Twelve significant points that you should know about intercession/7
Requirements of the One to be Interceded for
Shafa’a is the very same forgiveness and mercy of God and God does not exclude anyone from His mercy, but sometimes people fail to receive mercy due to incompetence. Therefore, for Shafa’a, it is necessary that the person for whom intercession is going to be made has the necessary competence.
Due to the educational purpose and avoiding people from being bold in committing sins, the Qur’an and hadiths have not mentioned all the details and requirements for one to be interceded for; however, they have mentioned some necessary requirements.
The most important requirement for one to be interceded for is that God approves of him, “…and they do not intercede except for someone He approves of,…” (21:28)
It is obvious that one who needs Shafa’a of forgiveness because some sins, God does not approve his act; rather, it means that God approves of that person’s religion and beliefs. In other words, the one who is going to be interceded for even if is a sinner and has committed greater sins, he must have not cut his relation with God and leaders of religion.
The Obstacles of Shafa’a
From the Qur’an, it can be understood that some issues are obstacles for benefiting from Shafa’a. Some groups who are deprived of Shafa’a are as follows:
- Disbelievers and polytheists
- Oppressors
- Enemies of the Ahl al-Bayt (a) of the Prophet (s) (Nawasib)
- Those who harassed the progeny and children of the Prophet (s)
- Deniers of Shafa’a
- Traitors
- Those who do not take prayer seriously
- Deniers of the Wilaya of Imam ‘Ali (a) and other Imams (a)
- Hypocrites
- Those who abandon prayer[1]
From the verse of the Qur’an, two requirements can be understood for those who are going to be interceded for:
- To have taken a covenant with God[2]
- To be witness to the truth[3]
[divider]
1)Jawadi, Ma’ad dar Qur’an, vol.2 p.145
2)Qur’an 19:87
3)Qur’an 43:86
