3. The Muttaqeen – the righteous – that Day

Let’s start with the ones mentioned in the Qur’an.

“Indeed, those for whom the best [reward] has preceded from Us – they are from it far removed. They will not hear its sound, while they are, in that which their souls desire, abiding eternally. They will not be grieved by the greatest terror, and the angels will meet them, [saying], ‘This is your Day which you have been promised.’” [21:101-103]

What is the reason for them feeling so secure on the Day of Judgment when everyone else is being terrorized and afraid? We have the answer for that in Qur’aan and Sunnah. These righteous men and women used to say this when they were in dunya: “Verily, We fear from our Lord a Day, hard and distressful, that will make the faces look horrible (from extreme dislikeness to it).” (76:10) Ibn Abbaas says that qantareera means a long day and Qatadah says it means a day of hardship. You would see the sorrow and despair on the faces of people. These righteous people used to say that they feared that day in the dunya, therefore Allah will make them safe on the Day of Judgment.

RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam says in Hadith Qudsi: Allah said: “In My Name, I will not combine for My servant two moments of peace or two moments of fear. If my servant does not fear the Day of Judgment in dunya, then they will fear it on the Day of Judgment. If they fear the Day of Judgment in dunya, then I will give them peace and tranquillity on the Day of Judgment.”

It’s much better to be afraid of the Day of Judgment in the dunya, because we know that the earlier the hardship, the easier it becomes in the end. If you commit a sin, it is much easier to wash away that sin while in the dunya than it is later.

How are the sins purified?

Ø  There are more than 11 ways, but briefly:

If you have committed sins, Allah will forgive and compensate for them by the hardships in dunya (disease, problems, disasters, financial difficulty, etc).

Ø  If that is not enough, then in the moments of death, the pain that you will feel when the soul comes out, that will take care of the sins.

Ø  If that is not enough, there will be punishment in the grave. If that is not enough, then the horror of the Day of Judgment.

Ø  If that is not enough, then the person will spend some time in the hellfire. Because the sins have to be cleared.

Allah will not admit anyone into Jannah, except if they are 100% pure. There is not impurity allowed in Jannah. You must pay for what you have done in this process. In dunya it is easy to purify these sins – all you have to do is make tawbah. The pain in the dunya is much easier than the pain of Akhirah. Allah says, “They will not have patience in Hellfire.” No one can handle the pain and suffering of Hell. It is easier to get out of the sins the earlier you try.

We have a lack of awareness of akhirah. We are unaware. SubhaanAllah, the issue of akhirah does not have 1% of the affect it had on the sahabah. Whenever RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam would talk about akhirah, they would cry and weep. They always had the meeting with Allah on their minds.

It is mentioned that ‘Umar ibn ‘AbdulAziz had all of what dunya could offer under his hands. He could own whatever he wants. He was ruling the greatest super power of the time – the Islamic khilaafa. It was the biggest super power of its time. ‘Umar once went to bed, his wife, Faatimah ibn ‘AbdulMaalik, said, “My husband went to sleep and suddenly he was shaking. He was crying until morning because he wouldn’t sleep. I asked him why, and he said, ‘I remember the day when I will be told to either go to Jannah or Hellfire. On that day, the final decision will be made.’ When he remembered that day, he was crying all night.”

The fear that the sahabah, the salifeen and the righteous had in itself is a form of ‘ibaadah. Having hope of Allah and fearing Allah’s punishment is a form of ‘ibaadah in itself.

Ibn AlQayyim says we have to have two wings: a wing of rajaa` [hope] and a wing of khowf [fear]. We have one wing to have good expectations of Allah, that He will be merciful, and that wing will be balanced by the fear of the severe punishment of Allah. If one outweighs the other, the bird cannot fly. If you only have good expectations, that will make you lazy and procrastinate. If you have too much fear, you will give up and think you cannot make it to Jannah. Do not go to either extreme, but have a balance. Always remind yourself of akhirah and that will develop the fear of Allah in the heart.