Source: Fatāwā Amunpuri by Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Amunpuri
What is the ruling on someone who denies the intercession (shafāʿah) of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ?
The Ahl al-Sunnah wal-Jamāʿah are unanimously agreed upon the belief that intercession (shafāʿah) is a true and established matter. The Qur'an affirms several forms of intercession, and numerous mutawātir (mass-transmitted) aḥādīth have been narrated regarding it.
However, sects such as the Khawārij, Muʿtazilah, Murji'ah, and Shīʿah deny the intercession that will occur on the Day of Judgement.
The Khawārij claim that anyone who commits a major sin will remain in Hell eternally and cannot be saved by intercession.
Know well that whoever denies intercession is misguided, an oppressor, and in opposition to the clear texts of the Sharīʿah and the consensus (ijmāʿ) of the Ummah.
Our Prophet Muhammad ﷺ is:
The intercessions of the Prophet ﷺ will be of various kinds. Among them is:
This is the "Maqām Maḥmūd" (Praiseworthy Station) which Allah has promised to His Messenger ﷺ.
When the people are resurrected from their graves and gathered for reckoning, they will be in severe distress. In that dire state, they will go to the prophets requesting intercession—but each will excuse themselves. Finally, they will come to the Seal of the Prophets, Muhammad al-Muṣṭafā ﷺ.
The Prophet ﷺ will prostrate before Allah, praising and glorifying Him. Permission will then be granted to intercede, and through his intercession, people will be relieved from anguish and torment.
This form of intercession is exclusive to the Prophet ﷺ.
Imām Abū al-Ḥasan al-Ashʿarī رحمه الله (d. 324 AH) said:
“There is a consensus among the scholars that the Prophet ﷺ will intercede for those among his Ummah who committed major sins.
Likewise, there is consensus that the Prophet ﷺ will intercede for a group from his Ummah who will be taken out of Hell after having been reduced to coal. They will be placed into the River of Life, and they will grow just as seeds grow on the banks of a flood.”
(Risālah ilā Ahl al-Thaghr, p. 97)
Imām Abū Bakr Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn al-Ājurrī رحمه الله (d. 360 AH) wrote:
“On the Obligation of Believing in Intercession:
May Allah have mercy on you! Know that the one who denies intercession believes that whoever enters Hell once will never exit it.
This is the belief of the Muʿtazilah, who deny intercession and many other fundamentals, despite clear evidences in:
– the Book of Allah
– the Sunnah of the Messenger ﷺ
– the way of the Companions and their Successors
– and the statements of the jurists.
The Muʿtazilah oppose all these and do not give any consideration to the Prophetic Sunnah or the practice of the Companions. Rather, they use ambiguous verses and their intellect to counter clear evidence.
This is not the way of Muslims, but rather of those who are estranged from the path of truth and are playthings of Shayṭān.
Allah, His Messenger ﷺ, and both earlier and later Imams have warned us against such people.”
(Kitāb ash-Sharīʿah: 3/1198)
Imām Abū Zurʿah ar-Rāzī (d. 264 AH) and Imām Abū Ḥātim ar-Rāzī رحمهما الله (d. 277 AH) said:
“We met scholars in all the lands — Ḥijāz, ʿIrāq, Shām, and Yemen — and their belief was: Intercession is true.”
(Uṣūl Madhhab Ahl as-Sunnah)
Mutawātir aḥādīth (mass-transmitted narrations) have been recorded on the topic of intercession. Refer to:
Imām Ibn Abī ʿĀṣim رحمه الله (d. 287 AH) stated:
“The narrations we have reported from our Prophet ﷺ, in which Allah has honored him with the virtue of intercession and granted him permission to intercede in specific matters — these are established, authentic, and convey certain knowledge.
Whoever rejects these mutawātir narrations that convey certainty has committed disbelief (kufr).”
(Kitāb as-Sunnah: 2/385)
It is proven beyond doubt that:
① Intercession (shafāʿah) of the Prophet ﷺ is a true and affirmed belief in Islam.
② Denial of this intercession contradicts the Qur'an, mutawātir aḥādīth, and consensus of the Ummah.
③ Whoever denies the intercession of the Prophet ﷺ is a disbeliever, because such denial opposes the fundamental sources of Islam.
✿ Question:
What is the ruling on someone who denies the intercession (shafāʿah) of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ?
✿ Answer:
The Ahl al-Sunnah wal-Jamāʿah are unanimously agreed upon the belief that intercession (shafāʿah) is a true and established matter. The Qur'an affirms several forms of intercession, and numerous mutawātir (mass-transmitted) aḥādīth have been narrated regarding it.
