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TERM 3 - HADEETH - CLASS 9
ALLAH's MERCY PREVAILS HIS WRATH
The Messenger ﷺ said,
“When Allah decreed the creation, He pledged Himself by writing in His Book which is laid down with Him:
‘My Mercy prevails over My Wrath.’”
[Agreed Upon]
Commentary:
Allah is the Most Merciful, Most Compassionate, and He is the most Merciful of those who show mercy.
His Mercy encompasses all things. Allah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“and My Mercy embraces all things” [al-A’raaf 7:156]
In Sahih Muslim it is narrated from Abu Hurayrah that the Prophet ﷺ said: “Allah has one hundred parts of mercy, of which He sent down one between the jinn, mankind, the animals and the insects, by means of which they are compassionate and merciful to one another, and by means of which wild animals are kind to their offspring. And Allah has kept back ninety-nine parts of mercy with which to be merciful to His slaves on the Day of Resurrection.” [Muslim]
It was narrated that ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab said: “Some prisoners were brought to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and there was a woman among the prisoners who was searching (for her child). When she found her child she embraced him and put him to her breast. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said to us, ‘Do you think that this woman would throw her child in the fire?’ We said, ‘No, by Allah, not if she is able not to.’ The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, ‘Allah is more merciful to His slaves than this woman is to her child.’” [Agreed upon]
One aspect of the mercy of Allah to His slaves is that He sent the Messengers and revealed the Books and laws to organise their lives according to the ways of wisdom, far removed from hardship and difficulty. Allah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“And We have sent you (O Muhammad) not but as a mercy for the ‘Aalameen (mankind, jinn and all that exists)” [al-Anbiya’ 21:107]
The mercy of Allah is what will admit His believing slaves to Paradise on the Day of Resurrection. No one will ever enter Paradise because of his deeds alone, as the Prophet ﷺ said: “No one’s deeds will ever admit him to Paradise.” They said, “Not even you, O Messenger of Allah?” He said, “No, not even me, unless Allah showers me with His Mercy. So try to be near to perfection. And no one should wish for death; he is either doing good so he will do more of that, or he is doing wrong so he may repent.” [Sahih al-Bukhari and Muslim]
So the believer must remain in a state between hoping for the mercy of Allah and fearing His punishment, for Allah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“Declare (O Muhammad) unto My slaves, that truly, I am the Oft-Forgiving, the Most-Merciful. And that My Torment is indeed the most painful torment” [al-Hijr 15:49-50]
The following is based on a hadith from Sahih Bukhari Volume 4, Book 56, Number 676.
There was a man who had heartlessly murdered ninety-nine people. Then, he felt remorse.
He went to a learned man and told him about his past, explaining that he wished to repent, reform, and become a better person. "I wonder if Allah will pardon me?" he asked.
For all his learning, the scholar was a man who had not been able to digest what he had learned. "You will not be pardoned;' he said. "Then I may as well kill you, too," said the other. And kill him he did.
He then found another worthy individual and told him that he had killed a hundred people. "I wonder," he said, "whether Allah will pardon me if I repent?" Being a truly wise man, he replied, "Of course you will be pardoned; repent at once. I have just one piece of advice for you: avoid the company of wicked people and mix with good people, for bad company leads one into sin:"
The man expressed repentance and regret, weeping as he sincerely implored his Lord to pardon him. Then, turning his back on bad company, he set off to find a neighborhood where righteous people lived.
On the way, his appointed hour arrived, and he died. The angels of punishment and of mercy both came to take away his soul. The angels of punishment said that as a sinful person he rightfully belonged to them, but the angels of mercy also claimed him, saying, "He repented and had resolved to become a good man. He was on his way to a place where righteous people live, but his appointed hour had come." A great debate ensued, and Gabriel was sent as an arbitrator to settle this affair.
After hearing both sides he gave this verdict: "Measure the ground. If the spot where he died is closer to the good people, then he belongs to the angels of mercy, but if it is nearer to the wicked people, he will be given to the angels of punishment."
They measured the ground. Because the man had just set out, he was still closer to the wicked. But because he was sincere in his repentance, the Lord moved the spot where he lay and brought it to just outside the city of the good people.
That penitent servant was handed over to the angels of mercy.
O Allah, have mercy upon us, O Most merciful of those who show mercy!
There are many things that we need to pay attention to when learning about Allah's mercy:
Allah (swt) mercy is mentioned at the begining of every surah except one, so when we approach the Quran and before we embark upon what each surah contains, we begin with inforcing in our minds that Allah is the Most Merciful.
