But the believers cannot ask Allah to forgive the polytheists...

But the believers cannot ask Allah to forgive the polytheists, as it says in the Qura-n: “It is not fitting for the Prophet and those who believe that they should pray for forgiveness for the polytheists.”[^34] Sometimes the 'throne-bearers' (these are Allah's infallible angels) pray for the pardoning of believers' sins, as mentioned in the Qura-n: “Those who sustain the throne (of Allah) and those around it sing glory and praise to their Lord, believe in Him, and implore forgiveness for those who believe.”[^35] This verse, as well as the verses mentioned from the Su-rahs Nisa-' and Yusuf, are proofs of the Quranic validity of intercession.

Allah, because of the station that the prophets occupy in proximity to Him, accepts their intercession and forgives the sins of those who take the prophets as intercessors. A MISUNDERSTANDING Some of those who do not believe in the Shia creed claim that the intended consequence of coming to the Prophet and his asking for forgiveness is that the Prophet forgives those who have transgressed his own rights.

The reason for this is that the hypocrites were people who oppressed the Prophet, and because of this, the Prophet had a right over them. According to this, the station that the Prophet had, namely being able to ask Allah to forgive the sins of others, was not a special station. Every human is equal to the prophet in this sense. Anyone who oppresses another must ask that person to forgive him.

The people holding this opinion did not pay attention to one point: if the meaning were this, that is that the Prophet would forgive them for the oppression that they had committed against him, the verse would read as follows: “Go to the prophet and he will forgive you.” But in the verse the term “pray for your forgiveness” is used. The difference between the two is clear for those who can see.

A CONDITION FOR MAKING THE REPENTANCE OF OTHERS EFFECTIVE The Qura-n states plainly that Allah will not forgive the sin of polytheism, as the following verse says: “Allah does not forgive setting up partners with Him, but He forgives anything else.”[^36] Hence, polytheism is an unforgivable sin and a barrier for the forgiveness of other sins. The Prophet's asking for the forgiveness of hypocrites is ineffective because of their being polytheists. Polytheism is a crime that cannot be excused.

The heart of a polytheist is dark and thus unsuitable for being forgiven.