أَمِ اتَّخَذوا مِن دونِ اللَّهِ شُفَعاءَ ۚ قُل أَوَلَو كانوا لا يَملِكونَ شَيئًا وَلا يَعقِلونَ

قُل لِلَّهِ الشَّفاعَةُ جَميعًا ۖ لَهُ مُلكُ السَّماواتِ وَالأَرضِ ۖ ثُمَّ إِلَيهِ تُرجَعونَ

Have they taken intercessors besides Allah? Say: ‘What! Even though they have no control over anything and cannot apply reason?!’

Say: ‘All intercession rests with Allah. To Him belongs the kingdom of the heavens and the earth; then you will be brought back to Him.’

EXEGESIS

The first word of verse 43 is am (which we have not translated) which could have two meanings: 1. Or, perhaps. 2. But, rather.^{‎[1]Tibyan, 9/23.} According to the first meaning, the verse brings up a possibility and then refutes it: Or do they refer to other than God as intercessors … According to the second meaning, the verse solidly attributes this act to them and then refutes it: But they have resorted to other than God as intercessors …

Shafāʿah (intercession) and shufaʿāʾ (intercessors) are from the same root, which is used when two things are joined or annexed together. It is when one thing is added to a lone thing to make a pair.^{‎[2]Raghib; Fayyumi, under sh-f-ʿ.} Shafāʿah is a special Quranic term that is used to describe a being helping another (human) being get closer to God. This proximity with God is sought as a means of fulfilling one’s needs in this world, or as a means of achieving eternal salvation and felicity in the hereafter.

EXPOSITION

These verses provide a very sublime view of God’s unity that leaves no room for any other source or force. The previous verse stated that our life and death are in the hands of God alone. So why should one resort to anyone else? A possible answer is: These are our intercessors with Allah (10:18). These two verses address this idea.

Say: ‘What! Even though they have no control over anything and cannot apply reason?!’ This shows that an intercessor needs to have two qualities: 1. Some control and ownership (milk); 2. Reason and understanding (ʿaql). These two conditions can be expressed differently as power and knowledge. An intercessor should have the power and authority to attract some benefit or deflect some harm, and should have the knowledge of how to do so, for whom, and when. This condition is seen more clearly in the following verse: Those whom they invoke besides Him have no power of intercession, except those who are witness to the truth and who know [for whom to intercede] (43:86).

The second condition might be present in animate beings like angels and saints, but it is certainly missing in idols. Notwithstanding this, everything and everyone fall short of the first condition. The Quran has repeatedly emphasised that the only real owner, king, and sovereign in the universe is God (as seen in verse 6, for example). That is Allah, your Lord; to Him belongs all sovereignty. As for those whom you invoke besides Him, they do not control so much as the husk of a date stone (35:13). This is explicitly stated in verse 44: To Him belongs the kingdom of the heavens and the earth. This is sufficient to conclude that All intercession rests with Allah.

Verses 43-44 can also be interpreted as follows: the first verse denies the intercession of the idols, for they have no control over anything and cannot apply reason. Then the second verse says: even if there is a being that has some control [in a relative or limited sense] or can apply reason [such as animate beings], still All intercession rests with Allah. God has a monopoly over this right, and it is only this sole owner who can transfer this right to anyone that He wills.^{‎[3]Furqan, 25/351.}

These verses are confirmed by many other verses that deny any intercessors but God, especially on the Day of Judgement (2:48, 2:123, 2:254, 6:51, 6:70, 6:94, 7:53, 26:100, 30:13, 32:4, 40:18). However, these verses apparently contradict many other verses that establish and talk about some intercession by other-than-God (2:255, 10:3, 19:87, 20:109, 21:28, 34:23, 43:86, 53:26, 74:48). However, the same verses also include the key concept to reconciliation: except after Allah grants permission to whomever He wishes and approves of (53:26). The claim that others intercede with God’s permission and approval does not contradict the claim that All intercession rests with Allah.^{‎[4]Qurtubi, 15/264.} In other words, All intercession – essentially and independently – rests with Allah; then He, according to His infinite wisdom and power, may carry out this intercession through some of His creatures as means and instruments.

This is but one example of a universal Quranic principle that every existential perfection or quality rests exclusively with God, and if it is found anywhere else then it is only a reflection and manifestation of God’s. Another example of this principle is seen in verse 62, concerning creation.

