On the Day of Judgement, all things in the heavens and earth will come to God as obedient slaves 19:93. None will be allowed to speak without God's permission, whether in the heavens and earth and up to the highest ranked angels and whatever will be spoken will be the truth 11:105,78:37-8. He alone will allow intercession 10:3,39:44 as He pleases 34:23 meaning any unqualified "intercession" on that Day by those who have been granted the authority of intercession, on behalf of people whom Allah has not deemed worthy will be rejected
74:48"the intercession of intercessors shall not avail them".
Allah alone decides who will intercede on whose behalf
53:26"And how many an angel is there in the heavens whose intercession does not avail at all except after Allah has given permission to whom He pleases and chooses".
The prophet in fact stated that those who will earn his intercession wont be those that will call upon him, rather
"The luckiest person who will have my intercession on the Day of Resurrection will be the one who said sincerely from the bottom of his heart "None has the right to be worshipped but Allah".
There are several ahadith of that nature and conveying the same message;
"Allah will gather all the human being of early generations as well as late generation on one plain so that the announcer will be able to make them all-hear his voice and the watcher will be able to see all of them. The sun will come so close to the people that they will suffer such distress and trouble as they will not be able to bear or stand. Then the people will say, 'Don't you see to what state you have reached? Won't you look for someone who can intercede for you with your Lord' Some people will say to some others, 'Go to Adam.' So they will go to Adam and say to him. 'You are the father of mankind; Allah created you with His Own Hand, and breathed into you of His Spirit (meaning the spirit which he created for you); and ordered the angels to prostrate before you; so (please) intercede for us with your Lord. Don't you see in what state we are? Don't you see what condition we have reached?' Adam will say, 'Today my Lord has become angry as He has never become before, nor will ever become thereafter. He forbade me (to eat of the fruit of) the tree, but I disobeyed Him . Myself! Myself! Myself! (I am preoccuied with my own problems). Go to someone else..."
Those people seeking unqualified intercession will then call upon other eminent prophetic figures, including Nuh, Ibrahim, Musa, who will all decline, citing their fear of Allah and some of their worldly shortcomings
"Jesus will say. 'My Lord has today become angry as He has never become before nor will ever become thereafter. Jesus will not mention any sin, but will say, 'Myself! Myself! Myself! Go to someone else..."
At no point does the hadith associate the shortcomings of the prophets with sins, or that Allah's anger is directed at them for their deeds. This is seen from Jesus' answer, who although without sin, will not be of any help either. What the hadith shows is that due to their humility as imperfect creatures standing in front of the Creator, even the prophets will not deem themselves worthy to do anything beyond what Allah explicitly allows them to do. Being in the presence of Allah on that day will be such a humbling experience, that the prophets, when questioned will not even deem it appropriate to pretend to possess any knowledge, in comparison to the All-Aware
4:41,77:11,22:78,28:75,39:69,7:6-7,5:109"the Day when Allah will assemble the messengers and say, "What was the response you received?" They will say, "We have no knowledge. Indeed, it is You who is Knower of the unseen".
The manner in which truth will be made manifest on the day of resurrection will be so evident, that the question here becomes of rhetorical nature. This is seen by the messengers' reply; their testimony will not be meant at adding information, but merely confirming Allah's all-encompassing knowledge, for He is ultimately sufficient as a Witness 4:166,6:19.
Even while the Quran raises the hypothesis of an entity interceding without God's approval and that intercession being consequently nullified by God, it says that such entities; whether prophets or angels are nothing but God's honored servants, fully encompassed by Him, never preceding Him in speech because of their awe and never acting except by His command. They would consequently never take that initiative of interceding without His permission
20:110,21:26-28"and they do not intercede except for him whom He approves".
Not only are these beings, angels, prophets or saints, powerless by themselves and incapable of altering God's decisions, but they themselves seek for means to get near to God and hope for His mercy 17:56-7. If that is the case, that they have no interceding power by themselves and that even if they did, they would only be allowed interceding on those whom Allah has approved, then how far removed and deluded are those that seek their help directly instead of Allah?
In fact the Quran equates the belief in unqualified intercession/mediation with God as a denial of His omniscience and thus showing the sinner the gravity of his assumption
13:33,10:18"And they serve beside Allah what can neither harm them nor profit them, and they say: These are our intercessors with Allah. Say: Do you (presume to) inform Allah of what He knows not in the heavens and the earth? Glory be to Him, and supremely exalted is He above what they set up (with Him)".
That authority of intercession is thus granted by Allah on behalf of certain people only; those who did their best to deserve it and who have a deeply ingrained faith which they accepted in full consciousness
2:255,19:85-87,21:28,6:15,43:86"except one who testifies to the truth while they know".
