Tuesday, September 25, 2012

The Ones whom Allah will provide with Shade


There is no shade on the Day of Judgment – there are no mountains or buildings or trees; the land will be flat. There will be no shade, except under the throne of Allah. This is an exclusive group of people, not everyone can join. Allah will admit those people according to their qualities. What are their qualities?

RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said: “Seven are (the persons) whom Allah would give protection with His Shade on the Day when there would be no shade but that of Him (i. e. on the Day of Judgment, and they are): a just ruler, a youth who grew up with the worship of Allah; a person whose heart is attached to the mosques; two persons who love and meet each other and depart from each other for the sake of Allah; a man whom a beautiful woman of high rank seduces (for illicit relation), but he (rejects this offer by saying): ‘I fear Allah’ ; a person who gives charity and conceals it (to such an extent) that the right hand does not know what the left has given; and a person who remembered Allah in privacy and his eyes shed tears.” [Muslim, 5/2248]

1.      A just ruler
2.      Youth who grew up with the worship of Allah
3.      A person whose heart is attached to the mosques
4.      Two persons who love each other for the sake of Allah
5.      A man who refuse a beautiful woman by saying, ‘I fear Allah’
6.      A person who gives charity and conceals it
7.      A person who remembered Allah in privacy and his eyes shed tears

   1. An-Nawawi said that the first to be mentioned is the just ruler because his benefit would help everyone. Everyone would enjoy the justice of the ruler. The thing that would provide people with peace in al-dunya is justice. It would make them peaceful and secure. We underestimate justice. Ibn Taymiyyah says that the heavens and the earth are established with justice. With justice, the people will be well off, healthy, peaceful and safe. When the ruler is just, this justice permeates through the whole society. Because that ruler made people’s lives safe and peaceful, Allah will make his life peaceful in the hereafter.

   2. When people are in their youth years, sometimes they are not serious about the religion of Allah, but they are more willing to involve in the religion when they are older. You usually find that the younger the person is, the less serious they are about the religion. This is not true for everyone, of course. There are many youth that are serious about the religion, and the religion is built on the shoulders of the youth, but the youth are more playful. If a youth grows up worshipping Allah and never goes into a phase of growing astray, Allah will reward this youth with shade. That youth kept istiqaama (staying on the path of Allah continuously) and that youth has never been manipulated by evil.

   3. A man whose heart is attached to the masjid. Wherever that man would go, you would find him asking where the masaajid are. When they are travelling, they want to know where the nearest masaajid are; when they are at their homes, they want to go to the masjid when prayer time comes; they love the masjid. They don’t feel that someone is forcing them to go or that they have to get it off of their shoulders. AnNawawi says the meaning of this is that they love to pray jama’ah in the masjid, not that they want to stay in the masjid. We should not misinterpret it as somebody should just go to the masjid and do nothing there.

‘Umar ibn AlKhattaab came into the masjid one time and saw some people in the masjid. He asked them, “What are you doing?” It was the time for work. They said, “We are the ones who have tawakkul.” ‘Umar ibn AlKhattaab took his stick and hit them. He said, “You know that the sky does not rain gold and silver!” If you stay in the masjid, don’t expect gold and silver to fall from the sky onto your heads; you have to go earn your living. Once, RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam came into the masjid and saw one of the sahabah there, so he asked, “What are you doing in the masjid?” If it was ok for a person to stay in the masjid continuously, RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam would not have asked him, but he asked him because it was not the time for salah. The man said, “I have a lot of distress.” So RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam taught him the du’aa`:
      RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam told us a hadith about the munafiqeen [hypocrites] – if one of them is told that a harvest of dates will be handed out in the masjid for free, they would have came. Think about it yourself – if you find a lack of motivation to go to the masjid – ask yourself, “Would I go to the masjid if they offered $50 for every salah?” Imagine that! The masaajid would be packed! Allah subhaana wa ta’aala is offering you more. He is promising that He will give you shade on a day that is 50,000 years long.

