Intercession in language
It is taken from the word Shafa’, which is the opposite of the odd, which means making the odd a double, like making one two, and three four, and so on in terms of language.
In terminology
It is “mediating for others by bringing benefit or warding off harm,” meaning that the intercessor should be between the one to whom the intercessor is interceded, The recipient is an intermediary to bring benefit to the interceded, or ward off harm on his behalf.
The conditions for intercession on the Day of Resurrection
There are two conditions that must be met for intercession to be acceptable
1 - God Almighty’s permission includes universal permission and legal permission
Meaning that God Almighty can permit anyone to intercede in this world and the hereafter, and that permission is universal, but if the conditions for legitimate intercession are not met, then this intercession is not accepted as in the intercession of the Prophet of God Abraham - peace be upon him - for his father, it was not accepted, and likewise the intercession of the Prophet of God Noah - peace be upon him - for his son, it was not accepted, the intercession of the Messenger Muhammad - may God bless him and grant him peace - for his uncle Abu Talib was not accepted, because they are intercessions that are not in accordance with Sharia law, this means that the legal permission is not available in it, in its capacity and in the premise.
2- God Almighty’s satisfaction
This includes God Almighty’s satisfaction with the intercessor, including His Almighty saying:
(وَلَا يَمْلِكُ الَّذِينَ يَدْعُونَ مِن دُونِهِ الشَّفَاعَةَ إِلَّا مَن شَهِدَ بِالْحَقِّ وَهُمْ يَعْلَمُونَ)،
(And those whom they call upon less than Him do not have the power of intercession, except those who bear witness to the truth and they know.)
The wisdom of intercession on the Day of Resurrection
God Almighty loves to honor some of His servants and distinguish them from others to have the honor of interceding for others, in addition to showing God’s generosity to the person being interceded for, It is not what some people thought intercession was an opportunity to dare to commit sins; Because no one can be sure that someone will intercede for him.
There are two types of intercession (a worldly type and another on the Day of Resurrection)
First: worldly intercession
It is the mediation of a righteous person or a noble person with some of his brothers to bring benefit or ward off harm such as a man of good standing interceding with someone’s guardian to pay harm or punishment, or to bring benefit to this person. This worldly intercession is permissible and even rewarded for it, and the evidence for it is from the Book.
Allah says
مَّن يَشْفَعْ شَفَاعَةً حَسَنَةً يَكُن لَّهُ نَصِيبٌ مِّنْهَا ۖ وَمَن يَشْفَعْ شَفَاعَةً سَيِّئَةً يكُن لَّهُ كِفْلٌ مِّنْهَا ۗ وَكَانَ اللَّهُ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ مُّقِيتًا
Whoever intercedes with a good intercession will have a share of it and whoever intercedes with a bad intercession, he will have a measure of it and God is abhorrent to all things
In the Sunnah
The Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, said: “Intercede and you will be rewarded and God decides through the tongue of His Prophet whatever He wills.) whoever intercedes for his brother to relieve his distress, God will relieve his distress on the Day of Resurrection, whoever intercedes for his brother in need, God will give him something better than what he interceded for.
Intercession is not permissible within any of the limits set by God Almighty
Because the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, would never defend himself, nor would he ever become angry for himself, unless God’s prohibitions were violated. In the hadith: (A woman from Banu Makhzum used to deny the secondment, so the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, took it and imposed the punishment on her for theft, It is: cutting off the hand. They said: who will intercede with the Messenger of God? They said: The Messenger of God loved Osama bin Zaid, so Osama stood up - not knowing that It is not permissible - so he talk to the Messenger of God spoke about the Makhzoum woman: The Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, became very angry, He said: Should you intercede for one of God’s punishments? By God, if Fatima bint Muhammad had stolen, I would have cut off her hand.
Second: The types of intercession
- Intercession of the prophets -
God Almighty honored His prophets and pure ones by accepting their intercession for a people destined for Hell, they entered it because of their sins and not because of their disbelief, He - may God bless him and grant him peace - said about that: (So God Almighty says: The angels interceded, the prophets interceded, and the believers interceded, only the Most Merciful of the merciful remains, and he will take a handful of the Fire, Then He will bring forth from it a people who have never done good and have become lava, other hadiths have been reported that confirm the intercession of the prophets for believers.
