WHAT DO YOU HOPE FOR IN THE NEXT ABODE…JANNAT OR JAHANAM? Part 1
Journey into the Hereafter
Bismillahi Rahman Roheem.
All form of Praises is due for Allah. We adore Him and seek His help and forgiveness. We have Faith and Trust in Him. We seek Allah’s refuge against evil tendencies of our Soul and our bad deeds.
He whom Allah guides no one can lead him astray. And he whom Allah lets go astray there is none to guide him. I bear witness that there is no deity except Allah, the One and without any Partner; and I also bear witness that Muhammad (SAW) is His servant and Messenger. Allah had sent him with Truth, to give good tidings and to warn before the Doomsday. Whosoever obeys Allah and His Messenger will be successful and well guided.
And whosoever disobeys either of them has gone astray. Such a person harms none save himself; he does no harm to Allah. The best Word is the Book of Allah. And the best Guidance is that given by Muhammad (SAW). Good things are the firm (original) ones, and Bad things are those introduced later on. And everything introduced later (in religion) is innovation. And every innovation is Hell fire.
To become a true Muslim it necessary to have complete faith in Muhammad (SAW) and to affirm that he is Allah last and true messenger; his teachings are absolutely perfect free from any defect or error; and he is the last among the prophets of Allah, after him no Prophet will be sent by Allah to mankind till the Day of Accountability and any personage that appear among people is definitely an impostor.
Shortly before his death, Prophet Muhammad delivered a sermon during the Hajj, which came to be known as his “Final Sermon”. This final sermon was not only a reminder to his followers, but also an important admonition. The final sermon confirms the end of his Prophetic Mission.
Year 10 A.H. of the Islamic Calendar is considered to be one of the most significant years for three reasons. Firstly, this was the year when the Prophet delivered his Last Sermon during his farewell pilgrimage to Makkah. Secondly, this was the year where number of deputations came to the Prophet to announce their Islam as well as their tribes. Thirdly, it was the golden period of Islam when multitudes of people embraced the faith by accepting the message of the Prophet.
Prophet Muhammad undertook his farewell pilgrimage in the year 10 A.H. His farewell pilgrimage to Makkah is one of the most significant historical events in the minds of Muslims, for it was the first and last pilgrimage made by Prophet Muhammad, as well as being the model for performing the fifth pillar of Islam, the Hajj.
Prophet Muhammad’s final sermon was delivered during the Hajj of the year 632 C.E., the ninth day of Dhul Hijjah, the 12th month of the lunar year, at Arafat, the most blessed day of the year. There were countless Muslims present with the Prophet during his last pilgrimage when he delivered his last Sermon.
The Final Sermon:
After praising, and thanking Allah, the Prophet, may Allah send His praises upon him said:
“O People, lend me an attentive ear, for I know not whether after this year, I shall ever be amongst you again. Therefore, listen to what I am saying to you very carefully and take these words to those who could not be present here today.
O People, just as you regard this month, this day, this city as Sacred, so regard the life and property of every Muslim as a sacred trust. Return the goods entrusted to you to their rightful owners. Hurt no one so that no one may hurt you. Remember that you will indeed meet your Lord, and that He will indeed reckon your deeds. Allah has forbidden you to take usury (interest), therefore all interest obligation shall henceforth be waived. Your capital, however, is yours to keep. You will neither inflict nor suffer any inequity. Allah has Judged that there shall be no interest, and that all the interest due to Abbas ibn Abd’al Muttalib shall henceforth be waived.
Beware of Satan, for the safety of your religion. He has lost all hope that he will ever be able to lead you astray in big things, so beware of following him in small things.
O People, it is true that you have certain rights with regard to your women, but they also have rights over you. Remember that you have taken them as your wives only under a trust from Allah and with His permission. If they abide by your right then to them belongs the right to be fed and clothed in kindness.
Do treat your women well and be kind to them for they are your partners and committed helpers. And it is your right that they do not make friends with any one of whom you do not approve, as well as never to be unchaste.
O People, listen to me in earnest, worship Allah, perform your five daily prayers, fast during the month of Ramadan, and offer Zakat. Perform Hajj if you have the means.
