SHUKR
GRATIDUTE TO ALLAH
(Abu Hudhaifah Muhammed Karolia)

Rasulullah  said in a Hadith, “The condition of the believer is astonishing (because) every condition of his is good for him – if he is blessed with ease he makes shukr (he is grateful) and if he is afflicted with difficulty he makes sabr (he exercises patience).”

Why is shukr good for the believer?

Firstly, shukr is the command of Allah.
• “Be grateful to Allah if Him alone you worship.”
• “Be grateful to me – don’t be ungrateful.”
• “Worship and thank Him – to him will you be returned”
• “And Allah removed you from the wombs of your mothers while you knew nothing and He gave you ears, eyes and hearts so that you will be grateful.”
Hence those who make shukr merely implement the command of Allah and implanting the command of Allah is always good.

Secondly, shukr is the habit of the Ambiyaa and we have been commanded to follow their habits.
• In the Qur’aan Allah describes Ibrahim  and Nooh  as شاكرا لأنعمه (grateful for Allah’s favours) and عبدا شكورا (a grateful servant) respectively.
• When Aa’isha  asked Rasulullah  why he performed such lengthy rak’ats of tahajjud salaah causing his feet to swell, he replied, “Should I not desire to be a grateful servant?”

Thirdly, shukr causes Allah’s bounties to multiply. “Recall the time when your Rabb announced that ‘If you are grateful, I will give you more and if you are ungrateful (I will punish you) – surely my punishment is severe.”

Special Friends of Allah

Even when a man has many friends, his closest and very special friends are few. Accordingly the meaning of the aayah و قليل من عبادي الشكور (“And few of my servants are grateful”) is that those who are sincerely grateful to Allah are His closest and very special servants.

What is Shukr?

The word shukr is derived from the verb شكر يشكر شكرا which is used when the effect of the food becomes visible on the animal’s body. The meaning of the statement of Nabi صلى الله عليه و سلم in the Hadith of Saheeh Muslim ان الدواب لتشكر من لحومهم is that “The animals get fat as a result of the meat they eat.” Thus the meaning of shukr is that the effect of Allah’s bounty must be evident on one’s limbs by physically fulfilling His commands, one’s tongue by and verbally acknowledging His bounty and praising Him and in one’s heart by loving Him and constantly remaining conscious of Him.

Nabi Da’ud  once said to Allah, “O my Rabb, haw do I thank you whereas my thanking you is itself a bounty from you which demands more thanks?” Allah immediately responded to Nabi Da’ud  saying, “O Da’ud, now you are thanking me.” Addressing Allah in a similar manner Nabi Moosa  once said, “O Rabb, you created Aadam with your hands, you blew your rooh in him, you made the angels prostrate to him, you taught him the names of everything, you did…, you did…” (Thus he continued enumerating many of Allah’s bounties on him – Allah’s bounties on Aadam  are bounties on Moosa  and all of us because Aadam  is our father.) “So how will I ever be able to thank you?” Hearing these words of Moosa  Allah said: “He knows that all these bounties are from me – his acknowledging it is shukr.” It is in this light that a pious man by the name of Abu ‘Uthmaan defined shukr as “recognition of one’s inability to make shukr”.

Hamdoon Al-Qassaar, another pious man, defined shukr as regarding one’s self as a طفيلى in relationship to the bounties of Allah. The meaning of this, as explained by Junaid Al-Baghdaadi is that one should regard himself as unworthy of the bounties of Allah.

‘Aa’isha  once wrote to Mu’aawiya  that the least that the beneficiary of any ni’mah should do for the being who bestowed him with that bounty is that he should not use it to disobey him. When Sirri asked his disciple, Junaid Al-Baghdaadi (who was still a young boy at that time), to define shukr he replied: “It is that the bounties of Allah are not utilized to disobey Him.”

