What is the greatest gift you could ever receive? That you could ever want? That would bring you the greatest happiness and delight?…..Think about it.

Got an idea? ….good.

Most of us will be thinking of Jannah and all of its delights. But the most pleasurable thing in Jannah is not having spouses, or servants that will serve you, or drinking milk and honey. No rather, there is something MUCH GREATER for the Dwellers of Jannah that Allah ta’ala is keeping for them…

حدثنا ‏ ‏عبيد الله بن ميسرة ‏ ‏قال حدثني ‏ ‏عبد الرحمن بن مهدي ‏ ‏حدثنا ‏ ‏حماد بن سلمة ‏ ‏عن ‏ ‏ثابت البناني ‏ ‏عن ‏ ‏عبد الرحمن بن أبي ليلى ‏ ‏عن ‏ ‏صهيب ‏
‏عن النبي ‏ ‏صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏ ‏قال ‏ ‏إذا دخل أهل الجنة الجنة قال يقول الله تبارك وتعالى تريدون شيئا أزيدكم فيقولون ألم تبيض وجوهنا ألم تدخلنا الجنة وتنجنا من النار قال فيكشف الحجاب فما أعطوا شيئا أحب إليهم من النظر إلى ربهم عز وجل ‏
The most pleasurable thing to the Dwellers of Jannah:
When those deserving of Paradise would enter Paradise, the Blessed and the Exalted would ask: Do you wish Me to give you anything more? They would say: Hast Thou not brightened our faces? Hast Thou not made us enter Paradise and saved us from Fire? He (the narrator) said: He (God) would lift the veil, and of things given to them nothing would he dearer to them than the sight of their Lord, the Mighty and the Glorious. Muslim.

So which duaa should we make to receive this pleasure? Our Messenger alayhi salaatu wa salaam teaches us:
اللهم اني اسالك لذة النظر الى وجهك و الشوق الى لقائك
Allahumma innee asaluka lathatan-nadhari ilaa wajhika was-shawqa ilaa liqaa’ik
I ask You for the delight of gazing at Your Countenance and the eagerness of meeting You. (Narrated in Nisaa’i)

Remember: “The supplication of every one of you will be granted if he does not get impatient” (Bukhari and Muslim) So make this duaa in this blessed month with full conviction, full hope that Allah will answer your duaa. Allah is near to His slaves, call upon Him Alone, He is Samee’un wa Mujeebu Ad-Da’waat. (The Hearer and Responder to Prayers). Do not be hesitant in your duaas, ask Allah for the BEST.

May Allah ta’ala bless us with the delight of gazing upon Him, make our best deeds our last, and make the best day of ours the day that we meet Him ta’ala. Ameen.

Those who have believed and done righteous deeds – ‘Tooba’ is theirs and a good return. (Suratur Ra’ad, ayah 29)

Allah ta’ala promises ‘Tooba’ to the believers in this ayah. We also know this word for the famous hadeeth of the strangers, the Prophet sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam states: fa Tooba lil ghurabaa’, so Tooba to the strangers. What does Tooba mean?

It is said to be from 3 derivatives:
1- plural of tayyibah
2- masdar of tayyib
3- feminine version of the superlative, atyab اطيب‬‬

All of these derivatives are from the same root word, which is tayyib, from taw-ya-ba (ط ي ب) and it literally means to be good, pleasant, agreeable, lawful.

From this we derive that Tooba means every kind of good that has biqaa’, an everlasting nature. Tooba is happiness that lasts. Tooba is also whatever makes you rich and content and you won’t be in need of anything else to satisfy you. We also learn from a hadeeth that Tooba is a tree in Jannah. The Prophet sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam said, “Tooba is a tree in Paradise, as big as a hundred year’s journey; the clothes of the people of Paradise comes from the outer parts of its flowers” (Silsilat al-Hadith as-Saheehah, 4/639, no. 1985, the isnaad is hasan)

may Allah ta’ala grant us Tooba, Ameen!

wa lillahil hamd.

Al-Huda Institute Canada: Ta’leem Al Qur’an English course for women.

Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says:

When it sees them from a far place, they will hear its raging and its roaring. Suratul Furqan, verse 12

What is the “it” and “them” in this verse referring too? When the hell fire sees the disbelievers. Hell fire will see them from a far place, and they will hear it تَغَيُّظًا وَزَفِيرًا , raging with fury and roaring. Imagine: the disbelievers will not even see the fire yet, but they will hear it even though they are far (ba’eed). Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says in another surah:

Indeed hell is a place of ambush. [Surah Naba, verse 21]
It is like a lion watching its prey very closely, waiting for the right time to pounce on it.

