Shafa’at (Intercession)
Edited by Fazila Idris
Bux
In the Qur’aan Allah says:
‘And when it is said to them: “Come the messenger of
Allah will ask for forgiveness for you”, they will twist their heads and you
will see them turning away in arrogance’
Al Quran (Surah 63, Al Munafiqoon: The Hypocrites)
Our
beloved Rasool Say:
‘Seek
my Wasila. For the person in this world who seeks my wasila, I shall be his
witness and plead for his Shafa’ah on the Day of Judgement.’
Prophet Mohammed (Sallalaho alyhi wassalam) (Jaam-e-sageer, Chapter2, Page 58; Tibrabi; Ibn Majah)
One of the main points of dispute between the
Wahabi/Tableegi/Deobadhi and Sunnis is the fundamental belief of Intersession
of the Holy Prophet (Sallalaho alyhi wassalam) on the day of Judgement.
It is Sunni Aqa’d that on the Day of judgement, when the
Holy Prophet (Sallalaho alyhi wassalam) will be approached by the people (after
they have been to all of the other Ambiyah-e-kiraam, but in vain), the people
will cry out to him and ask him to help them, the holy Prophet (Sallalaho alyhi
wassalam) will enter the court of Allah and bow sijdah before him.
Almighty Allah will then say: “O Mohammed (Sallalaho alyhi
wassalam) raise your head and say what you want to say. Your plea will be heard
and what you say will be granted. Intercede, if you wish, because your
intercession can be entertained” And thus Allah will grant his wishes, as
mentioned in the Quran (Al-Dhuha; Ayah 5)
‘Wa la saufa yo-atika Rabboka fatardha’
‘And O Mohammed (Sallalaho alyhi wassalam),
certainly your Lord shall give you, and you shall be satisfied’
There are many ayahs in the Holy Quran which mention
intercession and pleading by the Prophet (Sallalaho alyhi wassalam) for his
Ummah. There will be no intercession for those who do not believe in Intercession-
Which means that those who refute the belief of Intercession by our Prophet (Sallalaho
alyhi wassalam) on the day of resurrection are in affect refuting this ayah of the
Holy Quran… Astagfirullah.
Ayah’s from the Qur’an on
intercession
‘Wa lav ann-a hum izz anfosahum ja-ooka fas
taghfarullaha vastaghfar lahu-mur rasoolo l’waja-dullaha taw-wabur-Rahim’
‘And we did not send any messenger but to be
obeyed, by Allah’s permission, and if when they wronged themselves they had
come to you and prayed for forgiveness of Allah, and the Messenger (Sallalaho
alyhi wassalam) had prayed for then, then surely they will find Allah
All-relenting, All-merciful’
(Surah
Nisa, Ayah 14)
The following
are Ayah’s from the Holy Qur’an concerning the intercession of our beloved:
‘(There is)
no intercessor, except by His (Allah’s) permission’
(Surah Yunus, Ayah 3)
‘On that Day
shall no intercession avail except for him to whom Allah most gracious gives
leave and whose word is acceptable to him’
(Surah Taha, Ayah 109)
‘The day of
Judgement is the appointed time for all of them; a day when no guardian shall
avail his ward any, nor shall they be helped. Except those upon whom Allah has
mercy, surely he is the All-Mighty, All-Merciful’
(Surah
Dhukan, Ayahs 40-42)
‘So know (O
Mohammed (Sallalaho alyhi wassalam))
that there is no God except Allah and ask for forgiveness for thy sin and for
believing men and women’
(Surah
Mohammed (Sallalaho alyhi wassalam),
Ayah 19)
‘They shall
have no power of intercession, except those who have taken covenant with Allah
most gracious’
(Surah
Mariam, Ayah 87)
‘Certainly
there has come to you a messenger, from amongst ourselves, grievous to him is
your suffering, ardently anxious is he over you; to the believers he is
compassionate and merciful’
(Surah
Taubah, Ayah 128)
‘And no
intercession can avail anyone before Allah, except for the one whom he gives
leave’
(Surah Saba’a, Ayah 23)
‘And they do
not intercede except for him with whom He (Allah) is well pleased, and they
tremble for fear of him’
(Surah
Ambiayah, Ayah 28)
‘Wa ma
arsalnaaka ila Rahmatil-lil-Aalimeen’
‘And we did
not send you (Mohammed – Sallalaho alyhi wassalam) but as mercy for all beings’
Surah
Ambiyah, Ayah 107
The Quran was revealed to the holy Prophet (Sallalaho alyhi
wassalam) and who can know and understand the ayahs better than him. As has
been quoted in the Ayahs from the Quran, those who have been given leave will
intercede on the Day of Judgement. Now let us look at what the Prophet (Sallalaho
alyhi wassalam) has said about intercession through various Hadith, some of
which have been mentioned below:
“I will intercede for my Ummah, until my lord will ask
me, ‘O MOHAMMED, (Sallalaho alyhi wassalam) ARE YOU PLEASED?’ I will reply ‘O
MY RABB! I AM PLEASED’.
