeda (5):

"O YOU who have attained to faith! Remain conscious of God, and seek the means to come closer unto Him, and strive hard in His cause, so that you might attain to a happy state." (We recommend you to recite this verse in Arabic as well)
Some people mistakenly say that 'means' in the mentioned verse means the attributes of Allah. It is a great mistake to differentiate Allah with His attributes. Allah and His attributes are One and the Same Person, Allah. During the conversation/pray to Allah, Vaseela is the rememberence of any personality (living or deceased physically), the blessed object of any kind, the object used by special personalities, or places (i.e., some specified area or city etc), even the Sun, Solar System, Universe etc on which Allah has bestowed Respect and mentioned it as well. For instance, the Kaaba in Makkah is the building on which Allah has bestowed the Respect. Although Kaaba cannot hear or solve your problems but it has relation with many senior Prophets (especially Syedna Ibrahim and Syedna Muhammad, Peace be upon Them), and furthermore Allah mentions the Respect of Kaaba; therefore mentioning or visualizing the Kaaba in the prayers or any other mystical session is extremely helpful and recommended. Otherwise, the idols are made of stone and wood and Kaaba is also made from stone and wood. The difference is that Allah has not provided any evidence to show the respect of idols. Therefore one should be extremely alarmed when comparing the idols and the Prophets, Aulia Karam, and their related things. Unfortunately it is becoming the fashion in misled people on the name of 'moderate Islam' to show disrespect to Prophet, Peace be upon Him, and Aulia Karam. Their idea results in suicide attempts and chaos in the society. We all know that Sufi way of life has always created peace and harmony in the society, not the suicide bombers.
By Vaseela the fulfillment of prayers by force is not the ultimate goal neither part of theory, rather it is to please Allah when you mention your Respect for those entities whom Allah has bestowed Respect. Vaseela is used to enhance the personal spiritual powers which shall be used during and after the physical life. To use Vaseela for worldly matters is not recommended, though can be used.
It is clear from this theory that the Object of Vaseela does not necessarily need to have capabilities to fullfil the demands of prayee. Even Object of Vaseela does not need to be living thing i.e., Kaaba or City of Makkah. It is therefore incorrect to have objection on Vaseela because one assumes that Object of Vaseela cannot do anything. Though capability is found in the personalities of Vaseela i.e., Prophets and Aulia Karam but is irrelevant and a different topic namely 'Tawassul (Intercession)'.
However if one denies the capabilities of other entities other than God, then he/she must also deny the capability of Sun to provide sunshine, or the capability of Earth to support the life, or the capability of own parents who supported him/her in infancy. Your own body is the Vaseela for yourself if you ponder a little further. There is thus the unlimited chain of entities which must be denied, and I believe that healthy mind would not do it.

"A healthy mind already knows the right approach, it just needs some procedures and the authentic source. A sick mind will receive the authentic reference and will deny it" - Axenus

There are many authentic references and Sahih Hadiths supporting the Vaseela theory. We are only mentioning the references which are usually asked by those who need guidance in this area:

• Al Bukhari: Volume 1, Page 137
• Al Tirmizi: Volume 2, Page 197
• Al Tareekh Khateeb Baghdadi: Volume 1, Page 123
• Al Shawahi-ul-Haq: Page 166
• Fatawa-e-Aziziah: Volume 2, Page 108