The Shaded Seven

Assalamalaikum wa Rehmatullahi wa Barakatuh!

Alhamdullilah, We’ve reached another Friday with Allah’s mercy and grace. Yay :)

I absolutely love Friday’s!! :) I love the excitement in dressing nice, going to Jummah for my Lord, the weekend, going home to see my family, reading Surah Al-Kahf, and the extra blessings and happiness that Fridays seem to bring. Alhamdullilah! Greatest day of the week!

Anyways, today’s khutbah was by Dr. Amer Kaissi, inspired by a khutbah he had attended last week by Sheikh Aziz. The topic of the khutbah was a hadith, discussing the seven people that will be shaded by Allah’s mercy on the Day of Judgment.

The Prophet(SAW) said: “There are seven whom Allah will shade in His Shade on the Day when there is no shade except His Shade: a just ruler; a youth who grew up in the worship of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic; a man whose heart is attached to the mosques;; a man who is called by a woman of beauty and position [for illegal intercourse], but he says: ‘I fear Allah’, a man who gives in charity and hides it, such that his left hand does not know what his right hand gives in charity; and a man who remembered Allah in private and so his eyes shed tears.” (Bukhari & Muslim)

In this hadith, seven people are mentioned that will be shaded:

1.     A just ruler

2.     A youth that grew up in worship of Allah

3.     A man whose heart was attached to the mosque

4.     Two men who love each other for Allah’s sake, meeting for that and parting upon that

5.     A man who is called by a woman but he says he fears Allah

6.     A man who gives charity so that his left does not know what his right hand gives

7.     A man who remembers Allah, privately, and sheds tears.

*It should be noted that that even though the term “man” is used, in Arabic the term applies to both women and men.

On the Day of Judgment, the distance between the sun and Earth will simply be 1, yes ONE, mile away. Can you imagine that?!! Currently the distance between Earth and the sun is about 93 million miles away and on that it will just 1. Try to picture a super hot summer day, especially for the hijabi’s, we can really feel the heat around mid-summer, some of us don’t even want to leave our houses! On that day, Allah will be angrier than ever before and his mercy will be greater than ever as well. Imagine being outside in the mid-summer or picture a desert and you’re standing there in a heavy trench coat or a super hot wool sweater but some people will be in the shade, air-conditioned, and cool. Wouldn’t you want to be one of those that are shaded? This is just a scenario and the real day will be much extreme and greater than any example one could give. Dr. Kaissi also described how on that day, people will be drenched in their sweat depending on their deeds. Some will be in their sweat up to their ankles where as others will have to close their mouth because their sweat will be up to that level. What a picture this paints in our minds. Ya Allah, please save us from such a thing and make us among the seven that you will shade with your grace!

The Seven categories of people explained:

1. A just ruler

            -When we think of ruler, we tend to think of presidents, politicians, or you know major figures, but any one of can be a ruler. Sheikhs are spiritual rulers; any of us can be leaders whether it is at school in a club like MSA or among our families and such.

2. A youth that grew up in worship of Allah

            -It cannot be emphasized how important it is to grow up on the right path in our youth. We are constantly surrounded by temptations, especially at school or work, and to overcome these temptations and stay guided on the path towards Allah is very rewarding.

            -Dr. Kaissi explained how this doesn’t necessarily mean that we spend our time in prayer all day long; of course worldly duties must also be attended too. However, we must remember to spend our youth and life the way Allah has ordained and we can have fun and do as we please, as long as it is according to the principles of Islam.

3. A man whose heart is attached to the mosque

            -The masjid is a very important place, it is the House of Allah, it is where we Muslims gather together to worship out Creator! Do we go to the masjid only during Ramadan or only for Jummah or do we go frequently through out the week? May Allah give us all the means to go the masjid and attach ourselves to his place of worship.

            -“Abu Hurairah related that Rasulullah (saws) said: When someone makes Wudu at home and walks to the mosque with the intention of observing Salat, each of his steps wipes out a sin while the other adds to his virtues. (Muslim)”  SubhanAllah!!