All mankind is from Adam and Eve. An Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab, nor does a non-Arab have any superiority over an Arab; white has no superiority over black, nor does a black have any superiority over white; [none have superiority over another] except by piety and good action. Learn that every Muslim is a brother to every Muslim and that the Muslims constitute one brotherhood. Nothing shall be legitimate to a Muslim which belongs to a fellow Muslim unless it was given freely and willingly. Do not, therefore, do injustice to yourselves.
Remember, one day you will appear before Allah and answer for your deeds. So beware, do not stray from the path of righteousness after I am gone.
O People, no prophet or apostle will come after me, and no new faith will be born. Reason well, therefore, O people, and understand words which I convey to you. I leave behind me two things, the Quran and my example, the Sunnah, and if you follow these you will never go astray.
All those who listen to me shall pass on my words to others and those to others again; and it may be that the last ones understand my words better than those who listen to me directly. Be my witness, O Allah, that I have conveyed your message to your people.”
Thus the beloved Prophet completed his Final Sermon, and upon it, near the summit of Arafat, the revelation came down:
“…This day have I perfected your religion for you, completed My Grace upon you, and have chosen Islam for you as your religion…” (Quran 5:3)
Even today the Last Sermon of Prophet Muhammad is passed to every Muslim in every corner of the word through all possible means of communication. Muslims are reminded about it in mosques and in lectures. Indeed the meanings found in this sermon are indeed astounding, touching upon some of the most important rights Allah has over humanity, and humanity has over each other. Though the Prophet’s soul has left this world, his words are still living in our hearts reflecting in our inner spiritual reality.
According to a sound Hadith:
“Jibril came to me and said, ‘O Muhammad, live as you wish, for you shall eventually die. Love whom you desired, for you shall eventually depart. Do what you pleased, for you shall pay. Know that the night-prayer is the honor of a believer, and his pride is being independent on others.” (Hadith Hassan).
If there is only one thing that I know and certain about this life, is that everything in it will end. This truism instinctively raises a question which preoccupies most people at least once in their life: What lies beyond death?
At the physiological level, the journey that the deceased takes is plain for all to witness. If left alone to natural causes, the heart will stop beating, the lungs will stop breathing, and the body’s cells will be starved of blood and oxygen. The termination of blood flow to the outer extremities will soon turn them pale. With the oxygen cut off, cells will respire anaerobically (An organism, such as a bacterium, that can live in the absence of atmospheric oxygen) for a time, producing the lactic acid which causes rigor mortis – the stiffening of the corpse’s muscles. Then, as the cells begin to decompose, the stiffness wanes, the tongue protrudes, the temperature drops, the skin discolors, the flesh rots, and the parasites have their feast - until all that is left is dried-out tooth and bone.
As for the journey of the soul after death, then this is not something that can be witnessed, nor can it be gauged through scientific enquiry. Even in a living body, the conscious, or soul, of a person cannot be subjected to empirical experimentation. It is simply beyond human control. In this regard, the concept of a Hereafter - a life beyond death, resurrection, and a Day of Reckoning; not to mention the existence of a Divine, Omnipotent Creator, His angels, destiny, and so on, comes under the subject of belief in the unseen. The only way in which man can come to know anything of the unseen in this world is through divine revelation.
Allah Says:
“With Him are the keys of the Unseen, the treasures that none knoweth but He, He knoweth whatever there is on the earth and in the sea, Not a leaf doth fall but with His knowledge, there is not a grain in the darkness (or depths) of the earth, nor anything fresh or dry (green or withered), but is (inscribed) in a Record Clear (to those who can read).” Q6:59.
This is the mystic Record, the archetypal Plan, and the Eternal Law, according to which everything seen and unseen is ordered and regulated. The simplest things in Nature are subject to His Law. The fresh and the withered, the living and the lifeless, nothing is outside the Plan of His Creation.
All the Holy books before the Quran, all speak on the Hereafter and all are through revelation that lead to the final Book sent to us through the Noble Prophet Muhammad (SAW) and he is the only one who told us in details the life after life. And as the Quran is, and will forever remain, preserved and uncorrupted by human hands, the insight it gives us into the world of the unseen is, for the believer, as factual, real and true as anything that can be learnt through any scientific endeavor (and with a zero margin of error).
