The Hereafter Series
Introduction
We,
the human race living on this earth, are under the perception that we belong
here and that this is our residence. We don’t want to know the fact that we are
on a train. And the train is going through stations to another final
destination. And that this world is only one of these stops on one of these
stations. But we do not belong here.
We
have a ticket that has three slips: we live in the womb for nine months and
then when we’re born a slip is torn off. And then we live in dunya for awhile
and when we die, the second slip from the ticket is torn out. Then we have one
slip left. And that will be torn off in either hell or heaven. And that is the
final destination.
We
don’t belong here. We are travelling. That is why the Prophet Sallallahu
‘alayhi wa sallam said “Be in this world as if you are a traveller.” And he
said that the example or the analogy of me in this dunya is as if somebody is travelling
in the desert and he saw a tree and he took some shade under this tree and then
took some rest. And then he continued travelling. That is dunya: we spend a few
moments under this tree, and then we keep on travelling.
Can
you stop time? The movement of time is an erosion of our existence in this
dunya. It is taking part of us with every second passing. We need to believe in
the fact that we don’t belong here. We need to prepare for death. And that is
what this series is about: The Journey towards the Hereafter.
Objectives
Why
do we talk about al-Aakhirah? We have to have an objective for everything that
we do.
1.
It is a pillar of faith. It is part of Imaan.
2.
Why do we have all of these problems around us? Why do we have a Muslim who
drinks or deals with riba or lies or commits zina? What are we missing?
‘Aa`isha radiyallahu ‘anha gives us a program in one short sentence for
individual and social change: “If the first thing revealed in Qur’an was ‘do
not drink’, the people would have said ‘we are never going to stop drinking.’
And if the first thing that was revealed in the Qur’an was telling the people
to not commit fornication and adultery the people would have said ‘we’re never
going to stop committing fornication and adultery!’ The first things that were
revealed in the Qur’an were the Surah Al-Mufassal that talked about and
mentioned hell fire and paradise. Until the hearts were attached to Allah (swt),
THEN the orders for halaal and haraam came down.”
During
the time in Makkah, there wasn’t much law given. Most of the laws were revealed
in Madinah. In Makkah, it was a preparation to receive the law and to fill the
tank with imaan. That is why mentioning the Unseen and Jannah and Akhirah
attaches the heart and lifts the veils of darkness. We’re not suffering from
ignorance only (although that is a problem). Everyone knows khamr is haraam.
Why do some people drink? Everyone knows riba is haraam. People know salah is
fardh, but why do some people don’t fulfil it? A major problem is: insufficient
imaan. The heart is rough, like a rock. The hearts are not soft – what will
soften these harsh hearts? Talking about akhirah and the unseen.
The
Prophet sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam says: “If you know what I know, you would
cry a lot and laugh a little.”
‘Ali
ibn Abi Talib said, “It wouldn’t make a difference if I see jannah, I wouldn’t
love it more. And even if I see naar, I wouldn’t fear it more.” He is saying
that he has absorbed the meaning of jannah and naar so much that it wouldn’t
make a difference if he actually saw them. He is living as if he is seeing
jannah and naar in front of them.
In
1930, the US decided that they should ban alcohol. SubhanAllah, it is in the
fitra to know alcohol is bad for you. They passed the law and they tried to
enforce it. During the process, about half a million people were thrown in
jail. Millions and millions of dollars were spent to enforce the law; thousands
of people were killed. The consumption of alcohol didn’t change – bootlegging
was going on in people’s own houses. The process of making it is so unhygienic
and dirty. Diseases were spreading. After four years, the ban was lifted. This
is the mighty US. They couldn’t enforce a law banning alcohol. Look at 1400
years earlier:
Jibra’eel
came to Muhammad saws saying that khamr (and other things) is forbidden and
they are acts of shaytaan. fajtaniboo [jazakAllah khayr Nadia!] - STAY AWAY
FROM IT. The ayah came down banning alcohol. The prophet saws conveyed the ayah
to the sahabah with him. The sahabah went out carrying this news, saying that
khamr is now illegal. Anas ibn Maalik said that he was serving alcohol. They
heard the announcement in the street and Anas threw the jug from his hand. Some
of the sahabah had cups in their hands, they threw it. Some had it in their
mouths, they spat it out. Some went as far as vomiting what was in their stomach.
