What Are the Conditions for Being Granted Intercession, and Who Can Receive Intercession?
-What does it mean to receive intercession?
-Can we rely on intercession to neglect our actions or sins?
-Does intercession include everyone?
-What prerequisites and conditions are necessary to receive intercession?
Intercession means getting paired, but what does pairing signify? Let us explain this concept with an example. Hardships are an inevitable part of life, and most of us face them at some point. However, the difference lies in how people deal with these challenges, fears, and anxieties. Some people, through their powerful connections and influential friends, quickly change their situation and return to normal. Others lack anyone to turn to for help, while some have pushed their circumstances to such an extreme that even their friends cannot reach or assist them.
Intercession means when we are in trouble or not in a good state, someone comes to our aid and rescues us from our undesirable condition. However, the key is that, first, there must be such a powerful person in our lives and: secondly, this friend or intercessor must have access to us to provide assistance.
Imagine we need surgery and we are in contact with the best doctors and specialist surgeons. However, if our physical condition does not allow for surgery—such as having high blood pressure, an active infection in the body, or facing a high-risk anesthesia situation—this connection would be of no benefit to us. Until we achieve a stable condition, no surgeon or specialist can come to our aid; in fact, we cannot have an intercessor or savior for ourselves.
This situation is not exclusive to our worldly matters; we face similar conditions in the hereafter. In truth, we need an intercessor, but how we provide these intercessors for ourselves and make intercession possible are the topics we intend to address in this article.
True Intercessors
We ourselves choose the type of our relationships, the people we communicate with, and the extent of our relationship with them. We all want to communicate with competent and influential people, but this does not always happen, or rather, we do not make the right choices ourselves; for example, when we are plagued by disturbing thoughts, fear, anxiety, sadness, or discomfort, instead of using true intercessors who have the power to pull us out of this situation, we turn to temporary and fleeting relief. We try to change our mood by listening to music, watching a movie, or participating in a friendly gathering, but since these things do not have enough power, they only divert our attention from the problem without truly resolving it.
Just as we use appropriate tools for every task in this world, we need the right tools for our spiritual journey and for achieving a pure heart. The Quran, prophets, Infallible Imams, truthful people, martyrs, and the righteous [1] are the best means to save us from hardship and suffering and lead us to the shores of love, joy, and peace. In truth, our worth depends on the companions we choose and the things we devote our time to. It is only through a connection and similarity to Allah that we can achieve lasting happiness and peace. Naturally, only someone who has reached this state of happiness and peace can guide us on this path.
If we do not pay attention to our existential structure and human dignity, we may accept any model or seek help from anyone. This can lead to regrettable choices. For instance, in worldly matters, we would not expect a CD salesman to perform surgery, or consider a football player or actor to guide us to eternal salvation. If we do, we might not realize the gravity of our mistake in this world. However, in the hereafter, when we face our true self and see how our worldly relationships shape our eternal life, we will regret such choices. Essentially, in the hereafter, we will be with those we associate with in this world. Therefore, if we desire powerful intercessors in the hereafter, we must cultivate relationships with them in this world. Of course, those who can save us in the hereafter certainly have the power to assist us in this world as well.
Preparing to Receive Intercession
In the hereafter, we face the truth. Our growth is true, our hardships are true, and naturally, we need true help to escape undesirable conditions. But simply asking for help is not enough. To receive help, we must prepare beforehand. Just as we need to establish connections with intercessors before entering the hereafter—that is, in this world—we must provide grounds to make assistance possible.
As mentioned in earlier discussions, the relationship between the hereafter and this world is similar to that of the world and the mother’s womb. The hereafter is vastly different in scale and complexity, in its rewards and punishments, and it requires aid of an entirely different magnitude. Think about the difference between helping a first-grader with a problem and assisting a mathematician—now imagine that difference multiplied infinitely. The hereafter is infinitely vaster and more complex than this world. So how can we expect the false and insignificant tools of this world to rescue us from the unsuitable conditions we will face in the hereafter?
Moreover, in this world, we may stray so far from our true self and our human dimension that even the greatest intercessors of the hereafter might not be able to reach and rescue us. For instance, a teacher can help his student in an exam when the student himself has general information about the subject and only has problems with its details. Now suppose that a student has not written anything on his paper and still expects help from his teacher. It is natural that in such a situation the teacher will not be able to help him. Similarly, we can also receive intercession when we have no problems in the essence of our religion and our relationship with Allah and the Infallible Ones. That is, we should have a relative spiritual asset in the hereafter that allows us to receive help; in fact, to the extent that we distance ourselves from the state of human balance and a sound heart, we have distanced ourselves from receiving intercession.
In this article, we explored the conditions for receiving intercession. We emphasized that not only must we establish connections with intercessors of the hereafter in this world, but we must also live in a way that makes intercession possible in the hereafter.
Do you also hope to be interceded for in the Hereafter? How well have you prepared yourself for a relationship with the intercessors of the hereafter in this world?
[1]. Quran, 4:69