Will There Be Intercession (Shafāʿah) on the Day of Judgment?
Source: Fatāwā Amun Pūrī by Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Amun Pūrī
The Question
Will there be intercession (shafāʿah) on the Day of Resurrection?
The Answer
The Ahl al-Sunnah wa al-Jamāʿah hold a unanimous and agreed-upon belief that intercession (shafāʿah) is true. The Qur’an has affirmed multiple forms of intercession, and numerous mutawātir aḥādīth have been reported on this subject.
Groups such as the Khawārij, Muʿtazilah, Murjiʾah, and Shīʿah deny intercession on the Day of Judgment. The Khawārij claim that a person guilty of major sins will remain eternally in Hell and cannot be saved by intercession.
It must be remembered:
- Whoever denies shafāʿah is misguided, unjust, and in opposition to explicit Sharʿī texts and the consensus of the Ummah.
- Our Prophet ﷺ is the first intercessor (awwal shāfiʿ) and the first whose intercession will be accepted (awwal mushaffaʿ).
Key Principles of Intercession
- Intercession will only be granted to those for whom Allah grants permission.
- Intercession is an honor and dignity bestowed by Allah upon the intercessor and the one for whom intercession is made.
- On that Day, none will speak except by Allah’s permission, and whoever Allah allows will be able to intercede.
Misconceptions of Grave-Worshippers
Unfortunately, some people pray at the graves of saints and seek help (istighāthah, istimdād, istiʿānah) from them, thinking they will intercede on their behalf before Allah on the Day of Judgment.
The Qur’an has refuted this notion, declaring that such so-called intercessors will actually turn into enemies of their devotees and will declare themselves free from them on that Day.
Types of Intercession in the Qur’an
① Negated Intercession – denied for disbelievers and polytheists.
② Affirmed Intercession – confirmed for believers and the sincere servants of Allah.
Scholarly Consensus
❀ Imām Abū al-Ḥasan al-Ashʿarī (324H):
“The scholars are in consensus that the intercession of the Prophet ﷺ is for the people of major sins from his Ummah. They also agree that the Prophet ﷺ will take out a group from his Ummah who will have been burned and turned into coal. They will be thrown into the River of Life, where they will sprout forth like seeds carried by a flood.”
(Risālah ilā Ahl al-Thaghr, p. 97)
Conclusion
- Intercession on the Day of Judgment is a proven reality by Qur’an, mutawātir aḥādīth, and the consensus of the Ummah.
- Denying it is misguidance.
- Our hope is that Allah will honor us sinners with the intercession of His beloved Prophet ﷺ. Āmīn, yā Rabb al-ʿĀlamīn!