Together with the question of what happens after we die, is the question: Why are we here? For if there is indeed no greater reason to life (that is, greater than simply living life itself), the question of what happens after death becomes academic, if not pointless. It is only if one first accepts that our intelligent design, our creation, necessitates an intelligence and designer behind it, a Creator who will judge us for what we do, that life on earth carries any significant meaning.
Allah Says: “"Did ye then think that We had created you in jest, and that ye would not be brought back to Us (for account)? Therefore exalted be Allah, the King, the Reality; there is no god but He, the Lord of the Throne of Honor!”Q23:115-116.
Allah's Creation is not without a high serious purpose. It is not vain, or for mere play or sport. As far as man is concerned, the highest issues for him hang on his behaviour in this life. "Life is real, life is earnest, and the grave is not its goal", as Long fellow truly says. We must therefore earnestly search out Allah’s Truth, encouraged by the fact that Allah's Truth is also, out of His unbounded mercy, searching us out and trying to reach us.
If aught else, a discerning person would be forced to conclude that life on earth is full of injustice, cruelty and oppression; that the law of the jungle, survival of the fittest, is what is paramount; that if one cannot find happiness in this life, whether due to an absence of material comforts, physical love, or other joyous experiences, then life is simply not worth living. In fact, it is precisely because a person despairs of this worldly life while having little, no, or imperfect faith in an afterlife, that they may commit suicide. After all, what else do the unhappy, unloved and unwanted; the dejected, (desperately) depressed and despairing have to lose?!
Shaikh Ibn Abayaomi (HT) said “there is no amount of pleasure you desired in Paradise that you won’t get within the unlimited supply from Allah and there is no Punishment serve on you that will not suffice you either”
So can we accept that our death is limited to mere physiological termination, or that life is merely a product of blind, selfish evolution? Surely, there is more to death, and so to life, than this. There is life after death indeed known as Barzakh, the life in the Grave.
Alahumma infa`ni bima `allamtani wa `allamni ma yanfa`uni! (OH ALLAH! Make useful for me what You taught me and teach me knowledge that will be useful to me!
May Allah bless us to serve Him in all aspects of our lives.
Wa Salaam Alaikum Waramotullahi Wabarakatuhu.
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Bismillahi Rahman Roheem.
All form of Praises is due for Allah. We adore Him and seek His help and forgiveness. We have Faith and Trust in Him. We seek Allah’s refuge against evil tendencies of our Soul and our bad deeds.
He whom Allah guides no one can lead him astray. And he whom Allah lets go astray there is none to guide him. I bear witness that there is no deity except Allah, the One and without any Partner; and I also bear witness that Muhammad (SAW) is His servant and Messenger. Allah had sent him with Truth, to give good tidings and to warn before the Doomsday. Whosoever obeys Allah and His Messenger will be successful and well guided.
And whosoever disobeys either of them has gone astray. Such a person harms none save himself; he does no harm to Allah. The best Word is the Book of Allah. And the best Guidance is that given by Muhammad (SAW). Good things are the firm (original) ones, and Bad things are those introduced later on. And everything introduced later (in religion) is innovation. And every innovation is Hell fire.
To become a true Muslim it necessary to have complete faith in Muhammad (SAW) and to affirm that he is Allah last and true messenger; his teachings are absolutely perfect free from any defect or error; and he is the last among the prophets of Allah, after him no Prophet will be sent by Allah to mankind till the Day of Accountability and any personage that appear among people is definitely an impostor.
Shortly before his death, Prophet Muhammad delivered a sermon during the Hajj, which came to be known as his “Final Sermon”. This final sermon was not only a reminder to his followers, but also an important admonition. The final sermon confirms the end of his Prophetic Mission.
Year 10 A.H. of the Islamic Calendar is considered to be one of the most significant years for three reasons. Firstly, this was the year when the Prophet delivered his Last Sermon during his farewell pilgrimage to Makkah. Secondly, this was the year where number of deputations came to the Prophet to announce their Islam as well as their tribes. Thirdly, it was the golden period of Islam when multitudes of people embraced the faith by accepting the message of the Prophet.
