#CanYouImagine? Wearing the finest silk clothing and sitting on chairs made of gold and precious stones? Those who disbelieve in the words of Allah, say that this is all a fairy-tale, made up by a would-be prophet. But we know, that Allah is the Truthful and that His Messenger ﷺ , spoke only what was revealed to from the Most Truthful. And even though Allah describes Paradise for us in the Quran, He still says: فَلَا تَعْلَمُ نَفْسٌ مَّا أُخْفِيَ لَهُم مِّن قُرَّةِ أَعْيُنٍ جَزَاءً بِمَا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ So no soul knows the delights of the eyes which is hidden for them; a reward for what they did. [Al-Quran 32:17] Apart from the Quranic descriptions of Paradise, the Prophet Muhammad, ﷺ , would often describe Paradise to his companions. His descriptions were often so vivid and moving, that many a companion would hurriedly rush towards it. This was the case, as Anas narrated that the Messenger of Allah, ﷺ , and his companions proceeded towards Badr and arrived there before the disbelievers (of Makkah). When the disbelievers arrived, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, None of you should step forward ahead of me to do anything. Then the disbelievers advanced (towards us), and the Messenger of Allah, ﷺ , said, Rise to enter Paradise whose width is equal to the Heavens and the Earth. Umayr ibn al-Humam al-Ansari asked, O Messenger of Allah, is Paradise equal in width to the heavens and the earth? He, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, said, Yes. Umayr said, Bakhin! Bakhin! (An Arabic word denoting excitement and astonishment) The Messenger of Allah, ﷺ , asked him, What made you say these words: bakhin, bakhin? He said, Messenger of Allah, nothing but the desire to be amongst its residents. He, ﷺ , said, You are surely among its residents. He then took some dates form his bag and began to eat them. Then he said, If I were to live until I had eaten all of the dates, indeed this life would be too long. Anas then said, He threw away the remaining dates he had with him. He then fought (the disbelievers) until he was killed. [Muslim] What words could have inspired Umayr and others like him to long for, and to pay the ultimate price for a place in Paradise? ==Lets now take a look at what the Messenger of Allah, had to say about Paradise. •Abu Said al-Khudri narrated that the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, said, The people of Paradise will look at the dwellers of lofty mansions (i.e. a superior place in Paradise) in the same way as one looks at a brilliant star, far away in the East or in the West of the horizon. This is because of their superiority over one another (in reward). One of the people asked, O Allahs Messenger, are these lofty mansions for the Prophets which no one else can reach? The Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, replied, No! By Allah, in whose Hands is my life, these are for men who believe in Allah and also believe in the Messenger. [Bukhari and Muslim] •Abu Musa al-Ashari narrated that the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, said, Verily, for the believers in Paradise, are tents made of a single hollow pear. The length of which would be sixty miles long from all sides, their wives being therein. The believer will go around them (i.e., visit them) and they will not be able to see each other. [Sahih ul-Jami] •Abu Hurayrah said that the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, said, There is not a tree in Paradise, except that its trunk is made of gold. [Sahih ul-Jami] •Anas ibn Malik narrated that the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, said, Verily in Paradise there is a market in which (the inhabitants of Paradise) will come to every Friday. The North wind will blow and scatter fragrances on their faces and on their clothes. This will add to their beauty and their attractiveness. They will then go back to their families after having an added luster to their beauty and their attractiveness. Their families will say to them, By Allah you have been increased in beauty and loveliness after leaving us, and they will say, By Allah you too have increased in beauty and attractiveness after us. [Muslim] •Jabir ibn Abdullah narrated that the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, said, (I saw in a dream that) I entered Paradise, and behold, there was a palace built of gold. I asked, Whose is this palace? They (the angels) replied, For a man from the Quraysh. So I thought it might be I, so I asked, And who is he? They said, Umar ibn al-Khattab. Nothing stopped me from entering it except your ghirah (sense of honor). Umar said, My ghirah would never be offended by you, O Messenger of Allah. [Bukhari and Muslim] •Anas ibn Malik said that Allahs Apostle, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, said, I entered Paradise and found myself by a river, by its edges were tents of pearls. Then I tapped with my hands where the water was running, and there was then a beautiful smell ofmusk. I asked, What is this O Gabriel? He said, This is Kawthar (a river in Paradise) which Allah has given to you. [Sahih ul-Jami] What Allah and His Messenger, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, convey to us is that the people of Paradise are the God-conscious, and the God-fearing. Not everyone, who says Lord will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, just as not everyone who professes the shahadah, will enter Paradise. Only those who fear Allah as He ought to be feared, and are motivated by that fear to do acts of righteousness will attain success. The one who is conscious of His Lord, in every aspect of his life, and turns to Him in true submission, will have purchased for himself safety and security on a day, when there will be none, except with Allah. He does not cause a soul to suffer fear twice, the fear of Him in this world, and the fear on the Day of Judgment. About this, the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said, Allah says, I do not combine for my servants two states of fear,, said, Allah says, I do not combine for my servants two states of fear, or two states of safety. So if he feels safe from Me in this world I will cause him to fear on The Day of Judgment, and if he fears Me in the world, I will cause him to be safe on The Day of Judgment. [Sahih ul-Jami] It is important, therefore, that Muslims know the characters of those who will be the inheritors of Paradise. But it is unfortunate that many of todays Muslims understand that it is enough for one to pronounce the shahadah by his tongue for him to be entitled to enter Paradise regardless of whether he lived according to Islam or not! But the shahadah means and requires more than the mere utterance of it. Actually this fact is one of the most mentioned aspects of Islam in the Quran and sunnah. The essence of iman is deed. Deeds of the heart and deeds of the tongue and other body parts. Deeds that are to be continued till one leaves this world. That was the reason why the Arabs of Makkah refused to pronounce it. They fully appreciated its implication. They knew it concerned authority and understood that they had to govern their deeds and lives with it. Yet many of those who repeat it today lead life styles that do not resemble those described in the Quran and practiced by the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, and his companions. The Quran warns us that deeds are the basis on which we are to be judged, not only the utterance of the shahadah: لَّيْسَ بِأَمَانِيِّكُمْ وَلَا أَمَانِيِّ أَهْلِ الْكِتَابِ مَن يَعْمَلْ سُوءًا يُجْزَ بِهِ وَلَا يَجِدْ لَهُ مِن دُونِ اللَّهِ وَلِيًّا وَلَا نَصِيرًا It is not by your wishes nor the wishes of the People of the Book: whoever does wrong shall be punished for it, and he will find none other than Allah as a protector or helper. [Al-Quran 4:123] *So entering Paradise requires that we live as believers and die as Muslims. That takes knowledge, dedication and determination to see it through to its completion. -The fist step is belief in Allah and His Messenger, and the flip side to that is leaving all acts of shirk; this means directing all acts of ibadah to none but Allah, subhanahu wa taala, whether it be wearing talismans, supplicating to others than Allah or simply showing off. The next step is obeying Allah and His Messenger, avoiding bidah and innovations, and carrying out all compulsory acts of worship that He has prescribed. - Once we are steadfast and regular in what we must do, we can then proceed to the next level of iman and worship, by doing the things that we have been encouraged to do. By increasing out acts of worship, and remembrance of Allah we will leave off sin and help safeguard ourselves from a Fire, the fuel of which is men and stones. may Allah Soften our Hearts,increase our Imaan and keep us steadfast on His Deen, Amiin.
Posted on: Wed, 19 Nov 2014 08:34:04 +0000