ARTICLE 3B (CONTINUED FROM 3A) INTERCESSION ON THE DAY OF JUDGEMENT 15. PROPHET TO BE A WITNESS AGAINST HIS OWN PEOPLE ON THE DAY OF JUDGEMENT Definition of Witness: One who is called upon to testify (give testimony, evidence) before a Court. One who can give a first hand account of something seen, heard or experienced, a witness to the accident. Here are some references from the Quran concerning the Prophet s.a.w. to be a witness on the Day of Judgment: 1. Prophet s.a.w. once asked Abdullah Ibn-i-Masud r.t.u. to recite the Quran for him. Abdullah Ibn-i-Masud r.t.u. replied O Prophet s.a.w. Quran has been revealed to you, who am I to recite it for you? The Prophet s.a.w. said, I like to hear it from others. Abdullah Ibn-i-Masud started reciting Sura Al-Nisa. When he arrived at the following ayah (Ayah 41 Surah Al-Nisa No. 4) ***(cont d. below after EXPLANATORY NOTE):- ف ك ي ف إ ذ ا ج ئ ن ا م ن ك ل أم ة ب ش ه يد و ج ئ ن ا ب ك ع ل ى ه ؤ الء ش ه يد ا MEANING: 4:41 (Asad) How, then, [will the sinners fare on Judgement Day] when We shall bring forward witnesses from within every community, and bring thee [O Mohammad s.a.w.] as witness against them? EXPLANATORY NOTE: This means that, the Prophet of every age will give evidence in the Court of Allah and say, Lord, I duly delivered Your Message to my people and taught them the right way of life and the right mode of thought and practice which You taught me. Last of all, Prophet Mohammed s.a.w. will give witness regarding the people of His term. And the limit of the term of his prophet hood, according to the Quran, extends from the time of his appointment as a Messenger to the Last Day. (From Sura 4:41 footnote 64, Abul A la Maududi). ***(cont d)... the Prophet s.a.w. cried out Hasbuk, Hasbuk meaning stop stop. When Abdullah Ibn e Masud along with others who were present there looked at the Prophet s.a.w. they noticed tears flowing from his eyes. Perplexed, they wished to know what disturbed the Prophet s.a.w. The Prophet s.a.w. then explained that he would have to stand as a witness against his own people and give the same evidence before Allah Taala saying, Lord, I duly delivered Your Message to my people and taught them the right way of life and the right mode of thought and practice which You taught me meaning that if they disregarded your message that I delivered to them then they are accountable and responsible.
This is essentially a repetition of the same message the Prophet s.a.w. delivered to his people during the Last Sermon when addressing his people he repeated three times Have I delivered God s message to you and all his people answered every time in unison yes O Prophet s.a.w. you have. Then he looked towards the heavens and addressing Allah Taala again repeated three times God please be a witness as these people are admitting that I have delivered your message to them meaning thereby that I have done my job, have discharged my responsibility and am now free of all the responsibility which you assigned to me. At the same time he asked his people to deliver his message to all those who were not present there. Please note that in the above ayah means against his people and not in favor of his people. The Prophet s.a.w. just like every other Prophet will be called upon to be a witness (normally called a prosecuting witness) against his own people as stated above and as illustrated, to some extent, from the Quran by the example of the question and answer between Hazrat Isa a.w.s. and Allah s.w.t. as given in Ayah 116 sura 5 which states: و إ ذ ق ال ه للا ي ا ع يس ى اب ن م ر ي م أ أ نت ق لت ل لن اس ات خ ذ ون ي و أ م ي إ ل ه ي ن م ن د ون ه للا ق ال س ب ح ان ك م ا ي ك ون ل ي أ ن أ ق ول م ا ل ي س ل ي ب ح ق إ ن ك نت ق ل ت ه ف ق د ع ل م ت ه ت ع ل م م ا ف ي ن ف س ي و ال أ ع ل م م ا ف ي ن ف س ك إ ن ك أ نت ع ال م ا ل غ ي و ب MEANING: 5:116 (Y. Ali) And behold! Allah will say: "O Jesus the son of Mary! Didst thou say unto men, worship me and my mother as gods in derogation of Allah.?" He will say: "Glory to Thee! Never could I say what I had no right (to say). Had I said such a thing, thou wouldst indeed have known it. Thou knowest what is in my heart, Though I know not what is in Thine. For Thou knowest in full all that is hidden. 16. Ayah 8 Surah 48: إ ن ا أ ر س ل ن اك ش اه د ا و م ب ش ر ا و ن ذ ير ا MEANING: Indeed, We have sent you as a witness and a bringer of good tidings and a warner. Note: The word witness has been explained above. Nazeera means as one who warned sinners of the consequences of their sin (Footnote 4876 AYA). 17. Ayah 6 Surah A raaf: 2