It was described as the streets of madinah having it flowing. There was
IMMEDIATE obedience. There was no enforcement by throwing people in jail. How
did it work in Madinah and not in US? The difference of waraa`. The sahabah
were prepared for it.
Muslim
(23/4889) Anas b. Malik reported: I was serving drink to Abu ‘Ubaida b. jarrah,
Abu Talha and Ubayy b. Ka’b prepared from unripe dates and fresh dates when a
visitor came and he said: Verily liquor has been prohibited. Thereupon, Abu
Talha said: Anas, stand up and break this pitcher. I stood up and (took hold)
of a pointed stone and struck the pitcher with its lower part until it broke
into pieces.
We
need to prepare ourselves by talking about al-akhirah.
Outline
The
Outline of what the series will be talking about:
1.
Al-Qiyaamah as sughrah: the minor day of judgement, which includes:
i. Death
ii. Al-Qabr (The grave)
iii. Ar-Ruh
iv. Ash-sharaat us Sa’aa : signs of
the day of Judgement (major and minor)
2. Al-Qiyaamah al-Qubra (day of judgement):
i. Al-Ba’ath wa al-Nushoo`:
Resurrection
ii. Ah-waa al-Qiyamah: Horrors of the
day of judgement
iii. Al-Hisaabuh wa Al-Jazaa`:
Accountability and recompensing
iv. Final destination: Jannah and naar
All
of us are going in this direction. And we start by seeking assistance from
Allah swt.
What
is the minor day of judgement? It starts with al-mowt – death.
Al-Mowt
Every
soul shall taste death
AlBukhari
narrates that some Bedouins came and asking the Prophet saws about the Hour.
RasulAllah would point at the youngest amongst them and say, “By the time he
reaches his old age, your day of judgement will already have started.” When a
person is dead, that’s it. He is counted on the other side.
Anas
b. Malik reported that a person asked Allah’s Apostle (may peace be upon him):
When would the Last Hour come? Thereupon Allah’s Messenger (may peace be upon
him) kept quiet for a while. then looked at a young boy in his presence
belonging to the tribe of Azd Shanilwa and he said: If this boy lives he would
not grow very old till the Last Hour would come to you. Anas said that this
young boy was of our age daring those days. (Muslim 41/7052)
There
is no way around death. Everyone will die. Allah subhaana wa ta’aala says:
“Everything will perish save His Face. His is the decision and to Him you shall
be returned.”
“Everyone
on it will die and only the Face of Allah will remain.”
“Every
soul shall taste death.” If anyone would be spared his life, then that would be
Rasul Allah, but Allah says: “You shall die and they will die.” Everyone will
die. The term is fixed for death. It is an appointed time. It cannot change. It
cannot be later than the appointed time.
Allah
says: “And no person can ever die, except by Allah’s leave and at an appointed
term.”
And
“And
every nation has an appointed term. When their term comes, neither can they
delay it, nor can they advance it.” Allah is telling us not to try to run away
from death.
Allah
says: “Where so ever you may be, death will overtake you, even if you are in
fortresses built up strong and high.”
Allah
tells us a story of some people who tried to run away from death: “Did you not
think of those who went forth from their homes in thousands, fearing death?”
Allah is talking about a group from Bani Israel – an army was attacking them,
so they wanted to save themselves. They ran from their town in thousands. Allah
told them “die.” He raised them up again to show them His miracle on them.
“Truly Allah is full of bounty to mankind, but most men thank not.”
