Al-Shafa'a (Intercession) is a book by Dr. Mustafa Mahmoud that raises an explosive issue: the concept of intercession. The controversy stems from the fact that the Holy Quran absolutely denies intercession in many of its definitive verses, while in other verses, it is mentioned as restricted and conditional. Meanwhile, some hadiths attributed to the Prophet Muhammad narrate that he will stand as an intercessor on the Day of Judgment for sinners and those who committed major sins from his nation, bringing them out of Hell and into Paradise.

Dr. Mustafa Mahmoud says, "Read the biography through the Quran, you will understand the biography better... and you will understand the religion better... Do not be swayed by narrations and hadiths that promise you entry into Paradise without accountability just for uttering the word of monotheism... Monotheism is not just a word, but a reality that fills the heart, is translated into action, is confirmed by striving on earth for the interests of people, and is expressed by the movement of life as a whole."

The Quranic constants completely contradict the narrations of the Prophetic hadiths about him bringing out whomever he wills from his nation from 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 the worldly concept of intercession, and how the court of the Hereafter is an unseen realm where events cannot be measured by the standards of our courts and our world, which is full of deceit and doubt.

Excerpts from the book:

"Religion is a public matter and not a monopoly for anyone, nor for one mind over another. There is no religion as open to interpretation (Ijtihad) as Islam. 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 call to contemplate and ponder has been urging us for fourteen hundred years."

• Author: Mustafa Mahmoud
• Publisher: Dar Akhbar Al-Youm - Cairo
• Year of Publication: 2008
• Parts: 1
• Pages: 119
• Binding: Paperback
• Paper Type: White
• Printing Colors: One Color
• ISBN: 9770808415