Encyclopedia of Islam

Further reading: Greg Barton and Greg Fealy, eds., 

Nahdlatul Ulama, Traditional Islam and Modernity in 

Indonesia (Clayton, Aust.: Monash Asia Institute, 1996); 

B. J. Boland, The Struggle of Islam in Modern Indonesia

(The Hague, Netherlands: H. H. I. Smith, 1970); Bahtiar 

Effendy,  Islam and the State in Indonesia (Singapore: 

Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 2003); R. S. Kipp 

and S. Rogers, Indonesian Religion in Transition (Tucson: 

University of Arizona Press, 1987); Karen Petersen, 

“The Pesantren at Surialaya.” Saudi Aramco World 41 

(November/December 1990): 8–15.

infidel

  See 

idolatry

; 

kafir

.

Insan  al-Kamil,  al-

  See  i

bn

 

al

-a

rabi

,  m

uhyi

al

-d

in

; p

erfect

 m

an

.

intercession

Belief in intercession involves the theological prin-

ciple that 

prayer

s and practices on another’s behalf 

have the power to bring salvation or blessing. Sev-

eral terms in Arabic signify the idea of intercession, 

principally  shafaa and wasila (or tawassul), the 

former emphasizing the substitutionary aspect and 

the latter the mediating aspect of intercession.

In the q

Uran

, the term shafaa appears 24 

times, and its significance is ambivalent. The 

Quran clearly indicates that there will come a 

time when no intercessory power will avail. This 

is confirmed in the canonical 

hadith

 texts of al-

Bukhari, Muslim, and al-Tirmidhi, which contain 

traditions indicating that due to the prayers of 

m

Uhammad

, no one will remain left in the F

ire

K  360  

infidel

---

except  those specifically named in the Quran. 

Less clear is whether prior to J

Udgment

  d

ay

,

prayer on another’s behalf will have any efficacy. 

Several passages indicate that God grants interces-

sory power to those whom he chooses (Q 2:255, 

10:339; 19:87; 20:109; 21:28; 34:23; 40:7; 42:5; 

53:26). There are also hadith describing Muham-

mad’s practice of praying in cemeteries on behalf 

of the dead. This tradition is continued in the 

standard funeral prayers (salat al-janaiz), which 

include a communal supplication to God and 

the Prophet on behalf of the deceased. However, 

several other verses in the Quran emphasize the 

futility of appealing to intercessors of any kind on 

the part of the wrong-doers (Q 6:94; 7:53; 21:28; 

30:13; 36:23; 39:43; 40:18; 74:48) and that the 

privilege of intercession is the sole province of 

Allah (Q 6:51; 6:70; 10:18; 32:4; 39:44).

Such passages give ground to a host of later 

commentators, such as the famous 14th-century 

scholar i

bn

 t

aymiyya

 (d. 1328), who vehemently 

opposed the practice of prayer and supplication 

at the tombs of the dead for their intercession 

with God. Among many Sunnis, however, belief 

in the ability of Muhammad and the 

saint

s, those 

who are closest to God (the awliya), to bring 

the prayers of the common people closer to God 

is nearly universal. The practice is defended by 

many on the grounds that these saints are models 

of piety, that they are better able to communicate 

directly with God, and that contemplation at 

any grave provides an important reminder of the 

ephemerality of life. However, such prayers are 

equally universally challenged by absolute mono-

theists who claim that such prayers commit 

shirk

(assigning partners to God) and appear to ques-

tion the omnipotence and omnipresence of God. 

Among the Twelve-Imam Shia, the intercessory 

power of the 

imam

s is affirmed, and prayer at their 

tombs and those of other members of the 

ahl

 

al

bayt

 (the house of the Prophet) is canonical.

See also 

aFterliFe

; 

bidaa

; 

FUnerary

 

ritUals

; 

s

hiism

.

Anna Bigelow