Umm
Habibah (the wife of RasulAllah) made a du’aa`. She said, “O Allah, give me
pleasure by giving a long life to my husband RasulAllah and to my father Abu
Sufyan and my brother Mu’awiyah.” RasulAllah said to her: “You are supplicating
towards Allah in regards to fixed terms and counted days and ordained
provisions that are already divided. If you would have asked Allah to save you
from the Hell Fire and the punishment of the fire, that would have been better
for you.” (Muslim)
Death
will happen whenever and wherever Allah has decreed
In
Riyadh: It is said that there was a construction that fell down from the
seventh floor. He fell on solid concrete. Passersby were amazed to see that he
stood up He jumped up, happy that Allah didn’t take his life. People were
amazed. He was so happy that he told everyone, “I’m going to buy you some
drinks.” He was crossing the street, disoriented, and a car hit him and killed
him. Why didn’t he die from the seventh story? Allah had appointed for him a
specific spot and a specific time of day. Allah wanted to bring him to his
place of death. Now, this man, when he stood up, he thought that he was given a
long life. The last thought on his mind was that he would die in the next
moment. If he was saved from that death, then he must have a long life ahead of
him.
There
was an earthquake in Egypt. There was a man who survived for a very long period
of time. They thought that no one could be saved in the rubble. They were
amazed to find a man to be living, even though all of the means of dying
existed. It wasn’t time for him to die. There were two female relatives with
him. They both died because of the unbearable conditions. It was not time for
it.
Sometimes
death comes so suddenly that you don’t have time to prepare for it.
There
were two air planes that collided over India – it was a head on collision. They
hit each other with a combined speed of 1600 miles per hour. Look at accidents
on the freeway – how quickly a person can drive going 60 mph. This death was in
a split second. There could have been a person who was lifting food to his
mouth and before he could take the bite he died.
The Destroyer of Pleasures
“Frequently
remember the destroyer of pleasures.” RasulAllah described death as the destroyer
of pleasures. RasulAllah says: “Al-Mowtu Haqq.”
Hasan
AlBasri says, “I have never seen anything that is certain with no doubt in it
but people deal with it as if it is doubt, with no certainty like death.” We
are certain about death – Muslim and nonMuslim. Have you ever seen someone deny
death? Hasan AlBasri said that we deal with death as if it is doubtful. Each of
us knows we are going to die – how much have we prepared for it?
When
you look at how people prepare for death, they only do it in terms of this
world: the funeral, the cemetery, and the worldly arrangements. What is done
for the other side of death? There are elaborate preparations for the funeral
and the food, etc. What will happen on the other side?
On
an interview with Isaac Azmoth, a very prominent fiction writer, a few months
before he died, he was asked “What do you think will happen after you die?” He
said, “Nothing.” His knowledge and all of that intelligence and wealth makes
him no different from the most ignorant Arab disbeliever 1400 years ago. His
intelligence didn’t move him up one notch.
Allah
says about the nonbelievers, when they see the reality, they will say: “If we
had any understanding/intelligence, we wouldn’t have been in the hell fire.”
What kind of a mind is that? Allah has told us why he has given us the mind:
“We have given you the sights, ears and mind so that you may be grateful.” – to
worship Allah! The eyes and ears are sources of input and the mind processes it
for us. If we used these three together, it would lead us to imaan.
Back
to what RasulAllah said: the destroyer of pleasures. If we talk about death and
we realize the reality of it, this will take away the veils of ghaflah
(unawareness) and we will see the truth and we will lose any appetite for
whatever the dunya has to offer. We cannot see the truth, and that is why we
have to talk about the death and akhirah.
Al-Ihtidaar
There
is a period before death called al-ihtidhaar. It is preparation for death.
During this stage, the angels descend. Allah says: “Until when death approaches
one of you. Our Messengers take his soul and they never neglect their duty.”
