Shadee Elmasry – Why Do We Need Intercession When God Can Forgive Directly

AI: Summary ©
The speaker discusses the concept of "overcome" and how it can create difficult relationships. They explain that "overcome" can be used to create difficult relationships when a person is unable to receive forgiveness from Allah directly or through a middleman. The Prophet's statement about forgiveness is a direct forgiveness, but if you avoid major sins, just by that you'll be forgiven. The Prophet has a rule of thumb for forgiveness, and if you miss major sins, just by that you'll be forgiven.
AI: Summary ©
Why is it that Allah subhanahu wa ta
'ala forgives some people through intercession where he
could have forgiven them directly?
There's a couple answers to that.
Number one, by causing someone to intercede for
you that honors that person.
Number two, it establishes one of the strongest
bonds ever between you and that person.
Because they were chosen by Allah to be
the means by which you're saved.
For the worst punishment possible, which is the
hellfire.
Number three, the middleman is an expression of,
there's a degree of displeasure there from Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala.
But you basically barely tipped the balance, earned
some rahmah.
So it's almost as if to say, if
we can give an analogy of the relationship
or the displeasure, yet mixed with some mercy.
It's when, for example, a parent sends a
child to their room and then they don't
want to talk to them.
But then they do have rahmah for them.
And so they say, all right, go send
this to your sister, send this food to
your brother, send this dinner to your brother.
So they refuse to talk to them because
that would indicate approval.
But they still have some mercy for them.
So they send somebody.
So that is a third wisdom.
What is intercession in the first place?
I didn't define that.
We should have defined that.
It's basically when another person, on the day
of judgment, seeks forgiveness for you from Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala.
Then Allah forgives you.
But you yourself, if you were to seek
forgiveness, you'd be rejected.
But your good deed is that you had
some good ties with this righteous person.
They then ask for you to be forgiven
and you're forgiven.
That also encourages us in this life to
have as many connections to good people as
possible.
You never know who will intercede for you.
Intercession could happen in this life too for
punishment.
For example, a mother may pray for her
son's forgiveness and guidance.
And that son may be astray.
He may be punished in this life if
it was not for the mother's dua for
him.
He's a bad kid, but he's a good
son.
It could happen.
He's sinful with Allah.
Bad to other people, but with his mom
he's good.
So his mom prays for him in the
middle of the night.
And his life turns for the better through
that prayer.
So there are many many wisdoms why Allah
created this middleman in terms of receiving the
forgiveness.
Not a middleman of worship, of course.
Not a middleman that's actually forgiving you.
No, they're asking for forgiveness for you.
These are the wisdoms.
So that's why it's really good to always
keep in mind.
Never look down on somebody.
That person could have made a prayer for
you.
And that wouldn't have been the prayer that's
answered.
And that's why they say, لا تحقر عبدًا
حسن يكون لله وليًّ Don't ever look down
on a slave.
He may be in the sight of Allah,
a wali whose dua is accepted.
You just don't know.
The Awliyaullah are not only the Fuqaha and
the Muhaddithin and the apparent people in religion.
They're in the religious community.
They could also be the regular person that
nobody knows about or no one pays attention
to.
So those are all the wisdoms surrounding the
concept of what we call Shafa'ah.
Shafa'ah is in Ayatul Kursi.
من ذا الذي يشفع عنده إلا بإذنه If
someone intercedes for you.
It's because Allah Ta'ala created that.
Allah Ta'ala made them intercede for you.
Permitted them to intercede for you.
So in fact, when the intercession comes, that
is from Allah directly.
That is from Allah except not directly.
Through a middleman.
Now, how is the direct forgiveness look like?
A person may be called up for the
judgment into a certain location.
And thereupon, they speak to Allah Ta'ala
without barrier or interpreter.
And thereupon Allah Ta'ala asks them some
very easy questions.
حساباً يسيراً Just a few questions.
And then Allah Ta'ala bestows His pleasure
upon him.
And He announces that you're forgiven.
Go enter Jannah.
So that is what the direct forgiveness looks
like.
What else did the Prophet say about the
intercession?
شفاعتي لأهل الكبائر من أمتي We have a
rule of thumb.
If you avoid major sins, just by that
you'll be forgiven your minor sins.
But what if you fell into major sins?
Then in this life you have Tawbah and
you have Hajj.
What happens if you didn't do those things?
You can have sicknesses.
What happens if that didn't happen?
You die with major sins on your record.
Then you go on the Day of Judgment.
And thereupon the Prophet announced, My intercession is
for the major sinners of my community.
On the Day of Judgment you have two
parts.
One part is all justice, which is the
wrath of Allah Ta'ala upon the people.
They see their sins manifest in different forms,
such as rivers of blood that they're pushed
into.
That's a manifestation of Ribah.
They see themselves as tiny ants.
And they're being stepped on.
That's the physical manifestation in physical form.
Flesh and blood, just like we are now.
But you find yourself tiny like an ant.
You're afraid to be stepped on.
Who is that on the Day of Judgment?
The oppressor.
Because he walked around the earth and he
made everyone else feel like that.
Just don't say anything.
Even my sheikh in Egypt.
Don't say anything.
Never talk.
Just walk against the wall.
Put your head down.
Why are they putting anyone in jail who
speaks about anything?
Just don't even pretend you're not even a
religious person.
Subhanallah.
So physical manifestation of your own sins.
It's what you're doing.
But then the Prophet ﷺ prostrates to Allah
and is inspired with words of praise that
have never been spoken before by any prophet
or angel.
Then Allah Ta'ala says, Rise and ask,
you'll be given.
He lifts his head and he asks for
intercession for his ummah and he's granted that.
Then other people in his ummah are granted
intercession.
So they may intercede for their family.
And each person, for example, you memorize the
Quran, okay, you can get 70 from your
friends and family.
Who are destined for the hellfire, you pull
them out.
That's why the social element of the religion
is so important.
The righteous mingling with the sinners in the
masajid.
Keep in mind, in the masajid, in righteous
places.
So Jumu'ah, Taraweeh, Eid, what is that?
It's mingling between the good and the bad.
So that the bad, who's in a bad
state, we're not going to say anyone's bad,
we're saying he's in a bad state.
He's fallen into bad deeds.
Can mingle with the good people.
Maybe in this life, he'll be better.
And maybe he'll go his whole life to
this life of dunya.
He'll never get better, but he loves those
people.
I'm telling you, there's tons of those types.
You seem like years and decades passed, they
never improve.
But they love good people.
So they have that at least.
On the Day of Judgement, you never know,
that may be their intercession for them.
A martyr may come, okay, you take more
than 70 people, 100 people, 200 people, 1
,000 people from your community.
Just one person was so special in the
sight of Allah, that 1,000 people whose
records ordained for them to go to *,
they go to heaven now through that person.
And they will thank that person and honor
that person for eternity.
Subhanallah.
So that's the summary of the concept of
Shafa'ah.
When we talk about Shafa'ah, we mention
Shafa'ah in some ways in the dua
after Adhan.
We ask for the Prophet to receive Al
-Maqam Al-Mahmood.
Al-Maqam Al-Mahmood is abroad, has a
lot of things to say about it, but
one of them is he's the Shafi'ah.