Religious Concept Of Intercession And Its Attestation

True or false, concept of intercession had always remained throughout the history in every religion. However, at this juncture, the discussion on its historical perspective was not our intention. It must be mentioned that Islam’s point of view on this subject was totally different from the others.

It did not propose that God was an oppressed or a helpless entity. Islam stated that there were some sanctified people, who would intercede on behalf of some individuals, who had sinned, but their articles of faith were correct and they would be saved from the punishment of God through their intercession. Nevertheless, this intervention would be with an explicit permission of God, as God has said,

مَن ذَا الَّذِي يَشْفَعُ عِندَهُ إِلَّا بِإِذْنِهِ

“Who can intercede without the permission of God?” (2:255).

Or:

وَلَا يَشْفَعُونَ إِلَّا لِمَنِ ارْتَضَىٰ

“They will not intercede but for those with whom God is happy” (21:28).

On this basis, our Scholars stressed that intercession would only be done with the explicit permission of God. Therefore, Shaykh Bahauddin Aameli wrote in his research paper Al-I’taqad al-Imamia that it was our faith that intercession would be available (with the permission of God) for those believers, who had committed major sins.

So far as evidence for intercession was concerned no Islamic sect had denied its reality. Several Qur’anic Verses and established Prophetic traditions (Ahadith) were available in its support. Anyhow, the concept of intercession was one of the main necessities of Shi’a School of thought, whose importance could be gauged from the statement of the holy Prophet (S) that had been quoted by the honourable Shaykh in his opening statements about intercession, that is.

Similarly, Imam Ja’far As-Sadiq (‘a) narrated that anyone who denied three things was not among our Shi’as. These were - Mi’raj, Probing in the grave and Intercession.

There was no dispute about the principle of intercession, but people differed about its legal applications i.e. was it for elevating the status of the pious only or did it also include forgiveness of the sins of offenders. Therefore, some Wahabis, Motazalites, Waeedias and Khwaraj proclaimed that intercession was only for the elevation of the status of already blessed people, but the rest of the Muslim Ummah held the belief that intercession included both increasing the status and forgiveness of the sins as well, and this was the truth. That is why Mohaqqaq al-Tusi wrote in Tajrid, “It is a fact that intercession covers both aspects of its meanings i.e. enhancing one’s status and forgiveness of sins.”

When considering the misgivings of those who considered intercession to be only for raising the status, it was sufficient for us to say here that if intercession only meant a request for raising one’s status in the hereafter, then it would invert its meanings i.e. instead the holy Prophet would become our intercessor we shall become his intercessor, since we pray day and night in our various supplications for raising his status and showering blessing on his person, such as

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا صَلُّوا عَلَيْهِ وَسَلِّمُوا تَسْلِيمًا

“O, those who believe, request God to incur peace and raise the status of His messenger” (33:56).

Such a concept was logically erroneous. Therefore, to restrict intercession to the meaning of raising the status alone was basically incorrect.

There are several Qur’anic Verses and traditions from the Prophet and Imams Ma’sumin that supported the idea of Intercession. God said in the Qur’an,

مَن ذَا الَّذِي يَشْفَعُ عِندَهُ إِلَّا بِإِذْنِهِ

“Who is there to intercede with Him without His permission?” (2:255).

Or:

وَلَا يَشْفَعُونَ إِلَّا لِمَنِ ارْتَضَىٰ

“They do not recommend anyone (for pardon) except those with whom God is pleased” (21:28).

Or:

مَا مِن شَفِيعٍ إِلَّا مِن بَعْدِ إِذْنِهِ

“No one can recommend anyone without God’s approval” (10:3).

These Verses clearly supported the notion that some holy people would definitely intercede, but it would be with explicit approval of God. This was the belief of the true followers. Similarly, God declared about the Prophet in Surah Bani Isra’il and Surah Ad Dhuha,

وَلَلْآخِرَةُ خَيْرٌ لَّكَ مِنَ الْأُولَىٰ

“O Prophet! God will appoint you soon to the greatest place of glory” (93:4).

