Friday Prayer

اَلْحَمْدُ لِلّهِ بِجَمِیعِ مَحَامِدِه کُلِّهَا عَلَی جَمِیعِ نِعَمِهِ کُلِّهَا… اَلْحَمْدُ لِلّهِ مالِکِ الْمُلْکِ مُجْرِی الْفُلْکِ مُسَخِّرِ الرِّیاحِ فالِقِ الاْصْباحِ دَیّانِ الدّینِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمینَ اَلْحَمْدُ لِلّهِ عَلی حِلْمِهِ بَعْدَ عِلمِهِ وَالْحَمْدُ لِلّهِ عَلی عَفْوِهِ بَعْدَ قُدْرَتِهِ وَالْحَمْدُ لِلّهِ عَلی طُولِ اَناتِهِ فی غَضَبِهِ وَهُوَ قادِرٌ عَلی ما یُریدُ

Praise is to God with all his praises, for all his blessings. . . Praise is to God, the owner of the property, the operator of the orbit, the bender of the wind, the glory of the morning, the religion of the beliefs, lord of the worlds; praise is to God for his dream after his knowledge and thank God for forgiveness after his power, and praise be to God for his long patience in his wrath and he is capable to do what he wills 

و نشهد أن لا اله الا الله وحده لا شریک له، و أَنَّ محمداً عبده و رسوله ارسله بالهدی و دین الحق لیظهره علی الدین کله و لو کره المشرکون اوصیکم عبادالله و نفسی بتقوی الله و اتباع امره و نهیه، و اخوفکم من عقابه

And we bear witness that there is no god but God alone, without partner, and that Muhammad is his servant and messenger, he sent him with guidance and the religion of truth, that he might proclaim it over all religion, even if the polytheists hated it.

Common principles in the life of the prophets

Principle 14: Intercession and seeking divine mercy and forgiveness for their tribe

One of the common principles in the life of the divine prophets is their intercession for their tribes and seeking divine forgiveness and mercy for them. The purpose of intercession and seeking forgiveness is to instill a spirit of hope in man; however not to make the man proud of his sin and not to dare him in committing a crime. Intercession and seeking forgiveness may cause human beings do not get desperate of committing a crime or a sin through the temptations of Satan, which in itself might lead to more immersion in sin and transgression. The prophets introduce to human beings a God who has always kept the door of repentance open for sinners. There are words from Abu Sa’eed Abi al-Khair as following:

Return, whatever you are return, if you are an infidel, a blasphemer, or an idolater return;

These doors of us are not of disparate ones; return even if you have broken your repentance for hundred times;

The Qur’an, the heavenly books, the divine prophets, and the angels are all repellents of the outcomes (forgiveness) and removers of torment (intercession). The repulsion of the outcome by the Qur’an is what it says:

كِتَابٌ أَنْزَلْنَاهُ إِلَيْكَ لِتُخْرِجَ النَّاسَ مِنَ الظُّلُمَاتِ إِلَى النُّورِ بِإِذْنِ رَبِّهِمْ إِلَى صِرَاطِ الْعَزِيزِ الْحَمِيدِ؛

[This is] a Book We have sent down to you that you may bring mankind out from darkness into light, by the command of their Lord, to the path of the All-mighty, the All-laudable; (Abraham: 1)

Regarding the removal of the outcome and intercession by the Qur’an, Imam Ali says in Nahj al-Balaghah: 

وَاعْلَمُوا أَنَّهُ شَافِعٌ مُشَفَّعٌ وَقَائِلٌ مُصَدَّقٌ وَأَنَّهُ مَنْ شَفَعَ لَهُ الْقُرْآنُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ شُفِّعَ فِيهِ؛

Know that the Qur’an is an intercessor whose intercession is accepted and a speaker whose words are acceptable. Whoever the Qur’an intercedes for on the day of judgment will be subject to intercession. (Nahj al-Balaghah, sermon 176)

Intercession is sometimes carried out by the request of the prophet of God from God to eliminate the causes of sin and misguidance from the path of the tribe; however the personal characteristics of the prophets are also effective in their prayers.

According to the holy Qur’an, the prophet Noah, before asking for forgiveness for his tribe, asked God to remove the misguided people from the earth so that his tribe would not be misled and misguided:

وَقَالَ نُوحٌ رَبِّ لَا تَذَرْ عَلَى الْأَرْضِ مِنَ الْكَافِرِينَ دَيَّاراً؛ إِنَّكَ إِنْ تَذَرْهُمْ يُضِلُّوا عِبَادَكَ وَلَا يَلِدُوا إِلَّا فَاجِراً كَفَّاراً؛ رَبِّ اغْفِرْ لِي وَلِوَالِدَيَّ وَلِمَنْ دَخَلَ بَيْتِيَ مُؤْمِناً وَلِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَالْمُؤْمِنَاتِ وَلَا تَزِدِ الظَّالِمِينَ إِلَّا تَبَاراً.

