Tafsir of Ta-Ha 20:109

109: On that day, intercession shall not avail...

"On that day": That is, on the day when the mentioned terrifying events occur. It is an adverbial for the Almighty’s saying: "Intercession shall not avail". It is permissible that it be a substitute for "the Day of Resurrection" or for the "day when they follow..." The meaning is that intercession shall not benefit anyone from among the intercessors.

"Except for him whom the Most Merciful has permitted": The exception is from the most general of the objects, and 'man' (him) is the object of 'tanfa'u' (avail), referring to the one on whose behalf intercession is made. 'Lahu' (for him) relates to an implied element connected to 'adhina' (permitted). In al-Bahr, it is stated that the lam is for causality, as is the case in the Almighty’s saying: "And He is pleased with a word for him"—meaning, He is pleased on his account with the word of the intercessor, regarding his affair, or He is pleased with the intercessor's word on his account and regarding his affair. Thus, the "word" in both estimations refers to the word of the intercessor. It is also permissible that it is not for causality, and the meaning would be: "He is pleased with a word that belongs to him [the one interceded for]," and here the word refers to the speech of the one interceded for, which, according to what is narrated from Ibn Abbas, is: "There is no god but Allah."

The summary of the meaning is: Intercession shall not avail anyone except the one whom the Most Merciful has permitted to have intercession made for him, and who was a believer. In every estimation, the point is that intercession shall not avail anyone except the one mentioned; as for others, it shall hardly avail them, even if it were assumed to have been issued by the intercessors who undertake intercession for the people, as in the Almighty’s saying: "So the intercession of the intercessors shall not avail them."

It is permissible in al-Bahr and ad-Durr al-Masun not to estimate an object for 'tanfa'u', treating it as an intransitive verb. The exception is from "intercession," and 'man' (who) is in the place of the nominative as a substitute for it by estimating an implied possessor, or in the place of the accusative as an exception by also estimating it—meaning: "Except the intercession of the one whom He permitted," and 'man' denotes the intercessor. The exception is connected, and it may be disconnected if nothing is estimated; in that case, the position of 'man' is in the accusative according to the dialect of the Hijaz, and in the nominative according to the dialect of Tamim.

The objection to the exception being from "intercession" by estimating a possessor is that the ruling on intercession from one who has not been permitted is that he does not possess it, and it does not issue from him at all. The meaning of "no intercession is accepted from him" is that he is not permitted to perform it, not that it is not accepted after it has occurred. Thus, informing about it merely by its lack of avail to the one interceded for might imply the possibility of its occurrence when He has not permitted it, which would undermine the requirement of the context of terrifying that Day.