Intercession is only for the pious 20:109. It will not be for those who did nothing to deserve it, who pay no regard at all to Divine commandments 2:48,26:100,40:18,74:48. This means intercession is nothing but a mark of honor and elevation of the selected righteous on Judgement Day 19:85-87. It is a great reward in itself. Any believer will feel honored and uplifted if he is accompanied on Judgement Day in his prayers to God, by a being so pious that he is selected by God Himself and given a platform to speak at a time where none will be allowed to do so except by His will.
This will strengthen the believers and remove from their heart the terror of that day, especially when the interceding entity will further confirm God's judgement concerning them 34:23. The fact that intercession is not a pleading action, but only a mark of honor and psychological support of the righteous is reinforced through 16:111 stating that on Judgement Day
"every soul shall come, pleading for itself"
and that
28:70,18:26"He does not make any one His associate in His Judgment".
After judgement has been passed, no intercession will be admitted 40:48-50. Some dwellers of Hell, after spending their appropriate time in it, will be ready for admittance into Heaven. At that point God will honor them by allowing the intercession of the pious beings. Some reports depict the prophet as eventually allowed to speak on the behalf of these select few
"and then I will intercede and He will put a limit for me (to intercede for a certain type of people). I will take them out and let them enter Paradise".
It is thus clear that in the Quran, intercession honors the one on whose behalf it is made. But it is even more honoring to the one actually making the intercession. This is due to the high level of restriction on that Day, with very little occasions to speak except as allowed by God.
Nowhere in the Quran does Allah nor His prophets command us to ask a personality or entity to pray to Him on our behalf or that a believer's prayer in itself is not worthy enough to be considered. First and foremost, the call of prayer is only true when directed at Him
13:14"To Him (alone) is the call of Truth; and those to whom they call, besides Him, will answer them nothing, but like one who stretches his two hands towards the water so that it may reach his mouth, while it does not reach it. And the prayer of disbelievers is only in error".
To corroborate, the Quran repeatedly reminds us of God's nearness to the one seeking Him
11:61"surely my Lord is Nigh, Answering"
nearer than one's jugular vein, and that He answers the humble supplicant's prayer
27:62,40:60,42:26,37:75,50:16,2:186"And when My servants ask you concerning Me, then surely I am very near; I answer the prayer of the suppliant when he calls on Me, so they should answer My call and believe in Me that they may walk in the right way".
An interesting linguistic observation is God's instructions when believers ask the prophet about Him. He is so near that the answer to the question to the prophet isnt given in the indirect form "answer, reply or say to them..." but in a direct manner by God, to the asker, regardless of who he is or what is his inner and outward condition, no matter the timing, illustrating his nearness to the servants
"i am near".
Another striking statement from within the verse is that the second part speaking of the asker implementing in turn spiritual uprightness in his own life isnt a pre-condition for God receiving and answering a supplication. It is placed second and said to be for the asker's own good, unrelated to the supplication itself.
He isnt unapproachable like the tyrants and arrogant leaders of this world, nor is He far away and detached from His servants' realities.
He isnt unapproachable like the tyrants and arrogant leaders of this world, nor is He far away and detached from His servants' realities.
Throughout the Quran, the prophets never told their people to ask them to intercede on their behalf and instead consistently urged them to mend their ways, turn directly to Allah and ask His forgiveness by themselves
11:52,61,89-90,27:46,41:6,71:10,2:199"Then hasten on from the Place from which the people hasten on and ask the forgiveness of Allah; surely Allah is Forgiving, Merciful"
but, just like the compassionate angels ask forgiveness for all who are on earth as they constantly see their ingratitude and transgressions 42:5 because
13:6"most surely your Lord is the Lord of forgiveness to people, notwithstanding their injustice"
these prophets grieved much over the spiritual condition of their nation (as Muhammad is often depicted in the Quran) so they would also pray to God on behalf of both believers and disbelievers 9:80,24:62,60:12 out of humanity and compassion
3:159"Thus it is due to mercy from Allah that you deal with them gently, and had you been rough, hard hearted, they would certainly have dispersed from around you; pardon them therefore and ask pardon for them"
just as a son would ask God for the forgiveness of a father and vice-versa
60:4,9:114"And Ibrahim asking forgiveness for his sire....most surely Ibrahim was very tender-hearted forbearing".
This type of empathy, not only is not forbidden, but is actually encouraged as a great virtue which all believers should perform 4:48. Similarly when we are told to pray for God's compassion on our own parents 17:24, it is to keep us aware of their own compassion towards us, as a token of gratitude
"And make yourself submissively gentle to them with compassion, and say: O my Lord! have compassion on them, as they brought me up (when I was) little".
