Khutba on Intercession

الحمد لله، الحمد لله الذي خص نبيَه بالوسيلةِ والشفاعة، وأدخل بها من وحّد من أمتِه إلى الجنة، نحمده تعالى ونستعينه، ونشكره تعالى ونستغفره ونستغيثه، نعوذ بالله من شرور أنفسنا ومن سيئات أعمالنا، من يهد الله فهو المهتد ومن يضلل فلن تجد له وليا مرشدا، ونشهد أن لا إله إلا الله وحده لا شريك له، له الملك و له الحمد، يحيي ويميت، بيده الخير، وهو على كل شيء قدير،  ونشهد أن سيدنا و مولانا محمداً عبده ورسوله، وحبيبه وصفيه، بلغ الرسالة وأدى الأمانة ونصح الأمة، النبي الأمي الذي أرسله الله بالهدى والدين الحق، بشيرا ونذيرا بين يدي الساعة، صلى الله عليه وسلم وعلى آله وأصحابه ومن تبعهم بإحسان إلى يوم الدين.

أما بعد! فيا عباد الله اتقوا الله حق تقاته ولا تموتن إلا وأنتم مسلمون. يأيها الذين ءامنوا اتقوا الله وقولوا قولا سديدا يصلح لكم أعمالكم ويغفر لكم ذنوبكم. ومن يطع 

الله ورسوله فقد فاز فوزا عظيما. اتقوا الله فيما أمر وانتهوا عما نها عنه وزجر.

In recent weeks, we have been talking about the qualities of the Messenger of Allah and the special status he holds within creation. For, as we have indicated in the last few khutbas, Allah chose him from the rest of creation and singled him out for a number of honours. One of the ways Allah honoured him was to grant him maqamun mahmud – the praiseworthy station. Allah says:

عَسَى أَنْ يَبْعَثَكَ رَبُّكَ مَقَامًا مَحْمُودًا

the translation of which is “It may well be that your Lord will raise you to a Praiseworthy Station.” The people of tafsir have transmitted that the praiseworthy station granted the Messenger of Allah refers to one of two things: the first is that, on the Day of Rising, he will be the bearer of the banner to which all the believers, including the Prophets and Messengers will flock. The Prophet said, as narrated by Abu Sa’id al-Khudri, 

أنا سيدُ ولدِ آدمَ يوم القيامة ولا فخر، وبيدي لواءُ الحمدِ ولا فخر، وما من نبيٍّ يومئذ آدمَ فمَن سواه إلا تحتَ لوائي

“I am the master of the children of Adam on the Day of Rising and that is no boast. The banner of praise will be in my hands and that is no boast. There will be no Prophet on the day, Adam or anyone else, except that he will be under my banner.” And in the narration of Anas,

أنا أولُ من تنفلِقُ الأرضُ عن جُمجُمتِه ولا فخر، وأنا سيدُ الناسِ يوم القيامة ولا فخر، ومعي لواءُ الحمدِ يوم القيامة، وأنا أولُ من تُفتَح له الجنةُ ولا فخر

“I am the first from whose skull the earth will part, and that is no boast. I am the master of the people on the Day of Rising, and that is no boast. The Banner of Praise will be with me on the Day of Rising and I will be the first for whom the Garden will open, and that is no boast.” This is one of the ways the Messenger of Allah will be singled out above the rest of creation on the Day of Rising. The other way he will be singled out is by being granted the shafa‘a, the intercession, and that is the second interpretation of what is meant by maqamun mahmud, for Abu Hurayra narrates that when the Messenger of Allah was asked what the praiseworthy station was, he said,

المقام المحمودُ هو المقامُ الذي أشفَعُ فيه لأمتي

“The praiseworthy station is the station in which I intercede for my umma.” This is the place in which the Prophet stands and intercedes with his Lord on behalf of those who come before him to be judged, and it is something that has not been granted to any Prophet but him. The Prophet said,

لكل نبي دعوةٌ يدعو بها، واختبأتُ دعوتي شفاعةً لأمتي يوم القيامة

“Every Prophet has a supplication which he makes, and I have reserved my supplication for intercession for my community on the Day of Rising.” In other words, Allah permitted His Prophets to ask for things on behalf of their communities and promised them that their supplications would be answered. But the Messenger of Allah chose to store up that supplication for the Day of poverty and terror, because that was the place he felt it would be of most benefit to them.
According to Qadi Iyad, there are four forms of shafa‘a that are granted to the Messenger of Allah. The first is the general intercession which is when he intercedes on behalf of all the believers, from his umma and previous ones. Anas ibn Malik narrated that the Prophet said,

