One of the messengers’ functions while they are alive on Earth is to seek God’s forgiveness for the believers.
[4:64] We did not send any messenger except to be obeyed in accordance with GOD’s will. Had they, when they wronged their souls, come to you and prayed to GOD for forgiveness, and the messenger prayed for their forgiveness, they would have found GOD Redeemer, Most Merciful.
وَمَآ أَرْسَلْنَا مِن رَّسُولٍ إِلَّا لِيُطَاعَ بِإِذْنِ ٱللَّهِ وَلَوْ أَنَّهُمْ إِذ ظَّلَمُوٓا۟ أَنفُسَهُمْ جَآءُوكَ فَٱسْتَغْفَرُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ وَٱسْتَغْفَرَ لَهُمُ ٱلرَّسُولُ لَوَجَدُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ تَوَّابًا رَّحِيمًا
This is similar to the angels who also pray for the forgiveness of the believers.
[40:7] Those who serve the throne and all those around it glorify and praise their Lord, and believe in Him. And they ask forgiveness for those who believe: “Our Lord, Your mercy and Your knowledge encompass all things. Forgive those who repent and follow Your path, and spare them the retribution of Hell.
ٱلَّذِينَ يَحْمِلُونَ ٱلْعَرْشَ وَمَنْ حَوْلَهُۥ يُسَبِّحُونَ بِحَمْدِ رَبِّهِمْ وَيُؤْمِنُونَ بِهِۦ وَيَسْتَغْفِرُونَ لِلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ رَبَّنَا وَسِعْتَ كُلَّ شَىْءٍ رَّحْمَةً وَعِلْمًا فَٱغْفِرْ لِلَّذِينَ تَابُوا۟ وَٱتَّبَعُوا۟ سَبِيلَكَ وَقِهِمْ عَذَابَ ٱلْجَحِيمِ
All Parties Only Pray to God
Many traditionalists make a mistake in their understanding of 4:64 because they think they are praying to God through the messenger’s prayers. This is not what the verse states. The verse states that the beleivers go to the messenger, and they themselves pray to God, asking for His forgiveness, and then the messenger also prays to God for their forgiveness. So, both parties, believers and the messenger, are praying to God. The believers are not supplicating to the messenger, who in turn supplicates to God. Below is a word-by-word translation of that section of the verse.
| 9 | walaw | وَلَوْ | And if |
| 10 | annahum | أَنَّهُمْ | [that] they, |
| 11 | idh | إِذ | when |
| 12 | ẓalamū | ظَّلَمُوٓا۟ | they wronged |
| 13 | anfusahum | أَنفُسَهُمْ | themselves / their souls, |
| 14 | jāūka | جَآءُوكَ | they came to you |
| 15 | fa-is’taghfarū | فَٱسْتَغْفَرُوا۟ | and they asked forgiveness |
| 16 | l-laha | ٱللَّهَ | (of) God, |
| 17 | wa-is’taghfara | وَٱسْتَغْفَرَ | and [he] asked forgiveness |
| 18 | lahumu | لَهُمُ | for them |
| 19 | l-rasūlu | ٱلرَّسُولُ | the messenger, |
| 20 | lawajadū | لَوَجَدُوا۟ | surely they would have found |
| 21 | l-laha | ٱللَّهَ | God |
| 22 | tawwāban | تَوَّابًا | Redeemer, |
| 23 | raḥīman | رَّحِيمًا | Merciful. |
Why Rasool Rather Than Nabi?
Since this verse is temporally bound, some may ask why it uses the term ‘messenger’ (rasool) rather than ‘prophet’ (nabi), as a prophet (nabi) is typically used when referencing the prophet while he was living. More on that topic can be found in the following article. The reason for this is that this verse is not limited to only the prophet Muhammad but to any messenger, including messengers who lived before Muhammad or came after Muhammad, as this verse can be applied in the presence of any of God’s messengers.
After the Messenger Passes
While a believer can still pray to God for the forgiveness of their sins even without a messenger, the messenger can no longer pray for the forgiveness of a believer’s sins after they are dead. After the messenger dies, they will not know what is happening in this world. They do not know the individuals who are alive today and will not be able to hear their calls or pray for them. This is clearly articulated in the following verses, where we are informed that the messengers are unaware of what happened in this world after their passing.
[5:109] The day will come when GOD will summon the messengers and ask them, “How was the response to you?” They will say, “We have no knowledge. You are the Knower of all secrets.”
