Shifaat or Intercession

SHAFA’AT OR INTERCESSION

On the Intercession of The Holy Messenger by Ala Hazrat Imam Ahmed Raza Khan Faazil-e-Barelvi

Alhamdulillahi Rabbil Alamin wassalatu Wassalamu ala Sayydi ul Anbiya Wal Mursaleen.

All Praise be to Allah and Peace and Blessings upon His Beloved Messenger, the Mercy of the Worlds, Chief of This World and The Next World, Best of Creation, Present and Witnessing One, His Blessed Companions, His Family and His Pure Wives, and all His Followers till Judgement Day.

Being A Balm For The Aching Hearts Of All Believers And A Joy For The Sinners by A.J. Naqshbandi-Jamaati

Here I will copy a few passages from a great work by Ala Hadrat Imam Ahmad Raza Khan Barelvi (May his secret be sanctified) entitled, Forty Hadiths On the Intercession of The Holy Prophet (ﷺ)’ [Compiled by Imam Ahmad Raza Khan Barelvi, translated by Dr. Maulana Abdul Naim Azizi (Raza Academy1995)] (All of my own comments are in square brackets [])

The quotes from the book begin here:

Quotations From Forty Hadiths On the Intercession of The Holy Prophet (ﷺ)’ [Compiled by Imam Ahmad Raza Khan Barelvi]

Question [to Imam Ahmd Raza (alayhi rahmat)]: What do the learned Scholars of Islam say on this issue:by which Hadiths is the power of the Prophet (ﷺ) “to be the Intercessor” proved? Kindly explain it thoroughly. May Allah Ta’ala reward you.

[Hamd and Salawat by Imam Ahmad Raza (alayhi rahmat)]

Answer: Allah be praised! On hearing such a question I wondered if someone can call himself a Muslim, a follower ofSunnat and have a suspicion about such well-known beliefs. This is also a sign of the nearness of Doomsday… …This humble person [Imam Raza, (Rahmatullahi Ta’ala Alaih)] has collected and summarized these Hadiths fully in his treatise,”Samaun-Wa-Taah Le Hadiths-Shifa-ah”. Here I [Imam Ahmad Raza Khan] will state briefly forty Hadiths and before them a few verses of the Holy Qur’an on this subject:

Verse No. 1:
“The time is coming when your Lord may make you stand at a place here all shall praise you.”
(Surah Bani Israel, 79).

(It is reported in Sahih Bukhari that the Holy Prophet (Sall Allahu Alaihi wa Sallam), the intercessor of the sinners (ﷺ) was asked,”What is the Place of Praise? He said, “That is Intercession.”)

Verse No.2:
“And undoubtedly, soon your Lord shall give you so much that you shall be satisfied.”
(Surah Al Duha, 5).

Dailmi has reported from Maula Ali (Radi Allahu Ta’ala alaih), the Commander of the Faithful that when this verse was revealed, The Intercessor of the sinners (ﷺ) said,

“When Allah Ta’ala promises that I will be satisfied, I will not be satisfied even if one of my followers remains in Hell.”

O Allah! May Your blessings, peace and grace rest on the Holy Prophet (ﷺ).

Tabarani in Ausat and Bazaar in Musnad report from Maula Ali (Radi Allahu Ta’ala Anh) that the Intercessor of the sinners (ﷺ) says, “I shall intercede for my Umma until my Lord will call, “O Muhammad! (ﷺ) are you satisfied?” I shall say, “O My Lord! Yes I am satisfied.” …

Verse No.5 “And when they are told to come to the Messenger of Allah, (ﷺ) so he may ask forgiveness for them, they turn their heads aside.” (Surah Munafiqoon, Verse 5.)

O Allah! May Your blessings, peace and grace rest on the In this verse the bad luck of the hypocrites is said to be their failure to ask for intercession from the prophet (ﷺ). Those who do not ask for intercession today, will not get it tomorrow and those who do not get it tomorrow, will never have it and will have no peace anywhere. May Allah Ta’ala benefit us with the intercession of the Holy Prophet (ﷺ) in this World and Hereafter. If the disbelievers do not ask him today, they shall see much trouble on the Day of Judgement… [from pages 13 to 17 of Imam Ahmad Raza’s book (alahi rahmat)]. …

…These Hadiths [which follow] will give the lovely news that the intercession of our Beloved Prophet (ﷺ) is not only for those who have committed sin by chance and are ashamed and afraid every time for what they have done. A repentant thief might say that the theft has been proved, but he was not always a thief and has not regarded it as his profession, but has committed this sin bringing bad luck on himself and is ashamed and in fear day and night. No! I swear by Allah Ta’ala Who has Commissioned the Holy Prophet as the intercessor, that his intercession is for those black-faced, sinful, wicked, tyrant Muslims who are inextricably entangled in sins and the sins are even ashamed of them…

Hadith 1 & 2:- Imam Ahmad in his Musnad with the testimonial of Sahih Bukhari and Muslim reports from Hazrat Abdullah ibn Umar (Radi Allahu Ta’ala Anhuma), and Ibn Maja reports from

Hazrat Abu Musa Asha’ari, (Radi Allah u Ta’ala Anh) that our Beloved Prophet (ﷺ), the intercessor of the sinners, says, “Allah left it to my choice whether to take the power of intercession, or instead half of my Umma might go to Paradise without any reckoning. I accepted the power of intercession because that is more valuable. Do you think that my intercession is for good Muslims? No! It is hard for sinners who are polluted in sins and hard hearted.”…

Hadith 9:- Abu Bakr Ahmad ibn ali Baghdadi reported from Hazrat Abu Darda (Radi Allahu Ta’ala Anh) that our Beloved Prophet, the intercessor of the sinners (ﷺ) said, “My intercession is for my sinful followers.” On this Abu Darda (Radi Allahu T’ala Anh)enquired humbly, “If he is even an adulterer or a thief?” He said, “Yes”

Hadith 27 to 40:- Ibn Manie reports from Hazrat Zaid ibn Arqam and fourteen other Companions (Radi Allahu Anhum)of the Holy Prophet that our Holy Prophet, the intercessor of the sinners (ﷺ) says, My intercession on the Day of Requital is true and he who will not believe in it, will not deserve it.”

The poor look at these Hadiths and are sorry in their soul and believe in the intercession of our Chosen Prophet of Allah Ta’ala (ﷺ).

O Lord! Make us able and worthy to receive his intercession in This World and Hereafter. You are Alone worthy to be feared and Alone Worthy to forgive. May You send the most glorious blessings, utmost bounty and pious salutations onYour Beloved and Chosen, the Intercessor and the Selected Prophet, and on his Offspring and Companions and all his Umma.” [upto page 30.]

[Here are the quotes from Ala Hadrat’s blessed book (alayhi rahmat).]

O my Brothers! That is enough proof for all discerning and truthful readers to accept the Intercession of the Intercessor (ﷺ)as an undeniable Truth. May Allah

make us all true believers in this intercession and may He Almighty make us die on Iman, the true Iman of the Ahle Sunnah wa al Jamaat. Amin.

I end with a famous couplet from Ala Hadrat Ahmad Raza Khan’s auspicious pen:

جن کے ماتھے شفاعت کا سہرا رہا
اُس جبینِ سعادت پہ لاکھوں سلام

Jin ke maathay shafaat ka sehra raha
Uss jabeen-e-sa’adat pe laakhon salaam!

He on whose forehead rests the diadem of Intercession
Upon that auspicious forehead, a hundred thousand salutations of peace! .

Assalatu wa Assalamu alaika Ya Shafee al Muznabeen (ﷺ). And All Praise be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds.