What is the ruling on seeking intercession through the Messenger (peace be upon him)? And is it true that all scholars of the Ummah have permitted it, while only the scholars of Saudi Arabia have opposed it?

Scholars have differed on the permissibility of seeking intercession (tawassul) through the person (dhat) of the Prophet, peace be upon him. Most scholars, including Imam Ahmad, permit it, while the Hanafis and Ibn Taymiyyah prohibit it.

Those who permit it cite the Almighty's saying: "O you who have believed, fear Allah and seek the means [of nearness] to Him" (Quran 5:35), and traditions such as Umar's intercession through Al-Abbas, Adam's intercession through the Prophet, and the hadith (definition): "Seek intercession through my status (jah)."

Those who prohibit it respond that the verse of "wasilah" (means of nearness) does not refer to seeking intercession through individuals, but rather through performing acts of obedience and abandoning evil deeds. They argue that Umar's hadith is an argument against them, not for them, because he sought intercession through the supplication of a living, present person, not through the person of a deceased one. They also state that the hadiths about Adam's intercession and "my status" are fabricated or weak.

They conclude that the evidence of those who permit it either lacks probative value or is weak, and that intercession is an act of worship for which the default rule is prohibition until a legal proof is provided.

They differentiate between the disputed form of intercession and the polytheistic seeking of aid (istighathah) from creation. The former is asking Allah by virtue of the status of creation, while the latter is asking creation itself, which is shirk (definition) (polytheism).