In view of the fact that every action of a Muslim aught to be an expression of his servitude to Allah, some people add the clause of humbleness – shukr is to humbly acknowledge the bounty of Allah. Thus Ibn-ul-Qayyim writes in his book Madaarij- us-Saalikeen that shukr comprises five things:
1. Humbleness before Allah
2. Love for Him
3. Acknowledgement that the bounty is from Him
4. Praising Him for His bounty
5. Not using His bounty in a manner that He dislikes

Besides the above, shukr also demands from us that:
• Bounty should not cause us to forget the giver of bounty.
• A little difficulty should not cause us to forget abundant bounty.

Two Levels of Shukr

There are two levels of shukr:
1. The level of those who only make shukr when they are in ease and comfort. Abu Isma’il Al-Harawi, the author of Manaazil-us-Saa’ireen, writes regarding this type of shukr that it is merely Allah’s mercy that He regards this type of attitude as shukr and rewards us for it.
2. The level of those who make shukr even when they are in difficulty. Because this type of shukr is more difficult, it is more rewarding. Ibn-ul-Qayyim writes that people who belong to this category are also of two types:
• Those who do not diffrentate between ease and difficulty and likes and dislikes – they are always content with whatever Allah ordains for them. This is what the scholars of tasawwuf term as radaa. Such people actually find pleasure in difficulty.
• Those who differentiate between ease and difficulty; while ease and comfort makes them happy, they find no pleasure in difficulty. However, they make shukr in difficulty also because:
1. There respect for Allah does not allow them to complain of Allah (to Allah or anybody else).
2. They have knowledge of the previous category and try to imitate them.

How to Attain the Highest Level of Shukr

Two things are imperative in order for us to attain the highest level of shukr:
1. Constant awareness of the fact that we are the slaves of Allah so that, considering the lowness of us slaves and the greatness of the Master, we will never under-estimate His bounties on us.
2. Constant love for Allah so that, considering that all our conditions – good and bad – are the decision of Allah and the decision of the beloved is always pleasing, we will find as much pleasure in difficulty as we find in ease.

Two Incidents

Before terminating this article I wish to quote two incidents.

The First Incident: Mufti Muhammed Shafee’ (Ra) mentioned in one of his majaalis that on one occasion his ustaadh, Maulana Sayyid Asghar Husain (Ra) ran a very high fever and fell unconscious. When he regained consciousness Mufti Shafee’ (who was standing at his side) asked him how he felt. He immediately replied, “Al-Hamdu-lillah, Al-Hamdu-lillah (All praise is to Allah), I am well. Thanks to Allah my heart and kidneys are fine. All my limbs are functioning well – I just have a fever.”

The Second Incident: Once when Mufti Shafee’ (Ra)’s daughter had a tooth removed she complained to him of the pain and said that these teeth are amazing; they cause pain when they ‘come’ and when they ‘go’. Mufti Shafee’ (Ra) reprimanded her saying that in view of the countless occasions that you used your tooth to bite and eat, is it not ungrateful to complain of a few days of pain?

Finally, let us not forget the Hadith of Rasulullah  that: “One who is ungrateful to people will never be grateful to Allah and one who is ungrateful for a little bit of bounty will never be grateful for abundant bounty.”

أللهم أعنى على ذكرك و شكرك و حسن عبادتك”

THE IMPORTANCE OF TIME
(Abu Hudhaifah Muhammed Karolia)

Have you ever heard people saying, “Time is money”? Yes? You heard it often? And did you agree? I’m sure you must have agreed – the plumber, the electrician and the mechanic all charge you for their labour according to the time they spend on the job, isn’t it? But what does Islaam say? What do true Muslims say?

Imaam Hasan Al-Bannaa (Ra) used to say that time is not money; it’s more than money. It’s not gold either. It’s neither diamonds nor pearls. It’s more than all of that. It is life. Yes, time is life! Because man’s life is nothing more than the time he spends from birth till death. Hasan Al-Basri (Ra) used to say, “O son of Aadam! You are merely a few days. Every day that passes, part of you also passes. (Every day lost is a loss of part of your-self).”

