Surah Saba (34) — Ayah 23

(Ayah 23) ➊ { وَ لَا تَنْفَعُ الشَّفَاعَةُ عِنْدَهٗۤ اِلَّا لِمَنْ اَذِنَ لَهٗ:} The polytheists used to say that we call upon our deities so that they may intercede with Allah and fulfill our needs and remove our difficulties. (See Yunus: 18; Zumar: 3) This is a refutation of that, that no one’s intercession is of any use with Allah, except for the one to whom He Himself gives permission and for whom He gives permission. {’’ لِمَنْ اَذِنَ لَهٗ ‘‘} (For whom He gives permission) includes both these things. Obviously, a polytheist would not even dare to intercede, let alone be granted permission, nor will anyone be allowed to intercede on behalf of a polytheist, because Allah has forbidden Paradise for him. (See Ma’idah: 73) Intercession will only be for the believers, but after Allah’s permission, even the angels and the messengers will not be able to intercede without permission. (See Najm: 26) Let alone intercession, no one will even be able to speak there without permission. (See Ta Ha: 109) Even the leader of the prophets and messengers, peace and blessings be upon him, when he goes to intercede, will fall into prostration, and after a long period of glorification and praise, he will be granted permission to raise his head and intercede, as is well known in the hadith of intercession.

➋ {حَتّٰۤى اِذَا فُزِّعَ عَنْ قُلُوْبِهِمْ … : ’’فَزِعَ يَفْزَعُ‘‘} (S) To become alarmed. {’’فَزَّعَ يُفَزِّعُ‘‘} (Taf’il) To remove alarm, especially when it is accompanied by the particle {’’عَنْ‘‘}. Here is a question: what is the connection of this sentence with the previous sentence {’’ وَ لَا تَنْفَعُ الشَّفَاعَةُ عِنْدَهٗۤ اِلَّا لِمَنْ اَذِنَ لَهٗ ‘‘}? The answer is that those beings whom you consider your intercessors and claim that they get their way because of their power, awe, or being beloved to Allah, what status do they have to dare to intercede without permission? There, before the greatness and majesty of Allah, even the angels of the exalted Throne and those below them down to the lowest heaven, who constantly hear the divine commands, are in such a state that when the Lord of Might reveals any revelation, they all tremble with awe of Him. Then, when Allah removes that awe from their hearts, each group asks the one above them, “What did your Lord say?” {’’ قَالُوا الْحَقَّ ‘‘} They say, He spoke the truth. {’’ وَ هُوَ الْعَلِيُّ الْكَبِيْرُ ‘‘} And He is the Most High, the Most Great. Thus, those angels convey the revelation of the Truth to the angels below them without any addition or omission. So, when this is the state of the closest angels, who have been made accustomed to revelation, what do the polytheists expect from anyone else? Bukhari has narrated in the explanation of this verse from Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: [ إِذَا قَضَی اللّٰهُ الْأَمْرَ فِي السَّمَاءِ ضَرَبَتِ الْمَلاَئِكَةُ بِأَجْنِحَتِهَا خُضْعَانًا لِقَوْلِهِ كَالسِّلْسِلَةِ عَلٰی صَفْوَانٍ، قَالَ عَلِيٌّ وَ قَالَ غَيْرُهُ صَفْوَانٍ يَنْفُذُهُمْ ذٰلِكَ، فَإِذَا فُزِّعَ عَنْ قُلُوْبِهِمْ قَالُوْا مَاذَا قَالَ رَبُّكُمْ؟ قَالُوْا لِلَّذِيْ قَالَ الْحَقَّ وَهُوَ الْعَلِيُّ الْكَبِيْرُ، فَيَسْمَعُهَا مُسْتَرِقُو السَّمْعِ، وَ مُسْتَرِقُو السَّمْعِ هٰكَذَا، وَاحِدٌ فَوْقَ آخَرَ وَ وَصَفَ سُفْيَانُ بِيَدِهِ، وَ فَرَّجَ بَيْنَ أَصَابِعِ يَدِهِ الْيُمْنٰي، نَصَبَهَا بَعْضَهَا فَوْقَ بَعْضٍ فَرُبَّمَا أَدْرَكَ الشِّهَابُ الْمُسْتَمِعَ، قَبْلَ أَنْ يَرْمِيَ بِهَا إِلٰی صَاحِبِهِ، فَيُحْرِقُهُ وَ رُبَّمَا لَمْ يُدْرِكْهُ حَتّٰی يَرْمِيَ بِهَا إِلَی الَّذِيْ يَلِيْهِ إِلَی الَّذِيْ هُوَ أَسْفَلُ مِنْهُ حَتّٰی يُلْقُوْهَا إِلَی الْأَرْضِ، وَ رُبَّمَا قَالَ سُفْيَانُ حَتّٰہ تَنْتَهِيَ إِلَی الْأَرْضِ فَتُلْقٰی عَلٰی فَمِ السَّاحِرِ، فَيَكْذِبُ مَعَهَا مِائَةَ كَذْبَةٍ فَيُصَدَّقُ، فَيَقُوْلُوْنَ أَلَمْ يُخْبِرْنَا يَوْمَ كَذَا وَكَذَا يَكُوْنُ كَذَا وَكَذَا؟ فَوَجَدْنَاهُ حَقًّا، لِلْكَلِمَةِ الَّتِيْ سُمِعَتْ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ] [ بخاري، التفسیر، باب قولہ : «إلا من استرق السمع…» : ۴۷۰۱ ] “When Allah decides a matter in the heaven, the angels flap their wings in humility before His command. (They hear His command) like the sound of a chain on a smooth stone. When the fear is removed from their hearts, they (ask each other), ‘What did your Lord say?’ They say, ‘He spoke the truth, and He is the Most High, the Most Great.’ This conversation is also overheard by the eavesdropping devils, who are stacked one above the other.” The narrator Sufyan described this by turning his hand sideways and spreading his fingers. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “So that devil hears the word and conveys it to the one below him (this continues downwards), until the lowest one conveys it to a sorcerer or soothsayer. Sometimes, before he can convey it to the one below, a flaming fire catches him and burns him, and sometimes he manages to pass it on before being struck. Then the (sorcerer or soothsayer) mixes a hundred lies with it, so (when the word heard from the heaven turns out to be true), it is said by his followers, ‘Did he not tell us such and such on such and such a day?’ Thus, because of that one word which the devil heard from the heaven, the soothsayer or magician is considered truthful.”

