I hear some people saying that intercession belongs only to Allaah and can only be asked of Him, while others say that Allaah has given the power of intercession to His Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and to His righteous close friends (awliyaa’) so that we may ask them to intercede for us. What is the correct view, and can you quote shar’i evidence to support it?
Praise be to Allaah.
Intercession means mediating for someone else to gain some
benefit or ward off some harm.It is of two types:
The first type:
intercession that will take place in the Hereafter, on the Day of
Resurrection.The second type: intercession concerning matters of this
world.With regard to the intercession that will take place in the
Hereafter, it is of two types:The first type: exclusive intercession,
which will be granted only to the Messenger (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him), and no one else in creation will have a share in that
with him. This is of various kinds:1 – The greater intercession. This is the station of praise
and glory (al-maqaam al-mahmood) which Allaah has promised to him,
when He said (interpretation of the meaning):“And in some parts of the night (also) offer the Salaat
(prayer) with it (i.e. recite the Qur’aan in the prayer) as an additional
prayer (Tahajjud optional prayer
Nawaafil) for you (O Muhammad). 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]
What this intercession
means is that he will intercede for all of mankind when Allaah delays the
Reckoning and they have waited for so long in the place of gathering on the
Day of Resurrection. Their distress and anxiety will reach a point where
they can no longer bear it, and they will say, “Who will intercede for us
with our Lord so that He will pass judgement amongst His slaves?” and they
will wish to leave that place. So the people will come to the Prophets, each
of whom will say, “I am not able for it,” until when they come to our
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), he will say, “I am
able for it, I am able for it.” So he will intercede for them, that
judgement may be passed. This is the greater intercession, and it is one of
the things that belong exclusively to the Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him).There are many ahaadeeth
which speak of this intercession, in al-Saheehayn and elsewhere, such
as the hadeeth narrated by al-Bukhaari in his Saheeh (1748) from Ibn
‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him): “The people will fall on their knees
on the Day of Resurrection, each nation following its Prophet, saying, ‘O So
and so, intercede!’ until intercession is granted to the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him). On that Day Allaah will resurrect him
to a station of praise and glory.”2 – Intercession for the
people of Paradise to enter Paradise.It was narrated that Anas
ibn Maalik said: “The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) said: ‘I will come to the gate of Paradise on the Day of
Resurrection and will ask for it to be opened. The gatekeeper will say, “Who
are you?” I will say, “Muhammad.” He will say, “I was commanded not to open
it for anyone before you.”’” (Narrated by Muslim, 333).According to another
report narrated by Muslim (332), “I will be the first one to intercede
concerning Paradise.”3 – The intercession of
the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) for his uncle
Abu Taalib:It was narrated from Abu
Sa’eed al-Khudri (may Allaah be pleased with him) that mention was made of
his uncle Abu Taalib in the presence of the Messenger of Allaah (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him). He said, “Perhaps my intercession will
benefit him on the Day of Resurrection, and he will be placed in a shallow
part of the Fire which will come up to his ankles and cause his brains to
boil.” (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 1408; Muslim, 360).4 – His intercession so
that some people of his ummah will enter Paradise without being brought to
account.This kind of intercession
was mentioned by some of the scholars, who quoted as evidence the lengthy
hadeeth of Abu Hurayrah concerning intercession, in which it says: “Then it
will be said, ‘O Muhammad, raise you head; ask, it will be given to you;
intercede, your intercession will be accepted.’ So I will raise my head and
say, ‘My ummah, O Lord; my ummah, O Lord; my ummah, O Lord.’ It will be
said, ‘Admit those among your ummah who are not to be brought to account
through the right-hand gate of Paradise. They will share the other gates
with the people of other nations.’” (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 4343; Muslim,
287).The second type:
general intercession. This will be granted to the
Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and others –
angels, Prophets and righteous people – will share in it as Allaah wills.
This is of various kinds:1 – Intercession for some
people who have entered Hell, that they might be brought forth from it.
There is a great deal of evidence for this, for example:The marfoo’ hadeeth of
Abu Sa’eed al-Khudri (may Allaah be pleased with him) in Saheeh Muslim
(269): “By the One in Whose hand is my soul, none of you can be more
insistent in asking Allaah to restore his rights against his opponent than
the believers who will ask Allaah, on the Day of Resurrection, (to grant
them the power of intercession) for their brothers who are in the Fire. They
will say, ‘Our Lord, they used to fast with us and pray and perform Hajj.’