وَلَسَوْفَ يُعْطِيكَ رَبُّكَ فَتَرْضَىٰ

“And gives you so much that you shall be pleased” (93:5).

Most of the theologians agreed that these Verses pointed to the intercessional authority of the Prophet and that the meaning of the phrase – Maqam al-Mahmood (place of glory) was actually meant for major intercession.

Further Elaboration Of Maqam Al-Mahmood

A long narration has been reported from the Prophet in Tafsir al-Furat of Ibrahim Kufi, with the authority of Imam Ja’far As-Sadiq (‘a), wherein the Prophet said, “The promise of Maqam al-Mahmood that God had made with me will definitely be fulfilled. Therefore, on the Day of Judgement when all the people will be gathered, a green pulpit will be installed for me that will have one thousand steps, and I will climb on to the highest step. At this moment Gabriel will come and handover the Lawa-al-Hamd (Flag of Praise) to me. He will say that this is the place of glory that God had promised for you.

I shall then, call for Ali (‘a) and ask him to sit beside me. He will climb the stage and sit on a step below me. I will then handover the Flag of Praise to him. Then the custodian of Paradise will approach me with the keys of the Paradise. I shall handover those keys to Ali as well. Similarly, the warden of Hell will also present its keys to me, which I will again hand it over to Ali. At this juncture, Paradise and Hell will be more obedient to me and Ali (‘a) than a compliant bride that cares for her husband. This is the meaning of the Qur’anic Verse:

أَلْقِيَا فِي جَهَنَّمَ كُلَّ كَفَّارٍ عَنِيدٍ

“[O Muhammad and Ali], go and fill the Hell with every infidel and transgressor” (50:24).

I shall then (stand up) and praise the Lord.”

Similarly, Samaa narrated in Tafsir Al-Qummi that someone asked Imam Ja’far As-Sadiq (‘a), regarding the nature of intercession of the Prophet of Islam. Imam replied that when people would be frustrated with the excess sweating, they would approach Prophet Adam (‘a) for some relief. He would decline by offering the excuse of his original slip (Tark al-Awla). They would then approach Prophet Noah (‘a), who would also make a similar plea. In this way, every prophet would send the people to his next successor, until they reached the presence of Jesus (‘a), who would advise them to go to Prophet Muhammad (S).

Some of those who reached his presence would be accompanied by the Prophet to the gate of the Paradise called Bab-ur-Rahmat, and prostrate in front of the Majesty of God, Who would declare: “My adored, raise your head and proceed with your intercession, as your mediation is acceptable today. Ask whatever you require that will be granted to you.”

Who Else Will Intercede

From the previous discussion, it has been proven that the Prophet was not only the intercessor for the Muslim Ummah, but he was also the saviour of other Ummah (plural of Ummat). Therefore, the main position holder of this office was evidently Prophet Muhammad (S). Apart from him, Imams, Ma’sumin, Martyrs, Religious Scholars and some devout individuals would also intercede. There were various Qur’anic Verses that lend support to this view. For example. in Surah Maryam it was said:

لَّا يَمْلِكُونَ الشَّفَاعَةَ إِلَّا مَنِ اتَّخَذَ عِندَ الرَّحْمَٰنِ عَهْدًا

“They cannot intervene for salvation other than those who has some accord with their God” (19:87).

It was reported in Tafsir al-Safi that the pact holder with God were Muhammad (S) and his honourable progeny. There were several reports of this kind with the authority of Imams of Ahl al-Bayt, in the third volume of Bihar, Kanzul Fawwaid of Karajki, Miratul Anwar and Mishkatul Asrar, which was also known as the preface of Tafsir al-Burhan. It had been said that - “On the Day of Judgement, when God will collect all among the present and previous generations, He will appoint us the custodian of the deeds of the Shi’as.

