What is intercession (shafaa’ah). Are there different kinds of intercession? Will people intercede or only the Prophets? Are there any people whose intercession will not be accepted?.
Praise be to Allaah.
When the distress becomes too great for the people on the Day
of Judgement and they have stood for too long, suffering in the heat and
terror and distress, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) says, “How will you be when Allaah gathers you together like arrows in
a quiver, for fifty thousand years, during which Allaah will not look at
you?”(al-Silsilah al-Saheehah, 2817).
The people will look to
those who are of high status to intercede for them with their Lord so that
He might relieve them of this distress that they are suffering and come to
pass judgement amongst them. So they will come to Adam, but he will excuse
himself; then they will come to Nooh, but he will excuse himself; then they
will come to Ibraaheem, but he will excuse himself; then they will come to
Moosa, but he will excuse himself; then they will come to ‘Eesa, but he will
excuse himself. Then they will come to our Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) and he will say, “I am fit for that.” So he will
intercede for the people in the place of gathering, so that judgement may be
passed. This is the station of praise and glory which Allaah has promised to
him, as He says (interpretation of the meaning):“It may be that your Lord
will raise you to Maqaam Mahmood (a station of praise and glory, i.e., the
honour of intercession on the Day of Resurrection)”
[al-Isra’ 17:79]There follows the lengthy hadeeth about intercession:
It was narrated that Anas ibn Maalik said: Muhammad
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) told us: “When the Day of
Resurrection comes, the people will surge with each other like waves. They
will come to Adam and say, ‘Intercede for us with your Lord.’ He will say,
‘I am not fit for that. Go to Ibraaheem for he is the Close Friend of the
Most Merciful.’ So they will go to Ibraaheem, but he will say, ‘I am not fit
for that. Go to Moosa for he is the one to whom Allaah spoke directly.’ So
they will go to Moosa but he will say, ‘I am not fit for that. Go to ‘Eesa
for he is a soul created by Allaah and His Word.’ So they will go to ‘Eesa
but he will say, ‘I am not fit for that. Go to Muhammad (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him).’ So they will come to me and I will say, I
am fit for that.’ Then I will ask my Lord for permission and He will give me
permission, and He will inspire me with words of praise with which I will
praise Him, words that I do not know now. So I will praise Him with those
words of praise and I will fall down prostrate before Him. He will say, ‘O
Muhammad, raise your head. Speak and intercession will be granted to you,
ask and you will be given, intercede and your intercession will be
accepted.’ I will say, ‘O Lord, my ummah, my ummah!’ He will say, ‘Go and
bring forth everyone in whose heart there is faith the weight of a
barley-grain.’ So I will go and do that. Then I will come back and praise
Him with those words of praise and I will fall down prostrate before Him. He
will say, ‘O Muhammad, raise your head. Speak and intercession will be
granted to you, ask and you will be given, intercede and your intercession
will be accepted.’ I will say, ‘O Lord, my ummah, my ummah!’ He will say,
‘Go and bring forth everyone in whose heart there is faith the weight of a
small ant or a mustard-seed.’ So I will go and do that. Then I will come
back and praise Him with those words of praise and I will fall down
prostrate before Him. He will say, ‘O Muhammad, raise your head. Speak and
intercession will be granted to you, ask and you will be given, intercede
and your intercession will be accepted.’ I will say, ‘O Lord, my ummah, my
ummah!’ He will say, ‘Go and bring forth from the Fire everyone in whose
heart there is faith the weight of the lightest, lightest grain of
mustard-seed.’ So I will go and bring them forth.”When we left Anas I [the narrator of the hadeeth] said to
some of our companions, “Why don’t we go to al-Hasan, who is hiding in the
house of Abu Khaleefah, and tell him what Anas ibn Maalik has told us?” So
we went to him, greeted him with salaam and he gave us permission to enter.
Then we said, “O Abu Sa’eed, we have come to you from your brother Anas ibn
Maalik, and we have never heard anything like what he narrated to us about
intercession.” He said, “Tell me.” So we narrated the hadeeth to him and we
came to this point and he said, “Keep going.” We said, “He did not tell us
any more.” He said, “He told me this hadeeth when he was a young man,
twenty years ago. I do not know if he forgot or if he did not want to let
you depend on what he might have said. We said, “O Abu Sa’eed, tell us.” He
smiled and said, “ Man was created hasty. I only mentioned that because I
wanted to inform you of it. Anas told me the same as he told you, and said
that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) added:
“Then I will come back a fourth time and praise Him with those words of
praise and I will fall down prostrate before Him. He will say, ‘O Muhammad,
raise your head. Speak and intercession will be granted to you, ask and you
will be given, intercede and your intercession will be accepted.’ I will
say, ‘O Lord, give me permission (to bring forth) all those who said Laa
ilaaha ill-Allaah.’ He will say, ‘By My Might, My Majesty, My Supremacy and
My Greatness, I will most certainly bring forth from it those who said Laa
ilaaha ill-Allaah.’” (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 7510)It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with
him) that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) said: “I will be the leader of mankind on the Day of Resurrection.
