and they are the best of creation. Jesus will say to them, ‘Go to Muhammad, a servant whose past and future sins Allah has forgiven.’ When I see my Lord, I will fall down before Him in prostration. He will say, ‘O Muhammad, raise your head. Speak, and you will be heard; ask, and you will be given; intercede, and your intercession will be accepted.’ He will specify a group for me, and I will admit them to Paradise.” Something similar is mentioned concerning the second occasion.

Thus, the best of creation and the most honored of them before Allah does not intercede upon seeing his Lord until he has prostrated before Him and praised Him. Then Allah permits him to intercede and specifies a group for him to admit to Paradise. This confirms His statement, Most High:

“Who is it that can intercede with Him except by His permission?”

There are other verses to the same effect.

An authentic hadith states that the angels, the prophets, and the believers will intercede, but only with His permission and within specified limits. The matter is not left to the intercessor’s discretion.

This concerns someone who is known to intercede. If someone were to say, “Muhammad will deliver all his disciples from the Fire,” he would be lying. Rather, some people from his community will enter the Fire, and he will then intercede for them. As for the shaykhs, their intercession is not like his. Allah may accept a righteous man’s intercession on behalf of whomever He wills, and intercession is only for those who have faith.

As for those who affiliate themselves with Shaykh Yūnus, many of them are disbelievers in Allah and His Messenger. They do not acknowledge the obligation of the five daily prayers, fasting the month of Ramadan, or pilgrimage to the Ancient House, nor do they regard as forbidden what Allah and His Messenger have forbidden. Indeed, those acquainted with them know the statements they make reviling Allah, His Messenger, the Quran, and Islam.