Therefore, we shall request God to forgive those sins that were directly related to Him. He will grant our request. Again, we shall ask God that if they had some sins towards other humans, then grant for forgiveness against those people whose rights had been violated. A package of compensation would be provided and finally we shall forgive them, if they had shown any laxity towards our rights. This was the meaning of the Qur’anic Verse:

إِنَّ إِلَيْنَا إِيَابَهُمْ

“They have to return to Us” (88:25).

ثُمَّ إِنَّ عَلَيْنَا حِسَابَهُم

“And it is on Us to judge them” (88:26).

We would discuss some of the Ahadith of this kind towards the end of this discussion. It was narrated in Tafsir Al-Qummi from Imam Muhammad Al-Baqir (‘a) and Imam Ja’far As-Sadiq (‘a), “By God we shall intercede so much on behalf of our Shi’as that our enemies, while viewing our acts will cry and say that if they had any friend and compensator like us, they would not have suffered on this day. Alas, if they were sent to the worldly life again, they would definitely be among the believers.”

It was mentioned in Kitab al-Khisal of Shaykh As-Saduq that the Prophet had said, “Three groups will intercede in the presence of the Majesty of God, and their intercession will be accepted. They are the Prophets, the Scholars and the Martyrs.”

It was reported in Kitab al-Ilalul-Shraeh from Imam Ja’far As-Sadiq (‘a), “On the Day of Judgement when a devotee and an erudite (Religious Scholar) will reach the presence of God it will be notified to the devotee to enter the Paradise, but the erudite will be stopped to intercede for people, whom he had cared through his knowledge.”

Similarly, there were many narrations in relation to the Mu’minin who could also intercede. It was mentioned in the third volume of Bihar from the Prophet, who said, “Do not consider Shi’as of Ali (‘a) abase, because each of them will intercede for the people equal to the size of the tribes of Rabia and Mudher.”

Likewise, the intercession by the Angels was also proven in the Qur’an and the Ahadith.

It can be concluded from these facts that intercession will be carried out by the Prophet, Imams Huda (Guided Imams), exclusive followers of Imam Ali (‘a), with the inclusion of Ulamas (scholars) and Martyrs. Allama Tabrasi writes in Tafsir al-Majma’ Al-Bayan, “According to our faith, intercession is proven for the Prophet, Imam al-Huda, their (exclusive) companions and Mu’minin of highest purity. On their request, God the Almighty would pardon many sinners.”

A similar opinion was expressed by Allama Sayyid Abdullah Shabbari in Ainul Yaqeen.

Who Will Benefit From Intercession

In view of the Qur’anic statements and pronouncements of Imams, Ahl al-Bayt and scholars have reached the conclusion that intercession will benefit only those sinners, whose fundamental principles of the religion was absolutely correct, but there was some deficiency in their practical implementations due to ignorance, by mistake, due to overpowering by Satan or persuasions of Nafs al-Ammara (inordinate appetites) and not because they wanted to defy or desired to ridicule the religious paradigms.

However, those who have corrected themselves and performed good deeds with true faith will not require intercession. A summary of the proofs of these proclamations was given below. It was said: “Intercessors will not intervene for anyone other than those whom God has desired.”

Imam al-Ahl al-Bayt clarified this Verse of the Qur’an that approval of God meant those whose religion was endorsed by God (Tafsir al-Safi and Tafsir al-Burhan).

It was also reported in another chapter of the Qur’an:

يَوْمَئِذٍ لَّا تَنفَعُ الشَّفَاعَةُ إِلَّا مَنْ أَذِنَ لَهُ الرَّحْمَٰنُ وَرَضِيَ لَهُ قَوْلًا

“On the day of (Judgement) intercession will not benefit anyone except those with whom God has granted permission and liked his plea” (20:109).

