Concept of Intercession, Omen, Benediction and Amulet in Islam

**الهاشمية القرشية** · 03-13-2010, 03:01 AM

كلمات في الشفاعة والطيرة والتبرك والتمائم

Concept of Intercession, Omen, Benediction and Amulet in Islam

تأليف/ محمد بن إبراهيم الحمد

Muhammad bin Ibrahim Al-Hamad,
Teaching Staff, Faculty of Faith and Belief,
Imam Muhammad Bin Saud Islamic University

ترجمة/ أبو أنس صديق محمد ولينكود

Translated into English from Arabic By
Sidheeque M. A. Veliankode

Dar Ibn Khuzaimah

Concept of Intercession, Omen, Benediction, and Amulets in Islam
In the **** of Allah The Most Merciful, Most Beneficent

All praise be to Allah, the Lord of the universe. Peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah, Prophet Muhammad, the seal and final of all the prophets, upon his family, companions and all those who follow his true guidance until the Day of Judgement.
Each one of the following explained is a summary on topics of intercession, omen, benediction and amulets, etc. A brief de******ion is also given on the Concept of each of this subject matter.

1. INTERCESSION:
De******ion: Linguistically, the phrase ‘Shafaa’h in Arabic meaning an even number, (such as 2, 4, or 6, etc.), which is antonym to an odd number.
Religiously speaking, the word implies urging an intercessor to bring happiness or any other well being to any other person through intermediation. It refers to intermediate for a person in both ways either to earn benefit or remove harm from him/her. It also signifies asking a person to overlook or disregard his/her offences or crimes.

DIFFERENT VEWS ON INTERCESSION:
The following are three types of people or sects whose views on the concept of intercession are differ from one to another.

(1) THOSE WHO CONFIRM INTERCESSION BUT WITH EXAGGERATION:
This sect of people belonging to Christianity, polytheists, those Sufis, who exaggerate the concept of intercession and those worshippers who ask the dead at grave and the graveyard to supplicate on their behalf.
They believed that the dead enjoys a special status with Allah and hence would be effective intercessors gaining benefits in the worldly life for them. Furthermore, they also believed that such saints possessed the special power, which would enable them for intercession independently.

(2) THOSE WHO DENY INTERCESSION:
In this category include the sects of Mu’tazilah and Khawarij, who categorically deny the intercession by Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), which is intended for those who had committed greater sinful acts. In their concept, the intercession is meant for those believers, who turn to Allah in repentance.
According to them, the value of intercession given by Allah would hold no meaning if the debauched were allowed to apply the intercession on the pre**** that Allah has warned the wrongdoers with stern punishment. Therefore, they said such debauched persons should taste the torments threatened by Allah and thus, deserve no intercession either by Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) or from any other devout personalities.

(3) THE MODERATE ONES:
This sect is Ahl As-Sunnah wa-Al-Jamaa’h. Their stand on intercession is moderate - they neither deny nor confirm to all types of intercession.
However, their concept of intercession is entirely ****d on what is stated in the Book of Allah (Holy Qur’an) and the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). The valid intercession, in their view, is to beseech Allah directly. This is exclusively reserved for those believers who are adherents to the basic concept of Islamic Monotheism and who would surely have their prayers answered. Although such an intercession is permissible to those whom Allah has granted specific consent, it would also be recommended for those who satisfactorily deserve it. However, the intercession in question should not be beseeched to others besides Allah.
The sect of Ahl As-Sunnah wa-Al-Jamaa’h also confirm to the concept of intercession to those who have committed great sinful acts.
As for the intercession which was not according to the defined Divine Laws of Allah (Ash-Shari’ah) the sect of Ahl As-Sunnah wa-al-Jamaa’h has also categorically denied it. In this case, a person, while observing the intercession, beseeches to others besides Allah believing that such an intermediary could manage independently excluding Him. Such a practice is a blatant violation of the valid intercession, which does not meet any preconditions.

TYPES OF INTERCESSION:
****d on the above explanation, it becomes obvious now that there are two categories of the concept of intercession mentioned under the positive and the negative approach to Allah:

(1) POSITIVE INTERCESSION:
It meets all the required pre-qualifications and preconditions which come under the prerequisites of the Divine Laws.

(2) NEGATIVE INTERCESSION:
Under this approach, there is no precondition as required by the Divine Laws.