If we anger Allah (swt) through our misdeeds and carry out the relevant repentance then we should believe in and rely on Allah's mercy of forgiving us and move on.
Allah's mercy is with us at all times in many forms, whether we ask for it or not. We need to look for this mercy and be grateful to Allah for it.
Allah is Most Merciful and loves to be Merciful. So we should also show one another mercy.
We should always ask Allah (swt) to shower us with His mercy in this life and escpecially the next, as it is the key to Jannah.
But having said all of that we shouldn't be ignorant or complacent and forget about the wrath of Allah which is servere and true.
The majority of us have heard of this hadith: Narrated Jabir ibn Abdullah: A man came to the Apostle of Allah ﷺ and said: Messenger of Allah, what are the two things quite unavoidable? He who dies without associating anyone with Allah would (necessarily ) enter Paradise and he who dies associating anything with Allah would enter the (fire of) Hell. Sahih Bukhari: Book 1, Number 0168
As a result of knowing this, we assume that as long as we are Muslims, the fire will be prohibited to us, but few of us think much about the other hadiths which talk about Muslims in the hellfire. It would seem that the two are mutually incompatible, but they are not. Muslims who pray and fast will be in the Hellfire, even though they did not associate anything with Allah. How can this be? Simple, for them the fire is a temporary punishment, not a permanent one as it is for the one who associates partners with Allah.
Many hadiths talk about the Muslim in the Hellfire, such as:
Narrated AbuSa'id al-Khudri: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: The (permanent) inhabitants of the Fire are those who are doomed to it, and verily they would neither die nor live in it. But the people whom the Fire would afflict (temporarily) on account of their sins, or so said (the narrator) "on account of their misdeeds," He would cause them to die till they would be turned into charcoal. Then they would be granted intercession and would be brought in groups and would be spread on the rivers of Paradise and then it would be said: O inhabitants of Paradise, pour water over them; then they would sprout forth like the sprouting of seed in the silt carried by flood... Sahih Bukhari: Book 1, Number 0357:
And Narrated Anas: Allah's Apostle ﷺ said, "Allah will gather all the people on the Day of Resurrection and they will say, 'Let us request someone to intercede for us with our Lord so that He may relieve us from this place of ours... (They will go to Adam, Moses, Noah and Issa but will eventually be told), "go to Muhammad as Allah has forgiven his past and future sins.' They will come to me and I will ask my Lord's permission, and when I see Him, I will fall down in prostration to Him, and He will leave me in that state as long as (He) Allah will, and then I will be addressed. 'Raise up your head (O Muhammad)! Ask, and your request will be granted, and say, and your saying will be listened to; intercede, and your intercession will be accepted.' Then I will raise my head, and I will glorify and praise my Lord with a saying(i.e. invocation) He will teach me, and then I will intercede, Allah will fix a limit for me (i.e., certain type of people for whom I may intercede), and I will take them out of the (Hell) Fire and let them enter Paradise. Then I will come back (to Allah) and fall in prostration, and will do the same for the third and fourth times till no-one remains in the (Hell) Fire except those whom the Qur'an has imprisoned therein." (The sub-narrator, Qatada used to say at that point, "...those upon whom eternity (in Hell) has been imposed.") (See Hadith No. 3, Vol 6). Sahih Bukhari Volume 8, Book 76, Number 570:
And Narrated Abu Sa'id Al-Khudri: The Prophet ﷺ said, "You (Muslims) cannot be more pressing in claiming from me a right that has been clearly proved to be yours than the believers in interceding with Almighty for their (Muslim) brothers on that Day, when they see themselves safe. They will say, 'O Allah! (Save) our brothers (for they) used to pray with us, fast with us and also do good deeds with us.' Allah will say, 'Go and take out (of Hell) anyone in whose heart you find faith equal to the weight of one (gold) Dinar.' Allah will forbid the Fire to burn the faces of those sinners. They will go to them and find some of them in Hell (Fire) up to their feet, and some up to the middle of their legs. So they will take out those whom they will recognize and then they will return, and Allah will say (to them), 'Go and take out (of Hell) anyone in whose heart you find faith equal to the weight of one half Dinar.' They will take out whomever they will recognize and return, and then Allah will say, 'Go and take out (of Hell) anyone in whose heart you find faith equal to the weight of an atom (or a smallest ant), and so they will take out all those whom they will recognize." Abu Sa'id said: If you do not believe me then read the Holy Verse, "'Surely! Allah wrongs not even of the weight of an atom (or a smallest ant) but if there is any good (done) He doubles it." (4.40) The Prophet ﷺ added, "Then the prophets and Angels and the believers will intercede, and (last of all) the Almighty (Allah) will say, 'Now remains My Intercession. He will then hold a handful of the Fire from which He will take out some people whose bodies have been burnt, and they will be thrown into a river at the entrance of Paradise, called the water of life. They will grow on its banks, as a seed carried by the torrent grows. You have noticed how it grows beside a rock or beside a tree, and how the side facing the sun is usually green while the side facing the shade is white. Those people will come out (of the River of Life) like pearls, and they will have (golden) necklaces, and then they will enter Paradise whereupon the people of Paradise will say, 'These are the people emancipated by the Beneficent. He has admitted them into Paradise without them having done any good deeds and without sending forth any good (for themselves).' Then it will be said to them, 'For you is what you have seen and its equivalent as well.'" Sahih Bukhari: Volume 9, Book 93, Number 532s.
