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Whenever we bring forth the discussion of intercession we are called Kafars by our Sunni brothers and sisters. They say that intercession is a form of shirk (giving God a equal) and that no one can intercede for anyone when we are being judged by Allah(swt) on the day of judgement. We humbly disagree. Like always we prove our claim through Quran. And to further show proof that Allah(swt) allows intercession to be done I will provide Sunni Hadith that our Sunni brothers and Sisters claim to be Sahih and I do this because of the outrageous cries from Sunnis that say, we Shia translate the Quranic verses wrong. So let us begin to examine the topic of Intercession. I will try to make it fast and short as possible!!

First off when we examine intercession we must understand it in two parts. The first part is Wasilla (someone who is a bridge or link between you and Allah in the world). The second part is Shafa’a (someone who intercedes for you on the day of judgement).

Now Wasilla can be explained very fast and easy. When Allah(swt) communicates with mankind how does he do it? Of course he chooses messengers that relay his message. So, through the prophets, Allah(swt) makes aware his existence and rules to mankind. So if Allah(swt) uses a Wasilla to communicate with you, why would it not be possible to use the Wasilla to get to Allah(swt). We don’t worship the Wasilla!! Allah(swt) has accepted this person as a means of mercy to mankind, so why NOT? And in fact, when we read in the Quran, we see just that:

Quran Surah:2 Verse:61– And when you said: O Musa! we cannot bear with one food, therefore pray Lord on our behalf to bring forth for us out of what the earth grows, of its herbs and its cucumbers and its garlic and its lentils and its onions…………… this was so because they disobeyed and exceeded the limits.

Quran Surah:7 Verse:134-135– And when the plague fell upon them, they said: O Musa! pray for us to your Lord as He has made a covenant with you, if you remove the plague from us, we will certainly believe in you and we will certainly send away with you the children of Israel. But when We removed the plague from them till a term which they should attain lo! they broke (the promise).

Quran Surah:3 Verse: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, and take counsel with them in the affair; so when you have decided, then place your trust in Allah; surely Allah loves those who trust.

Quran Surah:4 Verse:64– And We did not send any apostle but that he should be obeyed by Allah’s permission; and had they, when they were unjust to themselves, come to you and asked forgiveness of Allah and the Apostle had (also) asked forgiveness for them, they would have found Allah Oft-returning (to mercy), Merciful.

Quran Surah:63 Verse:5– And when it is said to them: Come, the Apostle of Allah will ask forgiveness for you, they turn back their heads and you may see them turning away while they are big with pride.

So from these five verses we see that Allah(swt) has allowed people to go through his chosen people to reach him as He has done to reach us. Not only that, but he has even on some occasions prescribed the people to do so. So when we do dua for Imam al-Mahdi(as) to come and to be a Wasilla between us and Allah there is nothing wrong with it, for Allah(swt) has allowed us to. But now our Sunni brothers and sisters will say, "fine yes this type of intercession is permitted– but for the dunya(world) and with someone who Allah(swt) has made a covenant with," but Imam al-Mahdi is not a prophet so how did Allah(swt) establish a covenant with him? How quickly we forget when Allah(swt) in the Quran established a covenant of Imama with Prophet Ibrahim(as). Quran Suarh:2 Verse:124– And when his Lord tried Ibrahim with certain words, he fulfilled them. He said: Surely I will make you an Imam for mankind. Ibrahim said: And of my offspring? My covenant does not include the unjust, said He.

As for those who challenge you and say yes but that person must be alive and he must be seen. Is Imam al-Mahdi(as) not alive? Is it Imam al-Mahdi giving you what you need or is it Allah(swt)? So if I pray in his name Allah will give me not the Imam, so why do I need to see him face to face. For the Sunni’s that don’t accept he is born that is a whole separate topic. But have them prove he is not born, and that they can never do.   

Now the second part is Shafa’a. Someone who can intercede for you on the day of Judgement in front of Allah(swt). Also when I say in front of Allah(swt) it’s metaphorical, not literal. All though you may be surprised on the answer you will get from some of your Sunni brothers and Sisters.  Any ways, now they come forth and say that this kind of intercession is shirk and in fact Quran makes it clear that there is no intercession for anyone . They will even present these verses:

Quran Surah:32 Verse:4– Allah is He Who created the heavens and the earth and what is between them in six periods, and He mounted the throne (of authority); you have not besides Him any guardian or any intercessor, will you not then mind?

Quran Surah:40 Verse:18– And warn them of the day that draws near, when hearts shall rise up to the throats, grieving inwardly; the unjust shall not have any compassionate friend nor any intercessor who should be obeyed.

