Sam Shamoun "Allah Abdul-Muhammad (“Slave of Muhammad”)"

Sam Shamoun "Allah Abdul-Muhammad (“Slave of Muhammad”)"

Some critics have used an unreliable story, dismissed by the commentators for its weak transmission chain, in order to discredit the prophet. The verse supposedly alludes to Hafsa, to whom the prophet promised not to be intimate with his mulk yamin/right hand possession Maria the Copt. 

Maria was given to him out of reverence by an Egyptian prefect or notable. It is interesting to note that there are at least 2 similar precedents in prophetic history, with the Egyptian daughter of royalty, Hagar who was given to Abraham, and Solomon's unnamed Egyptian wife 1Kings3. The Egyptian notable wanted to establish political relations with the prophet, and this gesture was considered normal as per the decorum of ancient societies. Some reports say that two women were given, Maria and Sirin. The prophet freed Sirin whom he married to a close follower and took Maria as his concubine and lodged her in one of his followers' houses temporarily, Haritha, although some weak commentaries state she was lodged in Hafsa's house in the beginning. When Hafsa entered in her own private quarter that she had left for the day, and surprised the prophet and Maria in her own bed, she was angered. Not because, as the critics claim without the slightest shred of a proof that she was Hafsa's temporary slave but because that day was reserved for her. 

However the weak reports used by those very critics say that what the prophet had allegedly done with Maria in Hafsa's house was HALAL, meaning she must have been his own concubine, not a slave given to Hafsa temporarily. The prophet then requested her not to repeat what had occured, to avoid stirring up the already existing jealousy of the wives towards Maria, as depicted in several reports, who was given precedence over one of them on a day supposedly reserved for a wife. Besides its unreliability, the Quran itself refutes that story, due to several reasons including the fact that the prophet had complete liberty in matters of division of time among wives and concubines, something all his wives were aware of much prior to the alleged incident. He was not therefore bound by any time restriction and did not need to make any such promise not to be with his lawful concubine, as depicted in the incident. 

Also per the Quran, the object of what God's prophet forbade upon himself was to please his wives (plural). In this report, the object of the oath was to please one wife only (singular), the one that allegedly entered in her room and found him with his lawful concubine. Also, 66:3 says that a secret was divulged by God's prophet to one of his wives. Why would he need to tell what had just happened to Hafsa and cause all the commotion if she hadnt had a clue of what had occured, and instead keep that perfectly legal act to himself? 

This negates the story from yet another angle because in it, the prophet's "secret" was found out by one of the wives who surprised him in bed with Maria. He was thus in no need to share that "secret" with her. There are several theories regarding what that secret was, some of them being concerning his succession, but that is another issue.

In conclusion it should be stressed that the prophet, assuming those convoluted reports on Maria and Hafsa as true, he did not do anything wrong or inappropriate for a prophet, as even clearly stated in those accounts. Per the Quran, mulk yamin are a category of lawful women not covered by the regulation on the division of time between multiple wives. The prophet was even absolved from these time restrictions with his wives, although he always divided his time as equally as possible between them. 

It should also be reminded that Maria was the prophet's only mulk yamin, or concubine as the Judeo-Christian critics like saying with their distorted Biblical paradigms of what concubines are. He had no other "concubine". Maria was offered to him, as described earlier, and he accepted for the sake of a greater socio-political aim. The prophet could have acquired many more such women as a result of his military victories, as other prophets did before him, including Moses, David or Solomon, and on a much larger scale, without damaging his legitimacy as a true prophet of God in the least. He could have even, out of lust, resorted to murdering an innocent man so as to marry his widow, just as the noble and pious prophet-king David supposedly did, as shamefully transmitted by the Biblical scribes. 

Finally, Nasa'i gives 2 occasions of revelation for the verse, both of them graded sahih. He first cites the incident with Maria without saying anything about Hafsa or anyone else "finding out" about the prophet's legal intercourse with his concubine. All it says is that Hafsa and Aisha would continuously harass the prophet about Maria out of jealousy until he promised them not to be intimate with her. This more authentic version of the supposed event agrees with the Quran's wording, contrary to the weaker, convoluted report described earlier. The second occasion of revelation per Nasa'i also involved Aisha and Hafsa, both of them are again described as harassing the prophet to give up on something, but this time the object of their jealousy was Zaynab bint Jahsh. As a loving wife who knew the likes and dislikes of her husband, she used to offer him a variety of honey he very much appreciated each time he visited her. Aisha and Hafsa disliked that pleasant connection they had and thus schemed to put an end to it. As the prophet once came out of Zaynab's place, and knowing that the prophet would always pay attention to the manner he presented himself at all occasions so as to not offend anyone, Aisha told him that his breath smelled like maghafeer (a sweet drink that leaves a pungent smell). 

