The Great Intercession and the Categories of Special Intercessions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)
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The Shaykh : But the people of Paradise are detained until when? Until the virtue of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) is manifested. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) intercedes with Allah (Exalted and Majestic is He) for the gates of Paradise to be opened for the people of Paradise. So the intercession is accepted, the gates are opened, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) becomes the first to enter Paradise. The wisdom behind the "wa" (and) here is that they are not admitted when they arrive; rather, when they arrive, they are detained and stand on a bridge between Paradise and the Fire, where they are purified and what is in their hearts of rancor is removed, and their hearts are purified until they enter this abode in the most perfect state, as the Exalted said: [Al-Hijr 15:47] I ask Allah the Exalted, by His mercy and bounty, to make us and you among them. Amen, amen, amen. These people do not enter Paradise except in the most perfect manner; all the rancor that was in their hearts in this world is removed, even though some of them may have had disputes with one another on the plain of Resurrection. But this is to remove what is in the hearts, or what clings to the hearts, of rancor and hatred.
Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) intercedes until the gates of Paradise are opened. And since we have mentioned intercession, I ask for the Messenger (may Allah’s prayers and peace be upon him) three special intercessions that are unique to him, in which no one else intercedes. Please?
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : Regarding some of the sinners, even others intercede to alleviate the situation for some of the sinners. We do not agree with you on this. We do not agree with you. Rest.
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : Well done. And this is what should be started with first: his intercession for the people of the standing place so that judgment is passed between them. For the people of the standing place, the sun approaches them until it is a mile from their heads, and they sweat from the intense heat until the sweat reaches their ankles, their knees, their flanks, and their mouths. Some of them are held back by the sweat, and they are afflicted with grief and distress that they cannot bear, because they stand for how many days? Fifty thousand years, with no food, no drink, and nothing. They stand in this great standing place, and they are afflicted with distress that they cannot bear. So some of them say to others: "Look for someone to intercede for us with Allah to relieve us from this standing place." They are inspired to go to Adam, the father of mankind, whom Allah created with His hand and taught the names of all things, and to whom the angels prostrated. They describe him with these descriptions and say to him: "Do you not see what we are in? Will you not intercede for us with Allah?" He says: "I am not the one for that." Then he excuses himself with what? With his eating from the tree, because Allah the Exalted said: So Satan whispered to them, and they ate from it. Allah the Exalted said: [Taha 20:121-122] So the state of Adam after his repentance became more perfect than his state before he ate from the tree, because he repented. He excuses himself. The important thing is that he excused himself with eating the tree. And you know that the one who intercedes only intercedes with the one interceded to if there is nothing between them that necessitates estrangement. They go to whom? To Noah. They say: "You are the first messenger Allah sent to the people of the earth. Intercede for us with your Lord." He also mentions an excuse. The excuse he said: "I asked Allah the Exalted for what I had no knowledge of," and he excuses himself. They go to whom? To Abraham, the intimate friend of the Exalted, and may Allah send prayers and peace upon him. He excuses himself by saying he lied three lies, and they are not lies in reality, but rather out of his intense modesty before Allah the Exalted. He was too modest to be an intercessor and have lied these lies, even though they were euphemisms and not lies. They go to whom? To Moses. He excuses himself by saying he killed a soul for which he was not commanded to kill it. What soul is this? He killed a Copt who sought his help against an Israelite, so Moses killed him. And Moses (may Allah’s prayers and peace be upon him) is known for his severity, and he struck him with his hand and killed him. To whom do they go? To Jesus, and Jesus, son of Mary (may Allah’s peace be upon him), does not mention anything but acknowledges the virtue to its rightful owner. He says: "Go to Muhammad, the servant whom Allah has forgiven what came before of his sin and what came after." Allahu Akbar. So look how Allah inspired the creation to go to these noble prophets, some of whom excuse themselves and some of whom acknowledge the right to its owner. How many excused themselves? How many excused themselves, O brothers?
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : Four. Who? Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses. And who acknowledged? Jesus. He said: "Come to Muhammad, the servant whom Allah has forgiven what came before of his sin and what came after." So they come to the Messenger (may Allah’s prayers and peace be upon him), and he asks permission from Allah to intercede for the people, and He grants him permission.