The Prophet (Sallalaho alyhi
wassalam) as quoted in Tibrabi; Bazzaz
On the day
of Judgement three groups will intercede (1) The Ambiyah (2)The Awliyah (3)The
martyrs.
(Mishkaat
Sharif, Page 495; Jaam-e-sageer, Vol2. page 207)
“My Shafa’a
is for those of my Ummah who have committed big sins”
(Prophet (Sallalaho alyhi wassalam)- Mishkaat
Sharif, page 494, Ahmed, Abe Daud, Tirmizi, Nisai, Baihaki)
“My
intercession is for the sinners of my Ummah”
(Jaam-e-sageer Vol 2 Page 33)
The prophet
(Sallalaho alyhi wassalam) has
said: “On the Day of Judgement, my Shafa’aat will be for those who recited-
‘LAA ILA HAA ILALAAHO MUHAMMAD UR RASOOLALLAH (Sallalaho alyhi wassalam)’ with Ikhlas”
(Bukhari
Sharif, Mishkaat Sharif, Page 489)
The Prophet
(Sallalaho alyhi wassalam) has
said: “Due to my intercession, one community will come out of hell and enter
paradise, they will be called ‘Jahammiyeen’ (those from hell)”
(Bukhari
sharif, Mishkaat sharif, Page 492)
Hazrat Anas
(radi allaho anaho) narrates that he asked the prophet (Sallalaho alyhi wassalam) about the Day of Judgement, he replied
“I will intercede on that Day”, So I asked, ‘O Prophet of Allah, where shall I
find u?’ He replied “Look for me near the Pul siraat” I asked: ‘if I don’t see
u there?’, He replied “Look for me near the Mizaan (scales)” I asked: ‘And if I
don’t see u there?’, He replied “Look for me near the fountain of Kauthar, I
will not be at any place except these three”
(Tirmizi, Mishkaat, Page 493)
Hazrat Auf
bin Maalik Narrates that the Prophet (Sallalaho
alyhi wassalam) said: “My Allah sent me a person who brought a request
from him that he was given the choice between the two: that half of his ummah
be granted paradise and that of intercession. I chose intercession, and this is
for those people who have not died as ‘Mushrik’”
(Tirmizi
Sharif, Mishkat Sharif Page 493)
Hazrat Abu
Saeed (radi allaho anaho) narrated that the Prophet (Sallalaho alyhi wassalam) said “ Amongst my Ummah some will
intercede for large communities and some will intercede for whole tribe, some
for a group, until the whole Ummah enters paradise”
(Tirmizi,
Mishakaat Page 494)
Prophet
Mohammed (Sallalaho alyhi wassalam)
has stated, “ I will go near hell and knock on its door, which will then be
opened. I will then enter and request and plead to Allah (ta’ala) in a manner
no one will have done so before and nor will anyone do after that. Everyone who
has recited Kalima Tayiba with sincerity will come out of Hell” Insha’allah.
(Tibrani)
Prophet
Mohammed (Sallalaho alyhi wassalam)
has stated, “ On the day of Judgement I will be the imam and khatib of the
Prophets. I will intercede on the day and I am not pompous about it”
(Tirmizi,
Ibn Majah, Ahmad; Mustadrak)
Prophet
Mohammed (Sallalaho alyhi wassalam)
stated: “ I will intercede first for the Ahle Bayt, then for those close to
Ahle Bayt, then for all the arabs and then for all the non-arabs”
(Tibrani
Sharif)
Prophet Mohammed
(Sallalaho alyhi wassalam)
stated: “ my intercession on the Day of Judgement will be my prerogative. So
any person who does not believe in intercession will have no part in it”
(Jaam-e-
Sageer)
Prophet (Sallalaho
alyhi wassalam) stated: “ Whoever rejected my shafa’ah, he will then have no
share in it”
(Fat hul
Bari)
Hazrat Ibn
Buraidah (radi allaho anaho) narrated that the prophet of Allah (peace be upon
him) said: “ I will intercede on the day Of Judgement for people whose number
will exceed all trees, stones and mounds on Earth”
(Musnad Imam
Ahmad; Jaam-e Sageer Part 1, Page 87)
Hazrat Ibn
Abbas (radi allaho anaho) narrated that that the Prophet (Sallalaho alyhi wassalam)
said: “Take my Wasila! For the person who takes my wasila in this world, I
shall then be his witness and seek his Shafa’ah”
(Jaam-e
Sageer; Tibrani; Ibne Majah)
Proof of Intercession from
Books of Aqaid
Imam Abu Hanifa (radiallaho anho) has stated in
‘Fique-he-Akbar’:
‘Intercession
by the Prophets of Allah (peace be upon them) are a fact. And our Prophet (Sallalaho alyhi wassalam)’s
intercession for Muslims who have sinned and those who have committed major
(kabira) sins and are due for punishment is, is proved and is a fact’
It is stated in the Aqa’d book, ‘Musa-yerah wa
Musamerah’:
‘The
prophets of Allah (peace be upon them), the pious, the martyrs and others will
also intercede. This is because many hadiths prove this fact’
‘Asalamualaikum Warahmatullahai Wabarakatuh!’
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