Being the sensitive and tactful person as described earlier, the prophet unsuspectedly promised not to drink this honey although he was very fond of it and had every right to it. Nasa'i further says that because these 2 reports are graded sahih it might be that they happened very close to eachother prior to the revelation of the verse. 

Whether it is Al Qurtubi, al Tabari, Ibn Arabi, Imam al Nawawi, among many other scholars, they all state that the prophet's overstaying at Zaynab to have his favorite drink, against Aisha and Hafsa's desire, is the reliable opinion for the opening verse of al Tahrim being revealed.

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Sam Shamoun "Islam’s Doctrine of Imputation of Righteousness and Vicarious Death"

Sam Shamoun "Islam’s Doctrine of Imputation of Righteousness and Vicarious Death"

In Islam, dead people, believers and disbelievers alike, are alive in an intermediary realm until the day of resurrection 2:154,3:169,40:46. An inviolable barrier is placed between us and them preventing any type of interaction between these parallel realms 23:99-100. 

The only manner for those alive in that realm to know of things happening in our world, is indirectly. If God decides to convey to them information from the present world. For instance the prophet said 

"‘Allah has angels who travel around on Earth conveying to me the Salams of my Ummah". 

In addition, there are deeds they have left behind that can benefit them.

Things such as an ongoing benevolent action that benefit people down the line (like planting a tree or digging a well) or beneficial knowledge, or a righteous child who will pray for his dead parent. As made clear in the Quran and hadith however, such good deeds left in this world only benefit the one in the afterlife who has worked to sincerely build a relationship with his Creator. Ongoing good deeds therefore act as catalysts only upon a righteous person. 

Aisha reported: I said, “O Messenger of Allah, the son of Jud’an would maintain family ties and feed the poor in the time of ignorance. Will it benefit him?” The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “It will not benefit him, for he never said even for one day: My Lord, forgive my sins on the Day of Judgment". 

The prophet also said 

"Whoever calls to guidance will have a reward similar to those who follow him, without detracting from their reward at all. Whoever calls to misguidance will have sin upon him similar to those who follow him, without detracting from their sins at all".

However the deceased wont be aware of those deeds while they are performed in his name, including prayers, until they are raised 

"A man's status will be raised in paradise and he will ask, How did I get here? He will be told, By your sons' duaa for forgiveness for you". 

For children or friends to honor someone's memory by spending from their own selves and possessions, says a lot about the righteousness of the person that passed away. Inciting goodness from others whether while one is alive or after death is a continuous source of reward from Allah, the best of Judges. Even if one's children would be to die before puberty, then they will earn that person forgiveness and reward in the hereafter. Provided the person has sown the seeds of goodness in them prior 

"There is no man whose two daughters reach the age of puberty and he treats them kindly for the time they are together, but they will gain him admittance to Paradise". 

This act of planting a good pattern in this world is so highly regarded, that the prophet uses the beautiful description of pre-pubescent children preceding the righteous into paradise, only to await them at its gates so as to honor them. 

"There are no two Muslims, three of whose children die before reaching puberty, but Allah will admit them to Paradise by virtue of His mercy toward them. It will be said to them: 'Enter Paradise.' They will say: 'Not until our parents enter.' So it will be said: 'Enter Paradise, you and your parents."'

Then the Quran mention the case of the righteous' offspring, those that pass the age of puberty, and their situation in the hereafter. Should they merit paradise because of their own deeds, they will be reunited with the righteous even though they might be lower in spiritual rank 52:21-7. This means that as a rule the unification process will be made by upgrading some of those lower in rank, unto the higher stations in which a family member is dwelling, not by downgrading those higher in rank 

"and We will not diminish to them aught of their work". 

This is the intricate precision of Quranic eloquence.

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Sam Shamoun "Islam Testifies: Jesus is Alive in Heaven Whereas Muhammad is Not!"

Sam Shamoun "Islam Testifies: Jesus is Alive in Heaven Whereas Muhammad is Not!"

Jesus taken to Allah doesnt mean in God's physical presence. An entity going back to God means to where He commands it to be, and for the achievement of a specific purpose. Like a summoning, and it doesnt need to be a few inches away. It gives a sense of exclusivity to God only, complete control, dominion over that thing. It is used both in an abstract and concrete sense, for matters pertaining to both this world and the next 2:156,281,3:109,154,180,8:44etc. 

Jesus' gathering back to God, to be under His complete control, fits perfectly the context of Jesus' tawfiya in 3:55. It is usually translated as "causing to die" but lexically means "to receive fully". It is used multiple times for Jesus and many others 10:104,16:70,22:5,5:117. Jesus had no power to influence his ascension to Allah. He remained in God's grasp in the process, as he was since his miraculously conception and throughout his life. Further, no matter how one views the process by which Allah made Jesus to ascend, whether he was made to die or not in the process, Jesus, like every creature will eventually taste death prior to his resurrection on the day of judgement 

19:33"And peace is on me the day I was born and the day I will die and the day I am raised alive". 

