و س لw-s-l
(ض) وَسَلَ يَسِلُ وَسْلًا وَوَسِيْلَةًwasala yasilu wa-slan wa-wasīlatan: to reach towards someone with desire, to seek nearness (to God). (This verb is not used in the Quran.)
وَسِيْلَةٌwasīlah pl. وَسَآئِلُwasāʾilu (noun, ism dhāt): the means by which access to someone is gained, a cause of nearness; the lexicographers say that wasīlah includes the sense of desire and seeking, which is why it is more specific than a mere "means" (sabab). Twice in the Quran, in both places in the sense of nearness: ﴿وَابْتَغُوْٓا اِلَيْهِ الْوَسِيْلَةَ﴾ (Al-Māʾidah 5:35); ﴿يَبْتَغُوْنَ اِلٰى رَبِّهِمُ الْوَسِيْلَةَ اَيُّهُمْ اَقْرَبُ﴾ (Al-Isrāʾ 17:57)