بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
LIKE THE DWELLERS OF JANNAH
Two one-year old infants were walking with their mothers in a garden. One of them held her mother’s hand while the other did not. Which of them stumbled more? . . . Off course, the child that did not hold her mother’s hand stumbled more. In fact, the other child probably did not trip at all. Very similar, though not identical, is the difference between the Nabi and the non-Nabi as they walk through life.
Rasulullah sallallahu alaihi wasallam said in a Hadith Qudsi that Allah says, “By means of the nawaafil, my servant continues drawing closer to me until I love him. When I love him, I become his ear with which he hears, his eye with which he sees, his hand with which he catches and his foot with which he walks.” Obviously, this does not mean that Allah becomes His servant’s ear, eye or limb. Allah is the creator. How can He become part of His creation? Hence, the meaning of the Hadith is that when Allah loves a person, He guides that person to correct utilisation of every part of his body. Now, if this is how Allah treats a pious non-Nabi, imagine how He treats the Nabi! After all, every Nabi is chosen by Allah.
اللَّهُ يَصْطَفِي مِنَ الْمَلائِكَةِ رُسُلاً وَمِنَ النَّاسِ
Allah chooses messengers from the angels and men.
Nubuwwah is a gift from Allah which He bestows to whosoever He desires. It is not attainable through study and hard work. Therefore, there are no possibilities of trial and error, practise makes perfect and maturing with age.
Besides, the purpose of the Nabi is to demonstrate how the laws of Allah are to be implemented. He is the uswah hasanah (excellent example) for his followers. Now, do you think that Allah would present us with a faulty example? If the Nabi sins, what type of example would he be for his followers? It is for this reason that we believe that every Nabi was ma’soom (sinless).
Rasulullah sallallahu alaihi wasallam exhorted us to worship Allah as if we see Him. Do you think Rasulullah sallallahu alaihi wasallam never practised what he preached?
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آَمَنُوا لِمَ تَقُولُونَ مَا لا تَفْعَلُونَ
O you who believe! Why do you say what you do not do?
Moreover, it is impossible that Rasulullah sallallahu alaihi wasallam lacked conviction in the all-encompassing nature of Allah’s knowledge. He believed more than anybody else that Allah is All-Hearing, All-Seeing and All-Knowing. On the Night of Mi’raaj he saw Jannah and Jahannam. This means he had total conviction in the reward for obedience and the punishment for sin. Thus, he was always conscious of Allah’s presence and never ever committed a single sin.
Coming to the title of this article, it should be noted that apart from the ambiyaa, the only other ma’soom human beings are the dwellers of Jannah.
لا يَسْمَعُونَ فِيهَا لَغْوًا وَلا تَأْثِيمًا
In it (Jannah) they will hear neither vain talk nor sin.
Hence, the conclusion that even in their worldly lives, the ambiyaa resembled the dwellers of Jannah.
Another Semblance
“Send me abundant salawaat (salutations)” advised Rasulullah sallallahu alaihi wasallam, “Because your salawaat will be presented to me.” “O Rasul of Allah!” enquired somebody from the audience, “How will our salawaat be presented to you whereas your body will be decomposed by then?” Rasulullah sallallahu alaihi wasallam replied, “Allah ‘azza wa jalla has prohibited the earth from consuming the bodies of the ambiyaa.”
In view of this Hadith and other dalaa-il (proofs) from the Qur’aan and Sunnah, the Ahlus-Sunnah believe that the ambiyaa are alive in their graves. Jalaal-ud-Deen Suyooti writes in this regard: The fact that the Nabi sallallahu alaihi wasallam and the rest of the ambiyaa are alive in their graves is known to us in a manner that is beyond doubt due to the proofs and the tawaatur (continuity) of the narrations in this regard. Baihaqi had compiled a separate book on this topic. Among the narrations that prove this is . . .”
