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When Life Begins --------- ---------
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When Life Begins ---------
Anwar and Jamshaid were with Naimah and me. Jamshaid’s arrival had
completed our family reunion. The state of joy and the feelings of
elation could not be expressed in words.
As I saw my family gathered together, I said to Saleh, who was
sitting next to me, “What fun is Paradise without the whole family?”
Jamshaid, whose family and in-laws had all been doomed to Hell,
replied instead of Saleh, “Yes! Who else would know it better than I
would? You are very fortunate!”
This time Naimah replied to him, “This is because your Papa gave
the upbringing of his children due importance and priority in his life.
Only you proved to be the inept one; look at the rest of your brothers
and sisters! They all did pretty well”.
“You are right, Mama! But I was sure that Papa’s intercession would
save me. My father-in-law had a lot of faith in his Peer who had assured
him that he would intercede for him on the Day of Judgement as long as
he remained loyal to him. That gave me the idea that there is no one
like my father. Therefore, his intercession would save me too”.
I said, “You got it absolutely wrong, my Son! You know that the Peer
was unable to save your father in-law. The truth of the matter is that
neither the last Prophet nor the Qur’an ever advocated intercession as a
way to salvation. The only reason the last Holy book was sent towards
us was to clearly explain how to succeed in the Hereafter. It repeatedly
stressed that the only means of salvation on the Day of Judgement are
faith and good deeds. At the time of the revelation of Qur’an, Christians
had the misconception that Christ’s intercession would lead to their
salvation, while the idol worshippers of Arabia believed that their idols
would intercede on their behalf. That is why the Qur’an repeatedly
clarified that intercession could not lead to salvation. Man would reap
whatever he had sown”.
“But intercession has been mentioned in the Qur’an, and also in the
sayings ascribed to the last Prophet”, said Jamshaid.
“Ok, tell me, is there any saying ascribed to the Holy Prophet
PBUH
Anwar, my younger son, replied instead of Jamshaid with full
confidence, “No! It was not mentioned anywhere”.
or
a verse of the Qur’an that advises us to rely on intercession as a means
to salvation or to pray for it?” I asked.
However, Jamshaid disagreed, “No, my friend! Did not we use to
pray for intercession after listening to every call for prayer?”
I replied, “Actually, the people had themselves added to the saying
ascribed to the Holy Prophet. All that the last Prophet
PBUH
Saleh said to me, “Abdullah, hold on, let me explain the concept of
intercession in detail. The real criterion for success is adherence to true
faith and righteous deeds. If someone is pardoned today despite
weakness in the above, it is not due to anyone’s intercession but
because of God Almighty’s infinite knowledge, authority, and
benevolence. This point was explained in the Qur’an in the words that
God would never forgive knowingly sharing partners with Him. Apart
from that, he may forgive any sin and any person. In the previous world,
he used to forgive minor sins in exchange for hardships as well as for
good deeds. However, those people who chose a life of sin on a
persistent basis without repenting had to pay the price for it today.
Although, if such a person with some degree of true faith has paid a
significant price for his sins today…”
, had said was
that if we were to pray for him to get the coveted place on the Day of
Judgement, then it would be obligatory for him to intercede. He did not
ask us to also pray for
intercession and based on it, set side good deeds
and carelessly indulge in sins”.
“Just as Leila and I paid, through tribulations in the Plane of
Judgement.” Jamshaid interjected.
“Exactly”, Saleh continued, “So, I was saying that when a pious
person, after paying for his sins through sufferings in the Plane of
Judgement, becomes eligible for pardon as per the Almighty’s Law of
Justice, the Almighty then uses the testimony of a few select pious
people as an excuse for his salvation. This testimony is in reality a
statement confirming the good deeds that the person had performed in
the previous world. Your parents’ testimony in your favour that led to
your forgiveness is an example of such intercession, or the testimony
that the last Prophet gave at the outset led to Leila’s salvation.
However, even in such cases you may notice that the presence of true
faith and good deeds is obligatory; even in these cases, one still has to
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