Intercession of the angels
The intercession of angels is only for those whom God Almighty is pleased with, they may intercede for him, and he gave permission to do so, their intercession will not be for anyone. God Almighty said: (And they do not intercede except for him whom He is pleased with.) And their seeking forgiveness for those on earth mentioned in His saying - the Most High -:
﴿ تَكَادُ السَّمَاوَاتُ يَتَفَطَّرْنَ مِن فَوْقِهِنَّ ۚ وَالْمَلَائِكَةُ يُسَبِّحُونَ بِحَمْدِ رَبِّهِمْ وَيَسْتَغْفِرُونَ لِمَن فِي الْأَرْضِ ۗ أَلَا إِنَّ اللَّهَ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ﴾
) The heavens are almost bursting from above them, and the angels glorify the praises of their Lord and seek forgiveness for those on earth. Indeed, it is God who is the Forgiving, the Most Merciful.
The Intercession of martyrs
His saying - may God bless him and grant him peace - (Then it will be said: Call the martyrs, and they will intercede for whomever they want, He said: If the martyrs do that, he said: God Almighty says: I am the Most Merciful of those who show mercy.
It was also mentioned in the hadith of Khasal Al-Shaheed
The Messenger - may God bless him and grant him peace - said: (The martyr will intercede for seventy of his family)
Al-Minawi said in explaining the hadith:
He preferred benevolence to relatives over foreigners, Likewise, the family of the martyr means his ascendants, descendants, and his wives, and other relatives, and the number of seventy may not have been intended for its own sake, but rather it was intended to be multiplied.
The Intercession of the righteous
The intercession of the righteous servants of God is proven in the hadith of Al-Qabah ( the hand full)
Among them is his saying - may God bless him and grant him peace - on the tongue of the righteous servants of God: (That is, our Lord, servants of Your servants were with us in this world, performing our prayers, and paying zakat our zakat, and they fasting our fast and perform our Hajj.) They take out those who say there is no god but God, and they recognize them by the places of prostration, because God Almighty forbids fire to consume it. As for the rest of the body parts, the fire consumes them according to the size of the sinner’s sins, some of them had pain up to his leg, some to his knee, and some to his chest, after that, they come out of the fire and are thrown into a river known as the River of Life, and they grow, And they will enter Paradise. He, peace be upon him, said: They will be thrown into the river of life, or life, and they will sprout in it just as a seed sprouts alongside a stream.
The Intercession of the believers
PBUH" said-
(By the One whose is my soul in His Hands, there is not one of you who appeals most strongly to God in seeking out the truth of those who believe in God's Day of the resurrection for their brothers who are in hell. The scholars have concluded that this intercession includes:
The father
This intercession is also achieved when adult children die, and they are more deserving of it because the calamity of losing them is greater, moreover, all of this depends on the person’s application of the provisions of Sharia, And patience when they are lost. God Almighty said:
(إِنَّمَا يُوَفَّى الصَّابِرُونَ أَجْرَهُم بِغَيْرِ حِسَابٍ)
(Only those who are patient will be given their reward in full, without reckoning)
The Intercession of the Qur’an
The intercession of the Qur’an for its reader and for those who act upon it in this world has been proven, and there are some surahs mentioned by the Prophet - peace be upon him - that intercede for whoever memorizes them, Reciting Surah Al-Mulk every night prevents the one who does it from the torment of the grave, Surahs Al-Baqarah and Surat Al-Imran are like two clouds They shade the one who continues reading them; When he - may God bless him and grant him peace - says: (Learn the Qur’an, for it will come on the Day of Resurrection as an intercessor for its companions, And upon you are the two Zahrawis: Al-Baqarah and the family of Imran, They will come on the Day of Resurrection as if they were two clouds, or as if they were Ghayat: everything that shades a person above his head, such as clouds, dust, and shadows or two birds or flocks of birds arguing on behalf of their owners.