It can therefore, be concluded that intercession would benefit only those whose religion was approved by God, or in other words the principles of their religion were correct. These excluded infidels, heretics, polytheists, Khawaraj and other adversaries.

So far as the second category was concerned, the Prophet had categorically said that intercession was for those among his Ummah, who had committed grave sins, but were basically reverent and selfless. The word Ummah had greater dimensions, but in view of other prophetic traditions (Ahadith), it could be narrowed down to those people whose religion was appreciated. Similarly, it was narrated in Kitab al-Fazail of Shaykh As-Saduq that Imam Ja’far As-Sadiq (‘a) had said, “On the Day of Judgement, we shall intervene to save our errant Shi’as, and those who are pious among them are already saved.”

It was stated in Basharatul Mustafa that the Prophet announced that he would intercede on behalf of four people on the Day of Judgement. This would be for those who respect my progeny, helped those members of my descendants that were needy, aided those family members who were struggling and those who felt affection for them. This Hadith was also quoted in Al-Sawa’iq al-Muhriqah of Ibn Hajar Makki.

It must be remembered that our scholars had included all Sayyids in this category, and it was not exclusive for Imams of Ahl al-Bayt. It was therefore, important that those believers, who respected Sayyids and treated them kindly, would definitely be the candidates for intercession by the Prophet on the Day of Judgement. As a corollary, it could also be said that those who hurt them would not be endorsed by the Prophet. It was quoted in the third volume of Bihar ul Anwar on the authority of Imam Ali Ar-Ridha (‘a) that the Prophet (S) had said, “When I shall be standing on the place of Glory (Maqam al-Mahmood) I shall be interceding on behalf of the major sinners of my Ummah and God will accept my recommendations, but by God I shall not ask pardon for those who have harmed my progeny.”

This reality was also a fact that the enemies of Ahl al-Bayt were not going to be pardoned. It was mentioned in Haqq Al-Yaqin, of Allama Shabbar, on the authority of Imam Ja’far As-Sadiq (‘a), “A Mu’min will intercede on behalf of his friends, if they are not Naasib (enemies of the progeny of the Prophet) because even if all the Prophets and Angels seek pardon for them, God will reject their plea.”

An Important Clarification

The phrase that Ahl al-Bayt would intercede on behalf of their Shi’as and they will be the auditors of their work, should not make fornicators, languid and immoral to be happy, because all of these reports contained the word Shi’a. We must understand who was a Shi’a, in accordance with the definitions of Ahl al-Bayt.

There were many Ahadith in Usul al-Kafi on this issue that describe the characteristics and features of Shi’as. Few of those Ahadith have been reproduced here for information’s sake. Shaykh As-Saduq narrated in Kitab Sifat Ash-Shi’a, on the authority of Imam Musa Al-Kadhim (‘a) who said, “Our Shi’as are those that establish Prayers, pay Zakat, keep fast during the month of Ramadan, perform Hajj, are passionate about us, the Ahl al-Bayt, and distance themselves from our adversaries.”

This was a very long Hadith, but we have repeated only that portion, which was relevant to our present need. It should be clear in the minds of our readers that a Shi’a at its minimum was one who performed the appointed duties and refrained from the prohibited acts. Imam al-Tahireen (Purified Imams) had shown their displeasure with those who did not fit this criterion. It was reported in Usul al-Kafi on the authority of Imam Muhammad Al-Baqir (‘a), who had said, “Those who are subservient to Allah are our friends, and those who openly defy us, we are surely displeased with them. (It is further said) Our Wilayat cannot be attained, if one is not trying to deny prohibitions and affirming the obligations.”

At another juncture the same Imam said, “Our Shi’as are those who follow us and do not defy our instructions. When we are in fear, they feel the same, and when we are blissful, they are at peace as well.”