It is interesting to note that the Quran, consistent as it always is in its concepts, similarly describes the prophet Muhammad as God's slave during his miraculous ascent throughout space and time 17:1.

The Quran unambiguously states that Jesus 3:45 like the angels is from those who are muqarrabin/brought near and yet

4:172"The messiah will never be proud to be Allah's servant, nor the angels who are near to Him, and whoever disdains His service and is proud, He will gather them all together to Himself".

Jesus' nearness to God, just like the angels' nearness doesnt hint in anyway to divinity. In fact the nearer a creature like Jesus, the angels or any other 21:19 is to God the more eager it/he becomes to bow down in servitude to the mighty King. Here again, the gathering to Himself, just as in 5:18 and many other places, does not mean a few inches away. It means in a place where Allah commands them to be, and where they are entirely in God's control, exclusively in His posession. This control can either be for the purpose of judging them, protecting them, punishing them, disposing of them as He deems fit, etc.

Jesus in fact didnt even have to wait to be raised up to heaven, to be in Allah's presence. The Quran describes him and others as among those near Allah while on earth 3:45. In Quranic usage, being near to Allah, as is used throughout the book implies several things and none of them hinting to physical nearness. It can be honoring, both in this world and the next 3:45,4:172,5:35,54:55,56:11,88,83:28,89:28etc. or it can imply to receive God's attention and care 2:186,11:61 or it conveys the sense of God's deep, intimate knowledge of His creation 50:16. 

Finally, everything in the heavens and the earth, whether hypotethically close to the Divine Being or far, are ultimately perishing save His Glorious Self 28:88. This takes away any hint at independance, intrinsic power and will to any creature that ever existed and that ever will 

5:17"Certainly they disbelieve who say: Surely, Allah-- He is the Messiah, son of Marium. Say: Who then could control anything as against Allah when He wished to destroy the Messiah son of Marium and his mother and all those on the earth? And Allah's is the kingdom of the heavens and the earth and what is between them; He creates what He pleases; and Allah has power over all things"

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Sam Shamoun "The Prophecy that Exposed Muhammad as a Fraud"

Sam Shamoun "The Prophecy that Exposed Muhammad as a Fraud"

The unthinkable defeat of the Romans and their revenge afterwards was successfully predicted in the Quran 30:2-4. 

Following their defeat, the battle that brought the Romans in the dominant position against the Persians took place in 627 CE. But this is not what the Quran speaks of; the Quran speaks of the Romans turning the tide in their favor following their defeat in 614CE. This event occured in 622 with the major defeat of the Persians in Cappadocia. This seemed impossible to everyone including the Romans to the point that prior to the battle, they sought out unconditional peace treaties with the Persians which the latter rejected. 

The verses give a timeframe of 3 to 9 years, as understood from the word bidaa, for that decisive comeback. The location is placed in the area of interest of the Romans, in the closest land in relation to the Arabs. Prior to the revelation of this Meccan passage, the Arab pagans used to taunt the believers, telling them that the Persian polytheists' dominance over the Roman Christians indicated that their religion was superior to the religions based on books and that claimed coming from the supreme Creator. At the time, the Muslims sided with the Romans as they had still not engaged with the people of the book and were expecting they would wholeheartedly enter the fold of Islam once the message reaches them 2:75.

Upon the prophecy's revelation, the pagans who sided with the Persians pressed Abu Bakr for a precise time for the fulfillement of the prophecy. He placed it at 5 years but following his failed prediction and sharing it with the prophet, he was censored 

“Why were you not more cautious Abu Bakr? For indeed Al-Bid’ refers to what is from three to nine”.

Neither the prophet, nor any other Muslim knew the exact year the event would occur. The precise occurrence within that narrow time frame is not in the hands of any entity in the heavens and the earth. It is within Allah's knowledge and power alone 

"Within a few years. Allah's is the command before and after". 

The prophet knew only what Allah conveyed to him, and in that regard the prophecy was fulfilled. 

Even if, as a side note, one would take the variant reading (rejected as unreliable) "ghalabat/they were victorious" and "sa-yughlabuna/they will be defeated", in reference to Roman victory (627-8) followed by their defeat 3-9 years later then it still means it was correct. In 635 Khalid ibn Al-Walid led Muslim troops into Syria and captured Damascus. Interestingly, the same Atiyah who related that variant reading reported that the prophecy was revealed after the second battle of Badr (626). This still places the Roman defeat within the 3-9 timeframe.