Suicide

If asked whether suicide is permissible, no Muslim would reply “yes” Yet so many of us are slowly committing suicide. How often don’t we waste time in futile pursuits and then we excuse our-selves saying, “We were just killing time”? سبحان الله If time is life and you are “killing” time, aren’t you killing your-self?

The Oaths of Allah

The Mufassireen (scholars of Tafseer) agree that when Allah takes an oath in the name of any of His creation, His oath is indicative of the importance of that particular item. So then imagine the importance of time if Allah swore in the name of time in more than just one Aayah of the Qur’aan.
“I swear in the name of time.”
“I swear by the glow of daybreak and the night when it is tranquil”
“I swear by the night when it enshrouds and the day when it appears bright.”
“I swear by the day when it brightens the earth and the night when it covers it.”

Deception

Rasulullah صلى الله عليه و سلم said in a Hadith which Imaam Bukhaari recorded from Sayyidina Ibn ‘Abbaas (Ra) that: “There are two favours from Allah in which most of the people are deceived: good health and free time.”

Note:

1. The word that Rasulullahصلى الله عليه و سلم used for deception is مغبون which is derived from غبن and غبن is generally used for deception in trade – when a person pays too much and when he sells something for too little.
2. Our life in this world could be called a business trip… to purchase the pleasure of Allah and Jannah. Allah Ta’aalah said in the Qur’aan, “Surely Allah purchased from the Mu’mineen their lives and their wealth in exchange for Jannah.” Similarly Rasulullahصلى الله عليه وسلم said: “Everybody leaves home in the morning. Thus he sells himself (to Allah or Shaytaan) and either frees or destroys himself.”
3. In the eyes of Allah and His Rasul صلى الله عليه و سلم the dunya (the world in which we live) is so insignificant that it has been described in one Hadith as less than one wing of a mosquito. “If the dunya was equal to one wing of a mosquito Allah would not have given a single disbeliever even one drop of water.” (Because it is not even equal to one wing of a mosquito he does not bother giving it to the disbelievers.)
4. Therefore the meaning of the Hadith that most people are deceived regarding their health and free time is that most people do not realise that by spending so much of effort and time to acquire the dunya, they are paying too much.

Time Flies

“Time flies” is not unknown to us. But how fast does it fly? When the angel of death came to Nabi Nooh (As), he asked him to describe his life to him. Nabi Nooh (As) – who lived for nine hundred and fifty years replied: “My life was like a house with two doors – I entered through one of them and now I’m leaving through the other.” Thus Allah Ta’aalah tells us in one aayah of the Qur’aan that on the day of Qiyaamah the disbelievers will think that “they did not stay (in the dunya) but for one evening or morning.” In another aayah He says that “it will seem (to them) that they did not stay (in the dunya) but for a short part of a day.”

Lost Time Never Returns

Another aspect of time is that once lost, it never returns. Thus Hasan Al-Basri used to say, “Every day when dawn breaks the day proclaims: O son of Aadam! I am a new creation (of Allah) and I will be witness to your actions. Therefore take your share of me because when I leave, I won’t return till the day of Qiyaamah.”

Two Occasions of Regret

There are two occasions when man regrets wasting his time:
1. Death
2. The Day of Qiyaamah

Concerning the first occasion Allah Ta’aalah says in the Qur’aan, “And spend from the sustenance we gave you before death comes to one of you and he says: O my Rabb, why don’t you delay me until a close period of time so that I may give charity and be among the pious.”

Concerning the second occasion He says, “And they (the disbelievers) will scream in it (the fire) ‘O our Rabb, remove us so that we may do good actions contrary to what we used to do’. (They will be told) ‘Didn’t we give you a life span in which one who wanted to take heed could take heed?”

