Analyzing the Concept of Seeking Intercession from the Deceased: Shi‘i Sources in Response to Wahhabi Evidence

The issue of seeking intercession from the deceased has become a theological challenge in the Islamic world as a result of the Wahhabi interpretation of monotheism. By emphasizing the characterization of seeking intercession as an act of polytheism, this movement bases its position on three principal premises: a distortion of the concept of worship, a distortion of the concept of lordship, and the denial of the possibility that the deceased can offer supplication. Adopting an analytical-critical approach and drawing on Shi‘i sources, the present study examines and critiques the third premise, namely, the claim that the deceased are incapable of supplication. The findings indicate that Wahhabi arguments concerning the “denial of the deceased’s ability to hear” and the “complete cessation of deeds after death” are inconsistent with the explicit indications of Qur’anic verses and Imami narrations affirming the continued ability of the deceased to hear, as well as their capacity to supplicate and seek forgiveness for others in the intermediate realm (barzakh). Ultimately, by refuting the argumentative foundations of the Wahhabi position in this regard, the study explains and establishes the legitimacy of seeking supplication from the friends of God.