This was the reason, when a man deliberately defied the Shariah code and showed no remorse by actively working against the prohibitions of the law, then his name was removed from the list of Shi’a of Ali. They then, lost the opportunity for intercession. Imam Ja’far As-Sadiq (‘a) said,

“Anyone who considers obligatory prayers insignificant, he will not receive our intercession.”

The same applied to the statements of the Prophet in this respect. It was therefore, important that one should pay heed to these warnings, because some sins could sequester the wealth of belief, and the intercessors on whom they were counting for relief, then became their adversaries.

Repentance Is Also A Tool For Salvation

It was evident from various Ahadith and the Qur’anic Verses that repentance was also an instrument for salvation. The Prophet had said, “The one who had repented (on a sin) was like a person who had not committed any sin.” The Prophet had also said, “No major sin remained after repentance, but repetition of a minor sin makes it a major sin.”

The Qur’an says:

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا تُوبُوا إِلَى اللَّهِ تَوْبَةً نَّصُوحًا عَسَىٰ رَبُّكُمْ أَن يُكَفِّرَ عَنكُمْ سَيِّئَاتِكُمْ

“O you who believe! turn to Allah a sincere turning; maybe your Lord will remove from you your evil…” (66:8).

وَإِنِّي لَغَفَّارٌ لِّمَن تَابَ وَآمَنَ وَعَمِلَ صَالِحًا ثُمَّ اهْتَدَىٰ

“And most surely I am most Forgiving to him who repents and believes and does good...” (20:82).

وَهُوَ الَّذِي يَقْبَلُ التَّوْبَةَ عَنْ عِبَادِهِ وَيَعْفُو عَنِ السَّيِّئَاتِ وَيَعْلَمُ مَا تَفْعَلُونَ

“And He it is Who accepts repentance from His servants and pardons the evil deeds and He knows what you do” (42:25).

قُلْ يَا عِبَادِيَ الَّذِينَ أَسْرَفُوا عَلَىٰ أَنفُسِهِمْ لَا تَقْنَطُوا مِن رَّحْمَةِ اللَّهِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوبَ جَمِيعًا إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ ‎

“Say: O my servants! who have acted extravagantly against their own souls, do not despair of the mercy of Allah; surely Allah forgives the faults altogether; surely He is the Forgiving the Merciful” (39:53).

Imam Muhammad Al-Baqir (‘a) said, “If in a dark night someone loses his transport and he finds it after great struggle then there is no limit of his joy, but God is even more blissful, when a servant repents for his sins in His presence.”

It has been an established fact among all the Muslim theologians that punishment of the hereafter was withdrawn from a person who had repented for his sins, that was why the author of this book commented earlier that such a person did not require intercession. However, in my humble opinion, however pious and virtuous a human being might be, he would still need intervention of the Prophet and his holy progeny for salvation, if not from punishment for his sins, then at least for elevation of his status in the Paradise.

A Cursory Description On The Conditions For Accepting Repentance

Repentance was only effective, if it was performed subject to its conditions that have been described below.

The one who repented must do it sincerely for all of his sins and show a sense of grief. He should be steadfast not to repeat it. He must make an effort to repay for his excesses.

Clarification Of Some Doubts On Intercession

Those who denied intercession for the sinners and considered it only for raising the status of virtuous and pious people have some misgivings on this subject based upon misunderstanding of a few Qur’anic Verses, mostly on the logical grounds.

Logical Doubt

They argued that just as going back on his words was a debasing act for a noble king, a disregard of his warnings and good promises was also a humiliating step. God had promised Paradise for the virtuous, and if He went back on his promise then it would be a demeaning act. Similarly, He had promised chastisement of Hell for the wrongdoers. It was, therefore, a must for Him to execute His Pledge. In other words, there was no salvation for the sinners.

Rebuttal Of This Doubt

This doubt was weaker than the spider’s web. It was due to the reason that they failed to recognise the difference between promise and a warning. Otherwise, all logical minds knew, and the temperament of the people in power was a witness to this fact that just as the denial of a promise was a demeaning step, withholding or waving of a warning was an article of praise for the person in power.