The first description of hell fire is, تَغَيُّظًا, taghayyudthan, from ghayn-ya-dhaa or ghaydh, and this means to express anger. Not just any anger, but a furious rage of anger. Imagine when a person is very angry, they do not remain quiet rather they rant and rave, go on and on in their anger.

The second characteristic is,وَزَفِيرًا , zafeeran, a roaring, from zay-fa-ra, and it literally means to exhale out. This word is particularly used for screaming out; because when a person screams out loud, they inhale first and then yell out a loud scream. It is like the roaring of a lion, it inhales and roars at the same time. Think of when a volcano is about to erupt, you can hear loud sounds from it like it is roaring. But hell fire is something we cannot even imagine.

They will be able to hear this raging and roaring from makaanin ba’eed, a far off place. SubhanAllah, after going through a yaumun ‘aseer (a difficult Day), they will be herded to hell fire and even before they enter it, they will hear its anger and shrieking.

Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) also says in Suratul Mulk:

When they are cast therein, they will hear the (terrible) drawing in of its breath as it blazes forth. It almost bursts up with fury.[Suratul Mulk, verse 7-8]

Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) continues:

And when they shall be thrown into a narrow place thereof, chained together, they will exclaim therein for destruction. [Surah Furqan, verse 13]

Allah calls hell fire, مَكَانًا ضَيِّقًا , a narrow place. dayyiqan is from dawd-ya-qaaf, and means that which is narrow and cramped. It is not an open space, but one restricted and tight.

How will they be thrown in there? مُقَرَّنِينَ, muqarraneen, ones chained together, from qaaf-ra-noon or qarn and qarn is used for a rope that a camel is tied with. Muqarraneen gives two meanings:

1) The disbelievers will all tied with each other, all bound together so no one can escape. This expresses the huge number of those thrown in the fire.

2) The disbelievers themselves will be bound and chained, like their arms bound to their necks.

Imagine being thrown in all together in a tight and cramped place in a roaring and raging fire…What would you do?

Allah informs us of what the companions of hell fire will do: دَعَوْا هُنَالِكَ ثُبُورًا , they will call instantly for destruction, Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says: هُنَالِكَ , this is ism tharf, and it means: at that very place and at that very moment, right then and there, instantly, when they are bound together and thrown into a narrow place: they will call for: ثُبُورًا , thuboora, from thaa-ba-ra and it means destruction, death and ruin. They will make duaa for ruin, but Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says in another surah:
ثُمَّ لَا يَمُوتُ فِيهَا وَلَا يَحْيَىٰ
Then they will not die therein nor will they live. [Surah Alaa, verse 13]

The disbelievers will be somewhere in the middle, not living in the sense that being in hell fire cannot be called life and they will not die, although they ask for it.

Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) continues:

Call not today for one destruction, but call for many destructions. [Surah Furqan, verse 14]

After they call for death and destruction, that is what will be said to them. What does Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) mean by ثُبُورًا كَثِيرًا , many destructions? One destruction is not enough, although they keep asking for ruin because they will not receive it, because that is the nature of their punishment. They will not get a punishment that is about to kill them once, but it will come again and again. When their skins are burnt, this is one thaboor (destruction), then it will be replenished for them again. They are not being told in a nice way, this is a taunt.

Allahumma ajirnaa min an naar, O Allah, save us from the fire. Ameen.

Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) is The Most Just, and He says in the next ayah:

Say: “Is that better or the Paradise of Eternity promised to the Muttaqoon?” It will be theirs as a reward and as a final destination.” [Surah Furqan, verse 15]

The Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم) is told to say to those who deny and are in doubt: is that better? Meaning is the punishment, the roaring and raging, the many destructions–is that better or Jannatul Khuld (eternal paradise), the one which the muttaqoon are promised? The Muttaqoon are those who have taqwa, they have fear of Allah, they believe in the hereafter, and they are protecting themselves from hell fire now. Jannatul Khuld is promised to them as a jazaa, a recompense, and a maseera, a place of return, a place where one arrives. After their death and after the hisaab, they will arrive in Jannatul Khuld.

Imam ibn Katheer says about this ayah:

Here Allah says: `O Muhammad, this We have described to you about the state of those who are doomed, who will be dragged on their faces to Hell, which will receive them with a scowling face, with hatred and moans. There they will be thrown into their constricted spaces, tied up to their shoulders, unable to move or call for help, and unable to escape their plight — is this better, or the eternal Paradise which Allah has promised to the pious among His servants, which He has prepared for them as a reward and ultimate destiny in return for their obedience to Him in this world’.

Al-Huda Institute Canada: Ta’leem Al Qur’an English course.