The Soil · About Submission
Intercession
Can anyone speak to God for us? The Quran answers, and the answer is good news.
Say, "All intercession belongs to GOD." To Him belongs all sovereignty of the heavens and the earth, then to Him you will be returned.
[39:44]Intercession means someone speaking to God on our behalf. It is the hope that a prophet, a saint or a holy person will ask God to forgive us, or to give us what we want. And that God will listen to them in a way He would not listen to us.
Many good people hold this hope. Often they learned it from people they love. So this is a tender subject, and we want to go gently.
But it matters a great deal. It touches the heart of worship: who we turn to when we need help. So let's read what God says about it, one step at a time. We think you will find that nothing is lost here. A door is opening.
On This Page
Four parts, and the questions people ask after each one.
All Intercession Belongs to God
The Quran's answer starts with one short sentence. God tells His messenger to say it plainly: “All intercession belongs to GOD.” [39:44]
Look closely at these words. They do not say intercession is rare. They do not say only the very holy may do it. They say intercession belongs to God. All of it.
If something belongs to God, no one else has any of it to give us. A prophet cannot hand us what he does not own. Neither can a saint, a scholar or anyone else.
The rest of that verse tells us why: “To Him belongs all sovereignty of the heavens and the earth, then to Him you will be returned.” [39:44] He rules everything. And every one of us goes back to Him.
Who Could Speak Without His Leave?
In a verse about His power, God asks a question: “Who could intercede with Him, except in accordance with His will?” [2:255]
Think about what that means. If someone's words only ever match what God has already willed, those words change nothing. God's will was the answer all along.
God says the same thing again, very simply: “There is no intercessor, except in accordance with His will. Such is GOD your Lord. You shall worship Him. Would you not take heed?” [10:3]
And once more, without any exception at all: “You have none beside Him as Lord, nor do you have an intercessor. Would you not take heed?” [32:4]
The last two verses end with the same gentle question: “Would you not take heed?” [10:3] [32:4] Yet people hear this, and still look for someone in the middle.
Questions About Who Owns Intercession
What does intercession actually mean?
It means someone asking God on our behalf, so that God forgives us or gives us what we want. People usually hope a prophet or a saint will do this for them. The translation's Appendix 8 is called ‘The Myth of Intercession’. It explains that believing anyone other than God can intercede for our sins or our wishes is setting up partners with God. That is idolatry. The Quran's own words are short and clear: “All intercession belongs to GOD.” [39:44] So there is no one else to go to. We go to Him ourselves.
Doesn't the Quran say some intercession happens if God permits it?
Yes, it does, and that condition is the whole answer. Any intercession that happens only ever matches what God has already decided. So it changes nothing. God says: “Intercession with Him will be in vain, unless it coincides with His will.” [34:23] And about the Day of Judgment: “On that day, intercession will be useless, except for those permitted by the Most Gracious, and whose utterances conform to His will.” [20:109] The translation's Appendix 8 gives a simple picture of this. It says everyone in Paradise will intercede for their loved ones: ‘Please God, admit my mother into Paradise.’ That prayer works only if the mother already deserves Paradise. So, as the Appendix puts it, that kind of intercession is utterly useless. The condition is not a loophole. It tells us that God decides, as He always does.
Will there be any intercession on the Day of Judgment?
None that can change anything. The Quran tells us no intercession will help anyone on that day. God says: “Beware of the day when no soul can avail another soul, no intercession will be accepted, no ransom can be paid, nor can anyone be helped.” [2:48] And about the guilty: “The intercession of the intercessors will never help them.” [74:48] On that day, every decision is His alone: “That is the day when no soul can help another soul, and all decisions, on that day, will belong to GOD.” [82:19] That is why God urges us to act now, while we can. He tells believers to give in charity “before a day comes where there is no trade, no nepotism, and no intercession.” [2:254] What we do today is what will count then.
The Oldest Excuse
People who pray to others besides God almost never think they are leaving God. They think they are being humble. The Quran records what they say, word for word.
“Absolutely, the religion shall be devoted to GOD alone. Those who set up idols beside Him say, ‘We idolize them only to bring us closer to GOD; for they are in a better position!’ GOD will judge them regarding their disputes. GOD does not guide such liars, disbelievers.” [39:3]
They were not saying, ‘We don't believe in God.’ They were saying, ‘These holy ones are closer to Him than we are. Let them help us.’ It sounds modest. It feels like respect. That is exactly why it is so easy to fall into.
God asks a question about it: “Have they invented intercessors to mediate between them and GOD?” [39:43] Invented. The job of a go-between is something people made up.
They Cannot Hear Us
Then God tells His messenger to ask a second question: “What if they do not possess any power, nor understanding?” [39:43]
That question matters. When we call on someone who has died, who hears us?
God answers plainly: “If you call on them, they cannot hear you. Even if they hear you, they cannot respond to you. On the Day of Resurrection, they will disown you. None can inform you like the Most Cognizant.” [35:14]
The footnote in this translation to that verse says that people idolize Jesus, Mary, Muhammad, Ali and the saints. It says such idols are dead, unaware and powerless, and that even when they were alive, they were powerless.
Even the angels do not hold this power: “Not even the angels in heaven possess authority to intercede. The only ones permitted by GOD are those who act in accordance with His will and His approval.” [53:26]
Questions About the Go-Between
Isn't it more humble to go through someone closer to God?
It feels humble, but God tells us it is not what He wants. The Quran quotes this exact reasoning and rejects it. Those who set up idols say: “We idolize them only to bring us closer to GOD; for they are in a better position!” [39:3] And in the same verse, God calls them liars. We don't need anyone to bring us closer. God is already close: “When My servants ask you about Me, I am always near. I answer their prayers when they pray to Me.” [2:186] And He says: “We are closer to him than his jugular vein.” [50:16] True humility is simple. It is coming to God ourselves, just as we are, and asking Him.
Can the dead hear us when we call on them?
No. God tells us they cannot hear, and could not answer even if they did. He says: “If you call on them, they cannot hear you. Even if they hear you, they cannot respond to you.” [35:14] And about those people call on besides Him: “They are dead, not alive, and they have no idea how or when they will be resurrected.” [16:21] The Quran also asks: “Who is farther astray than those who idolize beside GOD idols that can never respond to them until the Day of Resurrection, and are totally unaware of their worship?” [46:5] So a prayer at a tomb goes nowhere. The One who hears every prayer is God, and He is the only One we need to call.
Why does the Quran take intercession so seriously?
Because it quietly moves our worship away from God. The hope we should place in Him ends up resting on someone else. The translation's heading over 9:80 is ‘Satan's Most Effective Bait: The Myth of Intercession’. The footnote to 11:46 says the same: ‘Intercession is Satan's most effective bait to entice people into idol worship.’ God shows us how the heart changes: “When GOD ALONE is mentioned, the hearts of those who do not believe in the Hereafter shrink with aversion. But when others are mentioned beside Him, they become satisfied.” [39:45] And this is the one sin God tells us He does not forgive, if we keep to it until death: “GOD does not forgive idol worship (if maintained until death), and He forgives lesser offenses for whomever He wills.” [4:116] That is why it matters so much.
Even the Prophets Could Not
Here is the part that settles it. The Quran shows us God's closest servants trying to help the people closest to them. And they could not.
Abraham once promised his idol-worshipping father that he would pray for his forgiveness. God tells us “a mistake was committed by Abraham when he said to his father, ‘I will pray for your forgiveness, but I possess no power to protect you from GOD.’” [60:4] The mistake was the promise. Even while making it, Abraham admitted he had no power to protect his father. He kept his word for a time. Then: “But as soon as he realized that he was an enemy of GOD, he disowned him. Abraham was extremely kind, clement.” [9:114]
After the flood, Noah pleaded with God for the son he had lost: “My Lord, my son is a member of my family, and Your promise is the truth.” [11:45] God answered him: “O Noah, he is not of your family. It is unrighteous to ask Me for something you do not know.” [11:46] The translation's heading over 11:46 is ‘The Myth of Intercession’.
Muhammad was told about the hypocrites around him: “even if you ask forgiveness for them seventy times—GOD will not forgive them.” [9:80] The footnote to that verse asks a simple question. If Muhammad could not intercede for his own uncles and cousins, why would strangers who never met him think he will intercede for them?
And two women married to prophets were not saved by that marriage. God tells us the wives of Noah and Lot “were married to two of our righteous servants, but they betrayed them and, consequently, they could not help them at all against GOD.” [66:10] The heading there is ‘The Myth of Intercession Shattered’.
What This Means for Us
Think about it gently. A father could not save his son. A son could not save his father. If the prophets could not carry their own families, no one will carry a stranger.
That is simply fair. Each soul answers for itself: “No soul can carry the sins of another soul.” [35:18] Nobody can be punished for our mistakes. And nobody can earn Paradise for us.
And there is something freeing here. We do not need anyone's connections. We need only our own sincere heart, turned to God.
Questions About the Prophets
Will Prophet Muhammad intercede for his followers?
No. The Quran shows that he could not intercede even for the people around him. God told him about the hypocrites: “even if you ask forgiveness for them seventy times—GOD will not forgive them.” [9:80] The translation's footnote applies this even to his own uncles and cousins. God also told him to say about himself: “I have no idea what will happen to me or to you. I only follow what is revealed to me.” [46:9] The translation's Appendix 8 says: ‘Muhammad's intercession is in 25:30.’ This is what that verse records: “The messenger said, ‘My Lord, my people have deserted this Quran.’” [25:30] He is not pleading for them. He is saying they left the Quran behind.
What about Jesus? Won't he speak for those who love him?
No. The Quran tells us what Jesus himself will say, and he leaves everything to God. God will ask him whether he told people to make him and his mother idols [5:116]. Jesus will answer that he told them only what God commanded: “You shall worship GOD, my Lord and your Lord.” [5:117] And then he says: “If You punish them, they are Your constituents. If You forgive them, You are the Almighty, Most Wise.” [5:118] He does not plead. He does not claim any power. He hands the matter back to God. God describes him simply: “He was no more than a servant whom we blessed, and we sent him as an example for the Children of Israel.” [43:59] A beloved servant, but a servant.
Can a righteous parent or relative save us?
No. Every soul stands on its own before God, even with its closest family. God tells us to fear “a day when a father cannot help his own child, nor a child can help his father.” [31:33] The wives of Noah and Lot were married to two righteous servants of God. But they betrayed them, and so “they could not help them at all against GOD.” [66:10] The Quran describes that day: “That is the day when one flees from his brother. From his mother and father. From his spouse and children. Each one of them, on that day, worries about his own destiny.” [80:34-37] So we can't lean on a good family. But we can pray for each other now, and we can each come to God ourselves.
Straight to God
So what is left when every go-between is gone? God is left. And that is everything.
With no one in the middle, nothing stands between us and God. We can come to Him ourselves, at any hour, in our own words.
God invites us Himself: “Implore Me, and I will respond to you.” [40:60] And He tells us: “When My servants ask you about Me, I am always near. I answer their prayers when they pray to Me.” [2:186]
This is how God taught us to pray in every contact prayer: “You alone we worship; You alone we ask for help.” [1:5]
What We Do When It Is Hard
The Quran describes something very human. When people are caught in a storm at sea, they call on God alone: “When violent waves surround them, they implore GOD, sincerely devoting their prayers to Him alone. But as soon as He saves them to the shore, some of them revert.” [31:32]
In real danger, the heart knows where help comes from. The goal is to live that way every day, not only in the storm.
Who rescues the desperate? God asks: “Who is the One who rescues those who become desperate and call upon Him, relieves adversity, and makes you inheritors of the earth? Is it another god with GOD? Rarely do you take heed.” [27:62]
Questions About Going Straight to God
Is it all right to ask a living person to pray for us?
Yes. Praying for one another is good, and the Quran shows it. What matters is that the prayer goes to God. The sons of Jacob said to their father: “Our father, pray for our forgiveness; we were wrong indeed.” And he answered: “I will implore my Lord to forgive you; He is the Forgiver, Most Merciful.” [12:97-98] They asked a living man, and he turned to God. Believers pray for each other too: “Our Lord, forgive us and our brethren who preceded us to the faith.” [59:10] Just remember what is happening. The person praying for us is asking God, just like we do. They have no special line. So we keep asking God ourselves, too. His door is open to each of us.
If no one can speak for us, what hope do we have?
More hope than before, not less. Our hope rests on God Himself, and He has told us how generous He is. A good deed counts ten times, and a sin counts only once: “Whoever does a righteous work receives the reward for ten, and the one who commits a sin is requited for only one. No one suffers the slightest injustice.” [6:160] God tells His messenger to proclaim His call to those who have gone too far: “O My servants who exceeded the limits, never despair of GOD's mercy. For GOD forgives all sins. He is the Forgiver, Most Merciful.” [39:53] And the next verse tells us what to do: “You shall obey your Lord, and submit to Him totally, before the retribution overtakes you, then you cannot be helped.” [39:54] For those who repent, believe and do good, He does even more: “GOD transforms their sins into credits.” [25:70] That is a far better hope than a go-between who was never given the power.
My grandparents prayed to saints all their lives. Were they wrong?
Praying to saints goes against what God teaches us. But judging our grandparents belongs to God alone, and He is perfectly fair to every soul. God tells His messenger to proclaim: “Our god, Initiator of the heavens and the earth, Knower of all secrets and declarations, You are the only One who judges among Your servants regarding their disputes.” [39:46] And He promises: “GOD does not inflict an atom's weight of injustice.” [4:40] What we can say is that each soul answers for its own choices: “No soul can carry the sins of another soul.” [35:18] So their account is with God, and ours is with God too. Now that we have read these verses, the question is for us. We can love our grandparents dearly and still choose to turn to God alone. If they are still with us, we honor them and treat them kindly. God tells us to do that even with parents who push us toward idols: “continue to treat them amicably in this world.” [31:15] And we can pray for their guidance. The footnote in this translation to 60:4 says: ‘We can pray for guidance for the idolators, not forgiveness.’ Those who have already died, we leave with God.
The Question, Step by Step
The whole page in six small steps. Each one leads to the next.
Who decides?
God decides everything. “All intercession belongs to GOD.” [39:44]
Can anyone change His mind?
No one can. Any ‘intercession’ that happens only ever matches what He has already willed [34:23].
Can the ones people call on hear?
No. “If you call on them, they cannot hear you.” [35:14]
Could the prophets save their own families?
No. Not Abraham [9:114], and not Noah [11:46]. The footnote to 9:80 says the same of Muhammad and his relatives.
So where do we go?
Straight to God. “Implore Me, and I will respond to you.” [40:60]
How do we check ourselves?
Next time something goes wrong, we can notice whose name comes to our lips first, and let it be God's.
What the Quran Says
The key verses on this page, together in one place.
Say, "All intercession belongs to GOD." To Him belongs all sovereignty of the heavens and the earth, then to Him you will be returned.[39:44]
Intercession belongs to God. All of it.
GOD: there is no other god besides Him, the Living, the Eternal. Never a moment of unawareness or slumber overtakes Him. To Him belongs everything in the heavens and everything on earth. Who could intercede with Him, except in accordance with His will? He knows their past, and their future. No one attains any knowledge, except as He wills. His dominion encompasses the heavens and the earth, and ruling them never burdens Him. He is the Most High, the Great.[2:255]
God asks the question Himself, in a verse about His power.
Your only Lord is GOD; the One who created the heavens and the earth in six days, then assumed all authority. He controls all matters. There is no intercessor, except in accordance with His will. Such is GOD your Lord. You shall worship Him. Would you not take heed?[10:3]
There is no intercessor except by His will. And so: worship Him.
Have they invented intercessors to mediate between them and GOD? Say, "What if they do not possess any power, nor understanding?"[39:43]
The job of a go-between is invented. And the ones people call on have no power and no understanding.
If you call on them, they cannot hear you. Even if they hear you, they cannot respond to you. On the Day of Resurrection, they will disown you. None can inform you like the Most Cognizant.[35:14]
They cannot hear. They cannot answer.
Not even the angels in heaven possess authority to intercede. The only ones permitted by GOD are those who act in accordance with His will and His approval.[53:26]
Not even the angels hold this power.
Beware of the day when no soul can avail another soul, no intercession will be accepted, no ransom can be paid, nor can anyone be helped.[2:48]
On the Day of Judgment, no soul can help another.
That is the day when no soul can help another soul, and all decisions, on that day, will belong to GOD.[82:19]
Every decision on that day belongs to God.
Your Lord says, "Implore Me, and I will respond to you. Surely, those who are too arrogant to worship Me will enter Gehenna, forcibly."[40:60]
And the invitation: ask Me yourself, and I will answer.
The Good News in This
Verse after verse on this page takes away a go-between. What is left is God Himself, and He says: “I am always near.” [2:186] There is no one standing between us and Him.
Growth Prompt
Think back to the last time you were really afraid or really in need. What did you do first? Who did you call, and whose name came to your lips? Write it down honestly. Then write a short prayer to God alone about something you need today.
When I am desperate, who do I reach for first, and what does that tell me about where my trust really lives?
Keep growing
Every topic on this site connects to the others. Here is where this page leads next.