يَوْمَ يَجْمَعُ ٱللَّهُ ٱلرُّسُلَ فَيَقُولُ مَاذَآ أُجِبْتُمْ قَالُوا۟ لَا عِلْمَ لَنَآ إِنَّكَ أَنتَ عَلَّـٰمُ ٱلْغُيُوبِ
If we continue reading, we see Jesus’s testimony about his unawareness of what happened after his death and how the people began to worship him after his passing.
[5:116] GOD will say, “O Jesus, son of Mary, did you say to the people, ‘Make me and my mother idols beside GOD’?” He will say, “Be You glorified. I could not utter what was not right. Had I said it, You already would have known it. You know my thoughts, and I do not know Your thoughts. You know all the secrets.
[5:117] “I told them only what You commanded me to say, that: ‘You shall worship GOD, my Lord and your Lord.’ I was a witness among them for as long as I lived with them. When You terminated my life on earth, You became the Watcher over them. You witness all things.
[5:118] “If You punish them, they are Your constituents. If You forgive them, You are the Almighty, Most Wise.”
وَإِذْ قَالَ ٱللَّهُ يَـٰعِيسَى ٱبْنَ مَرْيَمَ ءَأَنتَ قُلْتَ لِلنَّاسِ ٱتَّخِذُونِى وَأُمِّىَ إِلَـٰهَيْنِ مِن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ قَالَ سُبْحَـٰنَكَ مَا يَكُونُ لِىٓ أَنْ أَقُولَ مَا لَيْسَ لِى بِحَقٍّ إِن كُنتُ قُلْتُهُۥ فَقَدْ عَلِمْتَهُۥ تَعْلَمُ مَا فِى نَفْسِى وَلَآ أَعْلَمُ مَا فِى نَفْسِكَ إِنَّكَ أَنتَ عَلَّـٰمُ ٱلْغُيُوبِ
مَا قُلْتُ لَهُمْ إِلَّا مَآ أَمَرْتَنِى بِهِۦٓ أَنِ ٱعْبُدُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ رَبِّى وَرَبَّكُمْ وَكُنتُ عَلَيْهِمْ شَهِيدًا مَّا دُمْتُ فِيهِمْ فَلَمَّا تَوَفَّيْتَنِى كُنتَ أَنتَ ٱلرَّقِيبَ عَلَيْهِمْ وَأَنتَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَىْءٍ شَهِيدٌ
إِن تُعَذِّبْهُمْ فَإِنَّهُمْ عِبَادُكَ وَإِن تَغْفِرْ لَهُمْ فَإِنَّكَ أَنتَ ٱلْعَزِيزُ ٱلْحَكِيمُ
Calling Upon The Dead Prophet
The Quran clearly states that the prophet would die.
[39:30] You (Muhammad) will surely die, just like they will die.
(٣٠) إِنَّكَ مَيِّتٌ وَإِنَّهُم مَّيِّتُونَ
Then, it informs us that on the Day of Judgment, his people will feud with one another.
[39:31] On the Day of Resurrection, before your Lord, you people will feud with one another.
(٣١) ثُمَّ إِنَّكُمْ يَوْمَ ٱلْقِيَـٰمَةِ عِندَ رَبِّكُمْ تَخْتَصِمُونَ
A clue to what they could be feuding regarding is that today millions of Muslims are praying to the prophet, thinking that he hears their prayers and will intercede on their behalf on the Day of Resurrection. They justify these actions through verses like 4:64, yet as we saw above, this only applied to when the messenger was alive, and also, the verse never commands the people to pray to the prophet, but only to God alone. Therefore, when they are praying to the prophet and asking for his intercession, they are really setting up a partner and intermediary beside God, and this, by definition, is shirk. The reality is that the prophet cannot hear their supplications, nor can he respond to them, and on the Day of Resurrection, he will disown them for setting him up as a partner next to God.
[35:14] If you call on them, they cannot hear you. Even if they hear you, they cannot respond to you. On the Day of Resurrection, they will disown you. None can inform you like the Most Cognizant.
(١٤) إِن تَدْعُوهُمْ لَا يَسْمَعُوا۟ دُعَآءَكُمْ وَلَوْ سَمِعُوا۟ مَا ٱسْتَجَابُوا۟ لَكُمْ وَيَوْمَ ٱلْقِيَـٰمَةِ يَكْفُرُونَ بِشِرْكِكُمْ وَلَا يُنَبِّئُكَ مِثْلُ خَبِيرٍ