It will be said to them, ‘Bring out those whom you recognize, so the Fire
will be forbidden to burn them.’ So they will bring out many people… And
Allaah will say: ‘The angels have interceded, and the Prophets have
interceded, and the believers have interceded. There is none left but
the Most Merciful of those who show mercy.’ Then He will seize a handful of
the Fire and bring forth from it people who never did anything good.”2 – Intercession for
people who deserve Hell, that they may not enter it. This may be indicated
by the words of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him): “There is no Muslim who dies and forty men who associate nothing with
Allaah pray the funeral prayer for him, but Allaah will accept their
intercession for him.” (Narrated by Muslim, 1577). For this intercession
happens before the deceased enters Hell, and Allaah will accept their
intercession concerning that.3 – Intercession for some
of the believers who deserve Paradise, that they may be raised in status in
Paradise. For example, Muslim (may Allaah have mercy on him) narrated (1528)
that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) prayed for
Abu Salamah and said: “O Allaah, forgive Abu Salamah and raise his status
among those who are guided, and take good care of his family that he has
left behind. Forgive us and him, O Lord of the Worlds, make his grave
spacious for him and illuminate it for him.”Conditions of this
intercession:The evidence indicates
that intercession in the Hereafter will only happen if the following
conditions are met:1)
Allaah must approve of the one
for whom intercession is made, because Allaah says (interpretation of the
meaning):“and they cannot intercede except for him with whom He is
pleased”[al-Anbiya’ 21:28]
This implies that the one for whom intercession is made must
be a believer in Tawheed, because Allaah is not pleased with the mushrikeen.
In Saheeh al-Bukhaari (97) it is narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may
Allaah be pleased with him) that he said: “It was said, ‘O Messenger of
Allaah, who will be the most blessed of people by your intercession of the
Day of Resurrection?’ The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) said: “I thought, O Abu Hurayrah, that no one would ask
me about this hadeeth before you, because I have seen how keen you are to
learn hadeeth. The people who will be most blessed by my intercession on
the Day of Resurrection are those who say Laa ilaaha ill-Allaah
sincerely from the heart.’”2)
Allaah must give permission to
the intercessor to intercede, because Allaah says (interpretation of the
meaning):“Who is he that can intercede with Him except with His
Permission?”[al-Baqarah 2:255]3)
Allaah must approve of the
intercessor, because Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):“…whose intercession will avail nothing except after
Allaah has given leave for whom He wills and is pleased with”[al-Najm 53:26]
And the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) has stated that those who curse much will not be intercessors on the
Day of Resurrection, as Muslim narrated in his Saheeh (4703) that
Abu’l-Darda’ (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: “I heard the Messenger
of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say, ‘Those who
curse much will not be witnesses or intercessors on the Day of
Resurrection.’”The second type of intercession is that which has to do with
matters of this world. This is of two types:1 – That which is within a person’s ability to do something.
This is permissible, subject to two conditions:1)
That it should have to do with
a permissible thing. It is not correct to intercede concerning something
that will result in the loss of people’s rights or in wrong being done to
them. It is also not correct to intercede concerning something that is
haraam, such as those who intercede concerning those who deserve the hadd
punishment, asking that it not be carried out on them. Allaah says
(interpretation of the meaning):“Help you one another in Al-Birr and At-Taqwa (virtue,
righteousness and piety); but do not help one another in sin and
transgression”
[al-Maa’idah 5:2]According to a hadeeth narrated by ‘Aa’ishah (may
Allaah be pleased with her), Quraysh were concerned about a Makhzoomi woman
who had stolen, and they said, “Who will speak to the Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) concerning her? Who better
than Usaamah, the beloved of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him)?” So Usaamah spoke to him, and the
Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said,
“Are you interceding concerning one of the hadd punishments prescribed by
Allaah?” Then he stood up and addressed the people, and said, “O people,
those who came before you were only destroyed because if one of their nobles
stole they would let him off but if one of the weak stole they would carry
out the punishment on him. By Allaah, if Faatimah the daughter of Muhammad
were to steal, I would cut off her hand.” (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 3261;
Muslim, 3196).In Saheeh al-Bukhaari (5568) and Saheeh Muslim
(4761) it is narrated that Abu Moosa (may Allaah be pleased with him) said
that if someone came with a need to the Messenger of Allaah (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him), he would turn to those who were sitting
with him and say, “Intercede, and you will be rewarded, and Allaah will
decree what He wills through the lips of His Messenger.”2)
In his heart, the person must
depend on Allaah alone to realize his aim and ward off what is disliked. He
should know that this intercessor is no more than a means which Allaah has
permitted to us, and that benefit and harm are in the hand of Allaah alone.