إذا كان يومَ القيامة ماج الناسُ بعضُهم إلى بعض فيأتون آدمَ فيقولون له اشفَع لذرّيتك فيقول لست لها ولكن عليكم بإبراهيمَ عليه السلام فإنه خليلُ الله فيأتون إبراهيم فيقول لست لها ولكن عليكم بموسى فإنه كليمُ الله فيؤتَى موسى فيقول لست لها ولكن عليكم بعيسى عليه السلام فإنه روح الله وكلمته فيؤتَى عيسى فيقول لست لها ولكن عليكم بمحمد صلى الله عليه وسلم فأُوتَى فأقول أنا لها

“On the Day of Rising, there will be a sea of people heaving against each other. They will go to Adam and say to him, ‘Intercede on behalf of your descendants’, and he will reply, ‘That is not for me to do. You must go to Ibrahim instead, for he is the Khalil (close friend) of Allah.’ So they will go to Ibrahim, and he will say, ‘That is not for me to do. You must go to Musa instead, for he is the Kalim of Allah (i.e. the one to whom Allah spoke).’ So they will go to Musa, and he will reply, ‘That is not for me to do. You must go to Isa instead, for he is the Ruh of Allah and His Kalima (i.e. the Spirit of Allah and His word).’ So they will go to Isa, and he will reply, ‘That is not for me to do. You must go to Muhammad instead.’ So they will come to me, and I will say, ‘I will do it’” Whereupon, he will go to his Lord, prostrate before Him and intercede on their behalf, and they will be granted relief from the harshness of the sun and the hardship of the standing on that day that there is no shade except for that directly granted by Allah. There he will intercede for all of them and most of creation. Anas ibn Malik narrated that he said,

لأشفعَنَّ يوم القيامة لأكثرَ مِمَّا في الأرض مِن حَجَرٍ وَشَجَرٍ

“I will intercede on the Day of Rising for most of what is on the earth, including its rocks and trees.”
The second form of intercession granted the Prophet is that of having people from his community enter the Garden without being subjected to the Reckoning. In a narration from Abu Hurayra, we find,

فيقال: يا محمدُ، ارفع رأسَك، سل تُعطَه، واشفع تُشفَع، فأرفعُ رأسي، فأقول: يا رب أمتي، يا رب أمتي. فيَقُولُ: أدخِل من أمتِك مَن لا حسابَ عليه من الباب الأيمنِ مِن أبوابِ الجنة، وهم شركاءُ الناسِ فيما سوى ذلك من الأبواب.

“It will be said, ‘Muhammad, lift up your head. Ask and it will be given to you. Intercede and your intercession will be granted.’ The Prophet will say, ‘I will raise my head and say, ‘O Lord, my community! O Lord, my community!’ He will say, ‘Bring in by the right-hand gate those of your community who will not be subjected to reckoning, and the rest of your community can share with people in the other gates.’”
The third form of intercession granted the Prophet is for those of his community who believed in the Oneness of Allah, but made the Fire obligatory on themselves by means of the major wrong actions (the kaba’ir) that they committed. The Prophet said,

فيقال لي: ارفع رأسك، و قل يُسمَع، واشفع تُشفَع، وسل تُعطَه. فأقول: يا رب، ائذَن لي فيمن قال: لا إله إلا الله. قال: ليس ذلك إليك. ولكن وعزتي وكبريائي وعَظَمتي وجِبريائي لأخرجَنَّ من النار من قال: لا إله إلا الله. ومن رواية قتادة عنه، قال: فأقول يا رب، ما بقِي في النار إلا مَن حَبَسَه القرآن، أي وجب عليه الخلودَ

“I will be told, ‘Lift up your head! Speak and you will be heard. Intercede and it will be granted. Ask and you will be given!’ I will say, ‘O Lord, give me permission for the one who says, “There is no god but Allah”.’ He will say, “That is not your affair, but by My might, My pride, My immensity and My greatness, I will bring out of the Fire those who say, “There is no god but Allah.” In the version of Qatada, he said, ‘I will say, ‘O Lord, let the only ones who remain in it be those whom the Qur’an has barred,’” i.e. those obliged to remain in it endlessly. 
The Prophet will intercede with his Lord on behalf of anyone who has so much as a single grain of belief in his heart that Allah bring them out of the Fire. Ibn Abbas narrates that the Prophet said,