Prophet Muhammad undertook his farewell pilgrimage in the year 10 A.H. His farewell pilgrimage to Makkah is one of the most significant historical events in the minds of Muslims, for it was the first and last pilgrimage made by Prophet Muhammad, as well as being the model for performing the fifth pillar of Islam, the Hajj.
Prophet Muhammad’s final sermon was delivered during the Hajj of the year 632 C.E., the ninth day of Dhul Hijjah, the 12th month of the lunar year, at Arafat, the most blessed day of the year. There were countless Muslims present with the Prophet during his last pilgrimage when he delivered his last Sermon.
The Final Sermon:
After praising, and thanking Allah, the Prophet, may Allah send His praises upon him said:
“O People, lend me an attentive ear, for I know not whether after this year, I shall ever be amongst you again. Therefore, listen to what I am saying to you very carefully and take these words to those who could not be present here today.
O People, just as you regard this month, this day, this city as Sacred, so regard the life and property of every Muslim as a sacred trust. Return the goods entrusted to you to their rightful owners. Hurt no one so that no one may hurt you. Remember that you will indeed meet your Lord, and that He will indeed reckon your deeds. Allah has forbidden you to take usury (interest), therefore all interest obligation shall henceforth be waived. Your capital, however, is yours to keep. You will neither inflict nor suffer any inequity. Allah has Judged that there shall be no interest, and that all the interest due to Abbas ibn Abd’al Muttalib shall henceforth be waived.
Beware of Satan, for the safety of your religion. He has lost all hope that he will ever be able to lead you astray in big things, so beware of following him in small things.
O People, it is true that you have certain rights with regard to your women, but they also have rights over you. Remember that you have taken them as your wives only under a trust from Allah and with His permission. If they abide by your right then to them belongs the right to be fed and clothed in kindness.
Do treat your women well and be kind to them for they are your partners and committed helpers. And it is your right that they do not make friends with any one of whom you do not approve, as well as never to be unchaste.
O People, listen to me in earnest, worship Allah, perform your five daily prayers, fast during the month of Ramadan, and offer Zakat. Perform Hajj if you have the means.
All mankind is from Adam and Eve. An Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab, nor does a non-Arab have any superiority over an Arab; white has no superiority over black, nor does a black have any superiority over white; [none have superiority over another] except by piety and good action. Learn that every Muslim is a brother to every Muslim and that the Muslims constitute one brotherhood. Nothing shall be legitimate to a Muslim which belongs to a fellow Muslim unless it was given freely and willingly. Do not, therefore, do injustice to yourselves.
Remember, one day you will appear before Allah and answer for your deeds. So beware, do not stray from the path of righteousness after I am gone.
O People, no prophet or apostle will come after me, and no new faith will be born. Reason well, therefore, O people, and understand words which I convey to you. I leave behind me two things, the Quran and my example, the Sunnah, and if you follow these you will never go astray.
All those who listen to me shall pass on my words to others and those to others again; and it may be that the last ones understand my words better than those who listen to me directly. Be my witness, O Allah, that I have conveyed your message to your people.”
Thus the beloved Prophet completed his Final Sermon, and upon it, near the summit of Arafat, the revelation came down:
“…This day have I perfected your religion for you, completed My Grace upon you, and have chosen Islam for you as your religion…” (Quran 5:3)
Even today the Last Sermon of Prophet Muhammad is passed to every Muslim in every corner of the word through all possible means of communication. Muslims are reminded about it in mosques and in lectures. Indeed the meanings found in this sermon are indeed astounding, touching upon some of the most important rights Allah has over humanity, and humanity has over each other. Though the Prophet’s soul has left this world, his words are still living in our hearts reflecting in our inner spiritual reality.
According to a sound Hadith:
“Jibril came to me and said, ‘O Muhammad, live as you wish, for you shall eventually die. Love whom you desired, for you shall eventually depart. Do what you pleased, for you shall pay. Know that the night-prayer is the honor of a believer, and his pride is being independent on others.” (Hadith Hassan).
If there is only one thing that I know and certain about this life, is that everything in it will end. This truism instinctively raises a question which preoccupies most people at least once in their life: What lies beyond death?
