Question: In the book Kıyamet ve Ahiret (Doomsday and the Hereafter), the following hadîth-i sharîf is quoted:

“On the Day of Resurrection, people will appeal to Âdam ‘alaihis-salâm and say: ‘You are an honorable and blessed prophet that Allahu ta’âlâ created you. He made angels prostrate before you and blew from His spirit to you. Intercede for us with Him in order that He may make a start on Judgment and Reckoning, so that let us be condemned to whatever judgment He passes. And let all people go wherever He orders them to go. Let Allahu ta’âlâ, the Ruler and the Possessor of everything, treat His creation as He wishes,’ they will plead.

Âdam ‘alaihis-salâm will say:
‘I ate from the fruit of the tree Allahu ta’âlâ prohibited. At this time, I feel ashamed of Allahu ta’âlâ. Make an appeal to Nûh alaihis-salâm.’

Thereupon, they will stand for 1,000 years, consulting with one another. Then they will appeal to Nûh ‘alaihis-salâm and say pleadingly:

‘We are in a wholly unbearable state. Intercede for us so that our accounts will be speedily settled. Thus, we will be relieved of this punishment we have been suffering at the gathering place.’

Nûh ‘alaihis-salâm will say to them:
‘I prayed to Allahu ta’âlâ, as a result of which all humans existing on earth drowned. Therefore, I feel ashamed of Allahu ta’âlâ. Appeal to Ibrâhîm ‘alaihis-salâm because he is Khalîlullah; he may intercede for you.’

Again they will talk among themselves for another 1,000 years. Then they will appeal to Ibrâhîm ‘alaihis-salâm and say:
‘O father of Muslims! You are that person that Allahu ta’âlâ took you for His friend [khalîl]. Intercede for us in order for Allahu ta’âlâ to pass judgment among His creation.’

Ibrâhîm ‘alaihis-salâm will say to them:
‘When I was in worldly life, I spoke allusively three times. Making these allusive remarks, I struggled for the religion. When I am in this state, I feel ashamed of Allahu ta’âlâ to apply for permission to intercede. Appeal to Mûsâ ‘alaihis-salâm because Allahu ta’âlâ talked to him and showed him spiritual closeness. He will intercede for you.’

Again, they will consult with one another for 1,000 years. But in the mean time, the state they will be in will go from bad to worse, and the gathering place will narrow much. Then they will come to Mûsâ ‘alaihis-salâm and say:

‘You are that person that Allahu ta’âlâ talked to you. He sent down the Tawrât to you. Intercede for us so that the Reckoning will begin, for our biding here has lasted very long; the stampede here has mounted to an even greater degree; the feet have piled on top of one another.’

Mûsâ ‘alaihis-salâm will say to them:
‘I prayed to Allahu ta’âlâ so that the folk of Pharaoh would be punished for years with unpleasant things. And I requested that they would be made an example of for the generations to succeed. Now I feel ashamed to intercede. Appeal to ‘Îsâ ‘alaihis-salâm. He will intercede for you.’

Again they will hold a consultation among themselves for 1,000 years. Their suffering will gradually increase. Then they will come to ‘Îsâ ‘alaihis-salâm and say:

‘You are Allahu ta’âlâ’s spirit and word. Allahu ta’âlâ stated that you were a valuable person both in this world and in the next. Intercede for us with your Lord.’

‘Îsâ ‘alaihis-salâm will say:
‘My tribe considered me and my mother as deities besides Allah. How can I intercede when they also worshiped me? And they named me the Son and Allahu ta’âlâ the Father. But have you seen anyone who possesses a sealed sack but who does not have sustenance in it and who has reached the sustenance without breaking its seal? Appeal to Muhammad ‘alaihis-salâm, who is the highest and the last of prophets, because he has prepared his invitation and intercession for his Ummah.’

