What Is Meant by Intercession in An-Nisa 4:85?
قال الله تعالى: (مَّن يَشْفَعْ شَفَاعَةً حَسَنَةً يَكُن لَّهُ نَصِيبٌ مِّنْهَا ۖ وَمَن يَشْفَعْ شَفَاعَةً سَيِّئَةً يَكُن لَّهُ كِفْلٌ مِّنْهَا) النساء 4: 85، ما المراد بالشفاعة في الآية؟
What is the meaning of intercession in the Ayah?
The answer explains that intercession is seeking good for others: a good intercession asks for something good for a person who deserves it, or who does not but it is a mercy to him, without anyone's right being lost; an intercession that leads to lost rights is evil. Each earns a share of the reward or the burden (4:85), as in the hadith of the good and evil practice (Muslim 1017).
Allah Almighty says: (Whoever intercedes for a good cause will have a share in the reward, and whoever intercedes for an evil cause will have a share in the burden.) Surah An Nisa'a 4: 85.
Good and Evil Intercession
1. Good Intercession
Intercession is seeking good for others. A good intercession is when a person asks someone for something good for another person who deserves it, or who does not deserve it but it is a mercy to him, without anyone's right being lost.
2. Evil Intercession
If the intercession is evil, in that it leads to rights being lost, then it is an intercession for evil.
The Meaning of the Ayah and Hadith
The Meaning of the Ayah: Whoever strives in a matter, and his striving will result in good, he will have a share of that good and reward without anything being diminished from the rewards of those who are working for a good cause. Conversely, whoever strives in a matter, and his striving will result in bad, then the seeker must bear the burden of that matter without decreasing others' evil burdens.
The Prophetic Support: It is reported in the Hadith: "Whosoever introduces a good practice in Islam, there is for him its reward and the reward of those who act upon it after him without anything being diminished from their rewards. And whosoever introduces an evil practice in Islam will shoulder its sin and the sins of all those who will act upon it, without diminishing in any way their burden." Narrated by Muslim (1017).
ما المراد بالشفاعة في الآية؟
يبين الجواب أن الشفاعة طلب الخير للغير: فالحسنة أن يطلب خيرا لغيره يستحقه، أو لا يستحقه لكن فيه رحمة به، دون أن يفوت حق أحد، والسيئة ما أدى إلى إهدار الحقوق، ولكل نصيب من الأجر أو الوزر (النساء 4:85)، كما في حديث السنة الحسنة والسيئة (مسلم 1017).
قال الله تعالى: (مَّن يَشْفَعْ شَفَاعَةً حَسَنَةً يَكُن لَّهُ نَصِيبٌ مِّنْهَا ۖ وَمَن يَشْفَعْ شَفَاعَةً سَيِّئَةً يَكُن لَّهُ كِفْلٌ مِّنْهَا) النساء 4: 85.
الشفاعة الحسنة والشفاعة السيئة
1. الشفاعة الحسنة
الشفاعة هي طلب الخير للغير، والشفاعة الحسنة: أن يطلب الإنسان خيرا من غيره لغيره شيئا يستحقه، أو بما لا يستحقه، لكن فيه رحمة بالمشفوع له، دون أن يفوت حق أحد.
2. الشفاعة السيئة
وإن كانت الشفاعة سيئة بأن تؤدي لإهدار الحقوق فهي شفاعة في الشر.
معنى الآية والحديث
معنى الآية: من يسعى في أمر فيترتب على سعيه خير، كان له نصيب من ذلك الخير والأجر دون أن ينقص من أجر العاملين شيئا. ومن يسعى في أمر فترتب عليه شر، فعلى الساعي وزر ذلك الأمر دون أن ينقص من أوزارهم شيئا.
الدليل من السنة: وفي الحديث: "من سن في الإسلام سنة حسنة، فله أجرها، وأجر من عمل بها بعده، من غير أن ينقص من أجورهم شيء، ومن سن في الإسلام سنة سيئة، كان عليه وزرها ووزر من عمل بها من بعده، من غير أن ينقص من أوزارهم شيء" رواه مسلم (1017).
