Intercession in the Qur'an and Hadith

Belief in intercession derives from the Qur'an and the Sunna, as we indicate below.

There are verses in the Qur'an which indicate the reality of the principle of intercession on the Day of Resurrection; and this noble Scripture elucidates both this principle and its dependence on the permission and good pleasure of God:

Belief in the intercession of intercessors on the Day of Resurrection with God's permission is axiomatic in Islam. Intercession pertains to those individuals whose connection with God and religion has not been totally ruptured, and who are capable, despite being defiled by certain sins, of being embraced by the Mercy of God through the blessed prayers of intercessors. 

It is clear that the principle of intercession is, from the Qur'anic perspective, both real and definitive. But now we must ask: who are the intercessors? From certain verses we learn that the angels are among those with the power to intercede:

Exegetes have commented that the meaning of the 'praised station' [in the following verse] is the station of intercession proper to the Prophet of Islam: [1]

The principle of intercession is mentioned also in many of the Prophet's sayings, some of which we mention below.
The Prophet said:

It would seem that the reason why this should be the case is that God has explicitly promised that if people avoid major sins, they will be forgiven (Sura al-Nisa', 1v:31), hence there would be no need for intercession or the like. He [the Prophet] has also said:

Those wishing to investigate further the identity of the intercessors on the Day of Resurrection, apart from the Prophet (such as the ma'sum Imams, sages and martyrs). and also those who are subject to their intercession, should refer to the books on theology and Hadith. For. now, it must be noted that belief in intercession, like belief in the acceptance by God of repentance, must not become a means of emboldening people to commit sins; rather, it should be seen as a ray of hope, in whose light forgiveness can be sought, so that one who has committed certain sins might be led back to the Straight Path, and not be reduced to despair, like those who feel that the divine mercy has passed them by and that they can never revert to the path of rectitude.
Given what has been said above, it will be clear that the effect of intercession is not confined to the elevation of the rank of those granted intercession, as certain groups in Islam (such as the Mu'tazilites) have claimed.[4]