Explanation of the author's statement: The chapter on not seeking intercession with Allah on behalf of His creation.
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The Shaykh : Then the author said: "The chapter on not" Do you want to see this?
"... with Allah on behalf of His creation"
Seeking intercession through a thing means making it an intercessor for you. Intercession, in its original sense, is making a pair (shaf'a). It is defined as mediating for another to bring a benefit or remove a harm. This intercession is mediating for someone else to bring them a benefit or remove a harm from them. An example of bringing a benefit: if you mediate for a person to be employed in a job he desires, this is intercession by what? By bringing a benefit. By removing a harm: if someone is forced to pay money unjustly, and you intercede with the one who forced him to let him off and forgive him, this is from the category of removing harm. Seeking intercession through creation with Allah is permissible, without doubt, because the one with whom intercession is sought is usually of a higher rank than the intercessor, is that not so? The intercessor is usually of a lower rank than the one with whom intercession is sought. If that is the case, then seeking intercession through creation with Allah is permissible.
The student: ...
The Shaykh : It is permissible, and seeking intercession with Allah on behalf of His creation is forbidden, because we said that the rank of the intercessor is lower than the rank of the one with whom intercession is sought. Let us look at seeking intercession with Allah on behalf of His creation; this is a diminishment of Allah, Mighty and Majestic, because you have made the rank of Allah lower than the rank of the one with whom intercession is sought. For if he were of a higher rank, he would not need to seek intercession with him; he would command him and say, "Do such and such." And Allah, Mighty and Majestic, does not seek intercession for any of His creation with anyone, because that is a diminishment. This is the reason this chapter was placed in the book of Tawhid (the oneness of Allah), because seeking intercession with Allah on behalf of His creation necessitates the diminishment of Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, and this is contrary to Tawhid.
"... with Allah on behalf of His creation"
Seeking intercession through a thing means making it an intercessor for you. Intercession, in its original sense, is making a pair (shaf'a). It is defined as mediating for another to bring a benefit or remove a harm. This intercession is mediating for someone else to bring them a benefit or remove a harm from them. An example of bringing a benefit: if you mediate for a person to be employed in a job he desires, this is intercession by what? By bringing a benefit. By removing a harm: if someone is forced to pay money unjustly, and you intercede with the one who forced him to let him off and forgive him, this is from the category of removing harm. Seeking intercession through creation with Allah is permissible, without doubt, because the one with whom intercession is sought is usually of a higher rank than the intercessor, is that not so? The intercessor is usually of a lower rank than the one with whom intercession is sought. If that is the case, then seeking intercession through creation with Allah is permissible.
The student: ...
The Shaykh : It is permissible, and seeking intercession with Allah on behalf of His creation is forbidden, because we said that the rank of the intercessor is lower than the rank of the one with whom intercession is sought. Let us look at seeking intercession with Allah on behalf of His creation; this is a diminishment of Allah, Mighty and Majestic, because you have made the rank of Allah lower than the rank of the one with whom intercession is sought. For if he were of a higher rank, he would not need to seek intercession with him; he would command him and say, "Do such and such." And Allah, Mighty and Majestic, does not seek intercession for any of His creation with anyone, because that is a diminishment. This is the reason this chapter was placed in the book of Tawhid (the oneness of Allah), because seeking intercession with Allah on behalf of His creation necessitates the diminishment of Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, and this is contrary to Tawhid.