Shafa’at, Intercession

Meaning and Concept of Intercession

The word intercession is well-known amongst the people and everybody is aware of it. It is the recommendation of great personality by which the errors are forgiven. It is the root of شفع which means pair. The intercessor and his greatness on one hand and the ability and capacity of the other on other hand. The combination of intercessor and the one who is being recommended results in intercession. This concludes that on the day of judgement every sinner will not be forgiven, neither anybody can do intercession.

In Islam, the conditions of both are well explained. The people think that on the day of judgement Firaun, Yazeed, Hajjaj ibn Yusuf Saqafi, Changez, etc. will also be forgiven. But those who are ‘based ones’ who are astrayed and they are deaf to hear the voice of truth and blind to see and dump to speak for them there is nothing in the universe to save them from the fire of hell. In Holy Qur’an it is mentioned in many places that these people will taste severe punishment. Like this verse:

“Allah has set a seal upon their hearts and upon their hearing and there is a covering over their eyes, and there is a great punishment for them.” (Suratul Baqarah, 2:7)

As per traditions, if there is no life of faith in their hearts, paradise is impossible.

To understand intercession, one must understand the importance of forgiveness. As it enlightens the lamp of guidance of Allah’s Mercy. There is no doubt that forgiveness and pardon is based on some conditions, as intercession is also based on some conditions. We will first shed light on this issue with Qur’anic Ayats, traditions and the view points of some learned scholars.