فل ن س أ ل ن ال ذ ين أ ر س ل إ ل ي ه م و ل ن س أ ل ن ال م ر س ل ي ن )6:7 ) MEANING: Then shall we question those to whom Our message was sent and those by whom We sent it. COMMENT: From the above it is apparent that all the Prophets will be called upon as witnesses (same as a prosecuting witness) against their own ummahs to testify before Allah Taala and their own ummahs that they delivered God s message to them and each ummah will then be questioned as to what they did after receipt of the message. Our Prophet s.a.w. will be called upon to do the same against his own ummah. This appears a bit different from our popular belief that the Prophet s.a.w. will intercede for us (i.e. do shaf aat for us) and take us to Jannah. Here Prophet s.a.w. is called upon to be a witness against his own ummah i.e. us, as per the Quran. INTERCESSION AS PER THE QURAN AND AS PERMITTED BY ALLAH TAALA Let me now talk about the only way intercession will take place according to the Quran. 1. An extract from Sura Al-Baqara 2, Ayat 255 (aya tul kursi) given above states: م ن ذ ا ال ذ ي ي ش ف ع ع ن د ه إ ال ب إ ذ ن ه.2 MEANING: Who is it that can dare intercede in the presence of Allah s.w.t.? Except with His permission? Here Allah Taala is challenging us and wants to know, who will dare to intercede before Him? My answer obviously is nobody. So the only way intercession can take place is with the express permission of Allah Taala i.e. إ ال ب إ ذ ن ه There is no other way. This has also been discussed above under the same Ayah 255 in some detail. 2. Sura An-Naba 78, Ayat 38 states the following which is a scene from the Day of Judgment: ي و م ي ق وم الر وح و ال م ال ئ ك ة ص فه ا ال ي ت ك ل م ون إ ال م ن أ ذ ن ل ه الرح م ن و ق ال ص و اب ا MEANING: The day that the Spirit and the angels will stand forth in ranks, none shall speak except he who is permitted by God Most Gracious and he will speak only The Truth. In this Ayah the Spirit has been interpreted as angel Jibrael a.s.w. Please note that no angels, no humans, no Aulia Allah (friends of Allah), no Prophets or anybody else whatsoever can speak before Allah Taala on the Day of Judgement except the one who will be granted permission by 3
Him. It is only His authority to permit whosoever He wishes to speak and whosoever is granted permission to speak is the one who will speak and he will speak only the truth and mind you Allah Taala is All-Knowing so there is no possibility of anybody lying before Allah Taala. 3. SuraYunus No. 10, ayah 3: an extract from this sura states: م ا م ن ش ف يع إ ال م ن ب ع د إ ذ ن ه ذ ل ك م ه للا ر ب ك م ف اع ب د وه أ ف ال ت ذ ك ر ون ( MEANING: No intercessor (can plead with Him) except after His permission (has been given). This is God your Lord. Him alone therefore you serve, will you not take advice? NOTE: It is Allah Taala who is all in all and nobody can dare speak to Him without His permission. Let s please give Allah Taala His due. He is the Lord of the universe. Even in this world we dare not speak before a King (or even a big boss for example) without his permission and we observe all kinds of etiquettes and formalities. What to talk of Allah s.w.t.? 4. Sura Ta Ha 20, Ayat 109 states: ي و م ئ ذ ال ت نف ع الش ف اع ة إ ال م ن أ ذ ن ل ه الر ح م ن و ر ض ي ل ه ق و ال )02::90 ) MEANING: 20:109 (Y. Ali) On that Day no intercession shall avail except for those for whom permission has been granted by (Allah) Most Gracious and whose word is acceptable to Him. (Maududi translation of above text) : On that day no intercession shall avail save his whom the Merciful will allow to intercede and be pleased to give him a hearing. (Maududi EXPLANATION, Ft. Note 85): This has another interpretation also: On that day intercession will not be effective except in the case of the one for whom the Merciful will allow it and be pleased to hear it for him. Both the above interpretations are supported by the following: Who is there that can intercede with Him except by His permission (sura 2, ayah 255). Sura An-Najm (53) ayah 26) و ك م م ن م ل ك ف ي الس م او ات ال ت غ ن ي ش ف اع ت ه م ش ي ئ ا إ ال م ن ب ع د أ ن ي أ ذ ن للا ل م ن ي ش اء و ي ر ض ى MEANING: 53:26 (Picktall) And how many angels are in the heavens whose intercession availeth naught save after Allah giveth leave to whom He chooseth and accepteth! 4