1. Intercede and You Will Be Rewarded | اشفعوا تؤجروا
Ibn Kathir explains the verse: whoever strives in a matter that results in good has a share of it, and whoever intercedes for evil bears a burden from what resulted from his striving and intention. He cites the Prophet, who, when someone came asking or with a need, would say: Intercede and you will be rewarded, and Allah decrees on the tongue of His Prophet what He wills (Sahih al-Bukhari 1432). Mujahid said the verse was revealed about people interceding for one another.
مَّن يَشْفَعْ شَفَاعَةً حَسَنَةً يَكُن لَّهُ نَصِيبٌ مِّنْهَا ۖ وَمَن يَشْفَعْ شَفَاعَةً سَيِّئَةً يَكُن لَّهُ كِفْلٌ مِّنْهَا (سورة النساء: 85)
قال ابن كثير: "أي: من سعى في أمر، فترتب عليه خير، كان له نصيب من ذلك (ومن يشفع شفاعة سيئة يكن له كفل منها) أي: يكون عليه وزر من ذلك الأمر الذي ترتب على سعيه ونيته"، واستشهد بقوله ﷺ: "اشفعوا تؤجروا، ويقضي الله على لسان نبيه ما شاء" (صحيح البخاري 1432). وقال مجاهد: نزلت هذه الآية في شفاعات الناس بعضهم لبعض.
2. An Intercession That Blocks Justice | الشفاعة في حدود الله
When Usama ibn Zayd spoke to the Prophet on behalf of a noblewoman who had stolen, he said: Do you intercede regarding one of the punishments prescribed by Allah? Then he addressed the people: Those before you were destroyed because when a noble person among them stole, they let him go, and when a weak person stole, they applied the punishment to him; by Allah, if Fatima the daughter of Muhammad stole, I would cut off her hand (Sahih al-Bukhari 3475). An intercession that causes a right to be lost is the evil intercession the answer describes.
لما كلم أسامة بن زيد النبي ﷺ في المرأة المخزومية التي سرقت، قال: "أتشفع في حد من حدود الله؟"، ثم قام فاختطب فقال: "إنما أهلك الذين قبلكم أنهم كانوا إذا سرق فيهم الشريف تركوه، وإذا سرق فيهم الضعيف أقاموا عليه الحد، وايم الله لو أن فاطمة ابنة محمد سرقت لقطعت يدها" (صحيح البخاري 3475). فالشفاعة التي تؤدي إلى إهدار الحقوق هي الشفاعة السيئة التي ذكرها الجواب.
3. Intercession Is a Request, Not a Command | الشفاعة رجاء لا أمر
Barira's husband Mughith loved her and followed her weeping after she left him. The Prophet said to her: If only you would go back to him. She asked: O Messenger of Allah, are you commanding me? He said: I am only interceding. She said: I have no need of him (Sahih al-Bukhari 5283). A good intercession asks for good without forcing it, and leaves the decision to the one asked.
كان مغيث زوج بريرة يحبها ويطوف خلفها يبكي بعد أن فارقته، فقال لها النبي ﷺ: "لو راجعته"، قالت: يا رسول الله تأمرني؟ قال: "إنما أنا أشفع"، قالت: لا حاجة لي فيه (صحيح البخاري 5283). فالشفاعة الحسنة طلب للخير دون إكراه، والقرار للمشفوع إليه.
Frequently Asked Questions | الأسئلة الشائعة
What makes an intercession evil?
The answer says an intercession is evil when it leads to rights being lost. The Prophet rebuked Usama for interceding to cancel a prescribed punishment: do you intercede regarding one of the punishments of Allah? (Sahih al-Bukhari 3475).
Must the person I intercede for fully deserve it?
No. The answer says a good intercession may be for someone who deserves the good, or who does not deserve it but it is a mercy to him, provided no one's right is lost.
Is the one asked obliged to accept an intercession?
No. When the Prophet asked Barira to return to her husband, she asked whether he was commanding her; he said: I am only interceding, and she declined (Sahih al-Bukhari 5283).
Is interceding for others rewarded?
Yes. The Prophet would say to his Companions when someone came with a need: intercede and you will be rewarded, and Allah decrees on the tongue of His Prophet what He wills (Sahih al-Bukhari 1432).