Is Mediation Between God and Humanity Possible? A Critical Analysis of Intercession, Tawḥīd, and Individual Responsibility in the Qur’an

This study critically examines intercession (shafāʿah) and religious mediation in Islamic thought from a Qur'an-centric monotheistic (tawḥīd) perspective. Contemporary popular religiosity often ties salvation to the intercession of sanctified figures—prophets, saints (awliyāʾ), or shaykhs—creating tension with tawḥīd and the Qur'anic emphasis on individual responsibility. This research identifies the sources of this tension and establishes the Qur'anic boundaries of intercession. Employing an interdisciplinary methodology, the study analyzes intercession's semantic and theological framework through classical exegetical (tafsīr) and theological (kalām) traditions. It examines the prophetic office as exemplar rather than mediator, the sociological construction of religious authority, and the psychological dimensions of intercession as responsibility evasion. Hadith reports are evaluated using the "referral to the Qur'an" method (al-ʿarḍ ʿalā al-Qurʾān), engaging classical and modern thinkers including Ibn Taymiyyah, al-Ghazālī, Muḥammad ʿAbduh, ʿAlī Sharīʿatī, Muḥammad Iqbāl, and Malik Bennabi. Findings demonstrate that Qur'anic intercession belongs exclusively to God as exceptional grace dependent on His will. The expectation of intercession erodes moral responsibility, fosters passive dependency, and compromises tawḥīd's practical application. The study proposes the "Conscious Believer" model, grounded in unmediated worship, active responsibility ethics, critical reasoning, and social empowerment. This framework establishes tawḥīd not as mere theological doctrine but as a practical-ethical stance liberating individuals from mediating systems while demanding personal accountability. Keywords: Tawḥīd, Intercession (Shafāʿah), Individual Responsibility, Islamic Thought, Qur'anic Studies, Religious Authority