(Maududi Translation): How many an angel is there in the heavens! Their intercession can avail nothing until Allah permits it in favor of whomever He wills and is pleased with. PROCEDURE FOR INTERCESSION: From the above it is apparent that there are two pre-conditions clearly laid down by Allah Taala in the Quran for anybody to intercede for anybody else (see above discussion on sura Ta Ha (20) ayah 109 and sura An-Najm (53) ayah 26 which are: (1) That the intercessor must have been permitted by Allah Taala to intercede and (2) About whom he is going to intercede must also have prior permission of Allah Taala that the intercessor can intercede for him. In other words both the intercessor as well as for whom the intercessor is going to intercede must have prior approval of Allah Taala otherwise no intercession can take place. Next question is how would any intercessor know that he is allowed to intercede? Before we answer this question let us try to answer another basic question. What is the need of any intercessor when Allah Taala is the sole authority ( ) to decide who م ال ك ي و م الد ين can intercede and for whom on the Day of Judgment? The closest worldly example that can possibly be given is that of a University Graduation. The university is the one that decides who is going to graduate and who is not and the recipient is the one who is going to get the award but to distribute the awards to the recipients; the university invites an important person (say a respected Minister) although he has no say in the passing or failing of anybody. This is only to honor the Minister and show him respect and regard of the university and the students and also to give honor to the recipients that they received their award from an important Minister. إ ال م ن أ ذ ن ل ه الر ح م ن I have consulted various Ulema on the implementation of (an extract from Sura Ta Ha 20, ayah 109 given above) or ب إ ذ ن ه from )إ ال Al-Baqarah Ayah 255) meaning intercession permitted with Allah s permission only as to how this permission will be granted. In other words how Allah Taala s permission will be conveyed to the intercessor that he can speak and intercede? Most have replied that Allah Taala will show us this on the Day of Judgment as it has not been explained to us anywhere. Late Dr. Israr Ahmad, however, has expressed the following views on the subject which appear quite reasonable (walla ho alam). They are: Allah Taala to show His pleasure, high regard and special place of honor for some of His servants because of their good deeds and having lived their lives according to His Will, will have them intercede, by His leave, for some of His other people with whom He is pleased. It will not be as Allah Taala publicly selecting somebody and asking him OK you intercede for such and 5
such. This would obviously appear as if Allah Taala is commanding somebody and asking him to intercede and such person has no choice except to obey. This would not demonstrate that there is anything special about this person that Allah Taala wanted to bring out because he will simply be obeying an order. Demonstrating honor and high regard for His special people would mean to show as if these people, are interceding before Allah Taala in favor of somebody else and Allah Taala is respecting their wishes and listening to them and honoring them by permitting them to speak and accepting their prayer. Therefore Dr. Israr Ahmad is of the view that this communication between Allah Taala and the proposed intercessor, whom Allah Taala wishes to honor, would be done by Wahi and he will also be informed for whom he should intercede thereby fulfilling both the conditions of intercession outlined above. (Walla Ho Aalam Allah knows best). HOW QURAN EXPLAINS INTERCESSION OR OTHER ISSUES 1. What I have discussed above is a partial list of ayahs explaining Intercession on the Day of Judgement based purely on the Holy Quran which is Kalam Ullah (Allah Taala s spoken words). There can be no doubt about their authenticity. 