lifetime of the Holy Prophet. No one who has the slightest acquaintance with the Holy Qur’ān and the history of Islām can have any doubts on this score.
The value of prophecy, as a miracle of Islām, is, however, much more extensive. There are great and wonderful prophecies in the Book, and more still in Ḥadīth, extending into the far future, many of which have been fulfilled in our own age, and almost every generation of Muslims sees with its own eyes the fulfilment of one or more of these great prophecies, and needs not to turn the pages of history to find out what miracles were performed by the Holy Prophet in a previous age. Another feature of this miracle is that it has been vouchsafed even to the righteous followers of the Holy Prophet in every age. Thus it is not only the Holy Prophet’s own prophecies that are witnessed in every age, for prophecy is also a heritage to his devout and faithful followers.36
There is one more point on which light should be thrown in connection with the place of prophets in Islām, and that is the doctrine of intercession. The Arabic word for intercession is shafā‘at37 which signifies the joining of a man to another assisting him, especially, when a man who enjoys a high rank and honour joins himself to a man of a lower position (R.). In the Holy Qur’ān, God is spoken of as the real Intercessor (Shāfi‘): “There is no protector (waliyy) for them, nor any intercessor (Shāfi‘) besides Him” (6:51,70). And on another occasion: “Allāh’s is the intercession altogether” (39:44). It is sometimes spoken of in connection with the Divine control of things: “Allāh is He Who created the heavens and the earth and what is between them in six periods, and He is established on the Throne of Power. You have not besides Him a guardian or an intercessor. Will you not then mind?” (32:4). Thus intercession, according to the Holy Qur’ān, is really in the hands of God, just as the control of things is really in His hands, and hence the oft-repeated expression that none can intercede with God except with His permission (10:3; 2:255).38
Intercession is denied in the case of those that are set up as gods: “And they will have no intercessors from among their associate gods”
36 Speaking of the faithful, the Holy Qur’ān says: “They will have good news (bushrā) in this world’s life” (10:64); and elsewhere: “The angels descend upon them, saying, Fear not, nor be grieved, and receive good news of the garden which you were promised”(41:30). And according to Ḥadīth, “nothing remains of prophethood except mubashshirāt” (Bu. 92:5), and these are explained to be true visions and are called a part of the prophethood (Bu. 92:4).
37 It is derived from shaf‘ meaning the making of a thing to be one of a pair (TA.),or the adjoining of a thing to its like (R.).
38 The writer of the article on shafā‘at in the Encyclopaedia of Islam is evidently wrong when he translates the shafā‘at passage as meaning “Who should intervene with Him, even with His permission.” The Arabic words are illā bi-idhni-hī, and any one having even a superficial knowledge of Arabic knows that illā means except, not even. The erroneous rendering has entirely changed the sense of the passage.