A Study of the Signification of Uthman B. Hanif's Hadith on the Permissibility of Seeking the Prophet's Intercession after His Demise

The question about seeking intercession of the Holy Prophet (S) is one of the issues of contention between Wahabis and other Muslims. Muslims generally believe that seeking the Prophet's intercession is allowed and permissible today as it was permissible in his lifetime. One of the reasons for permissibility of this act is Uthman's b. Hanif's tradition which has been narrated in some Sunni books with a reliable chain of transmission. On the contrary, Wahabis have rejected seeking the Holy Prophet's intercession after his demise saying this act is tantamount to believing in invisible power for God's servants; such a belief amounts to shirk (polytheism).  That is because Allah, the Exalted, alone is capable of doing things which are invisible and it is not permissible to associate any partners with him in this regard. For this reason, Wahabis are of the view that those who seek intercession are unbelievers. In their belief, Uthman b. Hanif's hadith does not signify permissibility of intercessions nor does it indicate that the predecessors did this. Even if this hadith is assumed to be valid, it still does not indicate permissibility of intercession after the demise of the Prophet (S).
Anyhow, if we look carefully at the purport of this tradition, it is inferred that the hadith, which does not seem to be having any difficulty, signifies permissibility of seeking intercession of the Prophet (S) in the intermediate world, and it can be said that the objections raised by Wahabis is rejected.