We believe that intercession belongs to Allah Almighty alone. He, Exalted be He, says: {Say: "All intercession belongs to Allah alone. To Him belongs the dominion of the heavens and earth, then to Him you will be returned."} [Surat az-Zumar: 44]
We believe that no one will intercede with Allah Almighty without His permission. Our Lord says: {Who is there that can intercede with Him except with His permission?} [Surat al-Baqarah: 255] Intercessors will not intercede except for those with whose speech and deeds the Most Compassionate is pleased. Allah Almighty says: {They cannot intercede except for whom He pleases, and they are fearful in awe of Him.} [Surat al-Anbiyā’: 28] Allah Almighty also says: {On that day, no intercession will be of any use except to whom the Most Compassionate gave permission and approved his word.} [Surat Tāha: 109]
We believe that the luckiest ones to receive the intercession of intercessors are the people of sincerity and monotheism. In a Hadīth, Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) asked: "O Messenger of Allah, who are the luckiest people to have your intercession on the Day of Resurrection?" He (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "I thought, O Abu Hurayrah, that no one would ask me about this Hadīth before you, given what I saw of your keenness on learning Hadīths. The luckiest people to have my intercession on the Day of Resurrection are those who say 'No one is worthy of being worshiped except Allah' sincerely from their heart, or from their soul." [Narrated by Al-Bukhāri (99, 6570)]
We believe that the disbelievers will not receive the intercession of intercessors. Allah, the Exalted, says: {So the intercession of intercessors will not benefit them.} [Surat al-Muddaththir: 48]
We believe that Allah Almighty will allow intercession for whomever He wills from among His servants, in honor of the intercessor and out of mercy towards the one for whom the intercession is made. We know that the noblest of all intercessors on the Day of Judgment will be Prophet Muhammad (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him). He will intercede for us for several purposes, the greatest of which will be his intercession for all people assembled so that their judgment could begin. This is Al-Maqām al-Mahmood (praised status), which Allah Almighty mentions in His Book, saying: {And wake up during the night and pray, as an additional prayer for you [O Prophet], so your Lord may raise you to a praised status.} [Surat al-Isrā’: 79] A Hadīth reported by Ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) partly reads: "He will intercede with Allah to judge amongst the people. He will proceed on until he holds the ring of the door (of Paradise) and then Allah will exalt him to the praised status, which will be praised by all the assembled people." [Narrated by Al-Bukhāri (1475)] The Hadīth mentions the intercession for beginning the judgment, and Allah Almighty informs that He, out of His bounty, will decide the judgment, as revealed in a verse that says: {Are they waiting that Allah should come to them in shadows of clouds, along with the angels? But then the matter would be decided. And to Allah return all matters.} [Surat al-Baqarah: 210] And He, Exalted be He, says: {And your Lord comes with the angels, rank after rank.} [Surat al-Fajr: 22] In another verse, Allah Almighty says: {Are they waiting for the coming of the angels, or the coming of your Lord, or the coming of some of your Lord’s signs?} [Surat al-An‘ām: 158]
Then, there will come the intercession for the people of Paradise to enter Paradise. These intercessions are mentioned in numerous authentic mass-transmitted Hadīths, like the Hadīth reported by Anas (may Allah be pleased with him), in which the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "On the Day of Resurrection, people will surge with one another like waves, and they will come to Adam and say: 'Intercede for us with your Lord.' He will say: 'I am not fit for that, but go to Ibrāhīm as he is the close friend of the Most Compassionate.' They will go to Ibrāhīm and he will say: 'I am not fit for that, but go to Mūsa as he is the one to whom Allah spoke directly.' So, they will go to Mūsa and he will say: 'I am not fit for that, but go to ‘Īsa as he is a soul created by Allah and His Word.' They will go to ‘Īsa and he will say: 'I am not fit for that, but go to Muhammad.' They will come to me and I will say: 'I am for that.' Then, I will ask for my Lord's permission, and it will be given, and then He will inspire me to praise Him with such praises that I do not know now. So, I will praise Him with those praises and will fall down in prostration before Him. Then, it will be said: 'O Muhammad, raise your head and speak, for you will be listened to; and ask, for your will be granted your request; and intercede, for your intercession will be accepted.' I will say: 'O Lord, my Ummah, my Ummah!' And then it will be said: 'Go and take out of Hellfire all those who have faith in their hearts equal to the weight of a barley grain.' I will go and do so and return to praise Him with the same praises, and fall down before Him. Then it will be said: 'O Muhammad, raise your head and speak, for