By
Zahra Hanif and Umm Zahra
Narrated Anas (rta): The prophet (sa) said: “On the day of Resurrection, the believers will assemble and say: ‘Let us ask somebody to intercede for us with our lord.’ So they will go to Adam (as) and say: ‘You are the father of all the people, and Allah created you with His Own Hands, and ordered the angels to prostrate themselves to you, and taught you the names of all things; so please intercede for us with your Lord, so that He may relieve us from this place of ours.’ Adam will say: ‘I am not fit for this (i.e. intercession for you).” Then Adam will remember his sin and feel ashamed thereof. He will say, “Go to Nüh (Noah), for he was the first Messenger, Allah sent to the inhabitants of the earth.
They will go to him and Nüh (Noah) will say: ‘I am not fit for this undertaking.’ He will remember his appeal to his Lord to do something of which he had no knowledge, then he will feel ashamed thereof and will say, ‘Go to Khalil-ur-Rahman [i.e. Ibrahim (Abraham)].’
They will go to him and he will say: ‘I am not fit for this undertaking. Go to Müsă (Moses), the slave to whom Allah spoke (directly) and gave him the Taurat (Torah).’
So they will go to him and he will say: ‘I am not fit for this undertaking’, and he will mention (his) killing a person who was not a killer, and so he will feel ashamed thereof before his Lord, and he will say: ‘Go to Isa (Jesus), Allah’s slave, His Messenger and Allah’s Word and a spirit coming from Him.’
Isa (Jesus) will say: ‘I am not fit for this undertaking, go to Muhammad (sa) the slave of Allah whose past and future sins were forgiven by Allah.’
So they will come to me and I will proceed till I ask my Lord’s Permission and I will be given permission. When I see my Lord, I will fall down in prostration and He will let me remain in that state as long as He wishes and then I will be addressed: ‘(Muhammad!) Raise your head. Ask, and your request will be granted; say, and your saying will be listened to; intercede, and your intercession will be accepted.’
I will raise my head and praise Allah with a saying (i.e. invocation) He will teach me, and then I will intercede. He will fix a limit for me (to intercede) whom I will admit into Paradise. Then I will come back again to Allah, and when I see my Lord, the same thing will happen to me. And then I will intercede and Allah will fix a limit for me (to intercede) whom I will admit into Paradise, then I will come back for the third time; and then I will come back for the fourth time, and will say, ‘None remains in Hell but those whom the Quran has imprisoned (in Hell) and who have been destined to an eternal stay in Hell.’
(The compiler) Abu Abdullah said: ‘But those whom the Quran has imprisoned in Hell refers to the Statement of Allah : ‘So enter the gates of Hell to abide therein, and how wretched is the residence of the arrogant.'” (An Nahl:16:29) (Bukhari)
May Allah (swt) enable us to break free from arrogance, own our mistakes, admit our errors, understand that we are imperfect and weak and that others are just like us, hence we embrace them with forgiveness, humility and generosity. Ameen
From amongst the tremendous favours Allah (swt) has granted our beloved Prophet Muhammad (sa) the major one is the right for intercession on the Day of Judgment. It is one of the blessings of distinction and the mark of his excellence over other Prophets and Messengers (peace be upon them all).
Who will be denied Prophet Muhammad’s (sa) intercession
In al-Musnad it was narrated from Anas (rta) that the Prophet (sa) said: “I have been given al-Kawthar, and it is a river that flows on the face of the earth. Its banks are domes of pearls and it is not covered. I struck its dust with my hand and its dust was the most fragrant (or pure) musk, and its pebbles were pearls.”
“I will reach the Cistern ahead of you. Whoever comes to it will drink and whoever drinks from it will never feel thirst again. Some people will come to me whom I will recognize and they will recognize me, but then a barrier will be placed between me and them.”
The Prophet (sa) will say: “They are from me.” And it will be said; “You do not know what they did after you were gone.” And I will say: “Away with those who changed after I was gone!” (Bukhari and Muslim)
The Prophet (sa) said: “By the One in Whose hand is my soul, I will drive men away from my Cistern as strange camels are driven away from a cistern.”
“Everyone who apostatizes from the religion of Allah or who introduces innovations with which Allah is not pleased and did not give permission for is one of those who will be driven away from the Cistern.
Those who will be most forcibly driven away will be those who differed from the majority of Muslims and split from them, such as the Khaarijis and Raafidis of all stripes, and the Mutazilis and anyone who followed their ways.
The same applies to the evildoers and oppressors who tried to extinguish the truth and kill its followers and humiliate them, and those who openly committed major sins and took the matter of sin lightly, and all those who followed deviant whims and desires and innovation. (Qurtubi)
Is it not important to then assess our lifestyle choices today? Who do we follow? The Prophet’s (sa) Sunnah or the imported global popular culture?