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.”