During this stage, angels descend and the person going through death can see
them. RasulAllah says: “If the believing soul is leaving this world and moving
into alAkhirah [in the interface] angels will descend from the heavens. White,
bright faces like the sun. They have with them a coffin from paradise and
incense from paradise. So he can see them. And then the angel of death will
descend. And then he will sit next to his face/head. He will say, ‘Oh you pure
soul, come out to the forgiveness of Allah and His Pleasure.’ This soul will
come out so smoothly, like a drop of water rolling out of a jug. For the
kaafir, if he is leaving the dunya and approaching akhirah, then dark angels
will come down. They are carrying coffins made of harsh materials. The angel of
death will come down, sit beside him and say, ‘O you evil soul! Come out to the
anger of Allah subhaana wa ta’aala and His Wrath!’ When the angel of death will
make that announcement, this soul will run around in the body. The angel of
death will grab the soul and pull it out, as if you are pulling out wet wool
from thorny branches.”
During
this stage, there may be some discomfort for the believing soul. Allah gives
comfort to the believer. He says: “Verily, those who say that there Lord if
Allah and then they stay firm. On them the angels will descend, saying ‘Fear
not, nor grieve, but receive the glad tidings of Paradise which you have been
promised.’” (41:30) They did not say that ‘Allah is our Lord’ and then go on a
crooked path. Not fasting one day and then drinking alcohol the next day. These
people stayed firm, and the angels will give them glad tidings.
For
the disbeliever, Allah says, “And if you could see when the angels take away
the souls of those who disbelieve. They smite their faces and their backs,
saying ‘Taste the punishment of the blazing fire. This is because of that which
your hands forwarded. Verily, Allah is not unjust to His slaves.” Allah is not
committing injustice to you. It is your actions that caused you this.
Ataa’
ibn Rabah says: “There are three benefits of remembering death:
1. Ta’jeel at-tawbah: hastening repentance.
You would prepare for akhirah and you would repent.
2. Ar-Rida bil Qaleel: content with the
minimum. You will be happy with whatever Allah has given you because you know
it is a temporary residence. This is not where we belong; therefore you
wouldn’t give it much concern and attention. Whatever Allah gives,
Alhamdulillah.
3. Not fight and compete with people of this
world over this world. And that would cause you to have tranquility in your
heart. What makes people anxious and obnoxious is competing over material
things. This world is large and our desires are large. RasulAllah says that if
the son of Adam has a valley of gold he would request another one and nothing
would please the son of Adam except dirt. Nothing would satisfy this greed
except the dirt. When you go back to the dirt, it will close all of those
desires. This world is not worth fighting.
Sakaraat al-Mowt
Sakaraat
ul-Mowt: the stupor of death. What is the meaning of it? Sakaraah is the
dizziness and unconsciousness that is caused by pain. A person in the state of
sakarah is going through stages of unconsciousness and dizziness caused by
pain. Allah says: “And the stupor of death will come in truth. This is what you
have been avoiding.” Death is true, and it will arrive even though you try to
avoid it. It will happen to everyone. It happened to RasulAllah. RasulAllah had
a pot of water. He would dip his hands in the water and then he would wipe his
face and say “La ilaaha illallah. There is agony/stupor of death.” Even
RasulAllah was feeling it.
If
RasulAllah felt that, what would you and me feel? What would the non believers
feel?
Allah
says: “And if you could but see when the wrongdoers are in the agonies of death
when the angels are stretching forth their hands saying ‘This day you shall be
recompensed with the torment of degradation because of what you used to utter
against Allah other than the truth and you used to reject His ayaat with
disrespect.” Taste the pain of death.
Although
everyone goes through this pain, there are levels. The non believers go through
the most. There is a category that feels almost no pain – the shuhadaa`.
RasulAllah says, “The shaheed feels the pain of death like one of you would
feel the sting of an insect.” Allah has honoured the shaheed with many honourings.