THE PRECONDITIONS:
There are two basic preconditions for the positive approach (intercession) They are as follow:
(i) To obtain the permission from Allah asking for intercession.
Allah said,
 مَنْ ذَا الَّذِي يَشْفَعُ عِنْدَهُ إِلاَّ بِإِذْنِهِ
“Who is he that can intercede with Him except with His Permission?” [Al-Baqarah 2:255].
(ii) Allah should be pleased with a person whom He would grant the intercession.
Allah said,
 وَلاَ يَشْفَعُونَ إِلاَّ لِمَنِ ارْتَضَى
“And they cannot intercede except for him with whom He is pleased.” [Al-Anbiyaa 21:28].
Some scholars are of the strong opinion that there should be two more preconditions in order for the intercession to be granted from Allah. They are:
(iii) The power of intercession is also required. The best characteristic of a person for whom intercession is sought is the belief in the Oneness of Allah, as Allah stated regarding a person from whom intercession is requested,
 وَلاَ يَمْلِكُ الَّذِينَ يَدْعُونَ مِنْ دُونِهِ الشَّفَاعَةَ إِلاَّ مَنْ شَهِدَ بِالْحَقِّ وَهُمْ يَعْلَمُونَ 
“And those whom they invoke instead of Him have no power of intercession; except those who bear witness to the truth (i.e. believed in the Oneness of Allah, and obeyed His Orders), and they know (the facts about the Oneness of Allah).” [Az-Zukhruf 43:86].
Quite understandably, the meaning deduced from the above verse explicitly said that those who invoke the dead, should know the fact that the remains in the graves have possessed no power whatsoever for intercession instead it is Allah Alone Who should be invoked directly.
Similarly, it is clearly deduced from the above verse that seeking the intercession to the dead as well as to those who have no power of intercession is explicitly resulted the same effect.
(iv) The person for whom the intercession is sought should be a true Muslim.
Allah stated,
 مَا لِلظَّالِمِينَ مِنْ حَمِيمٍ وَلاَ شَفِيعٍ يُطَاعُ 
“There will be no friend, nor an intercessor for the Zâlimûn (polytheists and wrong-doers, disbelievers, etc), who could be given heed to..” [Ghafir 40:18].
The phrase ‘Zalimun’ in the above verse refers to the unbelievers. However, Abu Talib, the beloved uncle of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) has been exempted from this category, which denotes in the above verse.
However, the latter two preconditions mentioned above should be merged in view of the fact that it is not possible, in any way, to intercede anyone unless Allah has granted permission, and that the intercession will not do any benefit except for the true Muslims.

CATEGORIES OF POSITIVE INTERCESSION:
Allah said,
 قُلْ للهِ الشَّفَاعَةُ جَمِيعًا 
“Say: ‘To Allah belongs all intercession.’” [Az-Zumar 39:44].
This verse of the Qur’an denotes that there are several types of intercession, which we would like to summarize here:
(i) GRAND INTERCESSION:
Only Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) is granted the authority of this type of intercession i.e. on the Day Resurrection. A group of Messengers and Prophets of Allah, known to be “Owners of the Strong Resolve” would recommend Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) for this honorable status, as they were approached by their respective nations for intercession.
Thereupon our Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) will declare himself saying that ‘I am proudly deserve for it.‘ In the meantime, the entire nation would hurriedly approach to the Prophets and Messengers for their intercession with Allah to rescue them from the horrible situation.
On that occasion, the slightest intervention in the affairs of their nations by the respective Prophets and Messengers would facilitate to ameliorate in the plight of their terrible situation and to save them for a better decision.
Allah exclusively grants the authority of the Grand Intercession to the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him).
(ii) The Intercession by Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) would make easier the admission of the Paradise dwellers. The sole authority of this type of intercession is also granted to the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him).
(iii) The Intercession by Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) for his Uncle Abu Talib would be to alleviate and lighten his pain and affliction of the Hell-Fire. The authority of this intercession is also granted only to the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him).
(iv) The Intercession by Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) for those disobedient of the commandments of Allah from among the Ummah (Muslim nation), who otherwise destined for the Hell-Fire as their abode would be protected and saved from the sufferings of the Hell-Fire. The authority of this kind of intercession is common that would probably belong to the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), or any angels, or any true believers, etc.
(v) There would also be an Intercession by Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) or anyone else for those wrongdoers from among the people, who believe in the Oneness of Allah and Islamic Monotheism, who would enter the Hell-Fire due to their sinful acts. Prophet Muhammad’s (peace and blessings be upon him) or anyone else will intercede with Allah on their behalf so that they will be rescued from the Hell-Fire.
(vi) The Intercession for the dwellers of Paradise in order for increasing their rewards and elevating them to the lofty ranks therein. The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) or anyone else will intercede with Allah on their behalf accordingly.
(vii) The intercession by the children died before reaching the maturity to their believing parents.
(viii) The intercession by the martyrs, who were got killed in the way of Allah for their believing relatives or kinfolk.
(ix) The Intercession by the true believers one to another.