2. The subject of intercession, because of the very importance of it, has been discussed and explained in such thorough detail in the Quran as to leave nothing unanswered, at least not to my mind. Normally, there is a general principle laid out in the Quran. It is that any particular Mus-a-la (Issue) is discussed in at least two places in the Quran i.e. what is mentioned in general terms in one place is usually explained in another place. Tafsir Ibn e Kasir puts it in the following way: If someone asks about the best methods of Tafsir (explanation), we reply that the best method is to explain Quran with the Quran itself. What is mentioned in general terms in one place in the Quran, is usually explained in another. When one does not find this easily, he should look to the Sunnah because its purpose is to explain the Quran and elaborate upon its meanings. As far as the subject of Intercession is concerned, what to say of two places, it is discussed and explained at numerous places (at least in about 25 places as far as I know) and every aspect of Intercession is pointed out and clarified in the Quran, as has been explained above. Therefore, it is difficult to argue that Quran does not explain this subject sufficiently and therefore we have to ignore Kalam Ullah (Quran) and fall back for answers on ahadees regardless of their reliability (there are weak ahadees also). Besides, a hadith or a sunnah is meant to complement Kalam Ullah and explain and elaborate upon its meanings, not otherwise. I would, therefore, like to request you the following: I have put before you several ayahs from the Glorious Quran (i.e. from Kalam Ullah) regarding Intercession on the Day of Judgement. I have also read, for my own 6
information, about 40 ahadees on intercession. All the Ayahs I have quoted are from the Glorious Quran meaning that there can be absolutely no doubt about their authenticity. On the other hand, the same degree of authenticity obviously cannot be assured about ahadees simply because they are not Kalam Ullah. So if something is adequately explained in the Quran and somebody brings you a hadith which does not elaborate or supplement the Quranic ayahs, please ask Quranic proof to be on the safe side. Also, if somebody discusses with you Intercession On The Day Of Judgement, please note that he should be talking about Intercession On The Day of Judgement and not Intercession While We Are Alive In This World and pray/intercede for each other which is perfectly acceptable and yes people did request the Prophet s.a.w. in his life time to pray/intercede for them to Allah Taala and yes he prayed/interceded for people to Allah Taala while he was alive. But that is not the same as praying/interceding on the Day of Judgement. It would be difficult for anybody to argue that such and such aspect of Intercession is not covered in the Quran because as explained above in this article everything is there in black and white. And it has to be so because of the importance of this subject as salvation of millions or rather billions of people depend on it. In the course of my study of Intercession, I have not come across one single ayah in the Quran that will remotely imply that the Prophet s.a.w. will intercede for us on his own or even ask Allah Taala s permission on the Day of Judgment and then intercede for us. I pray that I have not missed any thing relative to this subject ( and if I have, I will certainly like to be corrected please). With regard to Quran leaving nothing unanswered, Ayah 54 Surah 18 sums up just about everything for the guidance of mankind. It states: و ل ق د ص ر ف ن ا ف ي ه ذ ا ال ق ر آن ل لن اس م ن ك ل م ث ل و ك ان ا ل نس ان أ ك ث ر ش ي ء ج د ال MEANING: We have explained in detail in this Quran, for the benefit of mankind, every kind of example (similitude), but man is, in most cases Contentious (quarrelsome). SALVATION ON THE DAY OF JUDGMENT WILL BE BASED ON PRINCIPLE OF JUSTICE 1. Sura xlv, ayahs 21-22 state: أ م ح س ب ال ذ ين اج ت ر ح وا الس ي ئ ات أ ه ن ن ج ع ل ه م ك ال ذ ين آم ن وا و ع م ل وا الص ال ح ات س و اء م ح ي اه م و م م ات ه م س اء م ا ي ح ك م و ن 7
