in its linguistic sense means asking him to intercede, just as people will seek his intercession on the Day of Resurrection and as his Companions used to seek it. An example is the hadith recorded in the Sunan:

“A Bedouin said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, we are suffering hardship, our dependants are hungry, and our wealth has perished. Supplicate to Allah for us. We seek Allah’s intercession with you, and your intercession with Allah.’ The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, glorified Allah until its effect could be seen on his Companions’ faces, then said, ‘Woe to you! Do you know what you are saying? Allah’s majesty is far greater than that. His intercession is not sought with any of His creatures.’”

The remainder of the hadith was then related. He thus rejected the man’s words, “We seek Allah’s intercession with you.” It is well known that there is no objection to asking a created being in Allah’s name or adjuring him by Allah. What he rejected was treating Allah as an intercessor with a created being. For this reason, he did not reject the words, “We seek your intercession with Allah,” for he is the intercessor whose intercession is accepted.

If the account were authentic, they would come to him only to seek his intercession, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. Hence, the account concludes by citing:

“If, when they wronged themselves, they had come to you”—and the rest of the verse.

If it were prescribed for these people to ask him, after his death, to intercede and seek forgiveness for them, then, if he answered them, he would seek forgiveness for them. His seeking forgiveness for them would be a supplication and intercession on his part that Allah forgive them.

Since seeking his intercession means asking him to intercede, the appropriate wording would be, “Seek his intercession, and Allah will accept his intercession on your behalf,” not, “Allah will accept your intercession on his behalf.”

This is ordinary usage and the language of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, his Companions, and all the scholars. One says, “So-and-so interceded on behalf of so-and-so, and his intercession on that person’s behalf was accepted.” Thus, the person whose intercession is accepted by the one to whom it is addressed is the intercessor whose intercession is sought.