Sharḥ Riyāḍ al-Ṣāliḥīn - Ibn al-'Uthaymin - (3/28)

his grievance, thereby averting any harm from him.

A parallel instance that will occur in the Hereafter is the Prophet’s intercession—peace and blessings be upon him—for the people gathered on the Plain of Resurrection so that judgment may be passed between them. At that point they will be overwhelmed by anguish and distress beyond their endurance, and his intercession will relieve them of that hardship; this is an intercession that wards off harm.

As for an intercession that brings about benefit, it is the Prophet’s plea—peace and blessings be upon him—for the inhabitants of Paradise that they be admitted into it.

When the author speaks of intercession in this chapter he is referring to intercession in this worldly life: a person mediates on behalf of someone else with a third party, seeking either to obtain a benefit for him or to repel harm from him.

Intercession is divided into categories:

A forbidden form that is impermissible: namely, to intercede for someone upon whom a prescribed legal penalty has become due after the case has already reached the ruler. Such intercession is unlawful. An example would be a thief whose punishment is amputation of the hand; once the matter has come before the ruler or his deputy, for someone to intervene so that the thief’s hand not be cut off is prohibited. The Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—condemned this most emphatically.

This occurred when he ordered that the hand of a woman from the Makhzūm clan be severed. She belonged to one of the most distinguished Arab tribes and used to borrow items and then deny having taken them—that is, she would make use of what she had borrowed and afterwards claim she had never done so. The Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—therefore commanded that her hand be cut off. Quraysh were deeply troubled by this and said, “Will the hand of a woman of Banū Makhzūm be cut off? What a disgrace! Who can intercede with the Messenger of Allah for us?” They concluded that the person closest to do so would be Usāmah ibn Zayd ibn Ḥārithah.

مظلمته، حتى يندفع عنه الضرر. ومثال ذلك في أيام الآخرة؛ أن النبي ﷺ يشفع في أهل الموقف ليُقضى بينهم، حين يصيبهم من الكرب والغم ما لا يطيقون، فهذه شفاعة في دفع مضرة. ومثالها في جلب منفعة؛ أن النبي ﷺ يشفع في أهل الجنة أن يدخلوا الجنة. والمراد بالشفاعة في كلام المؤلف: الشفاعة في الدنيا؛ وهي أن يشفع الإنسان لشخص عند آخر؛ يتوسط له بجب المنفعة له أو دفع المضرة عنه. والشفاعة أقسام: القسم الأول: شفاعة محرمة لا تجوز، وهي أن يشفع لشخص وجب عليه الحدّ بعد أن يصل إلى الإمام، فإن هذه الشفاعة محرمة لا تجوز؛ مثال ذلك: رجل وجب عليه حدّ في قطع يده في السرقة، فلما وصلت إلى الإمام أو نائب الإمام؛ أراد إنسان أن يشفع لهذا السارق ألا تقطع يده، فهذا حرام أنكره النبي ﵊ إنكاراً عظيماً. وذلك حينما أمر النبي ﵌ أن تقطع يد المرأة المخزومية، امرأة من بني مخزوم من أشراف قبائل العرب، كانت تستعير الشيء ثم تجحده، أي تستعيره لتنتفع به ثم تنكر بعد ذلك أنها استعارت شيئاً، فأمر النبي ﷺ بقطع يدها؛ فاهتمت لذلك قريش، قالوا: امرأة من بني مخزوم وتقطع يدها؟ هذا عار كبير، من يشفع لنا إلى رسول الله ﷺ، فرأوا أن أقرب الناس لذلك أسامة بن زيد بن الحارثة.