Class 7 – Those who Allah will Protect & those who He will Reject

Those whom Allah will shade with His shade
When the people are standing in that vast arena, beneath the harsh glare of the sun, tasting a torment which even the mighty mountains could not bear, a group of the best among them will be at peace in the shade of the Throne of the Most Merciful, and they will be spared the distress suffered by the rest of the people.

These will be the people of high ambition and sincere resolve, the characteristics represented by the ‘aqeedah (faith) of Islam with its sublime values, or they will be the people who did noble good deeds, which are of great importance in Islam.

Who are these people? Among them will be the just ruler, who had power and authority, but did not abuse that, rather he established justice among the people in accordance with the divinely revealed laws.

And among them will be the young man who grew up worshipping his Lord, restraining himself with the reins of taqwa and controlling his whims and desires, so he remained pure all his life.

And among them will be those who frequented the mosques of Allah, finding their rest in being close to the mosques and conversing with Allah; hardly have they left the mosque when they long to return to it.

And among them will be those who loved one another for the sake of Allah, tied together by the bonds of the brotherhood of faith, coming together in righteousness and piety, and parting after doing good deeds.

And among them will be those who shunned the temptation of women, who were prevented by their fear of Allah from falling into sin.

And among them will be the one who spent sincerely for the sake of Allah alone, hiding his charity even from himself.

And among them will be the one whose heart is filled with fear of Allah, so that he weeps for that reason when he is alone and there is no one else with him.

Bukhari and Muslim narrated in their Saheehs that Abu Hurayrah R.A. related: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “There are seven whom (Allah) will shade with His shade on the Day when there will be no shade except His: the just ruler; the young man who grows up worshipping his Lord; the man whose heart is attached to the mosque; two men who love one another for the sake of Allah, meeting and parting for that reason; a man who is invited (to sin) by a woman of high status and beauty, but he says, ‘I fear Allah’; a man who gives in charity so secretly that his left hand does not know what his right hand gives; and a man who remembers Allah when he is alone, and his eyes fill with tears. “

This is one of the blessings that Allaah bestows upon His believing slaves. On the great Day when mankind will be suffering distress and hardship,the sun will be brought near to mankind, until the distance between them is equal to the length of the stick used for applying kohl to the eyes [meel= may also mean a “mile”], and all the people will sweat according to their deeds, except for some of the believers, whom Allaah will single out to shade them with His shade, and He will protect them from the sun and from sweating.

‘Uqbah ibn ‘Aamir said: I heard the Messenger of Allaah ﷺ say: “The sun will be brought near to the earth and the people will sweat. For some people, the sweat will come up to their heels; for some it will come halfway up their shins; for some it will come up to their knees; for some it will come up to their backsides; for some it will come up to their hips; for some it will come up to their shoulders; for some it will come up to their necks; for some it will come up to the middle of their mouths; and some of them will be comepletely covered with their sweat.” (Narrated by Imaam Ahmad in his Musnad, no. 16798)

There follows the commentary of Ibn Hajar (may Allaah be pleased with him) on the hadeeth (about the shade of Allaah) recorded in Fath al-Baari, 620.

• “with His shade”. The fact that the shade is connected to Allaah is an expression of honour, for every shade belongs to Him. It was said that this refers to His honour and protection, just as it may be said (in Arabic) that a person is in the shade (or shadow) of the king. And it was said that it refers to the shadow of His Throne, which is more correct
• “the just ruler” means one who holds the position of khaleefah, and anyone else who is appointed to a position of authority over the Muslims’ affairs, and he fulfils his duties justly.
• The best definition of “just” is: one who obeys the commands of Allaah and puts everything in its proper place without going to the extreme either of overdoing it or of negligence. The just ruler is mentioned first because his benefits are so far-reaching.
• “a young man”. Young men are mentioned in particular because they are more likely to feel desire because of their strong motives for following their desires. The fact that a young man adheres to worship despite that is indicative of the strength of his taqwaa (piety).
• “worshipping his Lord”. In the hadeeth of Salmaan it says that he “spent his youth and his energy in worshipping Allaah.”
• “attached to the mosque”. The apparent meaning is attachment in the sense of hanging, as if his heart is likened to something that hangs in the mosque – like a lamp, for example – indicating that his heart is so strongly attached to the mosque that even when he leaves the mosque, his heart is still there. Or it could mean attachment in the sense of a deep love.
• “love one another” means, they shared a kind of love whereby each loved the other in a genuine sense, not just to show off.
• “and [they] meet and part on that basis” means, this is an ongoing love based on religion, which they do not cut off for any worldly reason, whether they meet in reality or not, until death comes between them.
• “a man who is called by a woman of rank and beauty”. The meaning of “of rank” is, of high birth or a high position; this may refer to lineage or to wealth. The woman is described as having all the qualities which people usually seek, power and wealth, along with beauty. It is very rare to find all three in a woman. The apparent meaning is that she called him to commit immoral actions.
• “and says ‘I fear Allaah’”. The apparent meaning is that he says this out loud, either to rebuke her for her immoralityor to refuse her call. It may also be that he says it in his heart.
• “to such an extent that his left hand does not know what his right hand gives”. What is meant by this is that he conceals his charitable giving , and goes to such an extreme that his left hand, even though it is so close to his right hand and is always with it that even if we imagined that it could understand, it would not know what the right hand is doing because of this utter secrecy. This is a metaphor.
• “and a man who remembers Allaah” – either in his heart, or by mentioning Him out loud.
• “when he is alone” – because this is furthest away from showing off. What is meant here is that there are no distractions, so he pays attention to nothing except Allaah.
• “his eyes fill up (lit. flood)” means, they fill with tears; this is another metaphor.