you will be listened to, and ask, for you will be granted your request; and intercede, for your intercession will be accepted.' I will say: 'O Lord, my Ummah, my Ummah!' It will be said: 'Go and take out of it all those who have faith in their hearts equal to the weight of a small ant or a mustard seed.' I will go and do so and return to praise Him with the same praises, and fall down in prostration before Him. It will be said: 'O Muhammad, raise your head and speak, for you will be listened to, and ask, for you will be granted your request; and intercede, for your intercession will be accepted.' I will say: 'O Lord, my Ummah, my Ummah!' Then, He will say: 'Go and take out all those in whose hearts there is faith even to the lightest, lightest mustard seed - out of Hellfire.' I will go and do so." When we left Anas, I said to some of my companions: "Let's pass by Al-Hasan who is hiding himself in the house of Abu Khalīfa and request him to tell us about what Anas ibn Mālik has told us." So, we went to him and we greeted him and he admitted us. We said to him: "O Abu Sa‘īd, we came to you from your brother Anas ibn Mālik and he related to us a Hadīth about the intercession the like of which I have never heard." He said: "What is that?" Then, we told him the Hadīth and said: "He stopped at this point." He said: "What then?" We said: "He did not add anything to that." He said: "Anas related the Hadīth to me twenty years ago when he was a young fellow. I don't know whether he forgot or he did not like that you might depend on what he had to say." We said: "O Abu Sa‘īd, let us know that." He smiled and said: "Man was created hasty. I did not mention that except because I wanted to inform you about it. Anas told me the same as he told you and said that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) added: 'I then return for a fourth time and praise Him with the same praises, and fall down in prostration before Him. Then it will be said: 'O Muhammad, raise your head and speak, for you will be listened to; and ask, for you will be granted your request; and intercede, for your intercession will be accepted.' I will say: 'O Lord, allow me to intercede for whoever said: 'No one is worthy of being worshiped except Allah.'' Then, Allah will say: 'By My Power, My Majesty, My Supremacy, and My Greatness, I will take out of Hellfire whoever said: 'No one is worthy of being worshiped except Allah.''" [Narrated by Al-Bukhāri (7510), Muslim (193), and Ibn Mājah (4312)]
In another similar Hadīth reported Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said in its last part: "'Go to Muhammad.' They will come to me and say: 'O Mahammad, you are the messenger of Allah and the last of the prophets. Allah forgave you all your previous and later sins. Intercede for us with your Lord. Do you not see in which trouble we are? Do you not see what (misfortune) has overtaken us?' I will then set off and come below the Throne and fall down in prostration before my Lord. Then, Allah will reveal to me and inspire me with some of His Praises and Glorifications which He had not revealed to anyone before me. He will then say: 'O Muhammad, raise your head; ask and it will be granted; and intercede and your intercession will be accepted.' I will then raise my head and say: 'O my Lord, my Ummah, my Ummah!' It will be said: 'O Muhammad, let in from the right gate of Paradise those of your Ummah who have no account to render. They will share the other gates with the people.' By the One in Whose Hand Muhammad's life is, the distance between two gate shutters of Paradise is as great as between Makkah and Hajar, or as between Makkah and Busra." [Narrated by Al-Bukhāri (3340) and Muslim (194)]
In another Hadīth reported by Anas ibn Mālik (may Allah be pleased with him), the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "I will be the first intercessor in Paradise. No prophet was believed (by as many people) as I was believed. Among the prophets was a prophet who was not believed except by one man from his nation." [Narrated by Muslim (196) and Ad-Dārimi (52)]
And the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Every prophet had an invocation which he made and was answered; and I reserved my invocation to intercede on behalf of my Ummah on the Day of Judgment." [Narrated by Al-Bukhāri (6305)] In another Hadīth, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Every prophet had an invocation that would be readily answered, and I want to reserve my invocation to intercede for my Ummah in the Hereafter." [Narrated by Al-Bukhāri (6304), Muslim (199), At-Tirmidhi (3602), and Ibn Mājah (4307)]
We believe that as Allah Almighty honored Prophet Muhammad (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) with the intercession, He also honored the prophets, the angels, and the believers. Abu Sa‘īd al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Allah, Exalted and Glorified be He, will say: 'The angels interceded, the prophets interceded, and the believers interceded, and none remained but the Most Merciful of those who show mercy.' So, He will take a handful from Hellfire, and there will come out of it people who never did any good." [Narrated by Al-Bukhāri (7439) and Muslim (183)]