The status of the shuhadha and the Muraabit on the Day of Judgment

When the people will be filled with terror on the Day of Judgment, the shaheed (martyr) will feel no fear.

In Sunan at-Tirmidhi and sunan ibn Maajah it is narrated that Al-Miqdaam ibn Ma’di Karb related: The Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu ‘Alahi Wasallam) said:

“Before Allah, the shaheed has six virtues: he is forgiven from the first drop of blood shed; he will be shown his place in paradise; he will be protected from the torment of the grave; he will be safe from the greater terror (of the Day of Resurrection); a crown of dignity will be placed on his head, of which one ruby is better than this world and all that is it; he will be married to seventy two of Al-Hoor al ‘Iyn; and he will intercede for seventy of his relatives. “ (1)

The pertinent point of this Hadith is that the shaheed will be safe from the greater terror, the terror of the Day of Resurrection. Similar to the Shaheed (Martyr) is the the muraabit, who guards the borders of Islam for the sake of Allah. If he dies whilst he is guarding the borders of Islam, Allah will keep him safe from the greater terror.

Tabaraani narrated with a saheeh isnaad from Abu’d-Dardaa’ that the Prophet (Sallallahu ‘Alahi Wasallam) said:

“Guarding the borders of Islam for a day is better than fasting for a lifetime. Whoever dies guarding the borders of Islam for the sake of Allah will be kept from the great terror, his provision and breeze will be brought from Paradise, and the reward of the Muraabit will continue until Allah resurrects him.”(2)

One of the ways in which Allah will honor the shaheed on the day of Resurrection will be that He will raise him with his wounds flowing with blood. The color will be blood but it will smell like musk.

Bukhari narrated from Abu Hurayrah ( Radi Allah anhu) that the Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu ‘Alahi Wasallam) said:

“By the One in Whose Hand is my soul, no one is wounded for the sake of Allah- and Allah knows best who is wounded for His sake- but he will come on the Day of Resurrection with his wounds flowing with blood . The color will be of blood but smell musk.”(3)

Tirmidhi, Nasaa’i and Abu Dawood narrated with a saheeh isnaad from Mu’aadh ibn Jabal that he heard the Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu ‘Alahi Wasallam) say:

“Whoever fights for the sake of Allah , even for the interval between two milkings of a camel, will be entitled to Paradise, and whoever is wounded or injured for the sake of Allah , the injury will appear on the Day od Resurrection bleeding copiously , the color of saffron and with the fragrance of musk.” (4)

Ibn  Hajar said: “The scholars said: ‘The reason why he will be resurrected in this state is that it will be a testimony to his virtue, becausae he sacrificed himself in Obeying Allah.”” (5)

(1)Mishkaat al-Masaabeeh, 2/358, Hadith no.3834. The editor of Al-Mishkaat said its isnaad is saheeh.

(2)Saheeh al-Jaami’ as-Sagheer, 3/171, hadith no. 3473.

(3) Bukhari: kitaab al-Jihaad, Baab man yujrah fi Sabeel Allah, Fath al-Baari, 6/20.

(4) Mishkaat al-Masaabeeh, 2/355, Hadith no.3825.

(5)Fath al-Baari, 6/20.

Taken from the book "The Day of Resurrection" by Dr. 'Umar S. al-Ashqar

The story of Al-Jassasah and the dajjal

‘Aamir ibn Sharaaheel Al-Sha’bi Sha’b Hamdaan narrated that he asked Faatimah bint Qays, The sister of Al-Dahhaak ibn Qays, who was the earliest Muhaajir women, “Relate to me a Hadeeth that you heard directly from the Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him)”

She said,”If you wish, I will do that. “He said to her, “Yes, tell me.” She said:

 “I heard the voice of the caller of the Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him) saying: Al-salaatu jaami’ah (prayer is about to begin), so I went out to the mosque and I prayed with the Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him). I was in the women’s row that was closest to the people. When the Messenger of Allah had finished his prayer, he sat on the Minbar and he was smiling. He said, “Let each person stay in the place where he just prayed, “Then he said, “Do you know why I called you together?” They said, “Allah and his Messenger (Peace be upon him) know best.” He said, “By Allah, I did not call you together for something good or for some alarming news. I have called you together because Tameem Al-Daari was a Christian and he came and swore allegiance and became Muslim, and told me something which agrees with what I was telling you about the Dajjal (false messiah).

