“Every soul will taste death. And We test you with evil and with good as trial; and to Us you will be returned.” 21:35
This is a topic many of us try to forget or put to the side. It’s a reality we must remind ourselves of regularly. Allah says in the Qur’an:
“Say, ‘Indeed, the death from which you flee – indeed, it will meet you. Then you will be returned to the Knower of the unseen and the witnessed, and He will inform you about what you used to do.'” 62:8
No matter what we try to do, death is the only guarantee given to mankind and it can either be a huge torment or a great gift.
When death comes to the person they will be in the “agony (or intoxication) of death” (sakrat ul mout). This is a state when one will not be fully conscious of the surroundings. Allah says:
“And the intoxication of death will bring the truth; that is what you were trying to avoid.” 50:19
Once the moment comes Allah will remove the “veil” covering the eyes and one will see the previously unseen – angels.
There are many narrations regarding what happens after we pass away and the grave. The death of the mu’min, the true believer is explained in the following narration:
Imam Ahmad narrated that al-Bara’ ibn ‘Aazib (may Allah be pleased with him) said:
“Verily, when the believing slave is about to depart this world and enter the hereafter, angels from heaven with white faces will come down, faces as bright as the sun. They will bring with them one of the shrouds of Paradise and some of the perfume of Paradise. They will sit with the soul as far as the eye can see.
Then the Angel of Death comes to him and sits by his head and says, ‘O pure soul, come out to the forgiveness and pleasure of Allah.’ Then his soul comes flowing out like water flowing from a cup. Then he takes the soul, and no sooner does he seize it but the angels take it and place it in that shroud and perfume.
Then out of it comes the most excellent fragrance of musk to be found on the face of the earth. Then they ascend with it and they do not pass by any group of angels but the angels ask, ‘Who is this pure soul?’ and they reply, ‘It is so and so the son of so and so’ – using the best names by which he was known on earth.
Then they bring it to the lowest heaven, and ask for it to be opened, and it is opened for him. Those who are of high rank in each heaven accompany it until they approach the next heaven, and so it goes until it reaches the seventh heaven.
Then Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, says: ‘Record the book of My slave in ‘Illiyoon (the highest heaven) and take him back to the earth, for I created them from it, and I shall return them to it, then I shall take them out from it again.’
Then his soul is returned to his body and two angels come and make him sit up.”
The soul of the disbeliever is narrated as follows:
“The soul of a non-Muslim or evil soul is removed like a multi-pointed skewer is removed from wet wool that causes the veins and nerves to sever”. [Abu Dawud]
Allah says in the Qur’an:
“And if you could but see when the wrongdoers are in the overwhelming pangs of death while the angels extend their hands, [saying], “Discharge your souls! Today you will be awarded the punishment of [extreme] humiliation for what you used to say against Allah other than the truth and [that] you were, toward His verses, being arrogant.” 6:93
Note that Allah here uses the word “mujrimun” meaning “wrongdoers” so this is not limited to disbelievers.
“And if you could but see when the angels take the souls of those who disbelieved… They are striking their faces and their backs and [saying], “Taste the punishment of the Burning Fire.” 8:50
The narration continues:
“Then the angels ascend with it and they do not pass by any group of angels but the angels ask, ‘Who is this evil soul?’ and they reply, ‘It is So and so the son of So and so’ – using the worst names by which he was known on earth. Then they bring it to the lowest heaven, and ask for it to be opened, and it is not opened for him.”
Then the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) recited (interpretation of the meaning):
“… For them the gates of heaven will not be opened, and they will not enter Paradise until the camel goes through the eye of the needle” 7:40
Then he said, “Then Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, says: ‘Record the book of My slave in Sijjeen (the lowest Hell) in the lowest earth. Then his soul is cast down.” (some scholars mention the soul is dropped to the earth and the pain is felt).
Then he (ﷺ) recited (interpretation of the meaning):
“… and whoever assigns partners to Allah, it is as if he had fallen from the sky, and the birds had snatched him, or the wind had thrown him to a far off place.” 22:31
He said, “Then his soul is returned to his body and two angels come and make him sit up”. “
[Classed authentic by Sheikh al’Albaani].
The returning of the soul to the body is not as it is when the person is alive but in a different form. The stage between death and the day of resurrection is named “al barzakh” translating to “interval” or “barrier” between two things.
The two angels will then question the soul:
We must realise brothers and sisters, that on that day our tongues will only speak that which is in the heart. Whether we worshipped Allah in this world will determine what we say to these angels and will then determine our fate in the grave.
We will discuss specific narrations of the punishment and bliss in the grave in another post. For now, let remind ourselves of where we are inevitably going to end up. We must prepare ourselves for that moment from now.
Allah mentions the regret of the soul many times in the Qur’an – let us not be of one of them. These are a few:
“And spend [in the way of Allah ] from what We have provided you before death approaches one of you and he says, ‘My Lord, if only You would delay me for a brief term so I would give charity and be among the righteous.'” 63:10
“[For such is the state of the disbelievers and wrongdoers], until, when death comes to one of them, he says, ‘My Lord, send me back
That I might do righteousness in that which I left behind.’ No! It is only a word he is saying; and behind them is a barrier until the Day they are resurrected.” 23:99-100
“If you could but see when the criminals are hanging their heads before their Lord, [saying], ‘Our Lord, we have seen and heard, so return us [to the world]; we will work righteousness. Indeed, we are [now] certain.'” 32:12
The fact that we are still in this world is a gift of Allah – let us never forget his mercy upon the people who turn back to Him in this life:
“Say, ‘O My servants who have transgressed against themselves [by sinning], do not despair of the mercy of Allah . Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. Indeed, it is He who is the Forgiving, the Merciful.'” 39:53
In the final ayah of the surah, Allah lays out who we should be aspiring to be like and the path of those which we need to avoid.
