SSF: The Authenticity & Efficacy of Dua Tawassul and Dua Nudbah

On Sunday 4th of March 2018, the Shia Scholars Forum held a discussion on “The Authenticity & Efficacy of Dua Tawassul and Dua Nudbah” at Al-Mahdi Institute. The discussion commenced with a presentation by Shaykh Ayyub Rashid who looked into the nature of Dua and to whom Dua must be done. He then went on to explain Tawassul and the various types of Tawassul that can be done and the various Duas by the name Dua Tawassul that are available in the Dua literature. After that he looked at the content of Dua Tawassul (which is recited generally on Tuesday nights by the Shia communities) where the fourteen infallibles are invoked as intermediaries,  and whether that is consistent with the essence of Dua and whether it is a correct form of Tawassul. Furthermore the chain of narrators of this particular Dua was analysed, and it was found to have a number of inconsistencies in the chain. The opinion of Shia scholars such as Ayatollah Khui, Nasir Makarim Shirazi, Yusuf Gharawi and others were looked at in regard to Mafatih al Jinan and in relation to Dua Tawassul.

Dua Nudbah was then analysed next, with the meaning of Nudbah expounded on – Nudba literally means to weep/lament, where the tribulations of the Ahlul Bayt and the occultation of the 12th Imam is lamented upon by the reciter of the Dua. The chain of narrators of this Dua was pointed out during the talk to be missing, and the linguistic style and some words seemed to be inconsistent with the style and language of the Ahlul Bayt.

The discussion went on with Shaykh Kumail Rajani expounding on the historical development of Duas within the Shia Dua literature and in particular in regard to Dua Nudbah. The first occurrence of Dua Nudbah was noted to appear in the book ‘Al Mazar al Kabir’, after which later books are noted to mention the Duas with slight variations to the extra acts of worship recommended to do after the dua, in addition to variations in who narrated and when to recite the Dua, all of which indicate to a rich historical culture of these Duas.

The presentations were followed by healthy discussions by the contribution of the various scholars and speakers from all over the UK.

 Presentation by Shaykh Ayyub: 

Presentation by Shaykh Komail Rajani