at-Tawassul, anwa‘uhu wa ahkamuhu – Nasir Albani

at-Tawassul, anwa‘uhu wa ahkamuhu – Nasir Albani, Publish: Maqtaba al-Nashar, Riyahd/Saudia Version 2001

Nasir Albani writes: Imam Ahmad reported with sound chain: narrated by ‘Uthmān bin Hunayf: That a blind man called on the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) and said to him: ‘(O Messenger of Allah,) pray to Allah to give me solace’. The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) said: ‘if you wish, I will stall it and this is better for you.’ He said: ‘you should pray for me to Him.’ So he asked him to perform the ablution: ‘perform the ablution thoroughly well and then offer two cycles of optional prayer and beseech Allah with this supplication: “O Allah, I appeal to You, and submit to You through the mediation of the merciful Prophet Muhammad. O Muhammad, through your mediation I submit myself to My Lord to have my need granted. O Allah, acknowledge his intercession in my favour.” and accept my supplication also in my favour.”
Uthmān bin Hunayf says: I swear by Allah that we had neither left the company nor had we carried on a long conversation that the man entered (with his sight fully restored) and it seemed as if he had never been blind.
Ibn Majah, Hakim and Dhahabi have declared it a sound (sahih) tradition while Tirmidhi graded it hasan (fair) sahih, gharib (unfamiliar or rare).