رسول اللہ صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم کا ایک عظیم مرتبہ

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) said that the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم said: “On the Day of Resurrection I will be the master of all the children of Adam, I will be the first to rise from the grave, I will be the first to intercede, and I will be the first whose intercession is accepted.” (Muslim)

In religious terminology, intercession (shafa'ah) means an angel, prophet, or friend of Allah pleading before Allah for the forgiveness and pardon of a sinner on the Day of Resurrection. Intercession will begin with the intercession of the Messenger of Allah; this first intercession of his is called the Greater Intercession (shafa'ah kubra or shafa'ah 'uzma). After his Greater Intercession, the intercessions of the other prophets, the angels, the righteous, and the friends of Allah will begin.

As for the angels and prophets, their case is entirely clear: each of them will intercede for the sinners of his own community. From among the angels, Allah will grant leave to intercede to whom He wills; and among the believers — the friends of Allah, the righteous, the scholars, and the martyrs — who will be granted leave to intercede and who will not depends on who is truly a friend of Allah in His sight, who is truly righteous, who is truly a scholar, and who is truly a martyr.

Some people who are regarded in the eyes of the world as martyrs, scholars, and pious will on the Day of Resurrection be dragged on their faces and cast into Hell (Muslim). Will such a “martyr,” “scholar,” or “pious person” be granted leave to intercede? Never.

There are many misconceptions about intercession among us that badly need correcting. The common notion is that Allah's beloved and dear servants have great influence with Him and that their every word is granted; so if we attach ourselves to some righteous friend of Allah and please him, he will surely have us forgiven on the Day of Resurrection and we will enter Paradise.

It should be well understood here that the real purpose of permitted intercession is not to change Allah's decrees but to honour the prophets and the friends of Allah. Allah will grant leave to intercede to those friends and righteous ones whom He wishes to honour, and the intercessors will plead not according to their own will but exactly according to Allah's will, only for those sinners for whom Allah grants leave. Thus it is purely a favour and honour from Allah with which He will grace His near and beloved servants on that Day. Likewise, the choice to accept or reject an intercession rests with Allah alone; no one can force his intercession upon Allah — as Allah clearly announces in the Qur'an:

“Say, intercession is entirely in the control of Allah.” (Az-Zumar 44)

“Who is there that can intercede with Him except by His permission?” (Al-Baqarah 255)

It should also be kept in mind that a wrong notion of intercession opens, step by step, the doors of lesser shirk, greater shirk, and misguidance, and a person heedlessly presses on down that path. It is this notion of intercession about which Allah says:

“And fear a Day when no soul will avail another, nor will intercession be accepted from it, nor will compensation be taken from it, nor will they be aided.” (Al-Baqarah 123)

In this hadith the meaning of the Prophet's statement is that Allah has bestowed upon him this special favour too: among the entire progeny of Adam (which includes all the prophets, peace be upon them) He has granted him the highest station and rank. Its full manifestation, which all eyes will witness, will be on the Day of Resurrection, and on that Day this special favour of Allah will also appear: when the time comes for the dead to rise from their graves, by Allah's command my grave will split open first and I will be the first to come out of the grave; and when the time for the door of intercession to open arrives, by Allah's leave I will be the first to intercede and the first person whose intercession will be honoured with acceptance by Allah.

The Messenger of Allah declares such great divine favours only by Allah's command, so that one may become aware of his exalted station, so that the love and reverence for him that ought to be may arise in one's heart, and so that a heartfelt urge and yearning to truly follow him may awaken — and so that one may be granted the grace to thank Allah for this great blessing, that He made one a follower of so exalted a Prophet.