Such verses are interpreted in relation to the most probable case they refer to.

Such verses are interpreted in relation to the most probable case they refer to. Therefore, any decree is unchangeable in terms of its real conditions and limitations (rather than conditions and limitations used in the phrases). One such decree is intercession for those specific sinners who possess the necessary qualifications and follow special regulations; such an intercession is fixed and unchanged.

Doubt 6: The promise of intercession will cause boldness and impudence in people, leading them to commit sins and become astray. Response 6: The response to this doubt, which is also applicable to the acceptance of repentance and compensating sins, is that; being subject to intercession and forgiveness is limited to certain conditions, the fulfillment of which cannot be guaranteed by the sinner.

For example, one condition for intercession is that the sinner must protect his faith until the last minute of his life, and we know that no-one can guarantee to fulfill such a condition. Moreover, if one who has committed a sin does not hope to be forgiven, he will become hopeless and disappointed; this will in turn weaken the motivation for the abandonment of sins and will cause the continuation of his wrong and deviated way.

This is why it has been the approach of the teachers of religion to instill into the people the balance between hope and fear - neither holding so much hope in God’s mercy as to make them become complacent, nor to hold so much fear of His punishment as to make them loss hope in His Mercy - both of which, as we know, are among the major sins.

Doubt 7: The effect of intercession on one’s security from punishment means that someone else (intercessor’s) has an effect on one’s prosperity and release from adversity, yet the verse: ‘There is nothing for man except what he attempts to get,’ clearly implies that it is only one’s own labor which brings reward.

Response 7: One’s attempt in reaching an aim is often direct and continues to the end; however, on some occasions such attempts are indirect and are therefore performed following the preparation of their means and preliminaries.

A person who is subject to intercession attempts to approach the preliminaries of prosperity, because becoming a believer and behaving in a way whereby one deserves intercession, are considered as attempts at reaching prosperity, even though it is incomplete and deficient.