There are those for whom Allah has promised eternal Hellfire, as we can see in the Quraan:
Allah Says,
(Surely it has been revealed to us that the chastisement will surely come upon him who rejects and turns back. 20:48;
And: Then leave Me alone with such as reject this Message: by degrees shall We punish them from directions they perceive not. (68:44) ,
And: (As for) those who disbelieve in Our communications, We shall make them enter fire; so oft as their skins are thoroughly burned, We will change them for other skins, that they may taste the chastisement; surely Allah is Mighty, Wise 4:56).
But there are also those who must suffer for a bit. Now I want to reflect upon this part. Let us ask ourselves, "How much time am I willing to stay in the Hellfire?" Remember,
Narrated AbuSa'id al-Khudri: Verily, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: The least tormented of the inhabitants of the Fire would be he who would wear two shoes of Fire and his brain would boil on account of the heat of the shoes. Sahih Bukhari: Book 1, Number 0412.
This is the least of the punishments. Allah tells us about drinking boiling water:
Just imagine drinking a boiling water whose heat is not even on our scales!
Allah says,
Leave alone those who take their religion to be mere play and amusement, and are deceived by the life of this world. But proclaim (to them) this (truth): that every soul delivers itself to ruin by its own acts: it will find for itself no protector or intercessor except Allah: if it offered every ransom, (or reparation), none will be accepted: such is (the end of) those who deliver themselves to ruin by their own acts: they will have for drink (only) boiling water, and for punishment, one most grievous: for they persisted in rejecting Allah. (6:70)
This is a punishment for those who take their religion as play and amusement. This includes the Muslim, if it is not meant exclusively for us. Also, look to the above hadith. The people are saying, "(Save) our brothers (for they) used to pray with us, fast with us and also do good deeds with us." Reflect on this. These people who are in the Hellfire are Muslims. Not only are they Muslims, they are Muslims who used to pray, fast and do good deeds. What will happen to us if we are not praying or not fasting or not doing good deeds? Islam is easy, and Allah's Mercy is so Great, but we can not rely so much on His Mercy that we forget His Wrath.
We know that a single act can give us forgiveness, like the prostitute who gave water to the dog and was forgiven all her sins (Sahih Bukhari: Volume 4, Book 54, Number 538) , but we must also remember that a single act can also get us hellfire, like the woman punished for torturing her cat (Sahih Bukhari: Volume 1, Book 12, Number 712. )
STRIKING THE BALANCE
After understanding the need to have fear and hope in our worship, the question that now arises is: in what proportions should these qualities be present in our worship? Again we turn to the Qur’aan for our answer.
“Call upon Him with Fear and Hope.” [al-A'raff(7):56].
And also: “Their sides forsake their beds, to invokde their Lord in Fear and Hope.” [as-Sajdah(32):16].
So both fear and hope should be present inour hearts in equal proportions. Anas – radiAllaahu ‘anhu – reported that the Prophet, ﷺ entered upon a young boy who was dying. The Prophet ﷺ asked: “How are you?” The boy replied: “O Messenger of Allah, I am in-between hoping in Allah and fearing for my sins.” The Prophet ﷺ said: “The like of these two qualities do not unite in the heart of a servant except that Allah gives him what he hopes for and protects him from what he feared.” [at-Tirmidhee & Ibn Maajah]
Therefore, whenever we do a good action, we should have hope that it has been accepted by Allah, but at the same time we should also have fear that maybe it isn’t enough or that the good deed has not been worthy of acceptance. Likewise when we sin, we should have hope that Allah will accept out Repentance and forgive us, but we should also fear that we may be accountable for it.