فيقول الله تبارك وتعالى: ما تريدُ بأمتك؟ فأقول: يا رب، عَجِّل حسابَهم، فيُدعَى بهم، فيحاسَبون. فمنهم من يدخل برحمته، ومنهم من يدخل الجنةَ بشفاعتي، ولا أزالُ أشفعُ حتى أُعطَى صِكاكاً برجالٍ قد أُمِرَ بهم إلى النار، حتى إن خازنَ النار ليقولُ: يا محمد، ما تركتَ لغضبِ ربك في أمتك من نِقمَة.

“Allah will ask me, ‘What do you want Me to do with your community?’ I will reply, ‘O Lord, make their reckoning quick.’ He will call for them and they will be judged. Some of them will enter the Garden by His mercy and some of them will enter the Garden by my intercession. I will continue to intercede until He gives a paper of good deeds to men who have been commanded to the Fire. So the Guardian of the Fire will say, ‘Muhammad! You haven’t left any scope for the anger of your Lord against your community!’”
The fourth form of intercession is for the those who are already in the Garden, the Prophet will ask that they be given a station in it higher than that merited by their good actions. And that is why we find it narrated of so many of the salaf and the men of Allah that they used to ask for the intercession of the Prophet despite their high station with Allah. So we ask Allah to grant us his intercession and repay him with the best a Prophet can be repaid from his community. And we ask you to bless him abundantly.

أقول قولي هذا و أستغفر الله لي و لكم و لسائر المسلمين من كل ذنب فاستغفروه إنه هو الغفور الرَّحيم.الحمد لله الحمد لله رب العالمين، وأشهد أن لا إله إلا الله وحده لا شريك له وأشهد أن محمداً عبده ورسوله، صلى الله وسلم وبارك عليه وعلى آله وصحبه، والتابعين وتابعي التابعين ومن تبعهم بإحسان إلى يوم الدين.

أما بعد! فيأيها الذين ءامنوا اتقوا الله ما استطعتم واسمعوا وأطيعوا وأنفقوا خيرا لأنفسكم. يا عباد الله أوصيكم وإياي بتقوى الله وطاعته وأحذركم وإياي عن معصيته ومخالفته.

There are a number of ways in which a person can make himself eligible for the intercession of the Prophet. The first of those is to ask him for it. Now, there are some people within the Muslim umma who claim that is forbidden to ask for shafa‘a from the Prophet and that it is a form of shirk, because, they say, he is dead and the dead are incapable of doing anything. And asking what is incapable to do something is shirk. These claims are very easily refuted, for although the Messenger of Allah no longer walks the earth, he is not truly dead. Anas narrates that the Prophet said,

الأنبياءُ أحياءُ في قبورهم يُصَلُّون

“The Prophets are alive in their graves, praying.” Ibn al-Qayyim said regarding this subject,

صَحَّ عن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم أن الأرضَ لا تأكل أجساد الانبياء، وأنه صلى الله عليه وسلم اجتمع بالأنبياءِ ليلةَ الإسراءِ في بيتِ المُقَدَّس، وفي السماء خصوصا بموسى، وقد أخبَرَ بأنه ما من مسلم يَسَلِّمُ عليه إلا ردَّ اللهُ عليه روحَه حتى يرُدَّ عليه السلام. إلى غير ذلك مما يَحصُلُ من جملتِه القطعُ بأنَّ موتَ الأنبياءِ إنما هو راجعٌ إلى أن غيَّبوا عنا بحيثُ لا ندركُهم، وإن كانوا موجودِين أحياءَ، وذلك كالحال في الملائكة، فإنهم أحياءُ موجودون ولا نراهم.