We previously asked Allah to guide us to his straight path and now we mention those whom we want to be with: those that have already reached the end of His path – the companions of the prophet (ﷺ) and those who have passed away as noble Muslims.
Notice the word “an’amta” is in the past tense meaning those Allah had bestowed favour upon. The word is derived from “lo’ooma” which essentially means softness. We as humans see the path of Allah as difficult but what Allah is telling is here is that if His favour comes, the path will be made soft and easy.
Another point to mention here is that the ayah says that Allah is the one who has showered the favour upon His people, thus to remind us that even the most noble of people in the past were still only guided because of Allah’s mercy towards them.
Think of the poople who are alive today as the students and those who have passed away as the graduates. We as the students must learn from those who have completed the course of Islam. All the stories in the Qur’an about the good people Allah has guided. All the prophets and the companions mentioned in the hadiths. These are who we should be looking to follow. Allah has essentially showed us their portfolios and all we have to do is copy.
The paths we should avoid are mentioned as the path of those who have earned Allah’s anger and those who are astray. What’s interesting is that in the Arabic phrasing there is no mention of “Allah’s anger”. “Al maghdoob alayhim” basically translates to “those who are receiving anger” meaning that the anger is coming from more than one source – from Allah, from the angels, from the believers, from the disbelievers on the day of judgement etc.
Those who are “astray” is better translated as those who are “lost”. Allah uses the word “dalleen” which is a noun; in Arabic grammar, a noun is usually permanent while a verb is usually temporary. Thus what Allah is telling us here is that the lost ones will always be around, we will always have to look out for them.
So what separates the two?
Think of it this way: if you had 2 sons or daughters and you gave instructions to one of them that they are both not allowed to eat any sweets (candy) while you are out. You come back and you find them both eating, who will you be more angry at? The one you instructed directly of course. Those who are receiving anger are those who know what the right path is and still disobey, while those who are lost simply do not know any better.
However, is ignorance a justifiable plea of innocence? Let’s say someone was caught speeding and got pulled over. Would it be justified to simply let the speeder off simply because they claim they didn’t know? The ignorant one must study, ask, dig, search for answers. We are all born with the fitrah: a pre-disposition to yearn for the path of Allah thus being ignorant simply cannot be an excuse to be astray.
The prophet (ﷺ) said: “Those who have earned the anger are the Jews and those who are led astray are the Christians.”[Tirmidhi]
The example of the Jews is linked to those who have earned anger since they were given direct knowledge and they simply abandoned their beliefs. While the example of the Christians is used to portray those who are lost since they lost the true knowledge and thus were lead astray.
Interestingly though, this ayah is made as a general statement, meaning this can apply to any of us. The Jews and Christians were given as an example for us to avoid following their actions that are explained by Allah in the Qur’an. Therefore, it does not give anyone the right to look down upon other religions. At the end of the day someone who claims to be Muslim by name can very well be of those who have earned anger.
May Allah guide us all, Muslims and non-Muslims, to His straight path.
After making the statement that we seek help from the creator when we make our own efforts, Allah lines up another ayah which essentially summarises what we need help in: guidance. He is telling us here that in order to take care of everything else in life we must seek His guidance.
We look around the world and our idea of a better life is always some sort of wealth or materialistic success. If we compare someone living in a mansion compared to another that is homeless, immediately our assumption is that the guy in the mansion is the obvious winner.
Look at Islamic history, take the time of Musa for example – he was under the ruling of the Pharoah and after an incident that took place in the village Musa had to run away with no possessions whatsoever, while the Pharoah was living large in his palace. Yet if we understood the value of Islam we would know that Musa was always better off because he had guidance and the Pharoah did not.
It’s easy for us to talk about prophets who had a very clear belief in this notion but for us to think this way is very difficult. To see a beautiful villa or a really nice car or whatever it may be and truly remind ourselves that it is not real success is the challenge that we face every day.
We need to programme ourselves to remember that the ultimate success is with Allah – His guidance that will lead to eternal bliss. The fact is always the same in this world – whatever we see around us will end, whatever materialistic gain it may be it has an ending and that ending can be tomorrow, and even through it all it is still nothing compared to what Allah has prepared in the afterlife.
There’s an interesting point to mention with the grammar here – the ayah says “guide us” when Allah could have said “guide me“. Why is this?
The message being sent across here is that we as Muslims have to be together, there has to be a community – an individual being alone simply does not work in this life.
So where are we asking Allah to guide us? “Assirata almustaqeem” is commonly translated as the “straight path” yet it goes a little deeper than that. “Asirat” is derived from the word “surat” which is a long straight sword and linguistically it means a path to which there is no alternative route. Interestingly this word does not have a plural in the Arabic language to emphasise its singularity, the absolute one path.
Another point to make here is that guidance is not the same as knowledge. Guidance is a constant request that we must all seek every single day of our lives. One may have a lot of knowledge but lack in guidance.