This meaning is expressed clearly in the Book of Allaah and the Sunnah of
His Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).If either of these two conditions is not met, then the
intercession is not allowed.2 – That which is not within a person’s ability to do
something, such as seeking intercession from the dead and occupants of
graves, or from a living person who is absent, believing that he is able to
hear and meet one’s need. This is the kind of intercession that constitutes
shirk, which is clearly forbidden in many verses of the Qur’aan and
ahaadeeth from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him),
because it ascribes to them attributes which belong only to the Creator, for
He is the Ever-living Who never dies.Their specious argument is that the awliya’ (“saints”)
and Sayyids intercede for their relatives and for those who call on them and
take them as friends and love them, and because of that they ask them for
intercession. This is exactly what Allaah described the early mushrikeen as
doing, when they said,“These are our intercessors with Allaah”
[Yoonus 10:18 – interpretation of the meaning]
–
referring to those whom they
worshipped among the angels, righteous people and others, and meaning that
they would intercede for them with Allaah. In the same way, the contemporary
mushrikoon say “the awliya’ (‘saints’) intercede for us; we cannot ask of
Allaah (directly) so we ask them and they ask of Allaah.” And they say that
the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and all the
Prophets and righteous people were given the power of intercession, and we
call upon them and say, intercede for us as Allaah has given you the power
of intercession. They give the example of kings in this world, and say that
the kings of this world can only be approached through intercession; if you
need something, you go to their friends and those who are close to them,
their ministers, gatekeepers, servants, etc., to intercede for you so that
the king can deal with your matter; so we reach Allaah by approaching and
asking His awliyaa’ and the Sayyids who are close to Him. By doing this they
fall into the same shirk as those who came before them, and they compare the
Creator to His creation.Allaah tells us of a righteous man in Soorat Ya-Seen, who
said (interpretation of the meaning):“ ‘Shall I take besides Him aalihah (gods)? If the Most
Gracious (Allaah) intends me any harm, their intercession will be of no use
for me whatsoever”[Ya-Seen 36:23]
And Allaah tells us that the kuffaar will confess it
themselves:“They will say: ‘We were not of those who used to offer
the Salaah (prayers),Nor we used to feed Al-Miskeen (the poor);
And we used to talk falsehood (all that which Allaah
hated) with vain talkers.And we used to belie the Day of Recompense,
Until there came to us (the death) that is certain’
So no intercession of intercessors will be of any use to
them”[al-Muddaththir 74:43-48 – interpretation of the meaning]
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him),
even though he will be given the power of intercession on the Day of
Resurrection, will not be able to use it until after Allaah has given him
permission and has approved of the one for whom intercession is to be made.Hence he (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did
not let his ummah ask him to intercede for them in this world, and that was
not narrated from any one of his Sahaabah (may Allaah be pleased with them).
If that had been a good thing, he would have conveyed it to his ummah and
called them to do it, and his Companions who were keen to do good would have
hastened to do it. Thus we know that seeking intercession from him now (in
this world) is a great wrong, because it involves calling upon someone other
than Allaah and doing something which is an obstacle to intercession, for
intercession is available only to those who sincerely believe in Allaah
alone (Tawheed)The people in the place of standing (on the Day of
Resurrection) will only ask the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) to intercede for them so that judgement will be passed, because
he will be there with them and because he will be able to turn to his Lord
and ask Him. This is like asking a person who is alive and present to do
make du’aa’ for one, which is something that he is able to do.Hence it is not narrated that any of the people in the place
of standing will ask him (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) to
intercede for them that their sins might be forgiven.Those who ask him for intercession now, based on the fact
that it will be permissible to ask him for that in the Hereafter, if their
claims were justified, would have to limit what they say to, “O Messenger of
Allaah, intercede for us that judgement may be passed”! But they do
something other than that. They do not limit it to a request for
intercession, rather they ask the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) – and others – to relieve their distress and send down
mercy; they turn to him at times of calamity; they pray to him on land and
sea, at times of ease and times of difficulty, ignoring the words of Allaah
(interpretation of the meaning):“Is not He (better than your gods) Who responds to the
distressed one, when he calls on Him, and Who removes the evil, and makes
you inheritors of the earth, generations after generations?”[al-Naml 27:62]
From the above it is
clear to every fair-minded person that the correct kind of intercession is
intercession that depends on the permission and approval of Allaah, because
all intercession belongs to Him. That also includes asking for intercession
from living people who are able to do that concerning worldly matters, for
which Allaah has granted permission. It should be pointed out here that this
kind of intercession is permitted because Allaah has given permission for
it, since it involves no kind of emotional attachment to the person, rather
the point is that it is a means, like all other means which Islam permits us
to use. The kind of intercession which is forbidden is asking someone other
than Allaah to do something that no one is able to do except Allaah, because
intercession belongs to no one besides Allaah, and no one can do it unless
Allaah grants him leave and approves of him. So whoever seeks intercession
from anyone else has transgressed upon the exclusive preserve of Allaah and
has wronged himself, and has exposed himself to being deprived of the
intercession of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
on the Day of Resurrection. We ask Allaah to keep us safe and sound, and we
ask Him to cause our Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) to intercede for us … Ameen.For more information see al-Shafaa’ah ‘inda Ahl al-Sunnah wa’l-Jamaa’ah by Shaykh Naasir
al-Juday’; al-Qawl al-Mufeed by Shaykh Muhammad ibn ‘Uthaymeen, 1/423; A’laam al-Sunnah al-Manshoorah, 144.
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