“It is confirmed in the Sahih from the Prophet that the earth does not consume the bodies of the Prophets, that he gathered with the the Prophets on the Night of the Isra in Jerusalem, and later the same night in heaven with Musa, that whenever a Muslim sends him salams, Allah returns his ruh to him so that he can return the salam, and many other things that, when taken together, prove decisively that the Prophets being dead simply means that they are in the Unseen where we cannot see them. They are alive and in existence just like the angels, who despite the fact that we cannot see them, are alive and in existence.”
And that is also shown by the fact that we say, “Assalaamu alayka ayyahu-n-nabiy – Peace be upon you, O Prophet,’ in the prayer, directly addressing the Prophet. And one does not use the second person pronoun unless the one you are addressing is alive and in existence and can hear you. So the objection that the Prophet is dead is not a valid one. And that is further strengthened by a hadith from Ibn Mas’ud,

حياتي خيرٌ لكم…ووَفَاتِي خيرٌ لكم تُعرَضُ علي أعمالُكم، فما رأيتُ من خير حمدتُ اللهَ عليه، وما رأيتُ من شرٍّ استغفرتُ اللهَ لكم

“My life is good for you, and my death is good for you, for your actions will be presented to me and whatever I see of them that is good I will praise Allah for, and whatever I see of them is bad I will Allah’s forgiveness for you.”
And there is even a hadith from the Prophet in which he instructs a blind man who came to him to ask him to make dua to Allah for his sight to return, to say the following words:

اللهم إني أسألك وأتوجه إليك بنبينا محمد نبيِ الرحمة، يا محمدُ إني أتوجه بك إلى ربي في حاجتي لتُقضَى لي

“O Allah, I ask you and turn to you by the worth of our Prophet Muhammad, the prophet of mercy. O Muhammad, by way of you, I turn to my Lord in my time of need, that my need be met.” In this hadith, the man first asks the Messenger of Allah to make dua/ intercede with Allah on his behalf, and then is instructed to make the dua himself, placing the Prophet within that dua as an intermediary between him and Allah. And the man’s sight returned as a result of that dua!
Another proof of the permissibility of asking the Prophet for shafa’a is found in the story of the visit of the khalifa Abu Ja’far to the grave of the Prophet. When he entered the rawda, he wanted to know the correct adab for making dua there, so he asked Imam Malik whether he should face the qibla or face the Messenger of Allah. Imam Malik replied, 

ولِمَ تَصرِفُ وَجهَكَ عنه وهو وسيلتُك ووسيلةُ أبيك ءادمَ عليه السلام إلى الله تعالى؟ بل استقبلْه واستشفعْ به فيشفَعَه الله

“Why would you turn your face from him when he is your means and the means of your father, Adam, to Allah on the Day of Rising? I face him and ask him to intercede on my behalf, and Allah will grant his intercession.” And so it is with all the men of knowledge and all the men of Allah – without exception they have asked the Messenger of Allah in their duas to grant them his intercession.
Other ways of obtaining the intercession of the Messenger of Allah include saying ‘la ilaha illa Allah’ with true sincerity:

قال النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم: أسعدُ الناس بشفاعتى مَن قال لا إله إلا اللـه خالصاً مخلصاً من قلبه

The Prophet said, “The happiest of people with respect to my intercession are those who say ‘La ilaha illa Allah’ sincerely from their hearts.”
Making salawat on the Prophet:

قال النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم: من صلى عليّ عشرا إذا أصبح وعشرا إذا أمسى حلت له شفاعتي

The Prophet said, “My intercession becomes lawful for anyone makes ten prayers upon me in the morning and ten in the evening.”   
And asking Allah to give His Prophet the wasila after hearing the adhan:

قال النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم: من قال حين يسمع النداء: اللهم ربَّ هذه الدعوة التامة، والصلاة القائمة، آت محمدا الوسيلة والفضيلة، وابعثه مقاما محمودا الذي وعدته، حلت له شفاعتي يوم القيامة

The Prophet said, “My intercession on the Day of Rising will be lawful for anyone who says, upon hearing the adhan: ‘O Allah, Lord of this perfect call and established prayer, give Muhammad the wasila and the fadila, and grant him the praiseworthy station that you promised him.’” 
Although these are only some of the ways for a person to obtain the shafa’a of the Messenger of Allah, we must take advantage of them, for the intercession of the Prophet is the key that unlocks the gateway to the Garden and the Pleasure of our Lord. So we ask the Messenger of Allah to intercede on our behalf and ask Allah to grant us his intercession. Let us finish with the dua of Shaykh Ahmad al-Huwaarii, mentioned in the Hafidha of Shaykh Muhammad ibn al-Habib:

تشــفع يا رســــول الله فينا فما نـرجو شفـاعة من ســـواك

أغث يا خير خلق الله قوما ضعافــا ظلهــم أبـــدا لواكـــــا

وســارع فـــي إغاثتنا فإنا نري المولي يسارع في رضاك

عليك صـــلاة ربك كل حين وآلك كلهم ومـــن ولاك

Intercede for us, Messenger of Allah, we do not hope for intercession from any but you.
Grant help, best of Allah’s creation,   to a weak people whose protection is always your banner,
Hasten to aid us, for we see that the Lord is swift to please you.
May the blessings of your Lord be upon you in every moment,  and on all your family and those who are your friends. Amin.