There are many university lecturers or very knowledgeable people who have extensive understanding about the deen and teach it to others yet they themselves are non-Muslims. Another example are those who have a deep understanding about the Qur’an, Sunnah, islamic rulings, they can know all the references and theories, yet their behaviour completely contradicts their knowledge.
Guidance does not increase with knowledge, it increases with sincerely asking Allah for it. We live in a culture where knowledge is glorified and guidance is secondary. No doubt that knowledge is important, but guidance, transforming oneself for the better, begging Allah for His counsel, these should be the priority.
“Almustaqeem” comes from “istiqama” which is to stand straight. So together the phrase essentially means “the straight upwards path”. Let’s paint the picture: it is a straight path that goes up, as one climbs one moves away from the earth and gravity will be against that person pulling them down.
Now think of Allah path as a straight upwards ladder, the higher we climb the further away from the dunya we get and our temptations will be trying to pull us down. Also, the higher we are the more dangerous the fall is; for example if there was someone who was high up with Allah’s guidance then goes astray, the fall will be more devastating that those who are lower and this is the humbling notion of this ayah.
We strive and struggle to stay on Allah’s path but we should never tell ourselves that we have done enough or that we are fully guided or that temptations can never get to us. The only time gravity stops working on us is when we leave the dunya and it’s same with temptations, until then we must humble ourselves. No amount of worship or dua or knowledge can get rid of the desires and temptations of this world – all they can do is help us control them.
Before getting to this ayah Allah gave us an introduction to Himself, each of which is individually enough to make us submit to Him. The first trait was the fact He deserves praise and thanks and His position as our master – if those weren’t enough then comes a’rahman and a’raheem – if that wasn’t enough He puts us in our place by reminding us of the day of judgement in which we will all stand.
After these reasons, we are more than ready to submit thus the introduction to the next ayah “it is you we worship”. What’s interesting here is that Allah did not say “you will worship me” which implies compulsion. Instead He puts those words in first person as in: this is what you should be saying: “iyyaka na’budu” which briefly translates to “it is only and entirely to you that we give ourselves into slavery and worship”.
The first 3 ayahs are talking about Allah, yet in this ayah we are talking to Allah and not about Him which is as a result of His trait as a master that listens to the slave. It is a very powerful notion and is mentioned in Al-Fatiha as a scope to the rest of the Qur’an for us to always keep in mind that He is always paying attention to each and every one us.
“Iyyaka na’budu” is a declaration of slavery to Allah. It is a statement telling Allah that we give up our independence and it is the only time we are truly free in this dunya.
Think about it this way: every single person in the world is enslaved to something whether they know it or not. Either they’re enslaved to their body or temptation or desires or peer pressure or culture or money or whatever it may be – we are all shackled one way or another.
Now when we enslave ourselves to the creator none of these things will keep us chained. You don’t have to look a certain way for society to accept you; you don’t have act a certain way or pretend to fit in because the one that you need to impress is Allah – it’s a form of independence from the shackles of the world.
Allah specifically uses the word “abada” here derived from the word “ibada” which does not merely mean worship but also enslavement. This is because it can be the case that a Muslim carries out worship but does not have the attitude of a slave.
What exactly is the definition of a slave? Essentially it comes down to: someone who carries out the instructions of their master and does not do what they want unless the master allows for it.
The main connection between master and slave is guidance and there cannot be guidance without instructions, thus the second half of the ayah “iyyaka nasta’een”. “Nasta’een” derived from “isti’ana” is the kind of help we ask for when we are struggling and to struggle with something means that we are already trying to fulfil it. Doing nothing and asking for help with something simply does not fit into this category.
This is essentially telling Allah that we are already struggling with something but we simply cannot do it ourselves, thus we need His help. It also tells us that if we’re not making any effort then we have no right to ask Allah for assistance. An example could be the person that wishes to stay away from zina yet they’re not fulfilling their daily prayers. How do we hope for Allah’s help when we are not trying?
“Isti’ana” is a formula for life. Throughout the Qur’an we read stories about previous nations and prophets and the main theme is these stories is that struggle is first then Allah’s help comes after. Musa suffers against the Pharoah then Allah gives Him victory over the whole nation; the wife of Pharoah struggles through being the spouse of a monster and then she’s guaranteed jannah; Yusuf is caged in prison then Allah gives Him leadership; Maryam suffers as a single mother alone in the desert then she’s given rest through the prophet Isa and an honourable status with Allah, and many more.
One thing we must be weary about is that we recite this ayah throughout the day in front of Allah. If we tell Allah that we submit to Him and that we are in need of help because we are already trying, yet we are constantly sinning and not struggling to get better at all then we are not just lying to ourselves.
Surat Al Fatihah is the greatest surah in the Qur’an (as mentioned by the prophet (ﷺ); one which we recite many times throughout the day in salah yet many of us barely understand what we are saying in these ayahs. Let us explore the only surah which Allah commented on in the Qur’an:
“And We have certainly given you, [O Muhammad], seven of the highly praised [verses] and the great Qur’an.”
[15:87]
The Fatiha works as the lens of the Qur’an – meaning we look at the rest of Allah’s word through the Fatihah; it pairs with all surahs.
Firstly, we know from the hadith Qudsi that Surah Al Fatiha begins with “alhamdulillahi rebi al ‘alameen” and not with “bismillahi al rahmani al raheem”. The prophet (ﷺ) said:
“Allah Almighty said: I have divided prayer between myself and my servant into two halves, and my servant shall have what he has asked for.