Consulting what was quoted from Tabatabai under verse 42 is also very instructive and illuminating in this regard. One should always keep in mind that people are at different levels and have different capacities. If one advances in monotheism and achieves some inner realisations, he would fully experience that All intercession rests with Allah. That is a lofty spiritual station where the intermediaries fall, and the person observes the true reality of these apparent means and instruments in that they are all void in and of themselves. The Holy Quran, being a book for everyone, has subtly hinted to these realms in some verses for those who appreciate them. This verse might be one of those verses.

I don’t want a nurse, my mom is better;

I am like Moses: my nurse is my mother.

Without an intermediary I want His boon;

It’s because of the means that people are out of tune.^{‎[5]Rūmī, Mathnawī, v. 5, lines 702-703.}

He is the tapster, the musician

And the singer in fusion;

The intermediaries that we assume

Are only an illusion.^{‎[6]Ḥāfiẓ, ghazal 428.}

The universe is entirely

A ray of His light;

He’s hidden in the things

Because He’s so bright.

People of the outward

Their eyes are blind;

They see His reflections,

But Himself can they find?^{‎[7]Shabistarī, Gulshan-e Rāz, lines 104 and 114.}

The aforementioned points answer the question: is there anyone more merciful than God so that he may be an intercessor who acquires God’s mercy for a sinner? The answer is that All intercession rests with Allah, including those of the intercessors. He is the ultimate intercessor, the one and only source of intercession. Sometimes He conducts His intercession through some of His creatures as intermediate intercessors according to the limited capacity of the receivers, based on His wisdom, and in order to set them as role models to be followed by His servants during their lives.^{‎[8]Qaraati, 8/179.}

In other words, the very concept of intercession necessitates three sides: the one with whom one intercedes, the intercessor, and the one for whom intercession is made. So when the verse says that all intercession belongs to God, it must be either of the following: 1. He is the only one who can empower the intercessors to intercede. 2. Some of His attributes intercede between Him and the people. Either meaning can be reduced to the other: the two meanings are ultimately one and the same, for God’s attributes are existential realities and are manifested through certain beings. Overall, intercession is a rope or chain that God has hung toward the lowest planes of perfection, through which His mercy descends to His creatures.

 The ultimate meaning of the two is the same, as those attributes are manifested through certain beings, although the second meaning is a deeper understanding of the verse.

… then you will be brought back to Him. This statement could involve the following meanings: 1. It is a threat for those who assume intercessors besides Allah.^{‎[9]Mizan, 17/271.} 2. Your return is to God and He will be your judge. That is, not only To Him belongs the kingdom of the heavens and the earth today, but also He is the sole king and owner in the hereafter (1:4).^{‎[10]Zamakhshari, 4/132.} Therefore, kingdom, judgement, and intercession are all in His hands. So where are you going? (81:26). 3. It emphasises that you entirely and exclusively belong to Him, both your beginning and your end (2:156). Therefore, it is another reason for why All intercession rests with Allah. 4. It completes the argument in the last verse by negating the helpfulness of animate objects of worship: even though they apply reason and might have some apparent control in this world, they cannot be your intercessors because you will be brought back to Him, on a day when no one will have any control or sovereignty to be of any help to you except for God: It is a day when no soul will be of any avail to another soul and all command that day will belong to Allah (82:19).^{‎[11]Razi, 26/456.}

INSIGHTS FROM OTHER TRADITIONS

1. Behold, the heaven and the heaven of heavens is the LORD’S thy God, the earth also, with all that therein is.^{‎[12]Deuteronomy 10:14.}
2. Thine, O LORD, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O LORD, and thou art exalted as head above all.^{‎[13]1 Chronicles 29:11.}

TOPICAL ARTICLES

See Topical Article: Intercession (Shafāʿah).

[1] Tibyan, 9/23.
[2] Raghib; Fayyumi, under sh-f-ʿ.
[3] Furqan, 25/351.
[4] Qurtubi, 15/264.
[5] Rūmī, Mathnawī, v. 5, lines 702-703.
[6] Ḥāfiẓ, ghazal 428.
[7] Shabistarī, Gulshan-e Rāz, lines 104 and 114.
[8] Qaraati, 8/179.
[9] Mizan, 17/271.
[10] Zamakhshari, 4/132.
[11] Razi, 26/456.
[12] Deuteronomy 10:14.
[13] 1 Chronicles 29:11.