And Noah said, ‘My Lord! ‘Do not leave on the earth any inhabitant from among the faithless. If You leave them, they will lead astray Your servants, and will beget none except vicious ingrates. My Lord! Forgive me and my parents, and whoever enters my house in faith, and the faithful men and women, and do not increase the wrongdoers in anything but ruin.’ (Noah: 26 – 28)

The prophet Abraham even seeks God’s forgiveness for his opponents. After showing the people the way to avoid sin, Abraham prayed to God and asked to remove the punishment that befell them as a result of their sin:

رَبِّ إِنَّهُنَّ أَضْلَلْنَ كَثِيرًا مِنَ النَّاسِ فَمَنْ تَبِعَنِي فَإِنَّهُ مِنِّي وَمَنْ عَصَانِي فَإِنَّكَ غَفُورٌ رَحِيمٌ؛

My Lord! Indeed they have misled many people. So whoever follows me indeed belongs to me, and as for those who disobey me, well, You are indeed all-forgiving, all-merciful. (Abraham: 36)

The prophet Moses, after facing the deviation of his tribe and seeing them worshiping a calf; tried to correct the path of his tribe, brought seventy of them with him to the place of promise with God and prayed for forgiveness of all:

وَاخْتَارَ مُوسَى قَوْمَهُ سَبْعِينَ رَجُلًا لِمِيقَاتِنَا … أَنْتَ وَلِيُّنَا فَاغْفِرْ لَنَا وَارْحَمْنَا وَأَنْتَ خَيْرُ الْغَافِرِينَ؛  وَاكْتُبْ لَنَا فِي هَذِهِ الدُّنْيَا حَسَنَةً وَفِي الْآخِرَةِ إِنَّا هُدْنَا إِلَيْكَ…

Moses chose seventy men from his people for Our tryst, … You are our master, so forgive us and have mercy on us, for You are the best of those who forgive; And appoint goodness for us in this world and the Hereafter, for indeed we have come back to You. (A’raf: 155 – 156)

The prophet Jesus tried to guide his people by repelling punishment or removing the outcomes while he was among his tribe. According to the holy Qur’an, this divine prophet asked God for forgiveness for those who would be in suffers of destruction and sin after his death:

مَا قُلْتُ لَهُمْ إِلَّا مَا أَمَرْتَنِي بِهِ أَنِ اعْبُدُوا اللَّهَ رَبِّي وَرَبَّكُمْ وَكُنْتُ عَلَيْهِمْ شَهِيدًا مَا دُمْتُ فِيهِمْ فَلَمَّا تَوَفَّيْتَنِي كُنْتَ أَنْتَ الرَّقِيبَ عَلَيْهِمْ وَأَنْتَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ شَهِيدٌ؛ إِنْ تُعَذِّبْهُمْ فَإِنَّهُمْ عِبَادُكَ وَإِنْ تَغْفِرْ لَهُمْ فَإِنَّكَ أَنْتَ الْعَزِيزُ الْحَكِيمُ.

I did not say to them [anything] except what You had commanded me [to say]: ‘‘Worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord.’’ And I was a witness to them so long as I was among them. But when You had taken me away, You Yourself were watchful over them, and You are witness to all things. If You punish them, they are indeed Your creatures; but if You forgive them, You are indeed the All-mighty, the All-wise.’ (Ma’ede: 117 – 118)

The holy prophet Mohammad was both the intercessor and defender of the torment of the muslim tribes and the intercessor of the outcomes. The holy Qur’an says about the effect of a prophet seeking forgiveness for sinners:

وَلَوْ أَنَّهُمْ إِذْ ظَلَمُوا أَنْفُسَهُمْ جَاءُوكَ فَاسْتَغْفَرُوا اللَّهَ وَاسْتَغْفَرَ لَهُمُ الرَّسُولُ لَوَجَدُوا اللَّهَ تَوَّاباً رَحِيماً؛

We did not send any apostle but to be obeyed by Allah’s leave. Had they, when they wronged themselves, come to you and pleaded to Allah for forgiveness, and the Apostle had pleaded for them [to Allah]for forgiveness, they would have surely found Allah all-clement, all-merciful. (Nesa: 64)

Prohibition of asking for forgiveness and its ineffectiveness

According to the verses of the holy Qur’an, there are two groups that have eliminated the field of divine forgiveness, so God firstly forbids the prophet and the believers from asking for forgiveness for them, and secondly says that if they ask for forgiveness for them many times, they will not be forgiven by God. The holy Qur’an says about the polytheists:

مَا كَانَ لِلنَّبِيِّ وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا أَنْ يَسْتَغْفِرُوا لِلْمُشْرِكِينَ وَلَوْ كَانُوا أُولِي قُرْبَى مِنْ بَعْدِ مَا تَبَيَّنَ لَهُمْ أَنَّهُمْ أَصْحَابُ الْجَحِيمِ؛

The Prophet and the faithful may not plead for the forgiveness of the polytheists, even if they should be [their] relatives, after it has become clear to them that they will be the inmates of hell. (To’be: 113)

Holy Qur’an also says about the hypocrites:

سَوَاءٌ عَلَيْهِمْ أَسْتَغْفَرْتَ لَهُمْ أَمْ لَمْ تَسْتَغْفِرْ لَهُمْ لَنْ يَغْفِرَ اللَّهُ لَهُمْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يَهْدِي الْقَوْمَ الْفَاسِقِينَ؛

It is the same for them whether you plead for forgiveness for them, or do not plead for forgiveness for them: Allah will never forgive them. Indeed Allah does not guide the transgressing lot. (Monafeghun: 6)

اسْتَغْفِرْ لَهُمْ أَوْ لَا تَسْتَغْفِرْ لَهُمْ إِنْ تَسْتَغْفِرْ لَهُمْ سَبْعِينَ مَرَّةً فَلَنْ يَغْفِرَ اللَّهُ لَهُمْ؛

Whether you plead forgiveness for them or do not plead forgiveness for them, even if you plead forgiveness for them seventy times, Allah shall never forgive them because they defied Allah and His Apostle; (To’be: 80)

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