و خ ل ق للا الس م او ات و ا ل ر ض ب ال ح ق و ل ت ج ز ى ك ل ن ف س ب م ا ك س ب ت و ه م ال ي ظ ل م ون MEANING: Do they, who do evil, think that We shall make them as (equal to) those who believe and who do good, equal in life and death? (If so) bad is their judgment. And God has created the heavens and the earth justly, so that every soul should be given a return according to what it has earned. And no injustice shall be done to anyone. The above ayah makes it plain that the Almighty has created this universe based on a universal principle of Justice. Justice will be done to every one both in this life and the hereafter. All those who do evil will receive punishment in the hereafter and those who do good deeds will be rewarded according to their deeds. Quran points out that no one can escape this law of reward and punishment. (Barring Allah s rahmat or His acceptance of Taubah which are not the subjects under discussion). In other words, Divine Justice is not arbitrarily imposed. It is a divine principle and it is the inevitable result of one s own actions or what one earns for one self. 2. Ayah 39 Sura Al-Najm (53) is also very pertinent here. It states MEANING: And that man can have nothing but what he strives for. Or what we normally say: You shall reap what you shall sow. 3. Surah Al-Maida (5) ayah 8: و أ ن ل ي س ل ل نس ان إ ال م ا س ع ى ي ا أ ي ه ا ال ذ ين آم ن وا ك ون وا ق و ام ين ل ل ه ش ه د اء ب ال ق س ط و ال ي ج ر م ن ك م ش ن آن ق و م ع ل ى أ ال ت ع د ل وا اع د ل وا ه و أ ق ر ب ل لت ق و ى و ات ق وا ه للا إ ن ه للا خ ب ير ب م ا ت ع م ل ون )8:5 ) MEANING: 5:8 (Asad) O YOU who have attained to faith! Be ever steadfast in your devotion to God, bearing witness to the truth in all equity (equitable dealings); and never let hatred of any one lead you into the sin of deviating from justice. Be just: this is closest to being God-conscious. And remain conscious of God: verily, God is aware of all that you do. ALLAH TAALA S MERCY 8
I will not be doing justice if I do not mention a hadith of the Prophet s.a.w. which says that no body will enter Jannah purely on the basis of his good deeds. Good deeds would have to be accompanied by the Mercy of Allah s.w.t. One sahabi dared and asked if that also includes the Prophet s.a.w.? The Prophet s.a.w. answered that yes me also. This means that no matter how many good deeds a person has accumulated, he will not enter jannah unless accompanied by Mercy of Allah Taala. So we should always, Firstly: Do our very best to live by the commandments of Allah Taala and Secondly: Pray for the mercy of Allah Taala. According to Quran, Allah Taala s mercy covers the entire universe. SUMMARY 1. The mush-re-keen Mecca believed in Allah Taala as supreme but in addition believed in other gods / goddesses whom they thought had the power to intercede on their behalf before Allah Taala or had the power to bring them closer to Allah Taala and help them escape the hellfire and enter Jannah. They thought that God could not refuse these gods/goddesses. This was a direct challenge to God s authority because it implied that others shared in His authority and were partners in His kingdom. This was Shirk and unacceptable to God and the Prophet s.a.w. and a major sin which Allah Taala decreed as unpardonable and unforgivable. 2. To bring these mush-re-keen to the right path and to right thinking, Allah Taala, in His kindness, revealed ayah after ayah saying that your belief is wrong and there is nothing in the universe that you worship or that you choose as intercessor besides Allah Taala that will benefit you or harm you. Furthermore, Allah Taala says that I, the Creator of the heavens and earth and everything in it, have not created anything called intercession in the entire universe, apparently not as they defined it. Because, Allah Taala says, if He had created any such thing He certainly would have known it. There is a categorical and repeated denial of any such intercession on the Day of Judgment with added emphasis on the fact that nobody can or will dare to intercede, on his own, before Allah Taala on anybody s behalf on that day. Every individual is further warned by Allah Taala that he will appear before Him on the day of judgment for accountability all ALONE with no helper and no intercessor, in the same way as he was first created all ALONE in the form of a Rooh in Aalum-e-Arwah. 3. After three successive categorical denials that there is no intercession, no intercession, no intercession, Allah Taala makes an exception and decrees that He will allow it only on His terms and on His Authority and nobody would have any say in it. 4. Examples of some highly respected Prophets e.g. Hazrat Nuh a.w.s. (who interceded /prayed to Allah Taala to save his son from drowning in flood waters), Hazrat Ibrahim a.w.s. (who interceded for his own father) and Prophet Mohammad s.a.w. (who interceded for his uncle as well as prayed / interceded for forgiveness of munaf-e-keen) are given who in their lifetime interceded on behalf of others but their intercession was not accepted by Allah Taala. 9