When the servant says ‘all praise is due to Allah the Lord of the worlds,’ Allah says: My servant has praised me.
When he says ‘the Gracious, the Merciful,’ Allah says: My servant has exalted me.
When he says ‘the Master of the Day of Judgment,’ Allah says: My servant has glorified me and my servant has submitted to me.
When he says ‘you alone we worship, you alone we ask for help,’ Allah says: This is between me and my servant, and my servant will have what he has asked for.
When he says ‘guide us to the straight path, the path of those whom you have favoured, not those who went astray,’ Allah says: This is for my servant, and my servant will have what he has asked for.”
From this scholars can derive that the surah begins from that Ayah.
الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ
Praise and thanks belongs to Allah
Alhamdu lillahi rabbi al ‘alameen
Many translations mention only “praise” belongs to Allah yet this is a mistake seeing as the Arabic word for praise is “madh” (مدح). Allah here uses “hamd” (حمد) specifically to combine both praise and thanks which is “shukr” in Arabic (شكر).
He could have easily used both words in Arabic saying “al madhu wa al shukru lillahi” (الحمد و الشكر لله). However, Allah chose the combined word (alhamd) which means both – this is because in Arabic when two things are separated with “and” (و) it also separates the meaning.
Allah wanted us to be thankful and to praise him at the same time as they are not one and the same.
Moving to “rabbi al’alameen”, Allah here is announcing himself as the owner of the worlds. After introducing His name to us, Allah chooses one of His many attributes to associate with His name “Allah” and that is “Rab”. The attribute rab is broken down into many different attributes:
Malik: the owner.
Murabi: one who ensures the growth; someone who takes care of something so that it can grow.
Mun’im: the one who is giving something gifts/blessings.
Al Kayim: the one who makes sure His creation stays together and does not fall apart.
A’sayid: the one who has full authority.
To sum this up Allah is the owner thus making us His property. He takes care of us as we grow; gives us gifts such as sight and hearing; makes sure we stay together – imagine if Allah were to stop taking care of our hearts that are beating in our chests even for a second we will be dead; and He has full authority to do whatever he pleases with us. This is “Rab” and it is the relationship that Allah chose to associate Himself with us first before any other.
الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ
The Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful,
Arrahmani arraheem
These two words may seem to mean the same thing but they both have different contexts. They both translate to ” merciful”, however the first word “A’rahman” is in the context of the present time. Allah is presenting His mercy upon mankind in the dunya. “A’rahman” is a name He associated Himself with not a description; which means that His mercy is unparalleled – we as humans cannot ever understand the extent of this.
“A’raheem” was broken down by scholars as meaning: merciful in the hereafter. This is to show Allah’s mercy throughout our entire lives here in this world and in the next.
However, the next ayah in this surah reminds us of our place with Allah:
مَالِكِ يَوْمِ الدِّين
Sovereign of the Day of Recompense.
Maliki yawmi addeen
After mentioning Allah’s mercy, He reminds us that the day of judgement is coming and that He is the master of that day. This ayah is for the people who try to take advantage of Allah’s love and mercy.
These people will sin without thinking about it, telling themselves and others “but Allah’s the most merciful, he will forgive me”. This ayah puts us all in check – Allah’s love maybe upon us but so is His justice. He is the owner of that day and none other than Him will have any control.
There’s a perfect balance here between Allah’s mercy and justice; on one hand He is the entirely merciful and on the other He is the ultimate judge on the day of recompense.
These first 3 ayat are a complete introduction to Allah – everything we need to know about Him. When someone asks who our God is in Islam, these 3 ayat are enough to cover everything about Allah.
First thing He tells humanity is that He deserves praise and thanks.
Second thing is that He is our master.
Third thing He mentions is that He is not like any other master – He has extreme love and mercy for His slaves.
The last thing is that He will deal justly with those who take advantage.
In the next part we will cover the second half of the surah insha’Allah. Let us try remember the meanings of these ayahs during salah.
There are many common actions many of us Muslims do everyday which are not part of the Sunnah i.e. there is no mention of the Prophet (pbuh) ever doing. We’ll go through a few of them here.
Just remember this is not a discussion on whether these things are haram/not haram or innovations, we are simply going to distinguish between what the Prophet (pbuh) did and did not do. He is the perfect role model and following his exact teachings is the only way to come closer to Allah.
Lifting hands to make dua after salah
So this is an extremely common action done on a daily basis amongst the Muslim community and many of us will be surprised to know that the Prophet (pbuh) never did this. There is no hadith mentioning that he ever brought his hands up to make dua after completing a prayer whether for himself or dua as a group.
In fact there are a few other times during and around the prayer that the Prophet (pbuh) made dua, here are 3:
Between Athan and Iqamah: Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said: “Du’a is not rejected between the adhan and iqamah, so engage in du’a (supplication).” [Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 212; Abu Dawud, 437; Ahmad, 12174. Classed as sahih by al-Albani in Sahih Abi Dawud, 489]
In sujood: Abu Huraira reported: The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said, “The servant is closest to his Lord during prostration, so increase your dua therein.” [Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 482]
After tashahud before making salam: Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said: “When any one of you recites the tashahud, let him seek refuge with Allah from four things – from the punishment of Hell, the punishment of the grave, the trials of life and death, and the evils of the Dajjal, then let him pray for himself for whatever he wants.” [Narrated by al-Nasai, 1293].
