Expect
The Best From God!
Dr. Mouhamed N. Tarazi
The Prophet instructed us to make things easy and not to make them difficult, to
cheer the people up by conveying glad tidings to them and not to repulse them.
He promised that he who dies
associating nobody with Allah, will enter Paradise.
He conveyed to us, yet, a stronger
hope. He promised that he who testifies sincerely that there is no god but
Allah and that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah, Allah would prohibit
the fire of Hell for him.
In what follows, I will put before
you more glad tidings to cheer you up. I will include
two narrations. One is a conversation between Aisha (r.a.a) and the Prophet
(s.a.a.w) and the other is about a ruling by Allah (s.w.t) on the Day of
Judgment, in a case involving an aggressor and his victim.
Aish’s Demand
Aisha (r.a.a) is sitting facing her
beloved husband, Prophet Muhammad (s.a.a.w). She notices that he is cheerful
and in a very good mood. She seizes this golden moment and demands a favor from
him.
This is a smart move on the part of
Aisha. Men, in general, are easier to deal with and more receptive to demands
(particularly from the wives and children) when they are cheerful and happy.
“Make dua’ for me! Oh Messenger of
Allah.” Aisha asks the Prophet just to pray for her.
Is that all that you want Aisha?
The prophet then supplicates:
“O Allah! Forgive Aisha’s sins, past
and future.”
Wow! What an amazing response! Aisha
feels so happy and starts to chuckle to the point where her head drops onto his
lap.
“Did you like my dua’ for you, Oh Aisha? He
asks.
“Of course, what a wonderful dua’,
oh Messenger of Allah,” she replies.
Then he looks at her and says:
“By Allah, I repeat this dua’ for my umma
(nation) in every salah (prayer).
Allahuakbar! He (s.a.a.w), in every
prayer he performed (tens of thousands of times), asked Allah to forgive our
sins, past and future. He, as Allah says, was forgiven his sins past
and future, and he wanted this to apply to his followers as well.
The Mother of All Intercessions
When Prophet Muhammad (s.a.a.w) read what
Abraham (a.s) supplicated:
“He who follows me is one of mine and he who
disobeys me (is going astray) - But You are indeed oft-Forgiving, Most
Merciful”.
And what Jesus (a.s) prayed: “If you
punish them, they are your servants, and if you forgive them, verily You, only
You, are the All-Mighty, the All-Wise”
He, Muhammad, understood that the
two great messengers, Abraham and Jesus, were asking forgiveness even for those
who chose not to follow them. He then raised his hands, cried and pleaded,
“My nation, My nation!”
Then Allah sent Angel Gabriel to
comfort him and assure him that he would be pleased in regards to his ummah and
would not be sorrowful. Let’s not forget that every prophet was given a special
wish and every prophet used up his wish except Muhammad. He saved his wish as a
shafa’a (intercession) for his ummah on
the Day of Judgment. It will be honored for everyone who dies without
associating anything with Allah.
That
day, his intercession will help those from his ummah, whose good deeds are equal to their bad deeds, to enter Paradise.
People ordered to go to Hell will be pardoned, by his intercession, before even
entering Hell. Those who end up in Hell will be released to go to Paradise, as
a result of his continued intercession.
In fact, that day the door of
intercession will be open. All prophets, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus and the
rest and the angels, the righteous people, and martyrs will be called to
intercede. Children will intercede for their parents and will refuse to enter Paradise
without then. Parents will intercede for their children. Spouses will intercede
for each other. Believers will intercede for their friends. Then the mother of
all intersessions comes: Allah’s mercy, when He orders to take out of Hell all
those who have faith in their hearts, equal to the weight of a barley grain!
A High Court Ruling
On the Day of Judgment, two men sit
side by side before Allah (s.w.t), in a court of law. The wrongdoer and his
victim.
“Oh Allah! He had wronged me in the
worldly life and I want justice,” the victim starts, pointing at the other man.
The wrongdoer may have stolen money
from the victim, or may have slandered him, or may have beat him. And now is
the time for restitution.
“Pay him back!” Allah orders the
wrongdoer.
“I don’t have any more good deeds to
give him.” The wrongdoer sadly replies. With no more good deeds he is doomed
and headed to Hell he thinks.
Then Allah asks the victim what he would
like to do since the wrongdoer is completely out of good deeds to give him.
“Okay! Let him bear some of my bad
deeds!” the victim insists.
In the Hereafter this will be the
way restitutions will take place. The wrongdoer will give his victims from his own
good deeds and when he is out of them he, the wrongdoer, will receive from his
victims bad deeds until justice is served.
Suddenly the victim raises his head
and glances around and says, “Oh my Lord!
I see golden cities and golden portraits engulfed with pearls. To which
prophet, truthful person, or martyr do they belong?”
“To he who could buy it and pay for
it,” Allah responds.
“Oh my Lord! Who can afford the
price?” The victim wonders.
“You can pay for it,” Allah adds.
“How come?” The victim now very surprised.
Allah says, “It’s yours if you
forgive your brother (The wrongdoer)”
“Oh Allah! I forgave him,” the
victim quickly says.
Then Allah announces the formidable verdict,
addressing the victim:
“Hold your brother’s hand and take
him with you to Paradise”
The Most Cheerful Verse
One short verse in the Quran
contains three thrilling glad tidings. Each one of the three, alone, should
cheer you up.
“Say, Oh My servants who have transgressed against themselves [by sinning],
do not despair of the mercy of Allah.”
Subhanaallah! Do not despair of the mercy of Allah! This is the first glad
tiding. Then Allah mentions the second
glad tiding:
“Indeed, Allah forgives all sins.”
Allah forgives all sins! What a great news. Lastly Allah seals the verse
with the third glad tiding:
“Indeed, it is He who is the
Forgiving, the Merciful."
So look forward to your rendezvous with God in Paradise, Ishaallah.
And remember to always expect the best from God until you meet Him.