   4. Two men who love each other for the sake of Allah will also be in that shade. They do not love each other for worldly benefits. They love each other for their righteousness and good akhlaaq. They came together and parted for Allah’s cause. They didn’t come to talk or conspire, etc. They came together for Allah. This is like the brotherhood of Musa and Harun. Musa ‘alayhis salaam said: “That we may glorify You much, And remember You much.” (20:33-34) That’s why Musa asked for his brother to be with him.Another example is Salmaan alFarsi and Abu Dardaa` or ‘Abdullah ibn Mas’ood, when he said to one of the sahabah: “Let’s come together to have imaan for a moment.”

   5. The next person to be in the shade is a man who was seduced by a beautiful woman and who also had a position of authority because he feared Allah. The best example of this is Yusuf ‘alayhis salaam. He was called by a very beautiful woman who was the wife of the owner of Yusuf. She had the ultimate authority over him. Nevertheless, he said no, and he suffered a lot because of this. Why is the person granted shade for 50,000 years for saying no? Because it is a very difficult thing to do. It is not just a word of saying, “I fear Allah.” It is extremely difficult. Allah will reward you according to the hardship and more. Apply this rule to any situation – the more difficult something is for you, the more the reward will be.

A side note of mine is that now-a-days our streets are covered with half nude woman. They are very pleased to show off themselves. By avoiding looking at them we may be grant shade of Allah. May Allah give us strength to reject any evil that Allah hate.

   6. The next person is someone who has given sadaqah [charity] and has made it secret so that even his left hand does not know what the right hand is given. This is talking about secret charity. There are two types of sadaqah: the public charity and the private/secret charity. There are rewards for both. AnNawawi says that, as for zakat, it is better to make it public. There is more reward in giving zakah in public because zakah is a pillar of Islam and people need to be reminded of it. With the voluntary sadaqah, he says it is better to give it in secret. This is not general, however. If giving sadaqah in public will encourage others, then it is better to give it in public. That is why there were some occasions where RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam asked people to give it in public. Jarir b. Abdullah reported that some desert Arabs clad in woollen clothes came to Allah’s Messenger sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. He saw them in sad plight as they had been hard pressed by need. He (the Prophet) exhorted people to give charity, but they showed some reluctance until (signs) of anger could be seen on his face. Then a person from the Ansaar came with a purse containing silver. Then came another person and then other persons followed them in succession until signs of happiness could be seen on his face.

Thereupon Allah’s Messenger sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said: “He who introduced some good practice in Islam which was followed after him (by people) he would be assured of reward like one who followed it, without their rewards being diminished in any respect. And he who introduced some evil practice in Islam which had been followed subsequently (by others), he would be required to bear the burden like that of one who followed this (evil practice) without theirs being diminished in any respect.” [Muslim, 34/6466]

      During the ghazwa of tabook, RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam stood on the mimbar and said, “Who will give? Who will give?” Every time, ‘Uthmaan ibn Affaan would come and give, until eventually RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said, “Whatever ‘Uthmaan will do after today will not harm him.” He gave so much that Allah has granted him forgiveness at that moment for anything he does after.

      When there is no need for encouragement, you should give sadaqah in secret. The left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing is an Arabic expression which means that it is done so privately that no one knows about it. An example of that would be that scholars would leave food at the doors of the needy, and they would only know when the scholar died!

   7. Finally, a man who is in seclusion and remembers Allah and his eyes are filled with tears will also be in the shade that day. This is done in a state of ikhlaas [sincerity] because that person is alone and they are not showing off to anyone. Because of their sincerity, Allah subhaana wa ta’aala will have that person in His shade.

These are not the only ones who will have shade on the Day of Judgment. There were some more mentioned by RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam.

In a hadith, RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said if a man who is in financial difficulty owes you money and you give that man more time or forgive the debt, Allah will provide you with shade on the day of judgment. Financial difficulties are very stressful for people, especially for those who have families and therefore more responsibilities. Notice that the people are in the shade either went through difficulty in this world or they made somebody else’s difficulty easy.

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