Quran Surah:39 Verse:43-44– Or have they taken intercessors besides Allah? Say: what! even though they did not ever have control over anything, nor do they understand. Say: Allah’s is the intercession altogether; His is the kingdom of the heavens and the earth, then to Him you shall be brought back.

Quran Surah:7 Verse:53– Do they wait for aught but its final sequel? On the day when its final sequel comes about, those who neglected it before will say: Indeed the apostles of our Lord brought the truth; are there for us then any intercessors so that they should intercede on our behalf? Or could we be sent back so that we should do (deeds) other than those which we did? Indeed they have lost their souls and that which they forged has gone away from them.

Quran Surah:26 Verse:100- So we have no intercessors

Quran Surah:6 Verse:51– And warn with it those who fear that they shall be gathered to their Lord…. there is no guardian for them, nor any intercessor besides Him ……that they may guard (against evil).

Quran Surah:6 Verse:70– And leave those who have taken their religion for a play…..it shall not have besides Allah any guardian nor an intercessor……and a painful chastisement because they disbelieved.

Quran Surah:6 Verse:94– And certainly you have come to Us alone as We created you at first, and you have left behind your backs the things which We gave you, and We do not see with you your intercessors about whom you asserted that they were (Allah’s) associates in respect to you; certainly the ties between you are now cut off and what you asserted is gone from you.

Quran Surah:2 Verse:48– And be on your guard against a day when one soul shall not avail another in the least, neither shall intercession on its behalf be accepted, nor shall any compensation be taken from it, nor shall they be helped.

Quran Surah:2 Verse:254– O you who believe! spend out of what We have given you before the day comes in which there is no bargaining, neither any friendship nor intercession, and the unbelievers — they are the unjust.

Now after they have presented you with these verses you first ask them does Quran contradict itself? Of course they will say no, then you present them with these verses where Allah(swt) says there is no intercession but EXCEPT for some people there is. The first verse is a verse we use every single day but never really grasp to understand a certain part of it. Ayat al-Kursi Quran Surah:2 Verse:255– Allah is He besides Whom there is no god, the Everliving, the Self-subsisting by Whom all subsist……who is he that can intercede with Him but by His permission?…..He is the Most High, the Great.  So Allah(swt) has made it clear in the verse that no one can intercede without his permission, so he left the room open for intercession by saying without his permission. More proof, and more proof for Shaf’a. Allah(swt) in the Quran tells us to use a means of  Wasilla to get to him. Quran Surah:5 Verse:35– O ye who believe! Be mindful of your duty to Allah, and seek the way of approach (Wasilla) onto Him, and strive in His way in order that ye may succeed. For those who question you on the verse and say that’s not what the verse means in Arabic and you have taken the verse out of context, here is the verse in Arabic.“ Yā ‘Ayyuhā Al-Ladhīna ‘Āmanū Attaqū Allāha Wa Abtaghū ‘Ilayhi Al-Wasīlata Wa Jāhidū Fī Sabīlihi La`allakum Tufliĥūna.  Allah(swt) in this verse clearly is instructing mankind to use His representatives as means of access to HIM. Quran Surah:10 Verse:3-  Surely your Lord is Allah, Who created the heavens and the earth in six periods, and He is firm in power, regulating the affair, there is no intercessor except after His permission; this is Allah, your Lord, therefore serve Him; will you not then mind? Quran Surah:34 Verse:23– And intercession will not avail aught with Him save of him whom He permits Until when fear shall be removed from their hearts, They shall say: What is it that your Lord said? They shall say: The truth. And He is the Most High, the Great.

So why then does Quran say that there is no intercession when Allah(swt) clearly says that there are people who he will permit it for? Because it is referring to the people that disbelieved or took up other Gods besides Allah(swt). Quran Surah:30 Verse:13– And they shall not have any intercessors from among their gods they have joined with God, and they shall be deniers of their associate-gods. Also for the people that took there religion for granted and played games with it as stated in a verse presented by the Sunni sect, Quran Surah:6 Verse:70.  That’s why Imam Jaffar as-Sadiq(as) says "those who neglect there Salah (daily prayers) will not receive our (Ahlul Bayts)(as) Shafa’a". So how can one who does not do his Wajbat ( Islamic duties to Allah(swt)) expect to receive Shafa’a from Ahlul Bayt(as). It does not happen. Quran makes that clear Quran Surah:74 Verse:48– So the intercession of intercessors shall not avail them. The verse is saying not that they will try to do Shafa’a for you and it will be rejected  but, stating the fact that if the interceders that Allah(swt) has accepted were to intercede and and that did nothing for you then by what means do you think anything else will save or have mercy for you on that day.