Our Salaf (Pious Predecessors) and Time

Viewing the importance of time and the fact that time flies and never returns, our Salaf (pious predecessors) attached great importance to time. This could be gauged from the following:
• “I never regret anything as much as I regret a day in which my life became shorter but my ‘amal (good actions) did not increase.” (‘Abdullah bin Mas’ood)
• “May I not be blessed in the sunrise of a day in which I don’t gain more knowledge that will take me closer to Allah” (Some people attribute this statement to Rasulullah صلى الله عليه و سلم However, Ibn-ul-Qayyim says in his book Miftaahus-Sa’aadah that it is actually the statement of a Sahaabi or a Taabi’i.)
• “When a day passes and I neither draw any guidance nor do I gain any knowledge, that day is not part of my life.”
• “A sign that Allah dislikes a man is that he wastes his time.”
• “Time is a sword – if you don’t cut (utilise) it, it will cut (destroy) you.”
• “The night and day play their role in you – now you play your role in them.” (‘Umar bin ‘Abdul ‘Azeez)
• “I met people (the Sahaabah) who were more careful with their time then you are with your gold and silver coins.” (Hasan Al-Basri)

Let alone valuing their time, they would always endeavour to better themselves. Thus they would commonly say: “The person whose today is the same as his yesterday is deceived and the person whose today is worse than his yesterday is accursed.”

Procrastination

Like wastage of time, procrastination is another very detrimental disease. Thus Rasulullah صلى الله عليه و سلم said, “Treasure five things before five – life before death, health before illness, free time before occupation, youth before old age and wealth before poverty.”

A man from the tribe of ‘Abdul – Qays was asked for advice. He replied, “Beware of
(the word) سوف” (Literally سوف is translated as ‘soon’. In this context it would mean: beware of procrastination, beware of saying ‘not now; later’.) Another pious person said: “سوف is an army from the armies of Iblees.”

Hasan Al-Basri (Ra) said: “Beware of procrastination because you are judged (by Allah) according to what your condition is today and not according to what your condition will be tomorrow. Therefore if there’ll be a tomorrow for you, spend it like you spend today. And if there’ll be no tomorrow for you, you won’t regret being negligent today.”

Cure

Procrastination could be cured by remembering the following points:
1. You have no guarantee that you will live till tomorrow.
2. Even if you are going to live till tomorrow, you have no guarantee that you will not be afflicted with severe illness or some other difficulty which may impede your ability to do good deeds.
3. Once ‘Umar bin ‘Abdul ‘Azeez (Ra) was told to “postpone this till tomorrow”. He replied, “I can’t manage one day’s work; how will I manage two days work?” (Postponing today’s work till tomorrow will merely multiply tomorrow’s work.”)
4. Procrastination gradually leads to non-fulfilment of one’s duties. For example, a person who continuously procrastinates in making tawbah will eventually never make tawbah.
5. There is a famous parable in Arabic that “Work for your dunya as if you are going to live forever and work for your aakhirah as if you are going to die tomorrow.”

Moderation

Once, upon returning to his family after attending a discourse of Rasulullah صلى الله عليه و سلم , Hanzalah (Ra) pondered over the change in his condition while he played with his family in comparison to his condition while he sat in the company of Rasulullah صلى الله عليه و سلم. He then went to Rasulullah صلى الله عليه و سلم and expressed his fear that he was a hypocrite. However, Rasulullah صلى الله عليه و سلم allayed his fear saying, “If you remain all the time in the same condition as you are while sitting in my company, the angels will shake hands with you. Instead there is a time (for ‘ibaadah) and a time (for rest, earning a livelihood and other permissible actions).” In a similar manner Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم advised the Sahaabi (Abdullah bin ‘Amr bin ‘Aas Ra) who used to fast every day and spend the entire night in nafl salaah that “Your body has a right over you, your family has a right over you and your guests have a right over you.” Thus Ali (Ra) used to say, “Give your hearts a rest from time to time.”