Suppose a master checked his servant for disobeying the instructions that he had given to him earlier, if he then punished him, he would within his rights. However, if he forgave him on his own or listened to a plea by someone else and pardoned his mistake, then such an act would be considered as a sign of generosity and kind heartedness. It would be taken as a feather in his cap, so far as the people of intellect were concerned. Similarly, offences were forgiven with God by one’s own humble pleas or intercession by someone else, who was prominent with God. It was therefore, learnt that intercession was another name for God’s generosity and forgiveness. It had been recommended by God: “Forgive those who offended you. God will forgive you (in return for your sins)”.

He had said:

وَسَارِعُوا إِلَىٰ مَغْفِرَةٍ مِّن رَّبِّكُمْ وَجَنَّةٍ عَرْضُهَا السَّمَاوَاتُ وَالْأَرْضُ أُعِدَّتْ لِلْمُتَّقِينَ

“And hasten to forgiveness from your Lord; and a Garden, the extensiveness of which is (as) the heavens and the earth, it is prepared for those who guard (against evil)” (3:133).

الَّذِينَ يُنفِقُونَ فِي السَّرَّاءِ وَالضَّرَّاءِ وَالْكَاظِمِينَ الْغَيْظَ وَالْعَافِينَ عَنِ النَّاسِ وَاللَّهُ يُحِبُّ الْمُحْسِنِينَ

“Those who spend (benevolently) in ease as well as in straitness, and those who restrain (their) anger and pardon men; and Allah loves the doers of good (to others)” (3:134).

وَالَّذِينَ إِذَا فَعَلُوا فَاحِشَةً أَوْ ظَلَمُوا أَنفُسَهُمْ ذَكَرُوا اللَّهَ فَاسْتَغْفَرُوا لِذُنُوبِهِمْ وَمَن يَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوبَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَلَمْ يُصِرُّوا عَلَىٰ مَا فَعَلُوا وَهُمْ يَعْلَمُونَ

“And those who when they commit an indecency or do injustice to their souls remember Allah and ask forgiveness for their faults - and who forgives the faults but Allah, and (who) do not knowingly persist in what they have done” (3:135).

However, if some person of authority promised to reward his employee for an exceptional work and went back on his promise, then such behaviour was condemnable in the eyes of the erudites. Another difference between promise and warning was that in a promise, it was people’s right on God, which He could not overlook. In warnings and reminders, however, it was God’s right on people and He reserved the right to forgive them.

This defined the delicate dividing line between promise and warning. However, in intercession, if there were people’s rights on God, then He could forgive an offender by duly compensating the petitioner.

Some Other Objections

These were those objections that arose due to misinterpretation of some Verses of the Qur’an, such as those cited below:

فَمَا تَنفَعُهُمْ شَفَاعَةُ الشَّافِعِينَ

“So, the intercession of intercessors shall not avail them (the guilty)” (74:48).

فَمَا لَهُمْ عَنِ التَّذْكِرَةِ مُعْرِضِينَ

“What is then the matter with them, that they turn away from the admonition” (74:49).

Since every lewd person is a despot (Dhalim) therefore, his salvation is not possible.

إِنَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا وَمَاتُوا وَهُمْ كُفَّارٌ فَلَن يُقْبَلَ مِنْ أَحَدِهِم مِّلْءُ الْأَرْضِ ذَهَبًا وَلَوِ افْتَدَىٰ بِهِ أُولَٰئِكَ لَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ وَمَا لَهُم مِّن نَّاصِرِينَ

“Surely, those who disbelieve and die while they are unbelievers, the earth full of gold shall not be accepted from one of them, though he should offer to ransom himself with it, these it is who shall have a painful chastisement, and they shall have no helpers” (3:91).

An intercessor is like a helper, because helpers are denied for the despots therefore, their salvation is denied.

