A Study of Intercession in Purgatory in the Quran, Narratives, and the Thoughts of Allameh Tabataba’i

Although intercession is taken for granted among Muslims, whether its scope covers purgatory as well as resurrection has been a point of disagreement among Shi’a thinkers. This is so that intercession in purgatory leads to the remission of sins, and also promotes the spiritual rank of individuals. Allameh Tabataba’i has not accepted intercession in purgatory, and considers the aid of the infallibles in purgatory to be a kind of permission of authority from God in the world of purgatory. Therefore, he believes that intercession is not realized in the worlds prior to resurrection because in his view, intercession is done after it is decided whether the individual belongs to heaven or hell. He refers to certain narratives to support this view. In the present paper, the emergent views are studied, and Allameh Tabataba’i’s reasoning is criticized and analyzed. It is explained in the paper that considering ayahs and narratives and the non-exclusionary nature of the ayahs regarding resurrection and its inclusion of purgatory, and also considering the nature of purgatory and the existence of worldly phenomena in that world with a higher rank, and the continuous intercession of the Prophet (PBUH) in this world, in purgatory, and finally during the resurrection, and also with emphasis on the principle of intimidation and warning in the world in order to prevent sins being committed, and the principle of God’s mercy being more powerful than his wrath, and also the principle of rescue, intercession in purgatory can be proven.