Note: The meaning of rest must be understood within the context of the sharee’ah. Rest does not include anything prohibited in the sharee’ah like listening to music, watching soap operas, playing cards, chess etc.
A few Concluding Quotations

There is a Hadith of Abu Dhar (Ra) in the book of Ibn Hibbaan in which he narrates from Rasulullah صلى الله عليه و سلم that it is mentioned in the scriptures of Nabi Ibrahim (As) that: “An intelligent man should divide his time in four parts:
1. A part for worshipping his Rabb
2. A part for taking reckoning of himself
3. A part for pondering over the creation of Allah
4. A part for fulfilling his needs like eating and drinking

A man of wisdom said that at any given moment, man’s time is spent in one of four things:
1. Enjoying Allah’s ni’mah (favour)
2. Difficulty and hardship
3. Obediance to Allah
4. Disobediance to Allah
• A man whose time is spent enjoying Allah’s bounties should be grateful to Allah
• A man whose time is spent in difficulty and hardship should exercise patience and be content with the decree of Allah
• A man whose time is spent in worshipping Allah should realise that Allah has favoured him by guiding him to be obedient
• A man whose time is spent in sin should engage in tawbah and istighfaar

Rasulullah صلى الله عليه و سلم said, “Nobody’s feet will move on the day of Qiyaamah before he is questioned about four things – how he lived his life, how he passed his youth, how he earned and spent his wealth and what he did with his knowledge.”

May Allah guide us to value our time and utilise it in a manner that is pleasing to Him.
آمين
و صلى الله على النبى برحمتك يا أرحم الراحمين
————————————-

 

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

THE DIFFERENT LEVELS OF LIFE

 

“This is Uhud; a mountain that loves us and which we love” said Rasulullah  when he approached Mount Uhud on his return journey from Banil Mustaliq to Madinah Munawwarah.

If love is a subsidiary of life, did Rasulullah  imply that mountains have life? Knowledge of a few Aayaat of the Qur’aan and Ahaadith of Rasulullah  compel us to answer in the affirmative.
o “Everything announces His purity and praises Him but you do not understand their announcement of His purity.”
o “There is no doubt that due to fear for Allah water gushes from some stones, some stones crack and water trickles from them and some stones (just) fall.” (Isn’t fear another subsidiary of life – do lifeless things experience fear?)
o On one occasion Rasulullah  told his Sahaabah : “I know a stone in Makkah that used to greet me even before my appointment as a Nabi”

There is nevertheless a vast difference between human life and the life of inanimate objects like stones, mountains and trees. In fact there are a number of different levels of life.

The First Level

The first level of life is life of the earth after its death (drought). “Allah sends water from the sky and by means of it He restores life to the earth after its death.”

The Second Level

The second level of life is that of objects which people commonly regard as inanimate.

The Third Level

The third level is that of the animals. Due to their ability to move, make sounds, see, hear, smell, eat, feel hungry and angry etc. their life is of a higher level than that of the objects referred to in the first level. However, their inability to speak, their lack of a sophisticated intellect and the fact that they are not bound to any shari’ah render them lower than human beings.

The Fourth Level

Human life constitutes the fourth level and is characterised by speech, intellect and answerability to the shari’ah of Allah. It therefore excels animal life. However, it is largely dependent on food and drink and is therefore inferior to angelic life which is not dependent on food and drink. While man gets tired due to lack of food and drink and eventually dies of thirst and hunger, angels do not eat and drink and never get tired. “They (the angels) make tasbeeh night and day (all the time) and they never get tired.”

The Fifth Level

It is clear from the above that the fifth level of life belongs to the angels. Another important aspect of angelic life is the absence of sin – being created from noor (divine light) it is impossible for them to sin. “They do not disobey the command of Allah and do as commanded.”

The Sixth Level

Anybody who possessors a basic knowledge of Qur’aan and Hadith may question the inclusion of human life in the fourth category – higher than the animals and lower than the angels – because, at the time of creating human kind, Allah endowed them with the ability of imitating the angels or the animals. By imitating the angels they can ascend the level of the angels and by imitating the animals they can stoop lower than them. Thus human life is sometimes higher than angelic life (as in the case of the Ambiyaa) and sometimes lower than animal life.
• “They are like the animals – in fact they are worse.”
• “Their example is like that of one (a shepherd) who shouts at animals who hear nothing but calls and shouts.”