5. In the light of an actual case between a dishonest muslim and an honest jew the Prophet s.a.w. is advised by Allah s.w.t. that he has been sent down the Quran for his guidance and to decide cases based on Justice. He should therefore make all decisions according to the Quran and should not be an advocate of the dishonest, deceitful, treacherous and sinful. Furthermore muslims are warned that they may hide their crimes from the Prophet s.a.w. or other muslims but who will hide them from Allah Taala on the Day of Judgment, the All-Knowing and All-Hearing who is present everywhere when the crime is being committed. The criminal will be confronted by Allah Taala on the Day of Judgment and there will be no hiding and no escape. This is Allah Taala s command. Who will dare to go against it on the Day of Judgment where matters will be decided on the basis of what Allah Taala has sent to us in His Book (The Al-Quran). 6. On the Day of Judgment every Prophet will be called upon by Allah Taala to testify as a witness (normally called a prosecuting witness) against his own people to testify that he had delivered Allah s message to them and so will our Prophet s.a.w. (see above PROPHET TO BE A WITNESS ON THE DAY OF JUDGMENT ). This would be somewhat similar to the Last Sermon of the Prophet s.a.w. wherein after having spent his lifetime delivering and completing God s message he addressed his people and asked them three times if he had delivered God s message to them and all of them replied yes in unison. Then he looked towards the heavens and asked Allah Taala to please be a witness that these people are admitting that he had delivered His message to them. Prophet s.a.w. will testify that he had discharged his responsibility fully and now people were themselves responsible for their actions. People will have to answer Allah Taala whether or not they lived in conformity to the teachings of the Prophet s.a.w. and if not why not? Of course Allah Taala is All-Knowing, All-Hearing so there is nothing hidden from Him and no body can hide anything from Him. 7. The best method of Tafsir is to explain Quran with the Quran itself. What is mentioned in general terms in one place in the Quran, is usually explained in another place. The subject of intercession, because of its very importance as salvation of billions of people would depend on it, I believe, has been discussed and every phase of it explained in about twenty five ayahs, if not more, of the Quran. It clearly explains that there are two conditions based on which Allah Taala, on His own Authority, will allow intercession. These are: a) None shall intercede before Allah Taala except the one who has been authorized to intercede by Allah Taala, most Gracious and b) This intercessor will intercede only for him for whom permission has been granted by Allah Taala. (These intercessors may include the Prophet s.a.w., by God s permission, or any of His other people whom He wishes to authorize and honor). God knows best. 10
8. The principle of reward and punishment or in other words Principle of Justice is the basis of the entire universe, including this life and the life in the hereafter. Reward for those who do good deeds and punishment for those who do evil. If anybody thinks otherwise, bad is his judgment, Allah says in the Quran. This would be the basis of who goes to hell and who goes to heaven. Allah s mercy will be with those who go to heaven. Allah Taala would not be making any arbitrary decisions. He is not a moody God but a God of principle. MEANING: (36:17) And our duty is only to proclaim the clear message. Your usual constructive comments will be most welcome. و م ا ع ل ي ن ا إ ال ال ب ال غ ال م ب ين THE END 11