He told me that he sailed in a ship with thirty men of Lakhm and Judhaam and they were tossed by the waves of the sea for a month. They came to an island at sunset. They sat in a small rowing-boat and landed on that island. They were met by a beast with a great deal of hair and they could not distinguish his face from his back because he was so hairy. They said: “woe to you, what are you?” It said Al-Jassaasah. “They said: “what is Al-Jassasah?” It said, “people, go to this man in the monastery for he is keen to know about you,”’’

He the narrator said, when it named a man for us we were afraid of it lest it be a devil. Then we set off, rushing , until we came to that monastery, where we found the hugest man we has ever seen, bound strongly in chains with his hands tied to his neck and his legs bound from the knees to the ankles with iron shackles. We said, “woe to you, who are you?” He said , “you will soon find out about me ; tell  me who you are,” They said , “we are people from Arabia who embarked on a ship, but the sea became wild and the waves tossed us about for one month, then it brought us to this island of yours. We took to the rowing boats and landed on this island. We were met by a beast with a great deal of hair and we could not tell his front from his back. We said: “woe to you, what are you?” It said I am Al-Jassaasah. “We said: “what is Al-Jassasah?” It said, “, go to this man in the monastery for he is keen to know about you,”’

So we came rushing to you and we fled from it because we could not be sure that it was a devil.

He (that chained person) said: “Tell me about the date palm trees of Baysaan(1). We said “What do you want to know about them?” He said, “I am asking you whether those trees bear fruits” We said “Yes”. He said, “Soon they will not bear fruit.” He said, “Tell me about the Tiberias(2)” we said, “ what do you want to know about it” He said “Is there water in it” They said, “There is a great deal of water in it.” He said, “Soon it will dry up.” Then he said, “Tell me about the spring of Zughar(3). We said “What do you want to know about it?” He said, “Is there water in the spring and does the people grow crops with the water of the spring?” We said to him, “Yes there is plenty of water in it and the people grow crops with its water” he said, “Tell me about the Prophet of the unlettered; what has he done?” we said “He has left Makkah and has settled in Yathrib (Madeenah).” He said, “Do the Arabs fight against him” We said “Yes” He said “How did he deal with them” We told him that he had prevailed over the Arabs in his vicinity and they shown obedience to him. He said to us” Has it really happened” We said “Yes”

He said “if it is so that is better for them that they show obedience to him. Now I will tell you about myself. I am the dajjal and soon I will be given permission to emerge., So I will come out an travel in the land, and will not spare any town but I will stay for forty nights, except Makkah and Taybah (Madeenah). They are both forbidden to me, Every time I try to enter one of them, I will be met by an angel with a sword in his hand, who will bar my way, and on every route there will be angels guarding it”.

She said, Then the Messenger (Peace be upon him) struck the Minbar with his staff and said “This is Taybah, this is Taybah, this is Taybah, meaning Madeenah. Did I not tell you this before?” The people said “Yes” (The prophet (Peace be upon him) “I liked the story of Tameem because it agrees with what I used to tell you about him and about Makkah and Madeenah. But he is in Syrian Sea (Mediterranean) or the Yemeni Sea (Arabian Sea). No rather he is in the east, he is in the east, he is in the east. “ And he pointed towards the east with his hand. She said, “I memorized this from the Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him). “

(1)     Baysaan: a city on the western side of the Jordon basin,south west of Tiberias.

(2)     Tiberias: Between Jordon and Palestine.

(3)     Zughar: A village in Syria on the banks of the Dead Sea (the sea of Zughar), Ibn Al-Atheer said: Zughar is a spring in Syria, in the area of Al-Balqa’. 


Souce: The end of the world by Dr. Muhammad al-'Areefi

Preparing Ourselves for the Hereafter

By Sheikh Khâlid Husayn

Praise be to Allah who said: “And for those who fears the time when they will be standing before their Lord, there shall be two gardens (in Paradise).” [Sûrah al-Rahmân: 46]

May Allah bestow His peace and blessings on His prophet who said: “If you knew what I know, you would laugh little and weep much. [Sahîh al-Bukhârî (4621, 6486, 7295) and Sahîh Muslim (2359)] And may Allah be pleased with the Companions who wept upon hearing this hadîth.

It is right for us to have fear of that day that we all have to face. That Day of Resurrection is a day of distress and deep regret. It is that long and ominous Day in which all humanity will stand before their Lord. On that day, fear will make the pregnant woman miscarry. People will be as if they are drunk but they shall not be drunk save that the severity of Allah’s punishment will make them that way. On that day, fear will make the hair on the heads of small children turn gray.

