Shafa'a
[1] Accordingly, Shafa'ah is a form of prayer to God by one who is near to Him on behalf of a member of the believing community seeking deliverance from eternal damnation (though not necessarily from temporary punishment).
[4] Another issue is whether using holy persons as mediators to God "with a specific request in mind" is halal (allowed) or "an unconscionable innovation (bidʻah), turning Muslims into idolaters".
[5] Another issue is whether focusing on intercession runs the risk of emboldening people to committing sins, it should be considered as a ray of hope which lead sinners to the right path after they have wronged themselves.
Shia also extend the idea of mediation to include The Twelve Imams and other "intimate friends of God" (Awliya).
(The Wahhabism movement accepts the belief in intercessor by Allah, but condemns as an unbeliever anyone who believes in intercession of anyone other than God.
[6] It is also related by Ibn Abbas from the prophet who said the believers, as well, could intercede for their brothers, which is a kind of praying on one's behalf.
"[6] The basis for the "popular belief" that "all but the most sinful" will be saved from hellfire by Muḥammad's intercession and God's mercy at the final time, is a story from "the creeds (aqidah) of al-Ash'arī, al Nasafī, al-Tahāwī, and Abū Ḥanīfa": Then the Prophet says to God, please hasten the judgment for my community.
According to Tabataba'i the reality of seeking intercession is nothing more than the request for prayers from the intercessor, an examples of which, as related in the Quran, is the story of the sons of Jacob when they asked their father to implore God's forgiveness of them.
[6] It has also been objected that had Allah promised intercession, or had His prophets brought this message to their nations, the people would have been emboldened to disobey the commandments of God, and it would have defeated the whole purpose behind the institutions of prophethood and religion.
"[3] Muhammad himself has confirmed this kind of intercession in many occasions, one of which was when he said he would intercede on the Day of Judgment "for whoever has faith in his heart".
[6] The first documentary statement of Muhammad's eschatological role appears in the inscriptions of the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, completed in 72/691-692.
For Shiites, salvation was based on true belief but this was largely "measured by attachment to Ali and Ahl al-Bayt."
[2] In another Shiite tradition, the Prophet declares that walayah to himself and the people of his house is a guarantee against entering the fire.
[2][12] Ibn Babuwaihi has also recorded from Ja'far al-Sadiq who said "Our responsibility on behalf of mankind is great indeed, for if we call upon them to accept us they will not do so, and if we let them go their way they will not find other guides.
[2] some other traditions asserts that Shiites would be able to intercede for the members of their families (ahl baytihim) or those who aided them in their life.