We are not going to delve into any of the (other) proofs cited by Suyooti. However, the point we wish to highlight is that this is another semblance between the ambiyaa and the dwellers of Jannah. Remember that there is no death in Jannah. The dwellers of Jannah will never die. To paraphrase, just as the dwellers of Jannah will always be alive, the ambiyaa are also always alive, even in their graves.
Musk-smelling Perspiration
Anas radiallahu anhu said that he never smelled ambar or musk better than the (natural) fragrance of Rasulullah sallallahu alaihi wasallam. Jaabir radiallahu anhu said that due to Rasulullah’s sallallahu alaihi wasallam fragrance, it was always possible to detect when he had walked through an alley. According to another narration, this was due to the fragrance of Rasulullah’s sallallahu alaihi wasallam perspiration. Once, Ummu-Sulaim radiallahu anha collected some of Rasulullah’s sallallahu alaihi wasallam perspiration while he was asleep. Suddenly Rasulullah sallallahu alaihi wasallam woke up and asked her what she was doing. “This is your perspiration” she replied, “We dilute it with our perfume. It is the best perfume!”
This sweet-smelling perspiration of Rasulullah sallallahu alaihi wasallam is yet another aspect in which he resembled the dwellers of Jannah in his worldly life. “They (the dwellers of Jannah) will not pass urine and stool. They will neither spit nor have any phlegm. Their combs will be made from gold and their perspiration will smell like musk . . .”
Urine and Stool
Just as the bodies and perspiration of the ambiyaa do not smell like the bodies and perspiration of non-ambiyaa, it is not far-fetched that their urine and stool would be also be different from the urine and stool of non-ambiyaa. Hence, ‘Aa-isha radiallahu anha said to Rasulullah sallallahu alaihi wasallam, “I notice that when you go to the toilet, the person who utilises the toilet after you never sees anything that left your body.” “O ‘Aa-isha!” responded Rasulullah sallallahu alaihi wasallam, “Do you not know that Allah commanded the earth to swallow anything (urine and stool) which comes out of the bodies of the ambiyaa?”
Furthermore, Umaymah radiallahu anha narrated that when Rasulullah sallallahu alaihi wasallam needed to pass urine at night, he would do so in a wooden bowl which he would thereafter leave beneath his bed. He would wash out the urine the next day. One morning, when he removed the bowl from beneath his bed, he found that it was empty. Upon enquiring, Barakah, an Abyssinian slave-girl of Umm Habeebah radiallahu anha, informed him that she drank it. Amazingly Rasulullah sallallahu alaihi wasallam did not reprimand her. Instead, he told her that by drinking his urine, she would be protected from the fire. Based on this Hadith, some ‘ulamaa are of the opinion that the urine and stool of Rasulullah sallallahu alaihi wasallam were taahir (pure).
Many Wives
Just as the ambiyaa possess greater spiritual strength than the non-ambiyaa, their physical strengths also surpass that of the non-ambiyaa. Thus, while digging the trench around Madinah, Rasulullah sallallahu alaihi wasallam single-handedly crushed a boulder which none of the Sahaabah was able to crush. Similarly, Rasulullah sallallahu alaihi wasallam effortlessly defeated Rukaanah, the famous and unrivalled wrestler. In fact, Rasulullah sallallahu alaihi wasallam toppled him three times consecutively.
Considering this extraordinary strength of Rasulullah sallallahu alaihi wasallam, Allah permitted him to marry more women than the ordinary Muslim. Thus, Rasulullah sallallahu alaihi wasallam had nine wives at the time of his demise. In total, he had eleven wives. This (having many wives) is one more commonality between certain ambiyaa, especially Rasulullah sallallahu alaihi wasallam, and the dwellers of Jannah. Rasulullah sallallahu alaihi wasallam said, “The Believer will have seventy three wives in Jannah.” “Will he have strength for that?” asked the Sahaabah. Rasulullah sallallahu alaihi wasallam replied, “He will have the strength of one hundred men (of the Dunya)”.
Abu Hudhaifa Muhammed Karolia
23 Safar 1434 / 06 January 2013
Al-Jaami’ah Al-Mahmoodiah
Persida, Springs