(30:13); “And they serve besides Allāh that which can neither harm them nor profit them, and they say, These are our intercessors with Allāh” (10:18).

Who can intercede?

Among those who can intercede with God with His permission, angels are mentioned. “And how many angels are in the heavens whose intercession avails not except after Allāh gives permission to whom He pleases and chooses” (53:26). Prophets are also spoken of as intercessors: “And We sent no messenger before thee but We revealed to him that there is no God but Me, therefore serve Me. And they say, The Beneficent (God) has taken to Himself a son. Glory be to Him! Nay, they are honoured servants.39 They speak not before He speaks and according to His command they act. He knows what is before them and what is behind them, and they intercede not except for him whom He approves” (21:25-28). Believers are also spoken of as interceding: “And those whom they call upon besides Him control not intercession, but he who bears witness to the Truth and they know (him)” (43:86). Since every believer bears witness to the Truth, this verse may fairly be taken as referring to the intercession of believers. Another verse is as follows: “They have no power of intercession, save him who has made a covenant with the Beneficent (God)” (19:87), since every true believer may be said to have made a covenant with God, the verse apparently also speaks of the intercession of true believers. Ḥadīth also speaks of the intercession of God, of angels, of prophets and of believers. Thus a report relating to shafā‘at, accepted by both Bukhārī and Muslim, concludes with the words: “Then Allāh will say, The angels have interceded and the prophets have interceded and the believers have interceded, and there remains the most Merciful of all merciful ones; then He will take a handful out of the fire and bring forth from it a people who have never done any good” (M. 1:72). It may be noted that the handful of God cannot leave anything behind.

God’s intercession

As already shown, with reference to Arabic lexicons, the true meaning of shafā‘at is the rendering of assistance by one who holds