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wa-ttaqū yawman lā tajzī nafsun ʿan nafsin shayʾan wa-lā yuqbalu minhā shafāʿatun wa-lā yuʾkhadhu minhā ʿadlun wa-lā hum yunṣarūna
Beware of the day when no soul will compensate for another, neither any intercession shall be accepted from it, nor any ransom shall be received from it, nor will they be helped.
— Ali Quli Qarai
Surah Al-Baqarah, Verses 47-48
O’ Children of Israel, call to mind My favour which I bestowed on you, and that I made you excel the nations (of that time). (2:47)
And guard yourselves against a day when no one in the least shall avail another, nor shall intercession be accepted from anyone, nor shall any ransom be taken from anyone, nor shall they be helped (from outside). (2:48)
The Vain Imaginations of the Jews
In these verses, again, the Lord addresses the Children of Israel and reminds them of His bounties bestowed on them, thus:
O’ Children of Israel, call to mind My favours which I bestowed on you… (2:47)
These bounties were numerous consisting of Faith, Divine Guidance and their rescue from the grips of pharaohs which led them to regaining their splendour and independence. Then, among these bounties He has pointed out the bounty of their being made to excel the nations of their time which in itself is a combination of different bounties. He continues and says:
…and that I made you excel the nations (of that time). (2:47)
Some may think that the objective meaning of the phrase,
I made you excel the nations, (2:47)
is that He has made them excel the nations all over the world and forever. But, regarding other verses, the Qur’an makes it clear that the application of the address ‘you’ is meant for those immediately present at that time and in their own locality, because in another occurrence the Qur’an, addressing Muslims, says:
You are the best of peoples, evolved for mankind (3:110).
Another verse about the Israelites says:
And We made a people, considered weak (and of no account), inheritors of lands in both East and West…(7:137).
It is obvious that the Children of Israel did not inherit the world entirely at that time. So, it means that they inherited the east and the west of their own region, Therefore, their preference to other nations means preference to the other nations in their environment at that time. The Qur’an rejects the vain considerations of the Jews, They thought that, on the Day of Judgment, their forefathers and ancestors, who were prophets of Allah would make intercession for them; or they imagined that on that Day those prophets could give ransom for their sins the same as some of their people employ bribery in this world, The Qur’an says:
And guard yourselves against a day when no one in the least shall avail another, nor shall intercession be accepted from anyone, nor shall any ransom be taken from anyone, nor shall they be helped (from outside). (2:48)
In brief, the ‘Judge’ on that Day is He Who accepts, from the servants, only pure good actions done with true belief, as the Qur’an says about it:
The Day when neither wealth nor sons will avail (26:88).
But only he (will prosper) that brings to Allah a sound heart(26:89).
The verse under discussion, in fact, is a hint to this reality that, in this world, saving a sinful person from punishment by applying all possible means is an ordinary custom. Sometimes someone undertakes the payment of another person’s compensation and pays it. If this way fails, intercession may be resorted to and some respectable personalities who have power and influence may be brought forward to intercede for him. If intercession does not avail either, the person tries to save himself by paying for the fine. And, if this, too, provides no results, he asks his friends and fellow men to help him somehow, so that he can escape from the grips of punishment.
There are different ways of fleeing from punishment in this world, but the Qur’an says that the chastisements in the Hereafter are completely different from those in this world and none of these behaviours are acceptable there. The only way of rescue is to refuge under the shade of Faith and righteousness, and to ask help from Allah, the Merciful.
Supplication
O’Lord, the Creator, the Cherisher! We humbly ask You to guide us so that, at the end, You will be pleased with us and we can be prosperous.
Intercession in The Qur’an and Traditions
The term / Shafa‘at / ‘intercession’, with all its derivations, has occurred about thirty times in the Qur’an. This status shows the depth of the importance of the matter. Undoubtedly, the punishments of the Lord, whether in this world or in the next, are not for revenging at all, but they are, in fact, to warrant the obedience of the Divine ordinances and, consequently, the development and progress of men. Therefore, everything that weakens this security should be avoided in order that people would be less likely to commit sin and vice.
On the other hand, the way of repentance and return to righteousness and improvement should not be completely closed to the sinners. They must have the opportunity and possibility of improving themselves which results in piety and returning to the path of Allah. Thus, intercession means that, on the Day of Judgement, prophets, saints, and some special righteous ones will intercede with Allah’s permission for those who have not cut their tie of Faith with Allah and preserved their spiritual relationship with Him and His Messengers.
In other words, intercession, in its proper meaning, exists for the preserving of this equilibrium. It is a means for the sinners and the wrong-doers to return from their present way to the path of obedience and servitude.
