that Ibn Taymiyya with his special way of thinking...

that Ibn Taymiyya with his special way of thinking, opposed this and many other lasting customs and traditions that were in vogue among the Muslims. Three centuries after him, Muhammad bin ’Abd al-Wahhab once again raised the flag of opposition and enlivened Ibn Taymiyya's school of thought with much more vigor.

One of the point of differences of the Wahhabis with the other Islamic sects is that although they have accepted shafa'a as an Islamic principle (like the other muslims) and say that on the Day of qiyama the intercessors will intercede for the sinners and in this matter the Holy Prophet (s) will play a greater role, yet they say that no one has the right to seek shafa'a from them in this world.

In this matter they have gone to such an extreme that narrating the text of their sayings will be the source of spiritual discomfort. In short, they say: The Holy Prophet (s), the other Prophets, the angels and the beloved ones of Allah have the right of doing shafa'a on the Day of Judgement but one should ask for shafa'a from the Master of shafa'a and the One who gives permission for that i.e.

Allah and say: اللهم شفع نبينا محمد فينا يوم القيامة أو اللهم شفع فينا عبادك الصالحين أو ملائكتك أو نحو ذلك مما يُطلب من الله لا منهم فلا يٌقال يا رسول الله أو يا وليَّ الله أسألك الشفاعة أو غيرها مما لا يقدر عليه إلا الله فإذا طلبت ذلك في أيام البرزخ كان في اقسام الشرك.

“O God, make the Holy Prophet (s) and your virtuous servants and the Angels as our intercessors on the Day of Judgement.” However we are not having the right to say, “O Prophet of Allah” or “O wali of Allah we ask you to seek shafa'a for us. This is because shafa'a is something which no one is capable of doing except Allah.

Asking such a thing from the Holy Prophet (s) who is living in barzakh will be a kind of polytheism (shirk)." [^1] The Wahhabis have, with a series of notions, forbidden the seeking of shafa'a from the true intercessors and have labelled the one who does so as a polytheist and his action as polytheism. Before looking into their reasoning, we shall discuss the matter from the viewpoint of Qur’an, sunnah and the practise of the Muslims in this regard. After that, we will examine their reasoning.

Our reasoning on the logical firmness of seeking Shafa'a Our reasoning for the permissibility of seeking intercession (shafa'a) is a combination of two matters which by proving them, the matter of intercession will become clear.