End Quote

Although men are mentioned in this hadeeth, women are also included in what is described here. Although what is meant by a “just leader” is the position of imaam (khaleefah), women may also be included in this, if they have children and treat them justly. The idea of being attached to the mosque does not apply to women, because a woman’s prayer in her home is better than her prayer in the mosque. Apart from that, women have a share in all of these things; if a man may be called by a woman, then it can be imagined that a woman could be called by a handsome king, for example, and she refuses because she fears Allaah, even though she may have motives to respond.

The seven things mentioned all relate to serious developmental goals that should be sought throughout our own personal development and our efforts to help other people in their own growth.

The first is to develop a level of Allah-consciousness (taqwa) in the way that one deals with power. Being in a position of authority in Islam is a responsibility that one is held accountable for and it is very serious. Part of that is that our base selves often push us to take advantage of our positions of authority and abuse our power at the expense of others. This is a serious developmental flaw because it shows irresponsibility and a lack of taqwa. We all have varying situations throughout our lives wherein we are in a position of authority and when we have such power we have to look critically at ourselves and hope that Allah gives us good friends who help keep us in line. The developmental lesson here is in learning to act responsibly with power.

The second is a special kind of person that you meet every now and then. They are just good and always have been. These people are truly special because their consistency in worship draws them close to the fitrah, or natural state of being. You can feel their goodness in their interactions and see their genuineness in the details of their behavior. Most of us were not raised this way but that does not mean that we cannot renew our commitment to Allah (swt). That is something that we can do it any time by asking His forgiveness and starting fresh. This developmental point is about being consistent in our servitude to Allah (swt).

The third is the one whose heart is attached to the houses of worship. These are the people you meet who organize their lives around prayer. They make every effort to be at the mosque for prayer as much as possible and find beauty and pleasure in doing so. They recognize the peace and tranquility that comes from spending time in the mosque, and they call others to do so as well. This developmental point is about learning to love worship.

The fourth is two people that love each other for the sake of Allah (swt). There are many reasons why we could care for someone in this life. Sometimes those reasons are selfish and sometimes they are selfless. The one who loves solely for Allah’s sake (swt) is selfless in their love. This is a kind of training of the heart that all seekers of the Divine must experience. They must learn to purify their relationships with others and focus them on the ultimate goal, the pleasure of Allah (swt). This developmental point is essentially learning how to love properly and for the right reasons.

The fifth is someone who is called to fulfill their sexual desires in an unlawful way and resists. This is mentioned as a major trial that can afflict a person and as such the reward for passing it is Paradise. The person who is able to resist such a temptation is someone who has a strong control over their self and a clear awareness of Allah (swt). The developmental lesson is in learning to resist immediate temptations in favor of a greater reward with Allah (swt).

The sixth is someone who is so charitable that they lose track of their charity. The expression here is that their right hand spends so freely that their left hand does not even notice it. This habit is not about simply giving when it is convenient or only on certain things and not others. This is a habit that becomes so much a part of the person’s being that it reaches all causes of goodness. The developmental lesson is in making charity a way of life.

The seventh, and final, is the one who remembers Allah (swt) in private and tears up. This last one is very intimate. Many people are able to maintain a stable Islamic personality in public, but when they are left alone by themselves they start to slip. Their identity and worship are public affairs but have not reached the inner depths of the self where true spirituality lies. The one who remembers Allah (swt) when alone and cries is the one who has cultivated a truly special and unique relationship with their Creator; an intimate relationship that cannot be explained by words and is only obtained through long periods of struggling for His sake. The developmental goal is to become intimate with Allah (swt) and move past the superficiality of common religious discourse.

