The Honour of Prophets — Page 37
37 the breast of its mother and desires to draw out milk by virtue of its natural instinct, the mother immediately feels that just as the soft and tender lips of her wailing child touch her breast, milk gushes forth from her and pours into the baby’s mouth. The same law applies to such children who seek and thirst for spiritual milk. Need for Intercession On this occasion, the question may arise as to why man stands in need of intercession and why it is not permissible for a person to seek pardon directly from God through repentance and forgiveness. The law of nature itself answers this question. It is an established fact, which none can deny that the system of procrea tion not only in humans but also in animals, is based on intercession. As we have already stated, the Arabic word for intercession, that is shafa’at, originates from shaf ’un , which means to couple. Hence, how can there be any doubt in the fact that all the blessings of pro creation have and continue to issue forth from coupling? Inner qualities, faculties and physical features descend from one person to another in this way, i. e. they are the result of union. Similarly, within the animal species, all the qualities which are transmitted among animals from their progenitors, such as in the case of a goat, ox,