Let us follow these times to make dua instead of making them after the prayer has concluded.
Wiping the face or kissing the hands after concluding a dua
Sheikh ibn Uthaymeen explains:
Wiping the face with the hands after making du’aa’ is more likely to be not prescribed in Islam, because the ahaadeeth that have been narrated concerning that are da’eef (weak). Shaykh al-Islam (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: They cannot be used as evidence. If we are not certain or we think it most likely that this is not prescribed, then it is better not to do it, because Islamic rulings cannot be proven on the basis of mere conjecture, unless we believe it to be mostly likely to be the case.
What I think about wiping the face with the hands after du’aa’ is that it is not Sunnah. As is well known, the Prophet (pbuh) prayed for rain during his Friday khutbah and raised his hands, but it is not narrated that he wiped his face with them. Similarly in a number of ahaadeeth it says that the Prophet raised his hands, but there is no proof that he wiped his face.
Saying “sadaqa allah hadeem” after concluding recitation of qur’an
This is another extremely common practice many Muslims do every day. It will be another surprise to realise that this is also not part of the Sunnah – there is no mention of the Prophet (pbuh) ever saying these words after concluding a recitation nor was it a practice of his companions.
Raising finger only when saying Shahada in tashahud
So this is another very common action performed most likely out of attempting to analyse prayer actions using common sense i.e. it makes sense to raise the finger when saying the Shahada.
However, there is no mention of the Prophet (pbuh) raising his finger only for Shahada. In fact, he would keep his finger pointed throughout the entire tashahud.
It was narrated that ‘Abd-Allaah ibn al-Zubayr said: “When the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) sat during the prayer, he would place his left foot between his thigh and calf, and tuck his right foot underneath him, and place his left hand on his left knee, and place his right hand on his right thigh, and point with his finger.” [Sahih Muslim, 579].
There are differences of opinions amongst the schools of thought and scholars as to the details on whether the finger should be moving etc. However, there is no evidence mentioning that it should be raised only for the Shahada part of the Tashahud then retracted.
Leaving gaps between feet and shoulders when praying in the masjid or group
Many imams mention this to people praying in the mosques; that they should close the gaps between the feet and shoulders when lining up for Salat but many of us seem to ignore it. The importance of this is highlighted in the following ahadith:
It was narrated from ‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Umar that the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said: “Make your rows straight, stand shoulder to shoulder and close the gaps, and do not resist your brothers’ hands. Do not leave any gaps for the Shaytaan. Whoever complete a row, Allah will reward him, and whoever breaks a row, Allah will forsake him.” Abu Dawood said: What is meant by “Do not resist your brothers’ hands” is that a man should be easy-going if his brother moves him forwards or backwards to make the row straight. (‘Awn al-Ma’bood). [Narrated by Abu Dawood, 666; al-Nasaa’i, 819. Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh Abi Dawood, 620].
It was narrated that al-Nu’maan ibn Basheer said: “The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) turned to face the people and said, ‘Straighten your rows,’ three times, ‘for by Allah either you straighten your rows or Allah will create division among your hearts.’ And I saw men standing shoulder to shoulder, knee to knee, ankle to ankle.” [Narrated by Abu Dawood, 662; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh Abi Dawood, 616].
“Indeed, [O Muhammad], you do not guide whom you like, but Allah guides whom He wills. And He is most knowing of the [rightly] guided.” [28:56]
We all know people that are close to us who we wish we can guide. We try everything we can and nothing works. This issue effected our beloved prophet (ﷺ) even more than it will effect any of us. Muhammad (ﷺ) is Allah’s best creation and yet even he (ﷺ) did not have the power to change people’s hearts, as mentioned in another ayah:
“You, [O Muhammad], are not but a warner.” [35:23]
He (ﷺ) watched his uncle – the man who raised him – die as a disbeliever. He was the best prophet (ﷺ), teacher and reminder to mankind, yet many people around him (ﷺ) passed away as disbelievers. This is to remind us that we are not in charge of people’s hearts. We do not decide who is to be guided and who isn’t, nothing can be forced. Our role as parents, siblings, family members and friends is to remind each other and ourselves, and make dua that Allah guides us all as we call to Allah everyday in every salah in Surat Al Fatiha.
Most importantly, never give up on people, no matter how far astray we may see they have gone. Allah is the turner of hearts and he turns the hearts of whomever He wills and all is with justice, as He says:
..”Indeed, Allah leaves astray whom He wills and guides to Himself whoever turns back [to Him]” [13:27]
Let us remind ourselves that nobody is left astray unjustly, Allah knows what is in the hearts of the people that we do not see. May Allah turn all our hearts towards His guidance and His light.
Looking back at history, Islam was always a religion that offended people in one way or another. Our prophet (ﷺ) was always known to be great in character even before he became a prophet. He was known as “a-Sadiq al-Ameen” – the truthful and honest one but after he began delivering the message of Islam, the people started calling him a liar and a troublemaker, along with other insults. The fact is his character never changed, he was still extremely kind and soft with every soul, but it was the message that people were insulted by and thus they hated him for it.
This is Allah’s way – that when we stand with the Qur’an and His deen, there will be people that get offended and sadly this can be within the Muslims community itself. There are some aspects of Islam that many people get offended by, either because their subjective, post-modern opinions take over or they feel as if their values are being attacked.