Finally: The intercessions of the Messenger of God - may God bless him and grant him peace -
He, peace and blessings be upon him, has three intercessions of his own, peace and blessings be upon him
The first intercession (the great intercession)
Imam Muslim - may God have mercy on him - narrated in his Sahih: On the authority of Abu Hurairah - may God be pleased with him –
He said: (The Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, was brought one day with meat, The arm was raised to him and he liked it, He takes a bite from it, He said, “I am the master of people on the Day of Resurrection.” Do you know what that is? On the Day of Resurrection, God will gather the first and the last in one place, The caller hears them, sight penetrates them, and the sun sets, People will experience such anguish and distress that they cannot bear it, and they cannot bear it. Some people say to each other: Don't you see what you are in? do not you see what came to you? do you not from your Lord to intercede for you? Some people say to each other, go to Adam. so, they go to Adam and say: O Adam! You are the father of mankind, God created you with His own hand and breathed His Spirit into you, He commanded the angels and they prostrated to you. Intercede for us before your Lord, do not you see where we are? Don't you see what we have reached? Adam says: My Lord is angry today with an anger that He has never been angry with before, He will never be angry like it after it. He forbade me from the tree, so I disobeyed him, Myself, myself, go to someone else, go to someone else, go to Noah, they will go to Noah and say: O Noah, you are the first of the messengers to earth, and God has called you a grateful servant. Intercede for us with your Lord, do not you see where we are? did not you see what we achieved? He says to them: My Lord is angry today with an anger that He has never been angry like that before and He will not be angry like it after it, indeed, I had a supplication that I made upon my people Myself, myself, go to Abraham, may God bless him and grant him peace, so they go to Abraham and say: You are God's prophet and his friend from among the people of the earth. Intercede for us with your Lord. Do you not see what we are in? Don't you see what we have reached? Then Abraham says to them: Indeed, my Lord has become very angry today He did not get angry like it before it, nor will he get angry like it after it, He mentioned his lies. Myself, myself, go to someone else, go to Moses, then they would go to Moses, may God bless him and grant him peace, and say: O Moses, you are the Messenger of God, may God bless you, with the messages that He speaks to you over the people, Intercede for us with your Lord. Do you not see what we are in? did not you see what we achieved? Then Moses, may God bless him and grant him peace, says to them: My Lord has become angry today with an anger that He has never been angry with before, and He will never be angry with after it like that, And I killed a soul that I was not commanded to kill, myself, myself. Go to Jesus, may God bless him and grant him peace.
They come to Jesus and say: O Jesus
You are the Messenger of God, and you spoke to the people in the cradle, and a word from him that he delivered to Mary, and a spirit from him. So, intercede for us with your Lord. Do not you see where we are? did not you see what we achieved? Jesus, may God bless him and grant him peace, says to them: Indeed, my Lord has become angry today with an anger that He has never been angry with before, He will never be as angry after it. He did not mention to Him a sin, Myself myself. Go to someone else, go to Muhammad, may God bless him and grant him peace, May God forgive you for your past and future sins. Intercede for us with your Lord, do not you see where we are? did not you see what we achieved? so I go and come under the throne and fall down, prostrating to my Lord, Then God will grant me victory and inspire me with His praises and good praise upon Him, something he had never opened to anyone before me. Then it is said: O Muhammad, raise your head, ask and it will be given to you, intercede and it will be granted, So I raise my head and say: O Lord of my nation, my nation, It is said: O Muhammad! Enter Paradise from your nation He who has no reckoning, is from the right gate of Paradise and they are share in other doors, by the One whose my soul in His Hand what is between the two gates of Paradise as it’s between Mecca and Hijra.
Or as between Mecca and Busra
And in a narration by Al-Bukhari (It is said: Go and take out from it the one who has in his heart a hair’s weight of faith. So I go and do so, then I return and praise him with those praises, then I prostrate to him, and it is said: O Muhammad, Raise your head, and speak and you will be heard, ask and it will be given to you, intercede and you will be granted intercession, so I say: O Lord, my nation, my nation, It is said: Go and remove from it whoever has an atom or mustard’s weight of faith in his heart, I go and do that, then come back and praise him with those praises, then prostrate for him again, It will be said: O Muhammad, raise your head, speak, and it will be heard. Ask and it will be given to you, And intercede, and you will intercede, so I say: O Lord, my nation, my nation, and he says: Go So take out the one who has the slightest faith in his heart, even the weight of a mustard seed, and take him out of the Fire, so go and do it, Then I come back the fourth time and praise Him with those praises, then I prostrated before him, and it would be said: O Muhammad, raise your head, and speak and you will be heard, and ask and you will be given, and intercede and you will be granted intercession, So I say: O Lord, permit me regarding the one who says there is no god but God, and says: By My glory, my majesty, my pride, and my greatness, I will remove from it those who say: There is no god but God.)