إِنَّ اللهَ وَمَلَائِكَتَهُ يُصَلُّونَ عَلَى النَّبِيِّ، يَا أَيُهَا الذِينَ آمَنُواْ صَلُّواْ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلِّمُواْ تَسْلِيماً. اللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ وَسَلِّمْ وَبَارِكْ عَلَيْهِ وَعَلَى آلِهِ وَصَحْبِهِ  أَجْمَعِينَ. 

وَارْضَ اللَّهُمَّ عَنِ الْخُلَفَاءِ الرَّاشِدِينَ أَبِي بَكْرٍ وَعُمَرَ وَعُثْمَانَ وَعَلِيٍّ، وَعَنْ سَائِرِ الصَّحَابَةِ أَجْمَعِينَ، خُصُوصاً اِلأَنْصَارَ مِنْهُمْ وَالمُهَاجِرِينَ، وَعَنِ التَّابِعِينَ وَتَابِعِي التَّابِعِينَ وَمَنْ تَبِعَهُمْ بِإِحْسَانٍ إِلَى يَوْمِ الدِّينِ.

اللَّهُمَّ اهْدِ وُلَاةَ أُمُورِ المُسْلِمِينَ لِمَا يُرْضِيكَ وَلِاتِّبَاعِ سُنَّةِ نَبِيِّكَ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، وَثَبِّتْ أَقْدَامَهُمْ عَلَى الصِّرَاطِ المُسْتَقِيمِ، وَأَصْلِحْهُمْ يَا رَبَّ الْعَالَمِينَ.

اللَّهُمَّ بَارِكْ عَلَى شَيْخِنَا، وَعَلَى أَمِيرِنَا، وَعَلَى جَمِيعِ أُمَرَاءِ وَزُعَمَاءِ المُسْلِمِينَ.  

اللَّهُمَّ بَارِكْ عَلَى المُسْلِمِينَ فِي هَذِهِ المَدِينَةِ، وَوَفِّقْهُمْ لِمَا تُحِبُّهُ وَتَرْضَاهُ يَا أَكْرَمَ الأَكْرَمِينَ. 

اللَّهُمَّ أَعِزَّ الإِسْلَامَ وَالمُسِْلمِينَ (3) وَاخْذُلِ الْكُفْرَ وَالْكَافِرِينَ، وَانْصُرِ المُجَاهِدِينَ فِي سَبِيلِ اللهِ. وَاجْعَلْ كَلِمََتَكَ هِيَ العُلْيَا وَكَلِمَةَ الْكُفْرِ هِيَ السُّفْلَى.

رَبَّنَا ءَاتِنَا فِي الدُّنْيَا حَسَنَةً وَفِي الآخِرَةِ حَسَنَةً وَقَِنَا عَذَابَ النَّارِ. 

اللَّهُمَّ لاَ تَدَعْ فِي مَقَامِنَا هَذَا ذَنْباً إِلاَّ غَفَرْتَهُ، وَلاَ عَيْباً إِلاَّ سَتَرْتَهُ، وَلاَ مَرِيضاً إِلاَّ شَفَيْتَهُ وَعَافَيْتَهُ، وَلاَ مَسْجُوناً إِلاَّ طَلَقْتَ سَرَاحَهُ، وَلاَ مُسَافِراً فِي بَرِّكَ وَبَحْرِكَ إِلاَّ سَلِِمْتَهُ وَغَنِمْتَهُ.

إِنَّ اللهَ يَامُرُ بِالْعَدْلِ وَالإِحْسَانِ وَإِيتَاءِ ذِي الْقُرْبَى، وَيَنْهَى عَنِ الْفَحْشَاءِ وَالمُنكَرِ وَالْبَغْيِ، يَعِظُكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَذَّكَّرُونَ، وَلَذِكْرُ اللهِ أَكْبَرُ وَاللهُ يَعْلَمُ مَا تَصْنَعُونَ. وَقُومُواْ إِلَى صَلاتِكُمْ يَرْحَمُكُمُ اللهُ.