2. THE OMEN
* Linguistically the Arabic phrase ‘Tiyarat’ and ‘Tatayyur’ refers to the same meaning of omen or pessimism. Legally, it refers to pessimism as regards to any aspect of audio-visual or any other perceptible or recognized things.
* This Arabic phrase was called ‘Tiyarat’, which originates from ‘Tayr’ meaning a bird. In the earlier times, Arabs used to force the birds to fly away and then grew pessimistic ****d on their sound or course of flight.
Similarly, this phrase has a route from ‘Tayran’, which means flying, for when a person listens or sees something that which he dislikes, he seemed to flee from it in distaste.
* There is another Arabic phase ‘al-‘Iyafah’ which refers to drive out a bird and either becomes optimist or pessimist ****d on its ****, sound, and course of flight. By this act, they believe in their bad omen.
* Optimism is a positive attitude. It supports one to have strong resolve and encourages his/her to be desirous, and leads to perform good deeds and the things appear brighter.
In the meantime, the omen or pessimism as mentioned above will definitely weaken him/her to think right to adopt right intention. By this way, he/she tends to deviate from the straight path, and falls into a trap of committing evil things and the world appear darker to such a person.
This is the obvious difference between the concept of optimism and pessimism, respectively.
The concept of omen or pessimism is clearly explained in Islam showing the consequences that how negatively it effects on the minds and hearts of the people and sometimes it so happens that its influence changes the entire course of human life.
All the Prophets and Messengers of Allah had viewed this as evildoings and considered it as one of their prime enemies.
The Islam not only prohibits the very concept of omen or pessimism but it also teaches the people how to avoid this. The effective way of seeking treatment or to cure it is to meditate Allah more, in appropriate and best possible manner. One should have trust in Allah and in no way tend to loose heart over things, which is again a sign of bad omen.
Bad omen is akin to Shirk (polytheism) as ascribing partners with Allah. People, who indulge in such a practice believe that either it might bring benefit or done away with harm. It is also considered as Shirk (polytheism) because in doing so he/she assigns rivals with Allah in the unity of divinity being the worthy of worship. By doing so, a person attaches his/her commitment to other so-called deities than Allah. Allah Alone has the authority and no one else to control or manage over such a state of affair.
The concept of omen was well known among the ancient Arabs though they disagreed with its perspective set of guidelines and in the level and grade of its manifestations. Rather, it is a tenet that contains the conception, notion, intuition, and conjecture, which has no **** or groundwork, whatsoever for the omen or pessimism.
The ancient Arabs used to be superstitious and take many things as bad omens. They thought sneezing, or turning of a crow or any other bird with its right side toward the viewer or if it shows its left side as bad omen.
They also thought it was bad omen if a bird or a game passed from one’s front or it crossed to his/her right or left side. Even severe cold (spell), or a shriek, or if the bull or ox whose horn had broken.
Certain ****s or persons with permanent infirmity or the physical disability were also signs of bad omen for them. They also considered certain days and months as bad omens.
Similarly, they used to depend on omen by calculating certain numbers, or by watching climatic conditions, or to find out meanings, or the places.
On the other hand, there were many Arabs in the ancient times, who denied the appropriateness in taking omens, rather they outrightly rejected their effect and influence. They (ancient Arabs) even blamed those who were deceptive as regards to its concept and to those who solely depended on an omen for its effectiveness: be it positive or negative.
There were many incidents, which could be recalled in which people used to depend on the effectiveness of omen. Though it did not mean that owing to the omen something happened in peoples’ lives, no one can deny the coincidence of Allah’s Divine Decree to what had taken place as regards to means and reasons of that event.
Sometimes it so happens that the trial or affliction would occur as per the prediction by logic but people take it in other sense because they have conviction in the omen or pessimism.
Meanwhile, one should consider this: Allah, the Almighty has assigned certain m

**ضوء الشمس** · 03-13-2010, 08:52 AM

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