Muslim

Hadith Commentary: Benefits and Issues: This hadith shows that if a person has the ability, due to his honor, respect, or status, to intercede for someone in a permissible matter—whether with ordinary people or with those in positions of authority or office, to have a legitimate task accomplished, or to relieve someone from a difficulty—then he should intercede and earn reward for it. Whether the intercession is accepted or not, he will receive reward, because it is not necessary that intercession be accepted in every case. In this matter as well, it is necessary to consider benefits and wisdoms.

Hadith Commentary:
This is a clear expression of the Divine Will.
Whatever Allah wills, words of granting (gift) come from my tongue; those who intercede (make recommendations) obtain reward without any cost. Therefore, why not open your tongue for intercession so that you may earn reward?

Hadith Commentary:
➊
The Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) was extremely well-wishing and compassionate towards his ummah; at every occasion, the welfare and well-being of the ummah was foremost in his mind, to the extent that even regarding certain matters which ordinary people might consider insignificant, he (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) would provide guidance so that people could participate in attaining reward.
It cannot be imagined about the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) that he would ever deprive anyone of their due right, yet despite this, he would encourage his noble companions (radi Allahu anhum ajma'in) to intercede, so that as a result of their intercession, they would become deserving of reward.

➋
In this hadith, there is a clear expression of the Divine Will (mashiyyat ilahiyyah): that when Allah wills, He causes words of granting (a gift) to flow from my tongue, and as soon as these words are uttered, the one interceding attains reward without any cost, even though their intercession does not influence the Divine Will; rather, whatever Allah wills, that alone comes to pass.
Nothing becomes an obstacle to His Will.
All causes are under His Will.
Imam Bukhari (rahimahullah) has brought this hadith precisely to establish this point.
And Allah knows best.

Hadith Commentary:
In the verse and the hadith, there is encouragement to intercede for good deeds; what will happen is only what Allah wills, but the one who intercedes will certainly receive a reward.

In another narration, this meaning is expressed as follows:
"Al-dallu ‘ala al-khayri ka fa‘ilihi" — The one who guides towards good will have a reward equal to that of the one who does it.

If only the elite would pay attention to this, then many religious matters and charitable works could be accomplished.
But very few among the elite pay attention to this.

O Allah! Relying on Your help and support, I have taken the pen in hand to write the commentary of this 25th part of Sahih Bukhari.
O Lord, by Your grace, grant me the good fortune to complete this as well, and provide unseen help for its publication, so that by bringing it to publication I may attain the great reward of propagating and spreading the noble sayings of Your beloved, our master Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam). Ameen, O Lord of the worlds. (The insignificant Muhammad Dawood Raz, presently residing at Jamia Ahl-e-Hadith, Bangalore, 15th Ramadan al-Mubarak, 1395 AH)

Hadith Commentary:
After the noble verse, the hadith narrated from Abu Musa al-Ash‘ari radi Allahu anhu has been mentioned again in order to clarify that there are two types of intercession (shafa‘ah). The intercession for which reward and recompense has been promised refers to intercession for a good deed.

The rule regarding shafa‘ah hasanah, that is, intercession for a good deed, is that it should be for an act which is permitted by the Shari‘ah.

It is not permissible to intercede for an act which is not permitted by the Shari‘ah; rather, such intercession is considered an evil intercession (shafa‘ah sayyi’ah), for which the one interceding will be deserving of sin.

And Allah knows best. (Fath al-Bari: 10/555)

Hadith Commentary:
It is understood from this that fulfilling the needs and purposes of those in need, or striving and interceding on their behalf, carries great reward. This is why the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) encouraged the noble Companions (radi Allahu anhum) to intercede, and would say that it is not necessary that your intercession will definitely be accepted. What will happen is only what Allah wills. However, you will certainly receive the reward for interceding.

Hadith Commentary:
(1)
From this it is understood that there is great reward in fulfilling the needs of those in need or in striving and interceding on their behalf. The Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) encouraged his noble Companions (radi Allahu anhum) to intercede so that they might share in the reward, even though it is not necessary for the intercession to be accepted, because what occurs is only what Allah has decreed. However, by interceding, one certainly attains reward.

(2)
Ibn Battal (rahimahullah) has said that one receives reward for interceding in an absolute sense, even if the need of the needy person is not fulfilled. Therefore, by interceding for a good deed, one receives reward without any cost.
(Fath al-Bari 3/378)

Explanation:
1:
That is, if someone asks the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) for something to fulfill his need, and you understand that this person is truly in need, then you should say a word of goodness on his behalf as a recommendation.
You will also receive the reward for saying this word of goodness.
But remember that the recommendation encouraged here is only for matters that are lawful (halal) and permissible (mubah).
It is not permitted to recommend for something unlawful (haram) or to have a legal punishment (hadd) dropped.

(1) "Intercede." That is, when a needy person comes to ask, you should intercede on his behalf.

(2) "Your intercession will be accepted." If it is worthy of acceptance, or it means that you will receive the reward for interceding, as is explicitly stated in another narration: [اِشْفَعُوا تُؤْجَرُوا] (Sahih al-Bukhari, al-Zakat, Hadith: 1432, and Sahih Muslim, al-Birr wa al-Silah, Hadith: 2627), meaning this interpretation is more appropriate.

(3) "He will decide." That is, the decision is in the hands of the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam), who will make it in the light of divine teachings. You should intercede and thus earn the reward.

Benefit:
From this hadith, it is understood that we should not be miserly in helping our weak brothers; rather, we should continue to assist them. Whether the help is through wealth or through beneficial advice. In this hadith, intercession (recommendation) is mentioned, indicating that recommending someone who is deserving is also a great form of cooperation with them. You may not have the ability to help a deserving person even with a single rupee, but through a single recommendation, you could assist in having their debt of several hundred thousand rupees paid off. Alhamdulillah, we should undertake this task after proper investigation, so that whoever you recommend, it is done after knowledge and research, because recommending falsely is a sin.