On the other hand some would say that people who disobey Allah are spiritually dead. Ever heard of the living dead? Ironical as it may sound, it is true. Rasulullah  said, “The example of those who remember their Rabb and those who don’t is like that of the living and the dead.” Bear in mind the meaning of dhikr – it’s not mere utterance of a few formulae. Instead it is total Allah-consciousness in every aspect of daily life. Thus the fifth level of life is spiritual life – life of the heart.
• “Is that person who was dead and then we restored him to life and gave him noor (light) by means of which he walks among the people comparable to one who is in darkness and will never leave it?”
• “It (the Qur’aan) is nothing but a reminder and a clear scripture so that He may warn one who is (spiritually) alive and so that the decision regarding the disbelievers could be confirmed.”
• “Undoubtedly you can make neither the dead nor the deaf hear the call.” In view of certain Ahaadith which prove that the inmates of the graves are able to hear, the word موتى (which we translated as dead) actually refers to the disbelievers. The same applies to the words من فى القبور (those who are in the graves) in the next Aayah.
• “…And you cannot make those who are in the graves listen.” Mentioned below are two Ahaadith which prove that the inmates of the graves are able to hear:
1. Three days after the battle of Badr fourteen of the disbelievers who were slain in the battle field were thrown in a well. Rasulullah  then stood at the edge of the well and, calling each one of them by their names, said: “Would it have pleased you if you obeyed Allah and His Rasul? Surely we found that the promise our Rabb gave us is true. Have you found that the promise your Rabb had given you is also true? Hearing this ‘Umar (Ra) asked: “O Rasul of Allah, are you speaking to lifeless bodies?” Rasulullah  swore by Allah and said: “You cannot hear what I am saying any more than them, but that they cannot answer.”
2. “When a man visits the grave of his Muslim brother whom he knew in the dunya and greets him, Allah returns his rooh to him so that he may answer the greeting.”
• There are a number of instances in the Qur’aan where Allah refers to wahi as rooh. The wisdom behind this, as explained by the Mufassireen, is that just as the rooh is the source of physical life in the dunya, wahi is the source of spiritual life.
• Luqmaan the Wise is reported to have advised his son to sit with the ‘ulamaa because “Allah gives the hearts life by means of the noor of hikmah (wisdom) just as He gives the earth life by means of rain.”
• An Arabic poet said:
ليس من مات فاستراح بميت – انما الميت ميت الأحياء
“The one who dies and gains rest is not dead –
the dead man is the dead among the living”
• Another poet said:
و فى الجهل قبل الموت موت لأهله – و أجسامهم قبل القبور قبور
“In ignorance is death before death –
and the bodies of such people are graves before their graves.”
• And another poet said:
و ما للمرء خير فى حياة – اذا ما عد من سقط المتاع
In life there is no good for a man when he is counted
among ‘fallen’ (worthless) goods”
• ‘Abdullah bin Mubaarak (Ra) said:
ترك الذنوب حياة للقلوب – و خير لنفسك عصيانها
“Abandoning sin is life for the hearts –
and the best for your nafs is to disobey it.”
• Ibnul-Qayyim (Ra) writes in Madaarij-us-Saalikeen that “the true man is the one who fears the death of his heart not the death of his body because most people fear death of their bodies and pay no attention to the death of their hearts – of life they know nothing but the physical life. This is the result of death of the heart because physical life may be compared to a shadow that eventually disappears, a plant that quickly dries up and a dream that appears to be true…”

• This type of is attained by means of correct Imaan, abundant dhikr of Allah and tilaawah of the Qur’aan, sound knowledge of Qur’aan, Hadith etc.

The Seventh Level

The life of the grave is the seventh level of life. ‘Allaamah Qurtubi (Ra) writes in his At-Tadhkirah that it is compulsory to believe in the punishment of the grave and that Allah will restore man to life and intellect so that he will understand the questions that will be posed to him, the answers which he will give and the honour or disgrace that Allah will give him in the grave. This is what is mentioned in the narrations from Nabi , this is the opinion of the Ahlus-Sunnah Wal-Jamaa’ah and this is what the Sahaabah (Ra), Taabi’een and everybody else until today understood.

