The book "Al-Shafa'a" (Intercession) by Dr. Mostafa Mahmoud raises an explosive issue: intercession. The reason for the controversy is that the Holy Quran denies intercession in many of its definitive verses absolutely, while in other verses it mentions it as restricted and conditional. In contrast, some hadiths attributed to the Messenger of God (peace be upon him) narrate that he will stand as an intercessor on the Day of Resurrection for the sinners and major sinners of his nation, and that he will bring out of Hell those who were sentenced to punishment and admit them into Paradise.

Dr. Mostafa Mahmoud says: "Read the Seerah (Prophetic biography) through the Quran, you will understand the Seerah better... and you will understand the religion better... Do not be swayed by narrations and hadiths that promise you entry into Paradise without accountability merely for uttering the word of Tawhid (monotheism)... Tawhid is not just a word, but a reality that fills the heart, is translated into action, affirmed by striving on earth and for the interests of people, and expressed by the movement of life in its entirety."

The Quranic constants completely contradict the hadith narrations about him taking whomever he wills from his nation out of the Fire, which confirms that they could not have been issued by the Prophet.

The book is an "attempt to understand" the meaning of intercession as it appears in the Quran, how it differs from its worldly concept, and how the court of the Hereafter is an unseen realm where events cannot be measured against our courts and our world, which is full of deception and suspicion.

Excerpts from the book:

"Religion is a public affair and not a monopoly for anyone, nor for one mind over another. There is no religion as open to ijtihad (independent reasoning) as Islam, and the Quran is a miracle in its ever-renewing bounty, revealing new things in every age. Open the windows, brothers, and renew the air of thought that has stagnated. The divine questioning has been urging us for fourteen hundred years to reflect and contemplate."

• Author: Mostafa Mahmoud
• Publisher: Maktabat Misr - Cairo
• Edition Number: 1
• Year of Publication: 2013
• Number of Parts: 1
• Number of Pages: 109
• Binding Type: Paperback
• Paper Type: White
• Printing Colors: Monochrome
• ISBN: 9789771117308