We should seriously start to prepare ourselves for that day, since it is the crossroads on the long journey of our existence. From there, we will head either to Paradise or to the Hellfire. Those who enter paradise will dwell there for all eternity in perpetual happiness and enjoyment, while those who go to Hell will face torture, and the denizens of Hell will find to their distress that they have eternal lives as well.

We must, however, have an optimistic outlook regarding our Lord. His mercy is truly vast for those who believe in Him and worship Him sincerely and it always takes precedence to His wrath. The Prophet (peace be upon him) has told us that Allah is more merciful to us than a devoted mother is to her newborn child. [Sahîh al-Bukhârî (5999) and Sahîh Muslim (2754)]

The fear that we have of the Day of Resurrection should motivate us to be more devoted in worship and more ready to engage in good deeds. We should pray and fast more often and renew our efforts to make pilgrimage. We should be good to our families and show kindness to our parents. There are many different ways to do good.

This same fear should help us to abstain from sinful acts and disobedience to Allah. This fear, then, will actually have a positive effect on us. It is not a negative fear that will make us inactive and despair of Allah’s mercy.

The following activities are very helpful in helping a Muslim prepare for that dreadful day, “a day wherein they will be brought forth and nothing about them will be hidden from Allah.” [Sûrah Ghâfir: 16]

1. We should read the Qur’ân and contemplate its meanings. We should consider its rulings and appreciate the good that it promises us as well as the warnings that it gives us.

2. We should read about the life of the Prophet (peace be upon him). We should study how he conducted himself in obedience to Allah and how he abstained from overindulgence in worldly pleasures.

3. We should likewise read the biographies of the Companions and those who followed after them and look at how they strove to attain success in the Hereafter.

4. We should often contemplate the inevitability of death. We should be aware of the trials that follow in the grave and during the resurrection. We should visualize ourselves standing before Allah, the most scrupulous and just of judges. We should think about the bridge that we will have to cross in order to attain salvation, a bridge from which many will slip and fall to their destruction. We should think about the joy that will be experienced by the people of Paradise and the suffering and sorrow of the denizens of Hell.

We need to always keep in mind that death can come to us at any moment. How do we wish to meet our Lord? Do we wish to do so in a state of grace and obedience or would we like to do so while engaged in sin? Ibn `Umar relates to us that the prophet (peace be upon him) once put his hand on his shoulder and said to him: “Be in the world as if you are a wayfarer or a stranger passing through.” Because of this, Ibn `Umar would often say: “When night falls, do not look forward to the dawn and when day breaks do not anticipate the night. Take full advantage of your health before you succumb to illness and of your life before death overtakes you.” [Sahîh al-Bukhârî (6416)]

5. We need to seriously study to acquire Islamic knowledge. When we acquire more knowledge of our religion, we become more aware of Allah and more God-fearing. Allah says: “The only people who fear Allah from among His servants are those who possess knowledge.”

6. We should keep company with pious people, especially those who have Islamic knowledge and those who are engaged in calling others to Islam. Likewise, we should avoid the company of sinful and unscrupulous people. Good company helps us to purify our hearts. We also find support in such people for our efforts to do what is right. Conversely, bad company hardens our heart. Immoral people encourage us to do immoral things. Also, when our hearts become hardened, we become far away from Allah and more attached to worldly things.

7. We should always keep in mind that this world is a transient place. Those who enjoy the pleasures of this world will not be able to take those pleasures with them. They have only their deeds to send before them. Allah says: “On the Day when every soul will find itself confronted with all that it has done of good and all that it has done of evil, and every soul will long that there might be a mighty space of distance between it and that evil. Allah bids you beware of Him. And Allah is full of pity for His servants.” [Sûrah Al `Imrân: 30]

No matter how great this world may seem to us, it is in truth quite insignificant. No matter how enduring it may appear right now, it is as fleeting as a night that must end at another sunrise. Our worldly lives will come to an end at the grave.

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “The life of this world compared to the Hereafter is as if one of you were to put his finger in the ocean and take it out again then compare the water that remains on his finger to the water that remains in the ocean.” [Sahîh Muslim (2858)]

8. Lastly, we must spend more time in sincere supplication to our Lord. We should ask Him to make the Hereafter dearer to us and to make us less fond of the world. We should beseech Him to grant us Paradise with all of its delights and to spare us His wrath. Truly, Allah hears and answers our prayers.