The shade of the Throne will not be restricted only to the seven mentioned in the hadith. Many texts indicate that Allah will shade others too. Ibn Hajar listed them in Fath al-Baari (620) as follows:

“Those who fight (for the sake of Allaah); those who help the mujaahideen; those who defer payment of debt for debtors who are in difficulty, or let them off all or part of the debt; those who help people who are heavily in debt; those who help slaves who have drawn up contracts of manumission; those who have a good attitude; those who walk to the mosque; sincere and honest traders; those who take what is due to them and no more; those who spend for the sake of Allaah; those who sponsor orphans.”

In Saheeh Muslim and Musnad Ahmad it is narrated from Abu’l-Yusr that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “Whoever extends the time-limit for a debtor who is in difficulty or waives the debt altogether, Allah will shade him with His shade.”

SubhaanAllah, how easy has Allah made His glorious deen for us? We know it, we know “That Day” is going to be very very difficult, we know that there will be no shade on that day except His but most importantly we know the things we need to do to get a chance to be there by His Mercy. But NO, we are heedless, we do not work for it, we say Allah is the Most Merciful and leave it at that?

I finish this section with a cry to ponder, to make sincere intention that we will work hard to be eligible for atleast one if not all the categories. Go find a person who needs money and lend them some of it with the intention of taking it when things are eased out, go find an orphan and sponsor something for him/her, give charity, Love someone for the Sake of Allah ad then say it to him/her (it is Sunnah); tonight get up alone and cry in front of Allah – think of your sins, think of the pain the Ummah is going through – pray for your forgiveness, pray for the Ummah; Cry in front of your Lord!

May Allah make us amongst those who are under His shade… please remember the whole Ummah in your prayers!

Sins for which Allah will not speak to a person or praise him

There are many texts which discourage sins by warning that on the Day of Resurrection, Allah will not speak to those who commit them, nor will He praise them, and theirs will be a painful torment.

1. Those who conceal what Allah has revealed of the Scripture
2. A man who swears an oath (false) concerning his goods for sale. Something very commonly spread in our times, people sell making false promises like “Trust me this price is only for you otherwise we sell it at a higher price etc. Hiding faults of a Product you are selling is also considered a Major sin, so one should avoid that.
3. A man who swears allegiance to a leader, and if he gives him something he remains loyal to him, otherwise he does not.
4. Those who reminds others of his favours
5. Those who denies his surplus water to the wayfarer
6. Zina (adultery) on the part of an old man. Some scholars says a man is considered to be in his youth till he is 30 years after that he is an old man.
7. Lying on the part of a king. Because he is a position but still opts to lying and deceit.
8. Arrogance on the part of a poor man,
9. Disobedience to one’s parents. Another one which is common amongst the Ummah, may Allah give us the Hidayah to be dutiful and respectful to our parents.
10. Imitation of men by women,
11. Diyaathah (cuckoldry, lack of protective jealousy towards one’s womenfolk). We see men walking around in the markets with their wives full of make-up, having a ton of perfume on, attracting gazes and stares and the men walk with them flaunting and being proud of what they got.
12. Anal intercourse with one’s wife, and
13. Letting one’s garment drag along the ground out of pride. Many scholars say that men just having your garment below your ankle comes under the same ruling and it is not exclusively for those who walk like that with arrogance.

We list below some of the ahadeeth as references (not listing all of them to keep the length of the note small, but anyone who wants a reference for a specific thing can ask us, we will InShaAllah provide the same.

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

• “Whoever is asked about knowledge that he has but conceals will be bridled with reins of fire on the Day of Resurrection.” (Tirmidhi & Abu Dawood, classed as Hasan)
• “There are three to whom Allah will not speak on the Day of Resurrection, and He will not look at them or praise them, and theirs will be a painful torment.‘…..’(They are) the one who lets his garment hang down below his ankles (isbaal); the one who sells his goods by means of false oaths; and the one who reminds others of his favours.“‘ (Ahmad)
• “Whoever swears an oath in which he is lying in order to take a Muslim’s wealth unlawfully, will meet Allah when He is angry with him.“
• “There are three to whom Allah will not speak on the Day of Resurrection, and He will not look at them or praise them, and theirs will be a painful torment: a man who denies his surplus water to the wayfarer; a man who swears an oath concerning his goods for sale after ‘Asr, i.e., swears a false oath; and a man who swears allegiance to a leader, and if he gives him something he remains loyal to him, otherwise he does not.” (Tirmidhi said: it is Saheeh hasan hadith.)
• “There are three to whom Allah will not speak on the Day of Resurrection, and He will not praise them or look at them, and theirs will be a painful torment: an old man who commits zina (adultery), a king who tells lies, and a poor man who is arrogant.” (Nasaa’i)

May Allah save us from being amongst them and give us the Hidaayah to repent and abandon these if we are indulged in them. May Allah forgive us all!