And how many an angel is there in the heavens whose...

And how many an angel is there in the heavens whose inter­cession does not avail at all except after Allâh has given permission to whom He pleases and chooses (53:26). Some of these verses (like the first three) say that inter­cession is reserved for Allâh, while the rest declare that others too may intercede with Allâh's permission. In any case, all of them confirm the intercession per se. How are these verses related to the preceding ones which totally reject intercession?

It is exactly the same relation that exists between the verses that say that the knowledge of unseen is reserved to Allâh and those which declare that others too may have that knowledge with the permission of Allâh. As Allâh says: Say: "No one in the heaven and the earth knows the un­seen but Allâh " (27:65). And with Him are the keys of the unseen, does…