Source: Islamtoday.com

A list of minor Signs before the Hour comes

1. The disappearance of knowledge and the appearance of ignorance (Bukhari, Muslim, Ibn Majah, & Ahmad).
2. Books/writing will be widespread and (religious) knowledge will be low (Ahmad).
3. Adultery and fornication will be prevalent (The Prophet, peace be upon him, said that this has never happened without new diseases befalling the people, which their ancestors had not known.) (Bukhari, Muslim, Ibn Majah, & Al-Haythami).
4. When fornication becomes widespread among your leaders (The Prophet, peace be upon him, said that this will happen when the people stop forbidding evil) (Ibn Majah).
5. Adultery and fornication will be performed in the open.
6. The consumption of intoxicants will be widespread (Bukhari & Muslim).
7. Women will outnumber men......eventually 50:1 (Bukhari, Muslim, & Ahmad).
8. Killing, killing, killing (Bukhari, Muslim, Ibn Majah, & Ahmad).
9. The nations of the earth will gather against the Muslims like hungry people going to sit down to a table full of food. This will occur when the Muslims are large in number, but "like the foam of the sea.”
10. People will beat others with whips like the tails of oxen (Muslim) ?The Slave Trade.
11. The children will be filled with rage (at-Tabarani, al-Hakim).
12. Children will be foul (at-Tabarani, al-Hakim).
13. Women will conspire (at-Tabarani, al-Hakim).
14. Rain will be acidic or burning (at-Tabarani, al-Hakim).
15. Children of fornication will become widespread or prevalent (at-Tabarani, al- Hakim).
16. When a trust becomes a means of making a profit (at-Tirmidhi, Al-Haythami).
17. Gains will be shared out only among the rich, with no benefit to the poor (at- Tirmidhi).
18. Paying zakat becomes a burden and miserliness becomes widespread; charity is given reluctantly (at-Tirmidhi & Al-Haythami).
19. Miserliness will be thrown into the hearts of people (Bukhari).
20. Episodes of sudden death will become widespread (Ahmad).
21. There will be people who will be brethren in public but enemies in secret (He was asked how that would come about and replied, "Because they will have ulterior motives in their mutual dealings and at the same time will fear one another.") (at- Tirmidhi).
22. When a man obeys his wife and disobeys his mother; and treats his friend kindly while shunning his father (at-Tirmidhi).
23. When voices are raised in the mosques (at-Tirmidhi).
24. People will walk in the marketplace with their thighs exposed.
25. Great distances will be traversed in short spans of time.
26. The people of Iraq will recieve no food and no money due to oppression by the Romans (Europeans) (Muslim).
27. People will hop between the clouds and the earth.
28. A tribulation will enter everyone’s home (Ahmad).
29. The leader of a people will be the worst of them (at-Tirmidhi).
30. Leaders of people will be oppressors (Al-Haythami).
31. People will treat a man with respect out of fear for some evil he might do (at Tirmidhi).
32. Men will begin to wear silk (at-Tirmidhi).
33. Female singers and musical instruments will become popular (at-Tirmidhi).
34. When singers become common (Al-Haythami).
35. People will dance late into the night.
36. When the last ones of the Ummah begin to curse the first ones (at-Tirmidhi).
37. People will claim to follow the Qur'an but will reject hadith & sunnah (Abu Dawood).

50 Signs of the Day of Judgment

From the Words of Allah and His Messenger (sallallahu `alaihi wa sallam)

The Signs are listed in roughly chronological order, although the order is not necessarily precise, especially for those in the future.

This is a brief summary of the signs; there are many books, articles, cassettes etc. which discuss these in greater detail. May Allah enable us to recognise and heed the Signs, and strengthen us in the times of tribulation.

"Are they waiting for anything except the Hour, to come to them suddenly? But its Signs have already come!" (Al-Qur’an, Surah Muhammad)

Past

1. Splitting of the Moon.

2. Death of the Prophet Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace.

3. A form of death which will kill thousands of Muslims. (Understood to refer to the plague of Amwas during the
caliphate of ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab.)

4. A major fighting in Madinah (understood to refer to the battle of al-Harrah during the caliphate of Yazid, 63 AH).

5. The Muslim conquest of Jerusalem.

6. The Muslim conquest of Constantinople.

7. Two large groups of Muslims will fight in war.

8. A war between the Muslims and a reddish people with small eyes, wearing sandals made of hair (understood to refer to
the Mongol Tatar invasion of the Islamic lands.)

9. A peace agreement between the Muslims and non-Muslims from the yellow race (Chinese, Mongols, etc.)

10. Thirty impostors (dajjal) will appear, each thinking he is a prophet.