Condition of the prophet

(147) It is related by Jabir that the Apostle of God said: “No deed of anyone of you can take him to Heaven, or save him from Hell, and the same is true for myself, save by the Grace of the Lord.”
- Muslim
Commentary.-The observation made by the Prophet that even he will not by able to enter Heaven by reason of his well-doing and prayerfulness, and if he will go to Paradise, it will be solely by the Mercy of the Lord is enough to show how exceedingly God-fearing and anxious he was for the Hereafter.
(148) Ayesha narrated that the condition of the Apostle of God was such that when a strong wind worked up the following prayer came to his lips: “O God! I beg of Thee the good of this wind, and the good of what is contained therein, and the good of the purpose for which it has been sent, and I seek refuge in Thee from its mischief, and from the mischief of what is contained therein, and from the mischief of the purpose for which it has been sent.” [Similarly], when the sky became overcast, he would turn pale [with fear] and [so great was his agitation that], sometimes, he would go in, and, sometimes, he would come out, and, sometimes, he would move to the front, and, sometimes, he would move to the rear till it rained [and the storm passed off safely]. On being inquired the Prophet told her, “O Ayesha! I fear that this wind is similar to what was sent towards Aad [the community of the Prophet Hud] [and has been alluded to in the Quran in these words]: then, when they beheld it as a dense cloud coming towards their valleys, they said: Here is a cloud bringing us rain [though it was not a rain-bearing cloud but a tempest that had come to destroy them]. [xlvi : 24].
-Bukhari and Muslim
Commentary.-The object of the above report is simply to give an idea of the prevailing influence of the fear of God on the Prophet. Even when a strong wind blew the Prophet fervently prayed that it brought nothing but good and sought the protection of the Lord against its mischief. Likewise, when a cloud appeared on the sky, the Prophet felt extremely restless. He feared that God had sent down His punishment in the shape of it as had happened with the defiant followers of Hud who were happy on seeing the cloud coming towards their land and thought that it brought the blissful rain but it turned out to be a terrible storm of Divine chastisement. The Quranic verse quoted above is incomplete. Its concluding part reads: Nay, but it is that which ye seek to hasten, a wind wherein is painful torment.
(149) Abdullah bin Abbas narrated to us that Abu Bakr [once] remarked to the Prophet: “O Apostle of God! You have grown old!” The prophet replied: “The Suras of Hud, Waqi'ah, Mursalat, Naba and Takwir have made me old.”
-Tirmidhi
Commentary.-The health of the Prophet was exceptionally good and his disposition was most moderate. The signs of old age should, therefore, not have normally appeared in him for a long time. But when he began to show the effects of advancing years before the expected time Hazrat Abu Bakr, one day, exclaimed, “Sir, you have started aging already.” The Prophet replied that the Quranic Chapters of Hud, Waqi'ah, Mursalat, Naba and Takwir ha made him old. These Chapters contain a vivid description of the happenings of the Hereafter, like the Convulsion, the Resurrection. The Final Judgement and the meting out of punishment to the sinners. The Prophet was so deeply affected by them, and the fear of God and anxiety for the Hereafter gripped his heart so powerfully when he recited them that it told on his health. Fear and anxiety are recognised all over the world as the foremost enemies of physical as well as emotional well-being. These quickly make a young man grey-headed. For this reason, the Last Day has been described in the Quran as A day that will make children hoary-headed. [lxxiii : 17]
(150) Anas relates; he related it to people of his time that “you do many things which in your sight are even thinner than hair [i.e., trivial]. We, during the lifetime of the Prophet, considered them to be mortal sins.”
-Bukhari
Commentary.-It shows that during the days of the prophet the fear of God was predominant among the Muslims [i.e., the Companions] to such an extent and they were so fearful of the reckoning and sequel of the Hereafter that actions which, in the narrator's time, were regarded as ordinary and no particular care was taken to abstain from them were considered by those venerable men as fatal and avoided by them like poison.
(151) Nazr Tab'ee narrates that “once a black dust-storm blew during the lifetime of Anas upon which I went to him and said, ‘O father of Hamza! Did such black dust-storms also come upon you during the days of the Prophet?' Anas replied, ‘I seek the refuge of God! The state, then was that even when a slightly stronger wind blew we used to rush to the mosque on account of the fear of the Last Day'.”
- Bukhari
(152) It has been related to us by Khanzala bin el-Rabi' that “one day Abu Bakr met me and said, ‘Khanzala ! How are you?' I replied, ‘Khanzala has become a Hypocrite' ‘Glory be', he exclaimed, ‘What are you saying?' ‘The thing is,' I replied, ‘that when I am with the prophet and he talks about Heaven and Hell and admonishes me, I feel as if I am actually seeing Heaven and Hell but when I return home from his presence, my wife and children and the affairs of land and agriculture engage my attention and I forget everything.' On hearing it, Abu Bakr remarked, ‘The same is the case with me.' Both of us, thereupon, went to the Prophet, and [narrating my own state to him] I said, ‘O Apostle of God ! Khanzala has become a Hypocrite.' ‘What is the matter with you?' he asked. ‘The thing is,' I replied, “that when I am with you and you admonish me, after speaking about Heaven and Hell, it seems that I am seeing them right in front of me, but when I return home, my wife and children and the tasks of agriculture occupy my mind and I forget about everything else.' The Prophet observed, ‘By the Being in whose power is my life! If your condition always remains what it is in my presence and you are constantly occupied with the remembrance of God, the angels will shake hands with you on your bed and in the way. But, O Khanzala ! [God has not enjoined it upon us, and] this much is enough that it happens occasionally.
-Muslim
Commentary.-It shows that the anxiety of the holy Companions for Faith and the Hereafter was so acute and genuine that they began to suspect themselves of Hypocrisy if the slightest alternation was noticed by them in their spiritual state.
(153) It is related by Abu Burda, son of Abu Moosa Ash'arl; he relates that Abdullah bin Omar [once] asked him, “Do you know what my father had told your father?” “I do not”, he replied. Abdullah bin Omar, then, said that his father had said to Abu Burda's father, “O Abu Moosa ! Are you satisfied with it that our affirmation of Islam with the Prophet and at his hand, and our participation in Hijrat and Jehad with him and all the other good deeds we performed in his company remained preserved for us [and the reward for them was given to us], and the things we did after him were treated on even terms. [i.e., we were neither rewarded nor punished for them]?” On hearing it, Abu Moosa remarked, “No, by God ! I do not want it. We have done Jehad after the prophet, offered Namaz, observed fasting and performed many other good deeds, and, [in addition to it], innumerable bondmen of the Lord have embraced Islam through our efforts and at our hands and we are entirely hopeful of being recompensed for them by God.” Abdullah's father [Hazrat Omar], thereupon, said “By the Divine Being in whose power is Omar's life ! I fervently wish that the deeds we performed with the Prophet remained secure for us and we were requited for them while the deeds we have performed after him were not taken into account, for good or for evil.” [Abu Burda went on to narrate] that, upon it, he said to Abdullah bin Omar, “By God ! Your father was better than mine.”
-Bukhari
Commentary.-It can be hoped about Namaz offered behind a virtuous and whole-souled bondman of the Lord that it will find acceptance with the Lord. In a similar way, Hazrat Omar believed that good actions like Namaz, Roza, Hijrat and Jehad he had carried out in the company of the Prophet would be blessed with Divine approval but since the deeds performed after the death of the Prophet did not possess the virtue of association with him, Hazrat Omar, like all spiritually evolved men, felt apprehensive of what they were going to lead to and saw him success and safety in their being considered to be worthy neither of reward nor of punishment at the Final Reckoning.
The remark of Abu Burda that Abdullah bin Omar's father was superior to his own probably denotes that Hazrat Omar was better and nobler because he was so greatly dissatisfied with his earthly conduct and fearful of Divine displeasure.
In a report of the martyrdom of Hazrat Omar, appearing in Sahih Bukhari, it is mentioned that, at the time of his death, he said: “I swear by God that if I had gold of the weight of the earth I would give it s ransom before witnessing the punishment of God and obtain my release.”
Such was the dominance of the fear of God over the bondman who had repeatedly heard the glad tidings of Paradise from the Prophet-himself!