Now that the case for intercession has been shown we must show who Allah(swt) allows to perform  this act. They must meet these conditions.

Quran Surah:19 Verse:87– They shall not control intercession, save he who has made a covenant with the Beneficent God.

Quran Surah:43 Verse:86– And those whom they call upon besides Him have no authority for intercession, but he who bears witness of the truth and they know the truth.

Quran Surah:21 Verse:28– He knows what is before them and what is behind them, and they do not intercede except for him whom He approves and for fear of Him they tremble.

Quran Surah:20 Verse:109– On that day shall no intercession avail except of him whom the Beneficent God allows and whose word He is pleased with.

To make this last part short If Allah(swt) has made a covenant with the Imams don’t you think logically that they must meet the other conditions. And once again for the people who Question covenant with Imama: even if you have a different interpretation of the word, a covenant was still established with it during Prophet Ibrahim’s(as) time. Allah(swt) Says my COVENANT will not reach the unjust. So only the righteous shall be made a covenant with. And what did Prophet Ibrahim(as) ask to get this answer? "Will there be from my OFFSPRING".  LET ALONE THEY ARE AHLUL BAYT(Quran33:33).

(LOL) Now after all that they might come and say that only Prophet Muhammad can do this. Allahu Akbar how ignorant of the topic they are. Even the angels have the power of intercession with His permission. Quran Surah:53 Verse26– 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.    Sahih Muslim Book :4, Number :2071: ‘A’isha reported Allah’s Apostle (may peace be upon him) saying: If a company of Muslims numbering one hundred pray over a dead person, all of them interceding for him, their intercession for him will be accepted. So much for believing that only the Prophet(saw) can intercede. (And for praying over the DEAD).  One more thing you can add to really shatter them is by saying, "didn’t prophet Muhammad(saw) say that a martyr has the power of intercession?"  Sunan Abu Dawud Book: 8 or 14(which ever is labeled Jihad) Hadith: 2516: Narrated AbudDarda’: The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: The intercession of a martyr will be accepted for seventy members of his family. ISN’T IMAM HUSSEIN(AS) A MARTYR?????

Now, I will present you with hadith from our Sunni brothers, but (lol) to save time I will list the references and you can look them up. And don’t worry you have my word that these hadith exist in their books and they are backing the case of intercession:

Sahih Al-Bukhari- Volume:1 Book:3 Hadith:98, Volume:1 Book:7 Hadith:331, Volume:1 Book:8 Hadith:429, Volume:1 Book:11 Hadith:588, Volume:2 Book:24 Hadith:553, Volume:4 Book:55 Hadith:556, Volume:6 Book:60 Hadith:3,  Volume:6 Book:60 Hadith:236, Volume:9 Book:93 Hadith:532B, Volume:9 Book:93Hadith:601

Sahih Muslim- Book:1 Hadith:352,  Book:1 Hadith:357, Book:1 Hadith:367, Book:1 Hadith:369, Book:1 Hadith:388, Book:1 Hadith:392  Book:1 Hadith:396, Book:4 Hadith:747, Book4: Hadith:1787, Book30: Hadith:5655

Maliks Muwatta- Book:15 (The Quran) Hadith:26

Sanan Abu Dawud- Book:35 0r 40 (which ever is Model behavior of the prophet,in arabic its Kitab al-Sunnah) Hadith:4721- Narrated Anas ibn Malik: The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: My intercession will be for those of my people who have committed major sins.

Shamaa-il Tirmidhi- Chapter:14 (The Armor) Hadith:1 (103 overall)- The prophets intercession is Wajaib (mandatory) on Tulhah.

 There are more from Fiqh-al Sunnah, (Author of Sahih Muslim) Nawawi’s forty hadith, and their Authentic Supplications of the Prophet Muhammad(saw).

 Insha’Allah that this post was informative, helpful and easy to understand. I am sorry for the length but I wanted to be sure that I got all the necessary things in. Brothers and Sisters I want to say something, do not be discouraged by people that are ignorant of the facts. Even when you present a flawless case there are some who don’t use logic, don’t care for facts and what you have to say; all they want to do is be ignorant and illogical. As for those who have come from our Sunni brothers and sisters who truly want to learn, use logic, have the open mind to understand the truth of fact, and are not afraid of the truth, Insha’Allah this post helped. Salaamu alaykum.