Let us all remember something that Allah mentions at the beginning of Surat Al-Kahf:
[All] praise is [due] to Allah, who has sent down upon His Servant the Book and has not made therein any deviance.
[He has made it] straight, to warn of severe punishment from Him and to give good tidings to the believers who do righteous deeds that they will have a good reward
[18:1-2]
We can look back a mere 100 years ago in Western society – how people dressed back then for example was very different to how they dress now. What was appropriate beach wear back then was not at all as it is now. Society redefines what is right and wrong based on subjective moral values at the specific time – this is even more obvious in media. Let’s take movies and TV shows for example: what is considered fine on TV now would not have even been imagined back in the 70s or 80s – it’s a completely different world.
Allah tells us that His teachings have no deviancy whatsoever, no bend, that it’s straight path. Society, technology, the whole world around us can change but that values in His book will always remain sturdy. It does not matter what age we live in – what was considered wrong 1400 years ago in Islam has always been wrong and will always be wrong, and whatever was right will always be right no matter who may be offended by it. Allah tells us:
And say, “The truth is from your Lord, so whoever wills – let him believe; and whoever wills – let him disbelieve.”
[18:29]
We as Muslims must speak the truth; whoever wishes can accept it and whoever wishes can reject it. The sad reality we live in now is that the further along the timeline we go, Muslims have moved further and further away from Allah’s book and the Sunnah to the point where now we have people hesitating to speak the truth about Islam in fear that it may offend others or that it makes them stick out. The reality is, true Muslims will always stick out, they will never seem normal.
Our prophet (ﷺ) said: “Indeed Islam began as something strange and it will return to being strange as it began. So congratulations to the strange ones.”[Tirmidhi]
The problem with us today is that we try to fit in with modern society no matters the cost. We want to be like the rest of the world, we don’t want to be seen as weird or out of place. By definition we are the religion of Ibrahim – his whole nation thought he was strange including his own family, he got kicked out his home and the people tried to burn him alive. Why was this? He had no power or wealth, the only thing he had was Islam and he did not want to bend it.
The only fear we should have as Muslims is the fear of Allah, not the fear of being rejected by people.
This is not to say we become harsh towards others in an attempt to show the truth – the prophet (ﷺ) taught us to always be soft with Islam. Allah says:
So by mercy from Allah, [O Muhammad], you were lenient with them. And if you had been rude [in speech] and harsh in heart, they would have disbanded from about you. So pardon them and ask forgiveness for them and consult them in the matter. And when you have decided, then rely upon Allah . Indeed, Allah loves those who rely [upon Him].
[3:159]
Let us be gentle with others and speak the truth for Allah’s deen is a perfectly straight path without deviancy.
May Allah make us of those who enjoin upon the true Islam and hold on to it through the pressure that modern society has placed upon it.
This word has been corrupted by the media and the “Muslim” extremists. Nowadays anytime the word “Sharia Law” is mentioned it causes fear or discomfort in many people, even Muslims. Let us look at what Allah has to say in the Qur’an in an Ayah which talks about the origin of our deen:
“He has ordained for you of religion what He enjoined upon Noah and that which We have revealed to you, [O Muhammad], and what We enjoined upon Abraham and Moses and Jesus – to establish the religion and not be divided therein. Difficult for those who associate others with Allah is that to which you invite them. Allah chooses for Himself whom He wills and guides to Himself whoever turns back [to Him].” [42:13]
At the start of the ayah Allah uses the word “shara’a” which the verb form of the noun “sharia”. In modern Arabic a street is called “sha’ri'” which is where the noun is derived from. The translation “ordained” does not do this justice as the religion was carved out just as a road is carved to form a path.
In old Arabic they used to say “shara’a al ibl” which means someone took a camel all the way to water. What’s interesting about this expression is that the word “shara’a” means that the camel drank on its own and was notforced. So it takes all the effort to find water for a camel in the desert but when the camel gets there it can’t be forced to drink – from this we get Sharia.
This means that we as Muslims put in the effort to call people to the Deen and spread what we can of the knowledge Allah has given us, but at the end of the day it is up to the listener to make the choice of whether to take on the calling or not, just as the camel makes the choice to drink or not.
Then Allah ends by saying that He will guide those who turn back to Him, who open their hearts to Him, therefore it is not in our hands to impose the religion on people or take over a country forcing the public to follow Islam as the media portrays. Our duty is merely to spread knowledge about Islam, the real Islam, the deen that Allah ordained upon our prophets.
The Qur’an and narrations of the prophet (ﷺ) give us an idea of the events that will occur on the day of resurrection. However, scholars have only attempted to put these events in specific order of occurrence, but we will go through them nevertheless.
After the first blowing of the horn by the angel Israfil, every single thing through the heavens and the earth will cease to exist, except that of which Allah wills.
“The horn is then blown a second time and every soul is brought back to life in a new creation.And the Horn will be blown, and whoever is in the heavens and whoever is on the earth will fall dead except whom Allah wills. Then it will be blown again, and at once they will be standing, looking on.” 39:68
Let us note that there will be no more passing away; after the resurrection there will be no more death.
“That is their recompense because they disbelieved in Our verses and said, ‘When we are bones and crumbled particles, will we [truly] be resurrected [in] a new creation?'” 17:98
“Does man think that We will not assemble his bones?
