Ilm Fruits

Towards the end of Judgement Day–a day that will last 50 000 years (Surah Al-Maarij, verse 4)¹, after the judgement has been decreed, the people will have to cross the Sirat–a bridge sharper then a sword and thinner then a hair², that runs over Hell–in order to get to Jannah. People will fall off–there will be hooks like thorns of a size known only to Allah, to snag people into the Fire. Some people will be cut up into pieces as they fall into the Fire³.

In Surah Maryam, Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says:

Translation: Not one of you but will pass over it: this is, with thy Lord, a Decree which must be accomplished. (Surah Maryam, verse 71)⁴

That is–each and every single one of us must cross the Sirat. That’s difficult enough–imagine doing it in complete darkness. Why? Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) will destroy all lights. There will be no lights–no sun, no moon, no stars, nothing. And every human will be thrown into that darkness, a darkness we cannot even fathom. But there will be light–and where will that light come from.

Every human being will have a personal flashlight–his or her body will shine. The light is from their eman. The stronger the eman, the stronger the light shines.

In Surah Hadeed, Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says:

Translation: One Day shalt thou see the believing men and the believing women- how their Light runs forward before them and by their right hands: (their greeting will be): “Good News for you this Day! Gardens beneath which flow rivers! to dwell therein for aye! This is indeed the highest Achievement!” (Surah Hadeed, verse 12)⁴

There will be so much light for the believers, they will be able to see everything, the whole horizon lit up for them. And they will race over the bridge faster then the speed of light, then faster then a galloping horse, then a sprinter, a walker, and a crawler⁵ until the person with the lowest level of eman crosses (he’s at the fasiq point), his light will be so little that his big toe will flicker on. He’ll take one step, and it’ll flicker off. He’ll freeze, not knowing if it will turn on again.⁶

We can express this in a simple equation: eman = faster crossing + brighter light. And crossing the bridge is a punishment–you look down and see the fire of Hell. And there will be hooks reaching out, hooks with thorns to snag the people destined for the Hellfire.

May Allah make us all among those who cross in the twinkling of an eye, and protect us from falling into the Hellfire, even for a moment.

Related Posts: Belief: A Beautiful Tree

(1) Muhammad, Pickthall M., trans. “Al-Maarij (the Ascending Stairways).” Al-Qur’an Al-Kareem: Parallel Arabic Text with English Translation. One Ummah Network. 4 Apr. 2006 <http://www.oneummah.net/quran/70.htm>.

(2) Ibn Kathir, comp. “Everyone Will Be Brought to Hell, Then the Righteous Will Be Saved.” Tafsir.Com Tafsir Ibn Kathir. 26 Oct. 2002. 4 Apr. 2006 <http://www.tafsir.com/default.asp?sid=19&tid=31598>.

(3) “Translation of Sahih Bukhari, Book 76: to Make the Heart Tender (Ar-Riqaq).” USC-MSA Compendium of Muslim Texts. USC-MSA. 4 Apr. 2006 <http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/bukhari/076.sbt.html#008.076.577>.

(4) Pickthall, Muhammad M., trans. Al-Qur’an Al-Kareem: Parallel Arabic text with English Translation. One Ummah Network. 1 Apr. 2006 <http://www.oneummah.net/quran/quran.html>.

(5) “Translation of Sahih Muslim, Book 1: the Book of Faith (Kitab Al-Iman), Chapter 81: the Way in Which the Believers Would See the Lord.” USC-MSA Compendium of Muslim Texts. USC-MSA. 4 Apr. 2006 <http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/muslim/001.smt.html#001.0352>.

(6) Imam Ibn Ul Qayyim Al Jaw. “Commentary on the Verse of Light.” Islam.Com. Trans. Michael A. Fitzgerald and Moulay Y. Slitine. 4 Apr. 2006 <http://www.islaam.com/Article.aspx?id=659>.

(7) Yasir Qadhi. Lecture. AlMaghrib. Light of Guidance. University of Toronto, Toronto. March 2006.

Continuing our study of the fruits of eman, here are some additional fruits that spring from the tree of eman:

In Surah Adh-Dhariyat, Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says:

Translation: And continue to remind, for surely the reminder profits the believers. (Surah Adh-Dhariyat, verse 55)¹

Notice, here, who benefits from the reminders–not all humankind, but believers. Why? Try this hypothethical situation on for size: there’s a guy who’s sinning–say he’s drinking beer in front of you inside his home. You give him advice to stop drinking–and remind him of the rewards, punishments, etc. of good deeds and bad deeds. What happens? He’ll cry and acknowledge your advice and inshaAllah move to practical steps.

But, try the same thing on someone without eman, and what happens? He’ll ignore your advice, for sure–maybe even insult you. Or maybe he’ll take it a step further and mock Islam. (Try telling someone in a bar not to drink.)

What does this show? Simple equation: eman + sins = overcome sins.

And that is why you remind the believers–because it benefits them, and them alone.

May Allah write us all down as believers, ameen!

Related Posts: Belief: A Beautiful Tree

(1) Shakir, trans. “Adh-Dhariyat (The Winnowing Winds).” USC-MSA Compendium of Muslim Texts. USC-MSA. 3 Apr. 2006 <http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/quran/051.qmt.html>.

(2) Yasir Qadhi. Lecture. AlMaghrib. Light of Guidance. University of Toronto, Toronto. March 2006.

Continuing our study of the fruits of eman, here are some additional fruits that spring from the tree of eman:

In Surah Maryam, Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says:

Translation: On those who believe and work deeds of righteousness, (Allah) The Most Gracious bestows love. (Surah Maryam, verse 96)¹

That is: on those who have eman and perform good deeds, Allah decrees for them love. We know from another hadith (does anyone know the source?) that when Allah loves them, he tells the angels, who love them, and the angels tell the creation, and all the creation loves that person.

May Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) make us among those He loves, ameen!

Related Posts: Belief: A Beautiful Tree

Continuing our study of the fruits of eman, here are some additional fruits that spring from the tree of eman:

In Surah Hujraat, Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says:

Translation: The Believers are but a single Brotherhood … (Surah Hujraat, verse 10)¹

If you’ve ever been to a different city, you walk into the grocery store, and nobody says anything. People just buy their own stuff and ignore you. Probably the most you’ll get out of the cashier when you check out is a “hi”.

But if you go to the masjid–even if you’ve never been there before and don’t know anybody–it feels like you’re at home. You talk to complete strangers as if you’ve known them for a long time. There’s a sense of mutual trust, based only on the fact that you’re all Muslim.

And this is from the blessings of the ummah. The entire ummah is united by bonds of eman. Subhanallah.

Related Posts: Belief: A Beautiful Tree

(1) Pickthall, Muhammad M., trans. Al-Qur’an Al-Kareem: Parallel Arabic text with English Translation. One Ummah Network. 1 Apr. 2006 <http://www.oneummah.net/quran/quran.html>.

(2) Yasir Qadhi. Lecture. AlMaghrib. Light of Guidance. University of Toronto, Toronto. March 2006.