It is narrated from Anas (radhiallahu `anhu) that the Prophet (sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam) said, 'Were it not for the fear that you would stop burying your dead, I would have asked Allah to make you hear the punishment of the grave.'
In the hadith of Jabir ibn 'Abdullah (radhiallahu `anhu), it is narrated from the Prophet (sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam) that he said, 'Do not wish for death, for the terrors from the onset are more severe.'
It is narrated from Hani' the servant of 'Uthman (radhiallahu `anhu) that he said,
"Whenever 'Uthman stood at a grave, he would weep until his beard became wet so it was said to him, 'You remember Paradise and Hell but you do not cry. Yet you cry over this?!' He said, 'Indeed, the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam) said,
'The grave is the first step of the Hereafter so if one is saved from it, then what comes after is easier to bear. And if one is not saved from it, then what comes after is more difficult.' Then he said, 'The Messenger of Allah (sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam) said, 'I have not seen a sight except that the grave is more horrific.'
Rabi' ibn Khuthaym used to prepare himself for this night. It is narrated that he dug a hole in his house and whenever he felt hardness in his heart, he would enter this hole. He would imagine himself to have died and regretted, asking to be returned to the world! He would say,
"… 'My Lord! Send me back So that I may do good in that which I have left behind!'… "
[al-Mu'minun: 99-100]
Then he would answer himself saying: 'You have now been returned, O' Rabi'!' The effects of this would be seen from him for days, i.e. it would be seen in his 'ibadah (worship), struggle in doing good and in his fear (of Allah).
Yazid al-Raqqashi used to say to himself, 'Woe to you O' Yazid! Who will pray on your behalf after death? Who will fast on your behalf after death? Who will seek the Pleasure of Allah on your behalf after death?'
Then he would say, 'O people! Won't you weep and lament over yourselves for what remains of your lives? How will it be for a person for whom death is promised, for whom the grave is his home, the dust his bed, the worms his companion, and yet with all this he still awaits the greatest of terrors. How will such a person be?'
Wahb ibn al-Wird: It reached us that a knowledgeable man went to 'Umar ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz and said, 'Subhan Allah! – as if he was surprised by 'Umar's state. He said, 'You've changed after us!' 'Umar said, 'Can you really see that?' He said, 'More than you think!' So 'Umar said to him, 'Then what if you were to see me after three days, when I've been buried in my grave… when the two eyes come out and pour onto the two cheeks, when the lips draw together over the teeth, when the mouth gapes open, when the stomach protrudes over the chest and matter exits from behind?!'
Then he would cry, rahimahullah.
'Umar ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz gave an admonishing reminder to his companions one day and some of what he said was,
'If you pass by them (i.e. the dwellers of the grave), then call out to them if you can! And pass by their troops and leaders and see how close their ranks are now! Ask their rich what has remained of his riches, and ask their poor, what became of his poverty. Ask them about their tongues with which they spoke and their eyes with which they used to view the delights and pleasures. Ask them about their soft skins, beautiful faces and fine bodies, what have the worms done to them underneath the shrouds?! It has indeed eaten away their tongues and dirtied their faces, it has wiped away their beauty and broke their spines, it has exposed their limbs and tore up their corpses. So where are their protective coverings and domed shrines? Where are their maids and slaves? Where are their wealth and treasures? Are they now not at the stations of loneliness? Is not day and night the same to them? Are they not in a gloomy place of darkness? It has come in between them and their doing good deeds, they have indeed left behind their beloved ones, wealth and families.
O' you who will reside in the grave tomorrow! What has caused you to become heedless in this world? Where is your vast home and river continuously flowing? Where are your ripe fruits and where has the softness of your clothes gone? Where is your perfume and fragrance, and where are your garments set aside for summer and winter? O if only I knew, which of your two cheeks has the punishment began with… O you who resides next to destruction, you've come to the station of death.
If only I knew, how will the Angel of Death meet me upon my departure from this world? And what message will he give me from my Lord?
Then he ('Umar ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz) left but he did not live after that except for one week.
Al-Hasan once accompanied a Janaza (funeral prayer) and sat at the edge of the grave. He said, 'If this is the end stage of a matter (i.e. the life of this world), then it is only befitting that one should be ascetic at its beginning stages. And if this is the beginning stage of a matter (the hereafter), then it is only befitting that one should fear its end stage.'
It is narrated from 'Ali ibn Abi Talib (radhiallahu `anhu) that he said in his Khutbah (sermon),
'O slaves of Allah! Be cautious of death; be cautious of death, for there is no escaping it. If you stand up to it, it will take you and if you flee from it then it will only catch up with you. Death is tied to your forelocks so seek salvation, seek salvation. Indeed there is behind you an ardent seeker and that is the grave. Surely, the grave is either a garden from the gardens of Paradise or a ditch from the ditches of Hell. It speaks everyday saying 'I am the home of darkness, I am the home of loneliness, I am the home of the worms.' Indeed after that will be a Day more severe than that day, a Day in which a child will become grey-haired and an adult will be in a drunken state,
"… and you shall see mankind as in a drunken state, yet they will not be drunk, but severe will be the Torment of Allah." [al-Hajj: 2]
Source: The Grave is our Appointed Place (Dar al-Watan, Riyadh) Translated by Farhia Yahya
No comments:
Post a Comment