However, sects such as the Khawārij, Muʿtazilah, Murji'ah, and Shīʿah deny the intercession that will occur on the Day of Judgement.
The Khawārij claim that anyone who commits a major sin will remain in Hell eternally and cannot be saved by intercession.
Know well that whoever denies intercession is misguided, an oppressor, and in opposition to the clear texts of the Sharīʿah and the consensus (ijmāʿ) of the Ummah.
❀ The Intercession of the Prophet ﷺ
Our Prophet Muhammad ﷺ is:
- The First Intercessor (أوّل شافع)
- The First Whose Intercession Will Be Accepted (أوّل مشفّع)
The intercessions of the Prophet ﷺ will be of various kinds. Among them is:
✦ The Greatest Intercession (ash-Shafāʿah al-Kubrā):
This is the "Maqām Maḥmūd" (Praiseworthy Station) which Allah has promised to His Messenger ﷺ.
When the people are resurrected from their graves and gathered for reckoning, they will be in severe distress. In that dire state, they will go to the prophets requesting intercession—but each will excuse themselves. Finally, they will come to the Seal of the Prophets, Muhammad al-Muṣṭafā ﷺ.
The Prophet ﷺ will prostrate before Allah, praising and glorifying Him. Permission will then be granted to intercede, and through his intercession, people will be relieved from anguish and torment.
This form of intercession is exclusive to the Prophet ﷺ.
❀ Statements of the Scholars:
Imām Abū al-Ḥasan al-Ashʿarī رحمه الله (d. 324 AH) said:
“There is a consensus among the scholars that the Prophet ﷺ will intercede for those among his Ummah who committed major sins.
Likewise, there is consensus that the Prophet ﷺ will intercede for a group from his Ummah who will be taken out of Hell after having been reduced to coal. They will be placed into the River of Life, and they will grow just as seeds grow on the banks of a flood.”
(Risālah ilā Ahl al-Thaghr, p. 97)
Imām Abū Bakr Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn al-Ājurrī رحمه الله (d. 360 AH) wrote:
“On the Obligation of Believing in Intercession:
May Allah have mercy on you! Know that the one who denies intercession believes that whoever enters Hell once will never exit it.
This is the belief of the Muʿtazilah, who deny intercession and many other fundamentals, despite clear evidences in:
– the Book of Allah
– the Sunnah of the Messenger ﷺ
– the way of the Companions and their Successors
– and the statements of the jurists.
The Muʿtazilah oppose all these and do not give any consideration to the Prophetic Sunnah or the practice of the Companions. Rather, they use ambiguous verses and their intellect to counter clear evidence.
This is not the way of Muslims, but rather of those who are estranged from the path of truth and are playthings of Shayṭān.
Allah, His Messenger ﷺ, and both earlier and later Imams have warned us against such people.”
(Kitāb ash-Sharīʿah: 3/1198)
Imām Abū Zurʿah ar-Rāzī (d. 264 AH) and Imām Abū Ḥātim ar-Rāzī رحمهما الله (d. 277 AH) said:
“We met scholars in all the lands — Ḥijāz, ʿIrāq, Shām, and Yemen — and their belief was: Intercession is true.”
(Uṣūl Madhhab Ahl as-Sunnah)
❀ Authenticity of Intercession in Ḥadīth:
Mutawātir aḥādīth (mass-transmitted narrations) have been recorded on the topic of intercession. Refer to:
- Qatf al-Azhār al-Mutanāthirah by al-Suyūṭī, p. 313
- Laqaṭ al-La'ālī al-Mutanāthirah by al-Zabīdī, pp. 75–78
- Naẓm al-Mutanāthir by al-Kattānī, p. 223
Imām Ibn Abī ʿĀṣim رحمه الله (d. 287 AH) stated:
“The narrations we have reported from our Prophet ﷺ, in which Allah has honored him with the virtue of intercession and granted him permission to intercede in specific matters — these are established, authentic, and convey certain knowledge.
Whoever rejects these mutawātir narrations that convey certainty has committed disbelief (kufr).”
(Kitāb as-Sunnah: 2/385)
Conclusion:
It is proven beyond doubt that:
① Intercession (shafāʿah) of the Prophet ﷺ is a true and affirmed belief in Islam.
② Denial of this intercession contradicts the Qur'an, mutawātir aḥādīth, and consensus of the Ummah.
③ Whoever denies the intercession of the Prophet ﷺ is a disbeliever, because such denial opposes the fundamental sources of Islam.
