What is the ruling on seeking intercession through prophets, imams, saints, and righteous servants, and does this include seeking intercession through them while they are alive or at their graves, and is it permissible to ask them for supplication, citing His (the Almighty’s) saying: "And if, when they wronged themselves, they had come to you, and asked forgiveness of Allah and the Messenger had asked forgiveness for them, they would surely have found Allah Accepting of repentance, Most Merciful"?

Summary:

The aforementioned statement contains severe fallacies and transgressions, including equating the living and the dead in tawassul (seeking intercession), expanding deviation by equating tawassul at gravesides with tawassul far from them, and associating others with the Prophets. Furthermore, the interpretation of the verse: {The Day We shall call every people with their Imam} as meaning that people's deeds will be measured by the deeds of their Imams is a distortion. The correct understanding is that it refers to the book of deeds. Indeed, supplicating to angels, Prophets, and righteous individuals after their death or in their absence, or seeking their aid and succor, or seeking their intercession, is among the gravest forms of polytheism (shirk), and it is a religion not legislated by Allah. Moreover, the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, forbade taking the graves of Prophets and righteous individuals as places of worship, because that is a means to shirk.