Abdur-Rahman Abdul-Khaliq
Language: English | Format: PDF | Pages: 139 | Size: 1 MB
Praise be to Allah, the One Whom we ask for assistance and forgiveness. We ask for Allah’s refuge to secure us from our own evil selves, our wrong doings, and misdeeds; for whomever Allah, His Almighty guides and leads will never go astray, and whomever Allah, His Almighty misleads will never find the right path. I, also, testify that there is no God but Allah, the Only, who has no partner, and I testify that Muhammad is His prophet and His slave.
يَـٰٓأَيُّہَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ ٱتَّقُواْ ٱللَّهَ حَقَّ تُقَاتِهِۦ وَلَا تَمُوتُنَّ إِلَّا وَأَنتُم مُّسۡلِمُونَ
“O you who believe! Fear Allah (by doing all that He has ordered and by abstaining from all that He has forbidden) as He should be feared. [Obey Him, be thankful to Him, and remember Him Always,] and die not except in a state of Islam (as Muslims) with complete submission to Allah.” (The Noble Qur’an 3:102)
يَـٰٓأَيُّہَا ٱلنَّاسُ ٱتَّقُواْ رَبَّكُمُ ٱلَّذِى خَلَقَكُم مِّن نَّفۡسٍ۬ وَٲحِدَةٍ۬ وَخَلَقَ مِنۡہَا زَوۡجَهَا وَبَثَّ مِنۡہُمَا رِجَالاً۬ كَثِيرً۬ا وَنِسَآءً۬ۚ وَٱتَّقُواْ ٱللَّهَ ٱلَّذِى تَسَآءَلُونَ بِهِۦ وَٱلۡأَرۡحَامَۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ كَانَ عَلَيۡكُمۡ رَقِيبً۬ا
“O mankind! Be dutiful to your Lord, Who created you from a single person (Adam,) and from him (Adam) He created his wife (Eve,)and from them both He created many men and women, and fear Allah through whom you demand your mutual (rights,) and (do not cut the relations of) the wombs (kinship) Surely, Allah is Ever an All Watcher over you” (The Noble Qur’an 4:1)
يَـٰٓأَيُّہَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ ٱتَّقُواْ ٱللَّهَ وَقُولُواْ قَوۡلاً۬ سَدِيدً۬ا يُصۡلِحۡ لَكُمۡ أَعۡمَـٰلَكُمۡ وَيَغۡفِرۡ لَكُمۡ ذُنُوبَكُمۡۗ وَمَن يُطِعِ ٱللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ ۥ فَقَدۡ فَازَ فَوۡزًا عَظِيمًا
“O you who believe! Keep your duty to Allah and fear Him, and speak (always) the truth. He will direct you to do righteous good deeds and will forgive you your sins. And whosoever obeys Allah and His Messenger (peace be upon him) he has indeed achieved a great achievement (i.e. he will be saved from the HellFire and made to enter Paradise.)” (The Noble Qur’an 34:70-71)
At the Beginning of the Road: Paradise was the Goal
I was on the first steps of the path, the path of Islam, which was at my early youth, gratitude and praise be to Allah. I used to consider paradise as the place that I should be working for. Probably, not only my hope, but also my feelings were that I deserved it! I had the feeling that the mere idea of hell and the thought of escaping from it was not applicable to a person of my hard work and prayers, for such a person as I am does not belong there, by Allah’s will, and will not enter it. Therefore, such a person does not have to fear it or to keep on asking Allah to save him from it. However, If he does so, then he is only following prophet Muhammad, Allah’s peace and blessings be on him, and imitating him, who himself asks to be saved from Hell, with the assurance that he is not one of its inhabitants. I have often felt, when I used to ask for Allah’s forgiveness, that I haven’t committed deeds that call for a so long regret, or a so much sorrow; Allah has enabled me to give up, and apologize for the sin that I have committed. This is repentance enough.
I have continued thinking in such a way for quite a period of my religious life. Then, when I began comprehending The Holly Qu’oran, realizing the true meaning of faith, the true meaning of sin, and started studying the morals of the prophets, the virtuous men, and the men of faith, the previous feeling of security started to disappear slowly. My prime and final worry circulated totally around escaping hell, and escaping what comes before it of painful torture. As for heaven, the whole heaven, namely paradise, there are other measures, and efforts that my will, power, and devotion were way below. Moreover, if I cry over the sins that I have committed, from this day until I die, my sorrows will not be enough, and if Allah’s mercy does not over shadow me with His forgiveness, then I will be one of the losers. So how did that happen?
Allah has granted humankind certain span of life in this world and with it the ability to think and then decide their course in this life. After that, everyone will die and be buried. Then all of Allah’s creation will be brought back to life on the Day of Judgment. Those who did well on the earth will be rewarded with Heaven/Paradise, but those who were unfortunate (i.e., the wrongdoers) will be sent to Hell. Heaven is the abode of enjoyment, which Allah prepared for the righteous and Hell is the abode for penalty or torment, which He set up for the disbelievers. This book shows Hell from inside based on the authentic Hadeeths. Continue reading
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