            -Sometimes, we as college students don’t have the means such as a car to get to a masjid but Allah has blessed us with a room to worship or campus where we can congregate and pray. While we are on campus, that prayer room is our place of worship so we should go there more often to pray, read Quran, or simply take a break from our normally hectic days.

            -These days, what are our hearts attached to? Take a moment and let’s all reflect on this. What are we attached to so much? Facebook? Friends? TV? Music? Movies? Will any of these attachments benefit us on the day when there will no shade except for one of these seven? Instead of attaching ourselves so much to these useless things, we need to attach ourselves to the masjid, a place of worship where we can grow spiritually. After going to the masjid a few times, you’ll realize the sense of peace that comes from going there and praying in congregation or hearing a halaqa. It’s truly amazing, Alhamdulillah! :)

4. Two men who love each other for Allah’s sake, meeting for that and parting upon that.

            -This indicates a brotherhood/sisterhood. Regardless of someone’s race, ethnicity, clothes, or group, we should remember that we can come together based on a common iman.

-We should try to build our relationships based upon Islam, for Allah’s sake, and we should leave each other upon Allah’s sake too. When you are in the company of someone with a common iman, like if you are at their house, you can stop and go pray together, read Quran together, do Islamic things together, talk about Islam together.  The friendship and company feels so much more rewarding and is pleasing to Allah as well. We should also keep in mind that if that relationship becomes unislamic and instead of benefiting you, you yourself begin to develop more negative aspects than positive, you should depart.

5. A man who gets called by a women of “beauty and position” but he says I fear Allah.

            - It’s implied here that one is getting called for illegal sexual intercourse.

            -When we may be approached by someone of the opposite gender, like maybe a celebrity that you’ve only imagine meeting and then they come up in front of you and they are willing to give themselves to you, the temptation may be there, but regardless of that temptation, you say “I fear Allah”. Temptations are innate and we were created with them. It is our ability to ward off that temptation and seek Allah’s help that shows how strong we are.

            -These approaches don’t necessarily have to be in person. They may be a click of the mouse away, they may be a bad website, or a private situation, but it is our responsibility to resist the temptation and say, “I fear Allah”.

6. A man who gives charity but hides it so much that his left hand doesn’t know what his right hand has given.

            -Charity is a very important aspect in Islam.

            -“It is reported by Abu Hurairah that Rasulullah (saws) said: If anyone gives charity equivalent of a single date from something he lawfully earns, for Allah only accepts what is lawful, Allah will accept it with his right hand, He will then foster it as one of you fosters his clot, his charity thus grows and becomes like a mountain. (Bukhari)”

            -“Abu Hurairah reported that Rasulullah (saws) said: Charity is incumbent on every human limb everyday. Bringing peace between two contendants is charity, helping a person to mount his camel or to load his baggage is charity, every step taken towards the mosque is charity and removing an obstruction from the street is also charity. (Bukhari, Muslim)”

            -We should keep in mind that whenever we give, we should not make a big deal out of it. We should never boast about how much we gave, We should do it for the sole purpose of pleasing our Lord.

7. A man who remembers Allah in private, so that his eyes shed tears.

            -When we pray, we must try to forget the world. It should be just us and Allah. We should give ourselves the chance to turn off the fan, meaning that we should turn off our worldly fan of thoughts and things we have to do, and then pray. Pray with focus, Pray like it’s your last prayer. Allow yourself to loose your emotions to your Lord.

            - Prophet Muhammad (saws) said, “No one sheds tears but God will save his body from the fire of Hell. If the tears trickle down a person’s cheeks, his or her face will be saved from any degradation. If one out of a group of people cries, the whole group will be blessed by God. Only tears have unrestricted power. Verily, tears can extinguish the fire of Hell.”

There you have it, the Seven categories of people that will be shaded on the Day of Judgment when there will be no shade available. We should make sure that we fall into at least one category and strive to be in all seven to ensure our shade on the Day of Judgment. May Allah protect us all on that day with his mercy and grace!

Jazakallahkhair! 

-Razz :)