Do you know why that is? Allaah will gather mankind, the first and the last
of them, in one place, so that the caller will be able to make them all hear
his voice and the watcher will be able to see them all. The sun will be
brought close and the people will suffer such distress and trouble that they
will not be able to bear it or stand it. The people will say, ‘Don't you see
in the state you are in and the condition you have reached? Why don't you
look for someone who can intercede for you with your Lord?’ The people will
say to one another: ‘Go to your father, Adam.’ So they will go to Adam
(peace be upon him) … I will go and prostrate beneath the Throne. Then I
will be given words of praise such have never been given to anyone before
me, then it will be said, ‘O Muhammad! Raise your head; ask, for it will be
given to you, and intercede, for your intercession will be accepted.’ I will
raise my head and say, ‘My ummah, O lord! My ummah, O Lord!’ It will be
said, ‘O Muhammad, admit from among your ummah those who will not be brought
to account from the right-hand gate of Paradise, and they will share the
other gates with the people.’ He said, By the One in Whose hand is my soul,
the distance between two of the gate-posts is like the distance between
Makkah and Humayr, or between Makkah and Busra.”(Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 4712)
This is the great intercession in the place of standing, and
it is intercession so that judgement may be passed. Intercession on the Day
of Resurrection is of two types:1 – Intercession which will be accepted. This is intercession
which is proven in the texts of sharee’ah. More details will be given
below.2 – Intercession which will be rejected. This is intercession
which according to the texts of the Qur’aan and Sunnah is invalid and
ineffective, as we shall see below.Accepted intercession is of various types:
1-
The greatest intercession,
which is al-maqaam al-mahmood, which the earlier and later
generations will ask the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) to intercede for them with their Lord so that He might relieve them of
the horrors of the Day of Judgement. This has been explained above.2-
Intercession for those among
the monotheists who committed major sins and entered Hell, that they may be
brought forth from it. It was narrated that Anas said: The Messenger of
Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “My
intercession will be for those among my ummah who committed major sins.” (Saheeh
Sunan al-Tirmidhi, 1983).3-
The intercession of the
Messenger for people whose good deeds and bad deeds are equal, that they may
enter Paradise, and for others who had been
ordered to Hell, that they may not enter it.4-
Intercession that some people
may enter Paradise without being brought to
account.5-
Intercession of the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) for his paternal uncle Abu
Taalib, so that the torment of the Fire be reduced for him. This applies
only in the case of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) and his paternal uncle Abu Taalib.6-
The intercession of the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) that the believers might be
granted permission to enter Paradise.Intercession for those who committed sin will not be granted
only to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), rather
the Prophets, the martyrs, the scholars, the righteous and the angels will
also join in that. A man’s righteous deeds may also intercede for him. But
the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) will have the
greatest share of intercession.There follows a hadeeth which indicates that intercession
will be granted to the Prophets and others. It was narrated that Abu Sa’eed
al-Khudri said: “We said, ‘O Messenger of Allaah, will we see our Lord on
the Day of Resurrection?’” … and he quoted the hadeeth, until he came to the
part which describes how the believers will pass across the Siraat and will
intercede for their brothers who have entered Hell: “They will say, ‘O Lord,
our brothers used to pray with us and fast with us and do good deeds with
us.’ Allaah will say, ‘Go, and whoever you find with a dinar’s-weight of
faith in his heart, bring him forth, and Allaah will forbid their bodies to
the Fire.’ So they will go, and some of them will be sinking into the Fire
up to their feet or shins, and they will bring forth those whom they
recognize. Then they will come back, and He will say, ‘Go, and whoever you
find with half a dinar’s-weight of faith in his heart, bring him forth.’ So
they will go and bring forth those whom they recognize. Then they will come
back, and He will say, ‘Go, and whoever you find with an atom’s-weight of
faith in his heart, bring him forth.’ So they will go and bring forth those
whom they recognize.” Abu Sa’eed said: “If you do not believe me, then read
the verse interpretation of the meaning):‘Surely, Allaah wrongs not even of the weight of an atom
(or a small ant), but if there is any good (done), He doubles it, and gives
from Him a great reward’[al-Nisa’ 4:40].”