From the numerous Ahaadith regarding life of the grave we will suffice with only one:
“When a servant is placed in his grave and his companions leave him, he hears their footsteps. And then two angels come to him and say: ‘what did you say regarding this man i.e. Muhammed ?’ The believer will reply: ‘I bear testimony that he is the servant and Rasul of Allah’. Thus it will be said to him: ‘look at your place in the fire! Surely Allah has substituted you with another place in Jannah’. Thus he will see both of them. The hypocrite and disbeliever will (also) be asked: ‘what did you say regarding this man?’ He will reply: ‘I don’t know, I said what the people said’. Thus it will be said to him: ‘You neither knew nor did you read’ and he will be beaten with iron hammers due to which he will scream so loud that besides man and jin, every- thing close to him will hear him.”

Note: All the Ahaadith in this regard actually refer to life of the barzakh. The dictionary translation of barzakh is barrier. In the shar’i context it refers to the period between death and qiyaamah. Rasulullah , however, only mentioned reward and punishment of the grave because in most instances the dead are buried. It is therefore foolish to think that the questioning of the angels in the grave and the subsequent punishment could be evaded by cremation or drowning.

The Eighth Level

It is understood from the above that the life of the barzakh is not restricted to certain people only. However, if this is correct, would it not mean that the Aayah “And do not say regarding those slain in the path of Allah: ‘(They are) dead!’ Instead they are alive but you do not understand” is redundant – All the dead are alive, not only the shaheed. The answer to this is that there are different levels of life in the barzakh and the life of the shaheed is higher than the life of ordinary people. Thus the Aayah “Instead they are alive” is regarding this higher level of barzakhi life which means that, contrary to ordinary people, the body of the shaheed does not decompose. Instead it remains intact as if he is still alive.

The Ninth Level

Like the shuhadaa, the Ambiyaa (AS) are also alive in their graves. A Sahaabi by the name of Aws bin Aws  narrates that Rasulullah  said, “The best of your days is Jumu’ah. Therefore send abundant salawaat (salutation) to me on the day of Jumu’ah because most certainly your salawaat will be presented to me.” The Sahaabah (Ra) asked: “O Rasul of Allah, how will our salawaat be presented to you whereas you will have decomposed? Rasulullah  replied: “Allah has prohibited the bodies of the Ambiyaa for the earth.” However, this life of the Ambiyaa in their graves is even higher than that of the shuhadaa in the sense that their estate is not distributed among their heirs and their wives are not allowed to remarry.

The Tenth Level

The tenth and most important level of life is the eternal life of the Aakhirah (Hereafter). Allah Ta’aalah says in the Qur’aan:
و ان الدار الآخرة لهى الحيوان
“Surely the life of the Hereafter is (true) life”

‘Umar  said: “If the entire worldly life from beginning to end is given to a person and then he dies, it (everything he enjoyed in his worldly life) will be like a person who was enjoying a sweet dream and when he awoke, he realised that his hands are empty (it was just a dream).”
There are just so many Aayaat of the Qur’aan and Ahaadith of Rasulullah  regarding the Aakhirah; the eternal bliss of the people of Jannah and the never ending misery and suffering of the people of Jahannam that a whole book could be written on the topic. We will therefore suffice with just one Hadith – the Hadith which states that after all the people of Jannah will enter Jannah and all the people of Jahannam will enter Jahannam maut (death) will be brought between Jannah and Jahannam and slaughtered. An announcer will then announce: “O people of Jannah, henceforth there will be no death! O people of the fire, henceforth there will be no death.” Thus the people of Jannah will become happier and the people of Jahannam will become sadder.

In conclusion we beseech Allah Ta’aalah to:
• guide us to realise the difference between life of the duyaa and life of the aakhirah
• to sacrifice our dunya for the aakhirah rather than the aakhirah for the dunya
• to bless us with spiritual life – life of the heart – which will eventually culminate in eternal bliss in the aakhirah. آمين
و صلى الله على النبى سيد المرسلين برحمتك يا أرحم الراحمين

7 September 2007