23. 1. The meaning of "for whom permission is granted" is the Prophets and angels, etc., that is, only they will be able to intercede, no one else. Because the intercession of anyone else will not be beneficial, nor will they be granted permission. The second meaning is: those deserving of intercession. That is, the Prophets (peace be upon them), angels, and the righteous will only be able to intercede on behalf of those who are deserving of intercession, because permission from Allah will be granted only for them, not for anyone else (Fath al-Qadeer). The meaning is that apart from the Prophets (peace be upon them), angels, and the righteous, no one else will be able to intercede there, and even these personalities will only be able to intercede for sinful believers, not for disbelievers, polytheists, and rebels against Allah. The Noble Quran has clarified both these points at another place. (مَنْ ذَا الَّذِيْ يَشْفَعُ عِنْدَهٗٓ اِلَّا بِاِذْنِهٖ) 2. Al-Baqarah: 255) (وَلَا يَشْفَعُوْنَ ۙ اِلَّا لِمَنِ ارْتَضٰى) 21. Al-Anbiya: 28)

23. No intercession is of any benefit with Him except for the one to whom He gives permission [37]. When fear is removed from their hearts, they will ask, “What did your [38] Lord say?” They will reply, “The truth.” And He is the Most High, the Most Great.

[37]
The Principle of Intercession with Allah:

Most polytheists also hold this belief about their deities that they intercede for them with the Supreme God, that is, Allah, even though it is Allah alone who fulfills the needs. These deities or saints, by interceding with Allah, become the means for their needs to be fulfilled by Allah. Therefore, Allah Almighty has also stated His principle regarding intercession. And this principle has already been mentioned several times in the Quran. In brief, it is as follows:
(1) Only that person will be able to intercede with Allah who is granted permission by Allah. Who knows whether the one you consider an intercessor will even be granted permission or not.
(2) Intercession can only be made for that person about whom Allah wills, and how can you know whether anyone is granted permission from Allah to intercede on your behalf or not?
(3) And intercession can only be made for the forgiveness of that sin about which Allah wills. This restriction makes the concept of intercession even more limited. Then why are you so attached to these deities or saints? Take care of your own affairs in time and do not rely on anyone’s intercession.

[38]
The Majesty and Awe of Allah Almighty:

You speak of intercession with Allah, whose majesty and greatness are such that when a command is revealed from Him, the close angels who are with Him begin to tremble and become anxious. As is made clear by the following hadith: Hazrat Abu Hurairahؓ says that the Prophetﷺ said: When Allah Almighty decides upon a matter, the angels, out of humility for Allah’s word, beat their wings, and a sound is heard like that of a chain being dragged over a smooth stone. Then, when they regain their senses, they ask one another: What did your Lord say? The other replies: Whatever He said is true, and He is the Most High, the Most Great. The Prophetﷺ said: And the devils gather one above another between the earth and the sky (so that they may steal heavenly news) [ترمذي۔ كتاب التفسير]
Could anyone dare to intercede with such a majestic and awe-inspiring Allah without His permission? And what kind of delusions are you people under? The scholars of hadith have brought this hadith in the explanation of this verse because a group among the Arabs considered the angels to have authority in the workings of the universe and worshipped them, and those among them who believed in the Hereafter to some extent thought that even if there was accountability on the Day of Judgment, these angels would intercede for them with Allah and save them. And some commentators have related this verse to those saints and spiritual leaders who promise their disciples salvation through intercession and keep advising them to remain attached to the cloak of some saint. That is, both the intercessor and the one for whom intercession is sought will be extremely anxious on the Day of Judgment, both waiting to see whether permission to intercede is granted or not. Then, if Allah Almighty grants the intercessor permission to intercede, his anxiety is somewhat relieved, which the one for whom intercession is sought perceives and asks him what answer was received. The intercessor replies that the matter is fine, permission has been granted, and only then does the one for whom intercession is sought feel at ease. In this, both the intercessor and the one for whom intercession is sought are warned that the concept you have formed regarding intercession is absolutely incorrect. The court of Allah is so exalted and great that neither the close angels nor any other great personality dares to utter a word without Allah’s permission. No one will have the courage to say to Allah that this person is attached to my cloak, so You must forgive him. For the intercessor himself does not know what will become of him; how then can he take responsibility for others?