Question Summary:
Who has the right to intercede before Allāh Taālā?

Question Detail:

Who has the right to intercede before God in Islām, and for whom?

Answer :

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
 
As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.
 
Allāh Taālā is deserving of All Praise and All Glory.  Power, Might, Ownership, and Control belong only to Him.  The mountains, the hills, the oceans, the rains, the sun, the moon, and every single creation are subjugated under his command.  Only what He Almighty wills occurs.  His sole intent is existence.  Allāh Almighty declares in the Glorious Qurān:
 
“His practice, when He intends to do something, is no more than He says, “Be”, and it comes to be.” (Qurān 36/82)
 
Because Allāh Taālā has created this life as a test, He has given mankind a small portion of free will and choice.  However, very often man gets intoxicated in this free will, thinking he has complete choice, and claims himself to be unstoppable.  But he forgets the reality that it is the Grandeur of Allāh that is governing even his limited free will.
 
Once the Day of Judgement will commence, this limited free choice that was allotted to man will be taken away.  The accountability of mankind’s deeds will take place.  On that Day, no one will have the right to intercede on behalf of another being.  However, only through the permission and consent of Allāh Taālā, one will be able to intercede.  Almighty Allāh says in the Qurān:
 
“Who can intercede with Him without His permission?” (Qurān 2/255)
 
In the narrations of Nabī Sallallāhu Alaihi Wa Sallam, the various intercessors are mentioned.  For example, it comes in a Hadīth that Surah Al-Mulk will intercede on behalf of its reciter until he is forgiven. [1]
 
 With regards to the types of intercessions, Imām An-Nawawī has mentioned in his commentary of Sahīh Muslim, that there will be five: [2]
 
1.       Before the reckoning, mankind will have to wait a long duration which will be very difficult and unbearable.  Then Nabī Sallallāhu Alaihi Wa Sallam will intercede on behalf of every single being, resulting in the commencement of hisāb (reckoning).
 
2.      Through the intercession of Nabī Sallallāhu Alaihi Wa Sallam, one large group will enter Jannah without reckoning.
3.      Nabī Sallallāhu Alaihi Wa Sallam and others to whom Allāh will grant permission will intercede on behalf of those for whom entry into Jahannam (the fire) was binding.
 
4.      Nabī Sallallāhu Alaihi Wa Sallam, the angels, and other believers will intercede on behalf of those who will have entered into the fire.  Through this intercession, they will be taken out and entered into Jannah.
5.      The ranks and levels of the inhabitants of Jannah will be elevated.   
And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best
Mawlana Abdul Azeem bin Abdur Rahman,
Student Darul Iftaa
US
 
Checked and Approved by,
Mufti Husain Kadodia.
www.daruliftaa.net