Another interesting aspect of the prophecy is that it links its occurrence 9 years later with the believers rejoicing 30:5"With the nusra/help of Allah". By the time of the Roman victory, Muslims had interacted with the people of the book in Medina and had seen, from their hostility towards the community and the religion itself, that the majority trend among them would be to reject Islam. One could not therefore speak of the believers rejoicing at that Christian victory. But the believers did certainly rejoice when "the nusra/help of Allah" came at the victory of Badr 3:123 which coincides with the day the Romans turned the tide against the Persians, 9 years after the prophecy was made. 

Finally and as always in the Quran, statements are not made haphazardly. The prophecy of rise and fall of empires comes in the context of providing evidence for the ephemerity of worldly success when the judgement of Allah is decreed. It is a law none can escape, especially not the Quraysh who were being warned through a prophet in their midst 

30:9-10"Have they not travelled in the earth and seen how was the end of those before them? They were stronger than these in prowess, and dug up the earth, and built on it in greater abundance than these have built on it, and there came to them their apostles with clear arguments; so it was not beseeming for Allah that He should deal with them unjustly, but they dealt unjustly with their own souls. Then evil was the end of those who did evil, because they rejected the communications of Allah and used to mock them".

In terms of successful prophecies, one might also mention the prophet's victorious return to Mecca following his exile at a time when none could have imagined for such an outcome to materialize 28:85,48:27. The Quran contains many such early predictions of overall triumph and establishment of Islam 24:55, uttered while the Muslims were in a state of weakness, a rhetoric which antagonized further his people against him, further reducing the chances of these prophecies coming true. The Quran repeatedly assures its listeners of that outcome, no matter the intensity and will to extinguish its light. 

Nothing indicated the success of Islam at the time those statements were made, not when the Muslims suffered a combined assault from the hostile elements within Arabia, much less when the Islamic territories drew closer to the 2 adjacent superpowers of the time -the Byzantine and Persian empires- 9:32-3,48:28,61:8-9. Yet soon after, Islam reigned supreme, from the Atlantic Ocean to India. This confirmed the repeated prophecy regarding the universality of Islam, made in the earliest Meccan revelations, at a time where none would have entertained the thought of it coming true 

83:27,68:52"it is but a reminder to all mankind". 

The prophet is assured of divine protection in the process, and urged to continue transmitting the antagonizing message in the midst of the turmoil 5:70.

In what seems to be referring to the future event where the believers will be standing in ranks (either in prayer or in war, but in all cases, the word implies a high number), repelling evil (of oppression and sin) and reciting the Reminder, the Quran makes a forceful prophetic statement of victory which is in itself testimony to the gist of the Quranic message; divine unity 37:1-4. This prophetic oath is later reinforced in the same sura, as well as in many other Quranic passages, when referring to God's promise of divine assistance to His messengers and their followers, opposite the destruction of their enemies and rejecters, placing Muhammad inside a well-known established pattern in the prophetic history 6:33-4,37:171-182,54:9-45etc. It is important noting that the prophet, whether in Mecca or Medina, lived a simple, ascetic lifestyle. He would walk outside his home alone, day and night, spend hours in prayers while everyone was asleep, receive guests indiscriminately and anytime. When he entered Medina, inviting the people of the book to Islam, and that they not only rejected but began plotting with his enemies to dispose of him, God almighty promised to protect him against them 2:137. At that point the Jews particularly enjoyed a position of political and economic power, nothing prevented them from assassinating the prophet as they did with countless prophets in the past, especially given his exposed lifestyle. But the Quran points them out specifically as being powerless in doing so 3:111.

The Quran also predicted the severe divine chastisement of the Jewish nation in a similar manner as was twice done in antiquity 17:4-7. Although abasement and defeat did come upon them in response to their threats and aggressions during the rise of Islam, such divinely decreed punishment was far lower in scope and scale than what occurred to them twice before. The reference in the Quran could thus only be to their near-decimation during the 2nd world war. In addition, an ominous statement is made that destruction will remain hanging above them until the Day of Resurrection 7:167. This severe decree does not contravene God's attribute of forgiveness, since both His punishment and mercy are contingent on the people's behaviour 

"And when your Lord proclaimed that He would surely send against them, until the day of Resurrection, those who would inflict on them a terrible punishment. Indeed your Lord is swift in retribution, and indeed He is all forgiving, ever merciful"

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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.

 
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 abandoned 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?".

These articles further answer Sam Shamoun "The Islamic Gods Unveiled Pt. 2 Additional Proof that Islam is Repackaged Arab Paganism"

Apostate prophet the linguist; Black stone talking?

Sam Shamoun "NOTES FOR TAUHID DEBATE WITH YAHYA PT. 2"