يَوْمَ لَا تَمْلِكُ نَفْسٌ لِنَفْسٍ شَيْئًا

“On that day no one could help out each other” (82:19).

فَمَا تَنفَعُهُمْ شَفَاعَةُ الشَّافِعِينَ

“So, the intercession of intercessors shall not avail them” (74:48).

Rebuttal

There is no doubt that a lewd was also called a wrongdoer or Dhalim, but in the true sense its delegates were infidels and polytheists, just as was indicated in Surah Al-Baqara, infidels are Dhalimoon or despots.

In Arabic language, the word Dhulm was applied to anyone, who performed an inappropriate task. In this respect, whoever performed an unjust deed was also a Dhalim, and its true designates were polytheists and Infidels, because they either denied God or appointed partners with Him. Similarly, God said:

إِنَّ الشِّرْكَ لَظُلْمٌ عَظِيمٌ

“Associating partners with God is the greatest Dhulm” (31:13).

Here the word Dhalimoon was applied to polytheists and infidels or to those so-called Muslims who adhered to unjust ideologies such as Nawaseb, Khawaraj and Ghalis. This kind of elaboration was the requirement for unification between the Verses of the Qur’an, otherwise, it would result in a conflict with Verses that pointed to intercession, and this was beyond the philosophy of the Qur’an.

If pardon for the wrongdoers was of no use, then God’s instructions to the Prophet (S):

فَاعْلَمْ أَنَّهُ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَاسْتَغْفِرْ لِذَنبِكَ وَلِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَالْمُؤْمِنَاتِ وَاللَّهُ يَعْلَمُ مُتَقَلَّبَكُمْ وَمَثْوَاكُمْ

“So, know (O Muhammad) that there is no god besides Allah, and ask forgiveness for thy sin and for believing men and believing women. Allah knoweth (both) your place of turmoil and your place of rest” (47:19).

Would become a useless message.

Similarly, the Prophet was also addressed at another place in the Qur’an, which suggested that the authority to seek pardon for the sinners had been granted to him and that the word Dhalim or Dhalimoon, actually stood for polytheists and infidels. Here it was said:

وَلَوْ أَنَّهُمْ إِذ ظَّلَمُوا أَنفُسَهُمْ جَاءُوكَ فَاسْتَغْفَرُوا اللَّهَ وَاسْتَغْفَرَ لَهُمُ الرَّسُولُ لَوَجَدُوا اللَّهَ تَوَّابًا رَّحِيمًا

“Those who have committed excesses (Dhulm) on their lives; had they come to you O, Prophet, and sought pardon from their Lord and you had also requested to God, and then you had found your Lord the most merciful” (4:64).

End Of Discussion

A great Sunni scholar, Allama Novi has reproduced the findings of Qazi Ayaz in his commentary of Sahih Muslim, which supported our view, and we have replicated it here as a gift of our friends, “It is the religion of Ahl al-Sunnat that intercession is intellectually permissible and it is compulsory on the basis of Qur’anic text and the statements of the Prophet. There are so many established reports about the salvation of the wrongdoers (sinners) that have been authenticated and agreed by our elders. However, some Kharjites, Moatazelites, Waeedias and Tafzeelias have denied it and concluded that the sinners will always remain in the hell, in accordance with the Qur’anic text,

فَمَا تَنفَعُهُمْ شَفَاعَةُ الشَّافِعِينَ

“The intercession of the intercessors will not benefit them” (74:48).

Was a wrong conclusion, since these Verses were revealed in relation to the infidels.

The explanation, which was put forward in respect of the Hadith al-Shafaat (intercession) was that it applied only to enhance the status of those, who were already in the Paradise. This was totally out of place and wrong, because other statements were included in the Sahih Muslim, making it completely redundant. These statements also suggested that some sinners would be sent to the Paradise, after completing their sentence in the hell.”