In 4:64 it speaks of the hypocrites who caused great harm to the prophet and the community in general, saying how God will forgive them should they go to the prophet, then pray by themselves and in addition are joined in their prayers by the prophet. It only commands the hypocrites to go to the prophet (as a peaceful gesture and demonstration of good intentions since their mischief was foremost aimed at him) and to ask God's forgiveness by themselves. It doesnt command them to ask the prophet to intercede on their behalf and neither does it say they wouldnt be forgiven had the prophet not joined them in prayers. In fact it doesnt even command the prophet to pray for them. It simply states what the compassionate prophet will do should they leave their treachery towards him and the community and come to him in sincere repentance, thus proving their resolve in action by abandoning their enmity towards him. This statement is meant at encouraging reform, one is more likely to make a step towards reconciliation knowing that the opposite party will wholeheartedly welcome him. In that case, the prophet will automatically join them in prayers without them having to request it 9:102-3. There is a timeless lesson in regards to Allah's boundless mercy. If even the sinners opposing a prophetic envoy are forgiven should they put an end to their behavior and reform themselves, then what is to say of sinners and those that oppose Allah and His religion outside the prophetic era?
The Quran obviously doesnt forbid this empathy, it doesnt prevent the prophets from being compassionate towards their people, and more particularly their family members, just as it doesnt prevent the prayer of any father on behalf of his child as seen in Jacob's case. His sons had attempted murdering their brother and did not consider themselves worthy of addressing God directly. So they asked their father instead to be their intermediary with God, to plead for their forgiveness 12:97-8. This was their own conjecture and not a command from God. The Quran does not leave any deadlocks, and always opens the way to forgiveness, even to the worst sinners provided they repent in sincerity and reform themselves. Nowhere does the passage state that Jacob's prayer in itself earned his sons forgiveness.
Not in one instance does the Quran command or advises the believer to pray through an entity for a faster or more favorable answer. It would be in complete opposition to God's description as being closer than the jugular vein, the One Who accepts the sincere repentence of the worst sinner of this world
2:186"surely I am very near; I answer the prayer of the suppliant when he calls on Me".
He is near. No need to go left and right to reach Him, a straight line is enough. Had it been of any necessity or "added value" why arent those most in need of it, such as the oppressors waging war for the destruction of Islam not advised to seek the help of a pious entity to be more likely forgiven but are instead simply told to
5:34"repent...know that Allah is Forgiving, Merciful".
In fact the Quran lays out the principle that man only gets what he strives for by himself 53:39.
The only pre-requisite for God's forgiveness is the sinner's sincere resolve to mend his way and act righteously, as amply said throughout the Quran, regardless of whether he is joined in prayers by someone pious or not. This is demonstrated in 4:64 where the "coming" of the hypocrites to the prophet is a prerequisite to their forgiveness. It shows their sincerity in their claims to have abandonned their treacherous ways towards him and the rest of the community. On the other hand in 48:11-12 or 63:5 the insincere hypocrites' request to the prophet that he asks for God's forgiveness on their behalf is rejected
48:11-12"who can control anything for you from Allah if He intends to do you harm or if He intends to do you good; nay, Allah is Aware of what you do".
This implies that Allah's decision will be on the basis of the knowledge that He has about the reality of their actions. If they deserve punishment no prayer of his will earn them forgiveness; and if they do not deserve punishment, no harm will be done to them whether he prays for them or not. Allah cannot be deceived so even if the prophet was to accept their request and pray for their forgiveness on the basis of their alleged sincerity, it will be vain and without result just as the prophet Ibrahim's prayer for his father, due to a previous promise he had made, was ultimately vain in God's eyes 9:113-4,60:4.
God makes it thus clear that some transgressors are not deserving of any mercy and forgiveness, despite the compassionate pleas of the prophets and the believers 9:80,9:113-114,63:6 just like God tells Jeremiah in the Bible concerning the most obdurate transgressors among the Israelites Jer7,11:14,14:11. As stated by Ezekiel in his warnings to Israel, the righteousness of the few and their prayers will not deliver the guilty when the time comes Ezek14:20. Noah before him was told to stop praying for the salvation of his own disbelieving son, let alone his transgressing nation as whole 11:37-49.
This means that God's forgiveness really is contingent on the sinner's own sincere repentance and resolve in obedience
9:104"Do these people not know that it is Allah alone Who accepts the repentance of His servants and approves of their propitiatory offerings, and that Allah is indeed Forgiving, Compassionate?".
Further reading answering Sam Shamoun "The Quran’s Divine Corporation: Unveiling the Reason Why Allah Speaks in the Plural"
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