possess no power to remove hardship from you nor to redirect it. Those whom they invoke are themselves seeking a means of drawing near to their Lord—each striving to be the closest—hoping for His mercy and fearing His punishment; indeed, the punishment of your Lord is ever to be dreaded.’ ⦗Al-Isrāʾ 56–57⦘.

Thus Allah makes it plain that whatever is called upon besides Him can neither lift harm nor alter it, and that those very beings yearn for His mercy, fear His punishment, and seek closeness to Him. Exalted is He—He has denied that angels or prophets have any authority except the intercession He permits, and intercession is nothing but supplication.

There is no doubt that the servants’ prayers for one another are beneficial, and Allah has commanded it. Yet the one who calls and intercedes may do so only with Allah’s permission; he must not offer an intercession that He has forbidden, such as interceding for the polytheists or praying that they be forgiven. Allah, the Exalted, says, ‘It is not for the Prophet and those who believe to seek forgiveness for the polytheists—even though they be close relatives—after it has become clear to them that they are people of the Blaze. Abraham’s plea for his father was only because of a promise he had made to him; but when it became clear to him that his father was an enemy of Allah, he disowned him.’ ⦗Al-Tawbah 113–114⦘. Concerning the hypocrites He said, ‘Whether you ask forgiveness for them or you do not, it is all the same; Allah will never forgive them.’ ⦗Al-Munāfiqūn 6⦘.