Look, Muhammad does not intercede except by the permission of Allah. He asks permission from Allah the Exalted, the Lord of Majesty and Greatness, who is too great for any person or creation to intercede with Him except by His permission. So he asks permission, and may Allah have mercy on the creation, and He grants him permission, and he intercedes for them. And by this, the honor of the intercessor and the mercy of the one interceded for are manifested, is that not so? Even though Allah is able to remove this from them without intercession, but in order to manifest the virtue of the intercessor and the mercy of Allah the Exalted for the servants, and His greatness and His dominion, that no one intercedes with Him except by His permission, Allah passes this great intercession between the servants. This great intercession is specific to the Messenger. The father of mankind and the resolute ones among the messengers excused themselves from it until it reached Muhammad (may Allah’s prayers and peace be upon him). The second intercession, please?
The student: The intercession for the people of Paradise to enter Paradise.
The Shaykh : Well done. The intercession for the people of Paradise to enter Paradise. Rest.
And We will remove whatever is in their breasts of resentment, [so they will be] brothers, on thrones facing each other.
وَنَزَعْنَا مَا فِي صُدُورِهِمْ مِنْ غِلٍّ إِخْوَاناً عَلَى سُرُرٍ مُتَقَابِلِينَThen the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) intercedes until the gates of Paradise are opened. And since we have mentioned intercession, I ask for the Messenger (may Allah’s prayers and peace be upon him) three special intercessions that are unique to him, in which no one else intercedes. Please?
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : Regarding some of the sinners, even others intercede to alleviate the situation for some of the sinners. We do not agree with you on this. We do not agree with you. Rest.
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : Well done. And this is what should be started with first: his intercession for the people of the standing place so that judgment is passed between them. For the people of the standing place, the sun approaches them until it is a mile from their heads, and they sweat from the intense heat until the sweat reaches their ankles, their knees, their flanks, and their mouths. Some of them are held back by the sweat, and they are afflicted with grief and distress that they cannot bear, because they stand for how many days? Fifty thousand years, with no food, no drink, and nothing. They stand in this great standing place, and they are afflicted with distress that they cannot bear. So some of them say to others: "Look for someone to intercede for us with Allah to relieve us from this standing place." They are inspired to go to Adam, the father of mankind, whom Allah created with His hand and taught the names of all things, and to whom the angels prostrated. They describe him with these descriptions and say to him: "Do you not see what we are in? Will you not intercede for us with Allah?" He says: "I am not the one for that." Then he excuses himself with what? With his eating from the tree, because Allah the Exalted said:
And do not approach this tree.
وَلا تَقْرَبَا هَذِهِ الشَّجَرَةَAnd Adam disobeyed his Lord and erred. (122) Then his Lord chose him and turned to him in forgiveness and guided [him].
وَعَصَى آدَمُ رَبَّهُ فَغَوَى ثُمَّ اجْتَبَاهُ رَبُّهُ فَتَابَ عَلَيْهِ وَهَدَىThe student: ... .
The Shaykh : Four. Who? Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses. And who acknowledged? Jesus. He said: "Come to Muhammad, the servant whom Allah has forgiven what came before of his sin and what came after." So they come to the Messenger (may Allah’s prayers and peace be upon him), and he asks permission from Allah to intercede for the people, and He grants him permission.
Look, Muhammad does not intercede except by the permission of Allah. He asks permission from Allah the Exalted, the Lord of Majesty and Greatness, who is too great for any person or creation to intercede with Him except by His permission. So he asks permission, and may Allah have mercy on the creation, and He grants him permission, and he intercedes for them. And by this, the honor of the intercessor and the mercy of the one interceded for are manifested, is that not so? Even though Allah is able to remove this from them without intercession, but in order to manifest the virtue of the intercessor and the mercy of Allah the Exalted for the servants, and His greatness and His dominion, that no one intercedes with Him except by His permission, Allah passes this great intercession between the servants. This great intercession is specific to the Messenger. The father of mankind and the resolute ones among the messengers excused themselves from it until it reached Muhammad (may Allah’s prayers and peace be upon him). The second intercession, please?
The student: The intercession for the people of Paradise to enter Paradise.
The Shaykh : Well done. The intercession for the people of Paradise to enter Paradise. Rest.