As for an intercessor, he is a petitioner whose request for intercession need not be obeyed, however great his standing. An authentic hadith relates:
“The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, asked Barīra to remain with her husband and not leave him after she had been freed and the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, had given her a choice, whereupon she chose to leave him. Her husband loved her and began to weep, so the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, asked her to remain with him. She said, ‘Are you commanding me?’ He replied, ‘No; I am only interceding.’”
She asked, “Are you commanding me?” and he replied, “I am only interceding,” because Muslims understood that obeying his commands was obligatory, whereas accepting his intercession was not. For this reason, the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, did not blame her for declining his intercession. It follows all the more clearly that accepting the intercession of any other created being is not obligatory.
The Creator—exalted is His majesty—is far too exalted and majestic to intercede with a created being. Indeed, He—glory be to Him—is so exalted that no one may intercede with Him except by His permission. Allah Most High says:
“And they say, ‘The Most Merciful has taken a son.’ Exalted is He! Rather, they are honored servants.”
“They cannot precede Him in word, and they act by His command.”
“He knows what is before them and what is behind them, and they cannot intercede except on behalf of one whom He approves. And they, from fear of Him, are apprehensive.”
“And whoever of them should say, ‘Indeed, I am a god besides Him’—that one We would recompense with Hell. Thus do We recompense the wrongdoers.”
The hadith cited earlier shows that the Messenger, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, may be asked to intercede with Allah, Mighty and Majestic—that is, he is asked to petition his Lord by way of intercession, in this world and the Hereafter. In the Hereafter, people will ask him to intercede so that Allah judges between them and so that they enter Paradise. He will intercede for those of his community who committed major sins. He will also intercede for some who deserve the Fire so that they do not enter it, and for some who have entered it so that they are brought out of it.