Yes. [We are] Able [even] to proportion his fingertips.” 75:3-4
The day of judgement itself is going to be 50,000 years of reckoning.
“The angels and the souls will ascend to Him during a Day the extent of which is fifty thousand years.” 70:4
A day that will be made easy for the believer; the prophet (ﷺ) said: “For the believers, the (length of) the Day of Resurrection will be like the time between Zuhr and ‘Asr.” [authenticated by al-Albaani]
And will be made extremely difficult for the disbeliever:
“True sovereignty, that Day, is for the Most Merciful. And it will be upon the disbelievers a difficult Day.” 25:26
That day there will be no water except for the pools provided with each of the prophets, the biggest of which will be Muhammad’s (ﷺ). This fountain requires an invitation of which is only for the believers who will be recognised by their glowing hands, foreheads and limbs from the effects of Wudu’. Once someone drinks from this pool, they will never be thirsty again.
On that day there will be one shade and that is the shade under the throne of Allah. The sun will be placed above the heads of the people; the prophet (ﷺ) said: “On the Day of Judgement, the sun will draw near the servants until it is a mile or two away from them. Then the sun will burn them, and they will be submersed in sweat based upon the amount of their deeds.
From among them there will be those whose sweat will come up to their two heels. From among them there will be those whose sweat will come up to their two knees. From among them there will be those whose sweat will come up to their groins. From among them there will be those who will be bridled in sweat.” [Muslim]
This shade is for whoever Allah wishes, but there is a hadith for those who have their reserved place. The hadith mentions 7 of whom Allah will shade on that day which we will mention in a future post if Allah wills.
The following narration paints a picture of what happens after some time passes:
The prophet (ﷺ) said: “The believers will gather together on the Day of Resurrection and will say: ‘Should we not ask [someone] to intercede for us with our Lord?’ So they will come to Adam and will say: ‘You are the Father of mankind; Allah created you with His hand He made His angels bow down to you and He taught you the names of everything, so intercede for us with you Lord so that He may give us relief form this place where we are.’
And he will say: ‘I am not in a position [to do that]..’ – and he will mention his wrongdoing and will feel ashamed and will say: ‘Go to Noah, for he is the first messenger that Allah sent to the inhabitants of the earth.’
So they will come to him and he will say: ‘I am not in a position [to do that]..’ – and he will mention his having requested something of his Lord about which he had no [proper] knowledge, and he will feel ashamed and will say: ‘Go to the Friend of the Merciful (Abraham)’.
So they will come to him and he will say: ‘I am not in a position [to do that]. Go to Moses, a servant to whom Allah talked and to whom He gave the Torah’. So they will come to him and he will say: ‘I am not in a position [to do that]..’ – and he will mention the talking of a life other that for a life, and he will fell ashamed in the sight of his Lord and will say: ‘Go to Jesus, Allah’s servant and messenger, Allah’s word and spirit.’
So they will come to him and he will say: ‘I am not in a position [to do that]. Go to Muhammad (ﷺ), a servant to whom Allah has forgiven all his wrongdoing, past and future.’
So they will come to me and I shall set forth to ask permission to come to my Lord, and permission will be given, and when I shall see my Lord I shall prostrate myself.
He will leave me thus for such time as it pleases Him, and then it will be said [to me]: ‘Raise your head. Ask and it will be granted. Speak and it will be heard. Intercede and your intercession will be accepted.'” [Bukhari]
The judgement will then commence. Allah will bring the scales which will weigh one’s good and bad deeds which will decide one’s fate.
“And the weighing [of deeds] that Day will be the truth. So those whose scales [of good deeds] are heavy – it is they who will be the successful.
And those whose scales are light – they are the ones who will lose themselves for what injustice they were doing toward Our verses.” 7:8-9
This is the ultimate judgement by Allah, all will be done with absolute justice. Everything little thing we have done will be accounted for.
“Indeed, Allah does not do injustice, [even] as much as an atom’s weight; while if there is a good deed, He multiplies it and gives from Himself a great reward.” 4:40
“That Day, the people will depart separated [into categories] to be shown [the result of] their deeds.
So whoever does an atom’s weight of good will see it,
And whoever does an atom’s weight of evil will see it.” 99:6-8
There will be types of people when it comes to the scale:
The people who will enter paradise without measure: these are the elite Muslims. The prophet (ﷺ) said: “From among my followers, a group of 70,000 will enter Paradise without being asked for their accounts, Their faces will be shining like the moon.” [Bukhari] In another he (ﷺ) mentions: “My Lord has promised me that seventy thousand of my Ummah will enter Paradise without being brought to account or punished. With every thousand there will be (another) seventy thousand, and three handfuls of my Lord.” [Tirmidhi]
The people who will have an easy reckoning. Aa’ishah said: I asked the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) about the easy reckoning. I said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, what is the easy reckoning?’ He said: ‘A man’s sins will be shown to him, then he will be pardoned for them…’ [authenticated by al-Albaani] What this means is that Allah will not question every small thing one did; it will be more like a general check. It is for the righteous Muslims who stayed away from major sins and spent their lives in obedience to Allah.
The people who will be examined thoroughly. Every small thing will be questioned; it is for those with weak Imane. This hisab will be a punishment in itself. There will be some Muslims that go through this tormenting check of their actions and Allah will forgive them – they would have paid their dues through this rigorous questioning by Allah, while for others it’ll be the beginning of further punishment.