The Second intercession
(Intercession for the people of Paradise until they enter Paradise)
They will not enter it except through his intercession, peace and blessings be upon him, so he will intercede with his Lord and they will be given permission to enter Paradise, When the people of Paradise cross the path, they will be stopped on a bridge between Paradise and Hell, so that their hearts will be purified from one another until they are refined and purified, then they are given permission to enter Paradise, and the gates of Paradise are opened through the intercession of the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace.
The third intercession
Especially his uncle Abu Talib
He interceded on behalf of his uncle Abu Talib to make light of his burden. He, peace and blessings of God be upon him, said: He found him in the depths of the fire, so he interceded for him until he became in a shallow part of the fire. The Messenger, peace and blessings of God be upon him, interceded for his uncle Abi Talib only in reducing the risk of going out; Because he is an infidel, he died as an infidel. This is what the people of knowledge and investigation hold, that he died as an infidel, as the Prophet, peace and blessings of God be upon him, Upon his death, he was asked to say: There is no god but Allah, but he refused, and said: He is following the religion of Abdul Muttalib, We seek refuge in God, so he died disbelief in God, so this became one of the verses indicating that he, peace and blessings of God be upon him, did not have the power to guide anyone, Guidance is in the hand of God. He is the One who guides whom He wills. That is why when his uncle Abu Talib died in disbelief, God revealed the Almighty’s saying about him:
(إِنَّكَ لا تَهْدِي مَنْ أَحْبَبْتَ وَلَكِنَّ اللَّهَ يَهْدِي مَنْ يَشَاءُ) [القصص:56]
(You do not guide whom you love, but God guides whom He wills) [Al-Qasas: 56]
And almighty says
(لَيْسَ عَلَيْكَ هُدَاهُمْ وَلَكِنَّ اللَّهَ يَهْدِي مَنْ يَشَاءُ) [البقرة:272] .
(It is not your responsibility to guide them, but God guides whom He wills) [Al-Baqarah: 272].
Who is the most deserving of the intercession of the Messenger of God - may God bless him and grant him peace - on the Day of Resurrection?
1 - Whoever says there is no god but God sincerely from his heart
Faith in God Almighty; In Al-Bukhari on the authority of Abu Hurairah - may God be pleased with him - that he said: It was said: O Messenger of God, who will make people happiest with your intercession on the Day of Resurrection, The Messenger of God - may God bless him and grant him peace - said: (I thought, O Abu Hurairah that no one should ask me about this hadith more deserving than you, because I saw your keenness on the hadith, The happiest person with my intercession on the Day of Resurrection will be the one who says there is no god but God sincerely from his heart or soul.
2 – The supplication about the Praiseworthy Maqam after the call to prayer for the Messenger of God
Al-Bukhari narrated that Jaber bin Abdullah - may God be pleased with him - said that the Messenger of God - may God bless him and grant him peace - said: (Whoever When he heard the call, he said: O God, Lord of this perfect call and the stand up for prayer, Give Muhammad the Al wasilah:( place in the paradise, no one deserve it except the prophet – PBUH) and the virtue, and raise him to the praised station that You promised him. My intercession will be permitted for him on the Day of Resurrection.
resided in the Prophet’s city
In Sahih Muslim: On the authority of Abu Saeed Al-Khudri - may God be pleased with him - he said: I heard the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, say: “No one can be patient with its afflictions and die, Unless I will be his intercessor or martyr on the Day of Resurrection, if he is a Muslim
What is meant by “liwa” is the hardship that befalls its inhabitants due to the extreme heat, cold, and hardship of living
4- The Prostration a lot
It was stated in the hadith that was authenticated by Al-Albani and others: (He - may God bless him and grant him peace - used to say to the servant: Do you need something? He said: Until one day he said: O Messenger of God! My need. He said: What is your need? He said: My need is for you to intercede for me in the Day of Resurrection, He said: Who guided you to this? He said: My Lord. He said: As for no, I mean a lot of prostration