The Guiding Light — Page 352
S u rah al-Baqarah, Verse 255-258 352 stumbling in practice makes him fall short of the prescribed standard. God entitles such a one to ﺷﻔﺎﻋﺔ ( shaf a ‘a h ) and that also by his special permission; and when the Knower of all things considers one to be deserving of forgiveness, who is there to object that the case is not deserving? The Islamic ﺷﻔﺎﻋﺔ ( shaf a ‘a h ) is, in fact, only another form of repentance. For what is GHIJ ( taubah ) repentance but re-forming a broken connection or tightening up a loose one? But whereas the door of repentance is closed with death, the door of ﺷﻔﺎﻋﺔ ( shaf a ‘a h ) remains open. Moreover, ﺷﻔﺎﻋﺔ ( shaf a ‘a h ) is a means of the manifestation of God’s mercy and God says رمحىت ﻏﻀىب ﺳﺒﻘﺖ i. e. “My mercy is stronger than My anger” (Bukhari). Thus ﺷﻔﺎﻋﺔ ( shaf a ‘a h ) intercession is based on the manifestation of God’s mercy; and as God is not judge but ﻣﺎﻟک (M a lik) Master, there is nothing to stop Him from extending His mercy to whomsoever He pleases. Yet another reason why ﺷﻔﺎﻋﺔ ( shaf a ‘a h ) has been allowed by Islam is that by this means God honours His