Erasing the Accusation of Shirk

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Another example: A young Muslim may be very stressed and wants to
drown his sorrows by drinking alcohol and taking drugs. When the young
man is asked why he is committing this unlawful act he will say he is
drowning his sorrows to receive piece of mind. To achieve peace of mind in
Islam is permissible, but to do it through drink and drugs is completely
unlawful. So again you cannot justify something bad by using a permissible
act. Equally, the polytheists would justify their bad idol worshipping by
saying that being close to Allah is permissible, and they were using the idols
to get closer to Allah, as a means of wasila which is a good and permissible
act. But as you know, you cannot justify a bad act by using the excuse of
achieving something good.
By worshipping idols you can never be close to Allah, although by using the
Prophets and pious as a wasila you wil succeed in being close to Allah.
Even if the polytheists of Makkah used their idols as wasila (in a different
manner to Muslims), or if they worshipped their idols, neither of these will
bring you close to Allah. Not only can you attain closeness to Allah through
the wasila of the Prophets and pious, but also through sittting in their
company, learning from them and following them.
OUR EXPLANATION OF WASILA
The manner in which we use the Prophets and pious as wasila is by using
their righteousness. They have carried out so many good deeds and are very
blessed, so we use their righteousness as a wasila. We have much love for
them and even loving them is a good deed!
Ali: What are you saying? How can their righteousness benefit you? How
can you make wasila using their righteousness-their good deeds? Their good
deeds will only benefit themselves, not you. My shaykh informed me that
you would sooner or later make such absurd claims that you can use the
good deeds of the Prophets and pious as a wasila. For this reason he told me
to show you this in contradiction to the following verses of the Qur’an:
002.141 Those are a people who have passed away; theirs is that which
they earned and yours that which ye earn. And ye will not be asked of what
they used to do.
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