‘Îsâ ‘alaihis-salâm will tell about many other virtues of our Prophet, and all of them will have a deep yearning to meet Muhammad ‘alaihis-salâm without delay. They will come to him immediately and say:

‘You are Allah’s Beloved. A beloved is the most useful of means and agencies. Intercede for us with your Lord. We appealed to Âdam ‘alaihis-salâm, the first of prophets, but he directed us to Nûh ‘alaihis-salâm. Then we appealed to Nûh ‘alaihis-salâm, but he directed us to Ibrâhîm ‘alaihis-salâm. Then we appealed to Ibrâhîm ‘alaihis-salâm, but he directed us to Mûsâ ‘alaihis-salâm. Then we appealed to Mûsâ ‘alaihis-salâm, but he directed us to ‘Îsâ ‘alaihis-salâm. ‘Îsâ ‘alaihis-salâm, on the other hand, directed us to you. O Allah’s Messenger! We have no one to turn to after you.’

Our master the Prophet will say, ‘If Allahu ta’âlâ permits and consents to it, I will intercede for you,’ and will make intercession with Allahu ta’âlâ’s permission.”

Accordingly, will the prophets other than our Prophet not be able to make intercession?
ANSWER
All prophets will make intercession. The narration above refers to the first intercession. What is communicated is the fact that no prophet will intercede before our master the Prophet does. After the intercession of our master the Prophet, all prophets will intercede. In addition to prophets, angels, the Qur’ân al-karîm, the imams of madhâhib, scholars, the pious, the awliyâ’, martyrs, relatives, our brethren-in-faith, Muslim pilgrims, and others will intercede.

The intercession of our master the Prophet will be as follows:
1. He will rescue people from the torment of waiting at the place of gathering.
2. He will cause many people to enter Paradise without them being called to account.
3. He will rescue from the torment those Believers who deserve torment.
4. He will rescue Believers with many sins from Hell.
5. Some people will be waiting at a place called A’râf because their rewards and sins are equal. He will intercede for those so that they can enter Paradise.
6. He will intercede for the promotion of the people of Paradise.

Each of the seventy thousand people whom he will save from being called to account by interceding for them will intercede for seventy thousand other people, who will enter Paradise without being called to account at all. It is stated in ahâdîth:

(I will be the first to intercede on the Day of Resurrection.) [Muslim]

(All prophets will intercede.) [Bukhârî]

(On the Day of Resurrection, prophets and then scholars and martyrs will intercede.) [Ibn Mâja, Daylamî]

(On the Day of Resurrection, Âdam ‘alaihis-salâm will intercede for a billion people.) [Tabarânî]

(Relatives, those who are faithful to their trusts, your Prophet, and your brethren-in-faith will intercede.) [Daylamî]

(I swear that [Hadrat] ‘Uthmân will intercede for seventy thousand people and rescue them from entering Hell.) [I. ‘Asâkir]

(On the Day of Resurrection, an ‘abîd [one who worships much] will go to Paradise, but a scholar will wait to intercede for people.) [I. Mawardi]

(Your imams will be your intercessors.) [Dâra qutnî]

(A Muslim pilgrim will intercede for 400 people from his relations.) [Ramuz]

(In the sight of Allah, no one’s intercession is superior to the Qur’ân’s , be it a prophet’s or an angel’s or anyone else’s.) [Tabarânî]

(Read the Qur’ân because it will intercede on the Day of Resurrection.) [Muslim]

(The Qur’ân al-karîm will be either the intercessor or the enemy of its readers.) [Muslim]

(On the Day of Resurrection, Allahu ta’âlâ will say, “Angels, prophets, and pious people have made intercession. What has remained from now on is My great compassion.”) [Bukhârî]

As it is seen, prophets will intercede, too. However, intercessions will be of different types. The intercession of a relative of ours or the intercession of a Muslim pilgrim, unlike that of prophets, will not be across-the-board. The intercession of other prophets, on the other hand, will not be like that of our master the Prophet. All of them will be of varying degrees. In this regard, the hadîth-i sharîf you have quoted is not contrary to the ones quoted above.