At the physiological level, the journey that the deceased takes is plain for all to witness. If left alone to natural causes, the heart will stop beating, the lungs will stop breathing, and the body’s cells will be starved of blood and oxygen. The termination of blood flow to the outer extremities will soon turn them pale. With the oxygen cut off, cells will respire anaerobically (An organism, such as a bacterium, that can live in the absence of atmospheric oxygen) for a time, producing the lactic acid which causes rigor mortis – the stiffening of the corpse’s muscles. Then, as the cells begin to decompose, the stiffness wanes, the tongue protrudes, the temperature drops, the skin discolors, the flesh rots, and the parasites have their feast - until all that is left is dried-out tooth and bone.
As for the journey of the soul after death, then this is not something that can be witnessed, nor can it be gauged through scientific enquiry. Even in a living body, the conscious, or soul, of a person cannot be subjected to empirical experimentation. It is simply beyond human control. In this regard, the concept of a Hereafter - a life beyond death, resurrection, and a Day of Reckoning; not to mention the existence of a Divine, Omnipotent Creator, His angels, destiny, and so on, comes under the subject of belief in the unseen. The only way in which man can come to know anything of the unseen in this world is through divine revelation.
Allah Says:
“With Him are the keys of the Unseen, the treasures that none knoweth but He, He knoweth whatever there is on the earth and in the sea, Not a leaf doth fall but with His knowledge, there is not a grain in the darkness (or depths) of the earth, nor anything fresh or dry (green or withered), but is (inscribed) in a Record Clear (to those who can read).” Q6:59.
This is the mystic Record, the archetypal Plan, and the Eternal Law, according to which everything seen and unseen is ordered and regulated. The simplest things in Nature are subject to His Law. The fresh and the withered, the living and the lifeless, nothing is outside the Plan of His Creation.
All the Holy books before the Quran, all speak on the Hereafter and all are through revelation that lead to the final Book sent to us through the Noble Prophet Muhammad (SAW) and he is the only one who told us in details the life after life. And as the Quran is, and will forever remain, preserved and uncorrupted by human hands, the insight it gives us into the world of the unseen is, for the believer, as factual, real and true as anything that can be learnt through any scientific endeavor (and with a zero margin of error).
Together with the question of what happens after we die, is the question: Why are we here? For if there is indeed no greater reason to life (that is, greater than simply living life itself), the question of what happens after death becomes academic, if not pointless. It is only if one first accepts that our intelligent design, our creation, necessitates an intelligence and designer behind it, a Creator who will judge us for what we do, that life on earth carries any significant meaning.
Allah Says: “"Did ye then think that We had created you in jest, and that ye would not be brought back to Us (for account)? Therefore exalted be Allah, the King, the Reality; there is no god but He, the Lord of the Throne of Honor!”Q23:115-116.
Allah's Creation is not without a high serious purpose. It is not vain, or for mere play or sport. As far as man is concerned, the highest issues for him hang on his behaviour in this life. "Life is real, life is earnest, and the grave is not its goal", as Long fellow truly says. We must therefore earnestly search out Allah’s Truth, encouraged by the fact that Allah's Truth is also, out of His unbounded mercy, searching us out and trying to reach us.
If aught else, a discerning person would be forced to conclude that life on earth is full of injustice, cruelty and oppression; that the law of the jungle, survival of the fittest, is what is paramount; that if one cannot find happiness in this life, whether due to an absence of material comforts, physical love, or other joyous experiences, then life is simply not worth living. In fact, it is precisely because a person despairs of this worldly life while having little, no, or imperfect faith in an afterlife, that they may commit suicide. After all, what else do the unhappy, unloved and unwanted; the dejected, (desperately) depressed and despairing have to lose?!
Shaikh Ibn Abayaomi (HT) said “there is no amount of pleasure you desired in Paradise that you won’t get within the unlimited supply from Allah and there is no Punishment serve on you that will not suffice you either”
So can we accept that our death is limited to mere physiological termination, or that life is merely a product of blind, selfish evolution? Surely, there is more to death, and so to life, than this. There is life after death indeed known as Barzakh, the life in the Grave.
Alahumma infa`ni bima `allamtani wa `allamni ma yanfa`uni! (OH ALLAH! Make useful for me what You taught me and teach me knowledge that will be useful to me!
May Allah bless us to serve Him in all aspects of our lives.
Wa Salaam Alaikum Waramotullahi Wabarakatuhu.
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