We may emphasize that the doctrine of intercession is quite natural, reasonable and logical. It is a natural, just, and merciful classification of souls according to the natural affinity and the bonds of love and sincere attachment which existed between the individual and the faithful servants of Allah, viz. the Holy Prophet (S) and the holy Ahl al-Bayt (‘a) whose purity of spirit, flawlessness of conduct and character, selfless services and matchless sacrifices for the cause of truth, are universal factors and whose goodliness is unreservedly acknowledged by the Muslims and even by the non-Muslims as well.
However, as it was mentioned before, there are numerous verses in the Qur’an concerning ‘intercession’. To understand these verses completely and correctly, all of them should be studied carefully and considered as a whole to follow the unity of purpose they are meant for. It is absolutely wrong that for proving our claim we take only one verse from amongst the numerous verses on intercession and neglect the others. The errors that have come into being upon the subject of intercession, as well as upon some other rational subjects, are the effect of such wrong and imperfect investigations.
This method, in which we take a single verse and refuse or neglect other verses that can be elucidative and frames of reference for that particular verse, is far from the right manner of researching. Then, firstly, besides all the other arguments of the various expositions on the validity of intercession based upon the other verses of the Qur’an, as was mentioned formerly, and with further assurance by the traditions of the Holy Prophet (S), it is a natural and logical conclusion, beyond all doubt, that on the Day of Judgement intercession cannot be but an undeniable fact.
That is, Allah regard for His holy and faithful servants is accepted as a natural and logical necessary factor. Secondly, it is certain that the Holy Qur’an in many places, some of which are mentioned below, asserts the effectiveness of intercession under some conditions, on the Day of Judgement, when those authorized by the Lord shall have the right to do it. The Qur’an says:
On that Day shall no intercession avail except for those for whom permission has been granted by (Allah) Most Gracious and whose word is acceptable to Him(20:109).
No intercession can avail in His Presence, except for those for whom He has granted permission… (34:23).
And those whom they invoke besides Allah have no power of intercession; only he who bears witness to the Truth, and they know (him)(43:86).
For further elucidation on the doctrine of intercession some of the verses which can also be referred to are: 26:100, 2:123; 2:255, 74:48, 21:28, and 19:87. In the authentic literature of Muslims, both the Sunnite and Shi’ah schools, through some Islamic narrations, there are many implications to the existence of ‘intercession’ in the Hereafter which are presented as explanatory statements for the aforementioned verses on intercession. Some of these books are: Bihar-al-Anwar, Majma’ al-Bayan, Tafsir al-Mizan, at-Tibyan fi Tafsir al-Qur’an, al-Burhan fi Tafsir al-Qur’an, al-Khisal by Shaykh al-Saduq, Usul al-Kafi, Sunan Ibn Majah, Musnad Ahmad, Muwatta-i-Malik, Sunan-Tirmizi, Sunan-Darmi, Sahih Muslim, Sahih Bukhari,
Out of the many traditions and narrations cited in the above-mentioned books, a few of them have been chosen here:
1. The Holy Prophet (S) has said:
“I will be the first one who intercedes and the first one whose intercession will be accepted (by Allah).” 9
2. Hadrat ‘Ali (‘a) said:
“...We will intercede and those who love (and follow) us will do so, too...” 10
3. The Holy Prophet (S) also said:
“...I have been bestowed on (five privileges: the first is), ‘intercession’ which I have kept for my followers (Ummah). Intercession is (permitted) for the one who associates no partner with Allah...” 11
4. Again, the Messenger of Allah (S) has said:
“...The most prosperous people by my intercession on the Day of Judgement will be those who have sincerely said from their deep hearts (souls): there is no god except Allah (i.e. sincerely believe in Allah).” 12
5. The Holy Prophet (S) has also said:
“My intercession is for all (true) Muslims.” 13
6. Firdous-ud-Diylami, Abu Hurayrah, narrates from the Holy Prophet (S) who has said:
“The intercessors (in the Hereafter) are five: the Qur’an, relationships, trust, your Messenger, and the people of the house (Ahl al-Bayt) of your prophet.” 14
7. Imam as-Sadiq (‘a) is narrated to have said:
“There is none of (the people of) ancient times and (those of) the later times but needs Muhammad’s intercession (S) on the Day of Judgement.” 15
8. In Usul al-Kafi, it is also cited that Imam as-Sadiq (‘a) has said in a tradition:
“He who wishes to enjoy of intercession by the intercessors with Allah, should try to gain His pleasure.” 16
We hope that Allah, the Merciful, may bestow the success of obedience and servitude on His path upon all of us and may He save us from any err and sin in our deeds. May He deprive us not of the intercession of the Holy Prophet (S) and Ahl al-Bayt (‘a) on the Day of Reckoning. Amin, O’ Lord of the Worlds!
Footnotes