[The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
said:] “So the Prophets, the angels and the believers will intercede, and
the Compeller (Allaah) will say, ‘There remains My intercession.’ Then He
will take a handful from the Fire and bring forth some people whose bodies
have been burnt and throw them into a river at the entrance to Paradise that
is called the Water of Life.They will grow on its banks, as a seed carried by a flood
grows. You have seen how it grows beside a rock or beside a tree, and how
the side facing the sun is usually green while the side facing the shade is
white. They will come out like pearls, and necklaces will be placed around
their necks. Then they will enter Paradise, and the people of Paradise will
say, ‘These are the people emancipated by the Most Merciful. He has admitted
them into Paradise without them having done any good deeds and without them
having sent forth any good (for themselves).’ Then it will be said to them,
‘You will have what you have seen and the equivalent thereof.’”(Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 7440)
Intercession of the Day of Resurrection will only be granted
if three conditions are met, as indicated in the verses (interpretation of
the meaning):“And there are many angels in the
heavens, whose intercession will avail nothing except after Allaah has given
leave for whom He wills and is pleased with”[al-Najm 53:26]
“On that day no intercession shall avail, except the one
for whom the Most Gracious (Allaah) has given permission and whose word is
acceptable to Him”[Ta-Ha 20:109]
“He knows what is before them, and what is behind them,
and they cannot intercede except for him with whom He is pleased. And they
stand in awe for fear of Him”[al-Anbiya’ 21:28]
“Who is he that can intercede with Him except with His
Permission?”[al-Baqarah 2:255]
These conditions are:
1-
The permission of Allaah to the
intercessor to intercede.2-
Allaah’s being pleased with the
intercessor.3-
His being pleased with the one
for whom intercession is made.It was narrated from the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) that the intercession of some people will not be
accepted on the Day of Resurrection, including those who cursed a great
deal. Muslim narrated that Abu’l-Darda’ said: “I heard the Messenger of
Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say, ‘Those who
curse will not be witnesses or intercessors on the Day of Resurrection.”With regard to the kind of intercession that will be
rejected, this is intercession that does not meet the conditions required of
permission from Allaah or His being pleased (with the intercessor or the one
for whom intercession is made), such as the intercession which the people of
shirk believe that their gods will achieve. They only worship them because
they believe that they will intercede for them with Allaah, and that they
are mediators or intermediaries between them and Allaah. Allaah says
(interpretation of the meaning):“Surely, the religion (i.e. the worship and the obedience)
is for Allaah only. And those who take Awliyaa’ (protectors, helpers, lords,
gods) besides Him (say): ‘We worship them only that they may bring us near
to Allaah.’ Verily, Allaah will judge between them concerning that wherein
they differ. Truly, Allaah guides not him who is a liar, and a disbeliever”[al-Zumar 39:9]
Allaah tells us that this kind of intercession is ineffective
and of no benefit, as He says (interpretation of the meaning):“So no intercession of intercessors will be of any use to
them”[al-Muddaththir 74:48]
“And fear a Day (of Judgement) when a person shall not
avail another, nor will intercession be accepted from him nor will
compensation be taken from him nor will they be helped”[al-Baqarah 2:48]
“And fear the Day (of Judgement) when no person shall
avail another, nor shall compensation be accepted from him, nor shall
intercession be of use to him, nor shall they be helped”[al-Baqarah 2:123]
“O you who believe! Spend of that with which We have
provided for you, before a Day comes when there will be no bargaining, nor
friendship, nor intercession. And it is the disbelievers who are the
Zaalimoon (wrongdoers)”
[al-Baqarah 2:254]Hence Allaah did not
accept the intercession of His Close Friend Ibraaheem for his father Azar
who was a mushrik. It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah that the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Ibraaheem will meet his
father on the Day of Resurrection, and Azar’s facewill be dark and covered with dust. Ibraaheem will say to
him, ‘Did I not tell you not to disobey me?’ His father will say, ‘Today I
will not disobey you.'’ Ibraaheem will say, ‘O Lord! You promised me not to
disgrace me on the Day of Resurrection; and what will be more disgraceful to
me than cursing and dishonoring my father?’ Then Allah will say, ‘I have
forbidden Paradise to the disbelievers.’ Then he will be addressed, ‘O
Ibraaheem, what is beneath your feet?’ He will look and there he will see a
Dhabh (an animal,) blood-stained, which will be caught by the legs
and thrown into the Fire.”(Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 3350).
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