This balance should also be reflected in out da’wah (which of course is also worship). So when we invite others to the Truth, we should not give them the impression that they have “nothing to worry about”; nor do we suggest that they are doomed forever. Rather, we couple warnings with encouragement. We inform them of the horrors of the Fire as well as telling them about the bliss of Paradise. Just as we find Allah telling us in the Qur’aan:
“Verily your Lord is Quick in Punishment and verily He is Oft-Forgiving, the Giver of Mercy.” [al-A'raaf(7):167].
And our Righteous Predecessors used to say:
“He who worships Allah with hope only is a Murji’ee. He who worships Him in fear only is a Harooree [Khaarijee]. And he who worships Allah in love only is a Zindeeq [e.g. Soofees, Christians]. But he who worships Allah in fear, love and hope is a Muwahhid Mu’min [a believer upon Tawheed." [Quoted by ibn Rajab in at-Takhweef minan-Naar as the saying of one of the Salaf]
The Murji’ah were a sect that emerged within the first century of Islaam. The people of this sect (known as murji’ees) believe that sins do not affect faith, i.e. no matter what sins a person commits, his eemaan (faith) is complete and perfect. They worship Allah only with hope because they belive that as along as one believed and testified to Islaam, they would enter Paradise regardless of their actions.
Unfortunately, all too often nowadays we find a somewhat similar attitude amongst the Muslims today, which is why we find that so often when we try to advise someone to turn to the Deen and abandon sin, they just point to their hearts and say, “Allah knows what’s in my heart”, or that “Allah forgives” or something similar.
As for the Khawaarij, they worshipped Allah in fear only because they held that anyone who committed major sins was a disbeliever and would therefore dwell in Hellfire forever. This, of course, is gross extremism and a straying from the correct Path. The Prophet ﷺ said: “There were two men from Banoo Israa’eel who strove equally. One of them committed sins and the other strove hard in worship. And the one who strove in worship continued to see the other sin and kept saying to him: ‘Desist’. So one day, he found him committing a sin and so said to him: ‘Desist’. So he replied: “Leave me to my Lord; have you been sent as a watcher over me?” He said: “By Allah, Allah will nor forgive you, nor will Allah admit you to Paradise.” Then their sould were taken and they came together before the Lord of the Worlds. So He said to the one who strove in worship: “Did you have knowledge of Me, or did you have any power over what was in my Hands?” And He said to the sinner: “Go and enter Paradise through My Mercy.” And He said to the other: “Take him to the Fire.” Aboo Hurairah said: “By Him is Whose Hand is my soul! He spoke a word which destroyed this world and the Hereafter for him.”[Aboo Daawood]
Therefore we should never say of anyone that he or she is a ‘lost cause’ or ‘doomed’ or the like since this is a great sin. However, we fear for those who commit major sins because they have been threatened with punsihment in the Qur’aan. It is up to Allah whether He chooses to punish them or whether He will forgive them.
The Zanaadiqah – or the heretics – are groups, such as many of the Soofees who have become like the Christians and reduced the religion to just ‘love’ and so all their talk and all their mystical practices are centred around developing more ‘love’.
It is thus clear how imbalances in any of the three qualities of worship can lead to major deviation and straying from the True Guidance, Therefore it is important for every Muslim to inculcate all three things in his heart properly. As was mentioned before, the fear and hope should be in equal proportions but as for love, then that should be uppermost, As Fudayl ibn Iyyaad (d.187H) said: “The love is better than fear. The fear checks us from sinning, and the love makes us to do what is prescribed with an open heart.” [Reported in at-Takhweef minan-Naar of Ibn Rajab. Note that some scholars hold that fear is better than love. Allah knows best.]
May Allah Subhaanahu wa Ta’aala grant us what we hope for and protect us from what we fear. Aameen.
O Allah! Please let us strive for Your Great pleasure. Oh Allah! Please let us strive for Your Great reward. O Allah! Please forgive us and treat us with your mercy while forbidding from us your Wrath. Ameen
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TIME TABLE & SYLLABUS FOR THE FINAL EXAM
SYLLABUS:
Whatever we have studied from Week 1 – 9 apart from Seerah.
EXAMS TIME TABLE : -
• 20th Sha'baan.....(1st Mar).....TAFSIR
• 22nd Sha'baan.....(3rd Mar).....TAWHEED
• 24th Sha'baan.....(5th Mar).....FIQH
• 26th Sha'baan.....(7th Mar)......HADEETH
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