Why would anyone want to run from this honour?
When
man leaves this world, he desires to come back. If he’s a kaafir, he wants to
become a Muslim. If he’s an ‘Aasiy (a sinner), he wants to come back to make
Tawbah.
Allah
says: “Until, when death comes to one of them (those who join partners with Allah),
he says: ‘My Lord! Send me back, So that I may do good in that which I have
left behind!’ No! It is but a word that he speaks, and behind them is Barzakh
(a barrier) until the Day when they will be resurrected.” (23:99-100) They were
given a chance in this world, and they didn’t take advantage of it. Now, when
it’s too late, they ask to come back to repent and do good. Allah says that
there is a barrier between them and going back; it’s too late. Right now, the
door of opportunity is open and Tawbah will not be accepted later.
Allah
says: “Allah accepts the repentance of those who do evil in ignorance and
repent soon afterwards; to them will Allah turn in mercy: For Allah is full of
knowledge and wisdom.” (4:17) Ibn Katheer gives the explanation of this word
close. When is it soon enough to make Tawbah. You have the opportunity of
making Tawbah until the moment of al-gharghara – when the soul is preparing to
leave the body.
Allah
says: “And of no effect is the repentance of those who continue to do evil
deeds until death faces one of them and he says: ‘Now I repent;’ nor of those
who die while they are disbelievers. For them We have prepared a painful
torment.” (4:18) When it’s time for death, no Tawbah is accepted. That is what
Fir’awn did.
“…he
[Fir'awn] said: ‘I believe that La ilaha illa (Huwa): (none has the right to be
worshipped but) He, in whom the Children of Israel believe, and I am one of the
Muslims (those who submit to Allah’s Will).’ Now (you believe) while you
refused to believe before and you were one of the Mufsidun (evil-doers,
corrupts, etc.).” (10:90-91) Allah did not accept his Tawbah because it was too
late. So Allah will accept the Tawbah, as long as it is spoken before this time
when the soul is leaving the body.
Death
comes suddenly – you are not given a notice. It comes unannounced and there is
no way you can change it, or no matter how much you try to convince the angel
of death or no matter how busy you are. The best time for Tawbah is NOW.
The
Time for Tawbah is now!
“Isn’t
it time for those who believed that their hearts will soften from the
remembrance of Allah?” (Qur’an) The time for Tawbah is NOW. Don’t delay and
procrastinate. If you read Qur’an, you will find that the majority of the
screaming of the people of hell fire is because of procrastination. They will
be saying, ‘O Allah, let me go back so I may do such and such.’ They
procrastinated from good deeds.
“Whoever
desires or looks forward to meeting Allah, Allah would love meeting him.
Whoever dislikes meeting Allah, Allah dislikes meeting him.”
‘Aa`isha,
whenever she didn’t understand something, she would question it. So when she
heard this, she said to the Prophet saw: “And who of us does not dislike
death?” (Does disliking death mean we dislike meeting Allah?) Prophet saw said,
“This is not what I meant. When the believer, he is about to die, he will be
given the news that Allah is pleased with him. So that the most beloved thing
to him would be his future. So he would love to meet Allah, and Allah would
love to meet him. When the non believer is about to die, he is given the news
that Allah is angry with him and will punish him. So he will dislike meeting
Allah, and Allah will dislike meeting him.”
The
Prophet sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said: “When the janaazah is placed and the
men carry it on their shoulders, if it is a righteous person, it will say ‘Go
as fast as you can!’ If it is otherwise, then he will be say: ‘Woe to it! Where
are you taking me?’ Everyone would hear that sound except the human beings. And
if the human beings would hear it, they would die due to that shock.”
RasulAllah
says: “If it wasn’t for the fact that none of you would bury the dead, I would
ask Allah to let you hear the sounds of the people in the graves.”
He
would be afraid of us not burying the dead because we hear the punishments they
are going through in the grave.
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