When the Hisab is over, Allah will destroy all sources of light forming intense darkness and give each person their own noor (light). Some people will have this light – the brightness of which will be determined by their good actions – that will guide them as they walk to Jannah. Others will not see anything as each person will only be guided by their own light.
“On the Day you see the believing men and believing women, their light proceeding before them and on their right, [it will be said], “Your good tidings today are [of] gardens beneath which rivers flow, wherein you will abide eternally.” That is what is the great attainment.” 57:12
This light will guide these people towards the “Sirat” – the bridge to cross before getting to Jannah. The prophet (ﷺ) said: “Somebody will then announce, ‘Let every nation follow what they used to worship.’ So the companions of the cross will go with their cross, and the idolators (will go) with their idols, and the companions of every god (false deities) (will go) with their god, till there remain those who used to worship Allah, both the obedient ones and the mischievous ones, and some of the people of the Scripture. Then Hell will be presented to them as if it were a mirage.
Then it will be said to the Jews, What did you use to worship?’ They will reply, ‘We used to worship Ezra, the son of Allah.’ It will be said to them, ‘You are liars, for Allah has neither a wife nor a son. What do you want (now)?’ They will reply, ‘We want You to provide us with water.’ Then it will be said to them ‘Drink,’ and they will fall down in Hell (instead).
Then it will be said to the Christians, ‘What did you use to worship?’ They will reply, ‘We used to worship Messiah, the son of Allah.’ It will be said, ‘You are liars, for Allah has neither a wife nor a son. What: do you want (now)?’ They will say, ‘We want You to provide us with water.’ It will be said to them, ‘Drink,’ and they will fall down in Hell (instead). When there remain only those who used to worship Allah (Alone), both the obedient ones and the mischievous ones…” [Bukhari]
As the Muslims left approach the area in which the Sirat will be placed, Allah will come to them. The prophet (ﷺ) said: “Then the Almighty will come to them in a shape other than the one which they saw the first time, and He will say, ‘I am your Lord,’ and they will say, ‘You are not our Lord.’
And none will speak: to Him then but the Prophets, and then it will be said to them, ‘Do you know any sign by which you can recognise Him?’ They will say. ‘The Shin,’ and so Allah will then uncover His Shin whereupon every believer will prostrate before Him and there will remain those who used to prostrate before Him just for showing off and for gaining good reputation.
These people will try to prostrate but their backs will be rigid like one piece of a wood (and they will not be able to prostrate).” [Bukhari]
The Sirat will then be placed over Hellfire through which every single Muslim will have to cross. The prophet (ﷺ) said: “Then the bridge will be laid across Hell. We, the companions of the Prophet said, O Allah’s Apostle! What is the bridge?’ He said, It is a slippery (bridge) on which there are clamps and (Hooks like) a thorny seed that is wide at one side and narrow at the other and has thorns with bent ends.
Such a thorny seed is found in Najd and is called As-Sa’dan. Some of the believers will cross the bridge as quickly as the wink of an eye, some others as quick as lightning, a strong wind, fast horses or she-camels. So some will be safe without any harm; some will be safe after receiving some scratches, and some will fall down into Hell (Fire). The last person will cross by being dragged (over the bridge).” [Bukhari]
As with the Noor given in accordance to the deeds and imane one had in the world, the speed at which the sirat is crossed is in accordance with the same. If one makes it across there will be all the prophets of Allah waiting for their people.
However, before the gates of jannah there is one last stage; the prophet (ﷺ) said: “when the believers cross the Hellfire, they will be stopped at a small arched bridge (Qantarah) before entering paradise and will be given retribution for injustices between them until they become purified.
(Then) they will be permitted to enter Jannah. So, by the One in Whose Hands is my soul, they will know their way to their homes in Jannah, better than they know their ways to their homes in dunya.” [Bukhari]
This is for those who have transgressed between each other. Sins such as backbiting, slander, stealing etc. Here the people will have to forgive each other or choose to take from the other’s deeds. This is where we find who the prophet (ﷺ) mentioned as “bankrupt”.
He (ﷺ) said: “Do you know who is the bankrupt?” They said: “The bankrupt among us is one who has neither money with him nor any property”. He said, “The real bankrupt of my Ummah would be he who would come on the Day of Resurrection with Salat, Saum (fasting) and Sadaqah (charity), (but he will find himself bankrupt on that day as he will have exhausted the good deeds) because he reviled others, brought calumny against others, unlawfully devoured the wealth of others, shed the blood of others and beat others; so his good deeds would be credited to the account of those (who suffered at his hand).
If his good deeds fall short to clear the account, their sins would be entered in his account and he would be thrown in the (Hell) Fire”. [Muslim]
The above is the worse case scenario; most of the people at this stage will be merely a readjustment of their level of Jannah because of such sins – let us take heed of this. The transgresser will be de-ranked while the transgressed against will be elevated.
Once these people are accounted for, the gates of Paradise will be presented. The people will be greeted by the Angels and the keepers of Paradise. Allah said:
“But those who feared their Lord will be driven to Paradise in groups until, when they reach it while its gates have been opened and its keepers say, “Peace be upon you; you have become pure; so enter it to abide eternally therein,” [they will enter].” 39:73
This is an overall image of what will happen on Yawm Ul Qiyamah. Some extra details will be mentioned in future posts if Allah wills – they will be linked to other topics.
