I read in a book by Shaykh al-Ghazali a hadith from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) regarding intercession for those whom Allah takes out of the Fire by His intercession (peace and blessings be upon him)
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The questioner : I read in a book by Shaykh al-Imam al-Ghazali a hadith from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) regarding intercession for those whom Allah takes out of the Fire by His intercession (peace and blessings be upon him), when Allah the Mighty and Majestic says: "The intercession of the angels and the prophets has been exhausted, and my intercession remains. So He takes out of the Fire people who never did any good deed, and they enter Paradise, and there will be marks on their necks, and they will be called the freed slaves of Allah the Mighty and Majestic". How authentic is this hadith, and what is its meaning?
The Shaykh : This hadith is agreed upon in its meaning.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : That is, al-Bukhari and Muslim narrated the meaning of this hadith, except that it contains a rejected word in the context mentioned by the brother, which is his saying: "So my intercession remains". This phrase is rejected, and the wording that came in the two Sahihs is. The reason the phrase mentioned by the questioner is rejected is that his saying "So my intercession remains"—with whom is the intercession? Allah the Exalted is the One to whom intercession is sought, and intercession is not sought from anyone, Exalted is He.
The meaning of this hadith is that Allah the Exalted permits the messengers, the angels, the prophets, and the righteous of creation to intercede for the release of whom He wills from the people of the Fire. So He releases from the people of the Fire whom He wills, until no one remains for whom the intercession of these people reaches, and only the mercy of the Most Merciful of the merciful remains. Then Allah the Exalted releases by this mercy whom He wills, and He places seals on their necks indicating that they are the freed slaves of Allah the Exalted, and they enter Paradise.
The meaning of His saying "who never did any good deed" is that they did not perform righteous deeds, but faith had settled in their hearts. Either these people died before being able to act; they believed and then died before they were able to act, and in that case it is true of them that they never did any good. Or this hadith is restricted by similar hadiths indicating that leaving some righteous deeds is disbelief, such as prayer, for example. Whoever does not pray is a disbeliever, even if he claims to believe in Allah and His Messenger. And the intercession of the intercessors does not benefit the disbeliever on the Day of Resurrection; he is eternal in the Fire forever, and refuge is sought in Allah.
The important point is that this hadith is either about people who believed but were not able to act, so they died immediately after their faith and never did any good. Or it is general, but what is excluded from it is what the legal texts indicate must be performed, such as prayer. It is necessary for a person to pray, so whoever does not pray is a disbeliever whose intercession does not benefit him and who is not taken out of the Fire.
The questioner : May Allah bless you. This is a question from Sister S.A.D. from the town of al-Mahani, who says:
The Shaykh : This hadith is agreed upon in its meaning.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : That is, al-Bukhari and Muslim narrated the meaning of this hadith, except that it contains a rejected word in the context mentioned by the brother, which is his saying: "So my intercession remains". This phrase is rejected, and the wording that came in the two Sahihs is
and only the Most Merciful of the merciful remained
ولم يبقى إلا أرحم الراحمينand to your Lord is the end
وأن إلى ربك المنتهىThe meaning of this hadith is that Allah the Exalted permits the messengers, the angels, the prophets, and the righteous of creation to intercede for the release of whom He wills from the people of the Fire. So He releases from the people of the Fire whom He wills, until no one remains for whom the intercession of these people reaches, and only the mercy of the Most Merciful of the merciful remains. Then Allah the Exalted releases by this mercy whom He wills, and He places seals on their necks indicating that they are the freed slaves of Allah the Exalted, and they enter Paradise.
The meaning of His saying "who never did any good deed" is that they did not perform righteous deeds, but faith had settled in their hearts. Either these people died before being able to act; they believed and then died before they were able to act, and in that case it is true of them that they never did any good. Or this hadith is restricted by similar hadiths indicating that leaving some righteous deeds is disbelief, such as prayer, for example. Whoever does not pray is a disbeliever, even if he claims to believe in Allah and His Messenger. And the intercession of the intercessors does not benefit the disbeliever on the Day of Resurrection; he is eternal in the Fire forever, and refuge is sought in Allah.
The important point is that this hadith is either about people who believed but were not able to act, so they died immediately after their faith and never did any good. Or it is general, but what is excluded from it is what the legal texts indicate must be performed, such as prayer. It is necessary for a person to pray, so whoever does not pray is a disbeliever whose intercession does not benefit him and who is not taken out of the Fire.
The questioner : May Allah bless you. This is a question from Sister S.A.D. from the town of al-Mahani, who says: