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The Perfect Human in Terms of His Relationship… M. M. Khalfan et al (15
Allah belongs all intercession. His is in any of them” (Ibid).
the Sovereignty of the heavens and the • The Holy Quran says, ‘…Who is it
earth. Then unto Him will you be that can intercede with Him save with
brought back” (The Quran, 39: 44). If His permission?...’ (The Quran, 2: 255).
we reckon Allah to refer to the station Scholars of mysticism such as
of the comprehensive name of God, Ṭabāṭabāʾī in his al-Mizan
which is also the Muhammadan (Ṭabāṭabāʾī, 1970, Vol. 1, p. 160),
Reality, then all kinds of intercession define Shafāʿah in the Quranic phrase,
belong entirely to the Muhammadan ‘…Who is it that can intercede with
Perfect Human Being, who is the Him save with His permission? To be
Primary Self-disclosure of Allah. al-Wasaṭah al-Takwīnīyyah
Hence all the Imams of the Household (ontological mediation). Baḥrānī in
of the Holy Prophet possess the same his Tafsīr al-Burhan narrates a Ḥadīth
station. Obviously in this level, there from Imam al-Sadiq who when asked
is no sort of multiplicity whatsoever, about the mentioned verse, said, “We
and hence, it is God alone who [the Infallible Prophetic Household]
exercises authority and intercession. are those intercessors” (Baḥrānī,
Sultan ‘Ali Gunābādī alludes to this 1994, Vol. 1, p. 516). This narration
subtle interpretation in his Bayan al- alludes to a specific level of
sa‘adah saying that since the First intercession, which is ‘the ultimate
Imam ‘Ali is the complete locus of the level’, because firstly there are many
Name Allah, the verse can refer to indications in different narrations that
him too (Gunābādī, 1987, Vol. 4, p. include the faithful in the category of
11). An intricacy worthy of intercessors depending on their levels
consideration is that Shafāʿah which of perfection. Secondly, the Ḥadīth
is ontological intercession, clearly restricts the intercession
irrespective of its level and kind, mentioned in the verse to the
solely belongs to Allah. In clearer Infallible Household of the Prophet.
terms, it is He Alone who is the main Thirdly, the third person pronoun hu
doer in all the levels of intercession, in the phrase ‘Inda-hu’ alludes to the
and there is no ‘other’ who has any highest level of mediation and
kind of influence whatsoever. intercession, because it either refers to
Gunābādī in his witty and clear the Ipseity of God or the Station of
expression in this regard says, “To His Exclusive Oneness. Hence, we
‘Ali belongs all intercession, meaning can say that the verse speaks of the
with all the levels of intercession and highest level of Shafāʿah which is the
their particularities, no one has a share Major Intercession.