CONTEMPTUOUS DESREGARD OF THE WORLD

I n the Traditions concerning Riqaq we are now going to discuss, the Holy Prophet has expressed contempt for the material world and laid stress on its worthlessness in the sight of God as compared with the Hereafter.
The attachment to worldly interests has become so strong these days and th problem of material advancement has assumed such proportions that even the Muslims are not inclined to listen to the rejection of the world as inferior. The limit is that a Muslim leader or theologian feels no hesitation in dismissing all talk about the futility and nothingness of worldly success and material well-being as monasticism ill-conceived mysticism [Tasawwuf], and when his attention is drawn to the relevant sayings of the Prophet he begins to challenge their veracity in the manner of the deniers of the Traditions. We, as such, propose to examine the question in some detail before proceeding with the Traditions.

The World and the Hereafter

(i) As the world we live in is a reality, so, also, is the Hereafter. There can be no two opinions about it. If we do not see it, or have a physical sensation of it, in the present existence, the material world, too, was not visible to us when we were in the wombs of our mothers. Then, just as on coming into this world we saw the earth and the sky and millions of other things we could not dream of in mother's womb, when we will die and arrive at the next world we will also discover Heaven and Hell and all the things that have been revealed by the Divine Apostle and in the holy Scriptures. In short, Futurity is as much real as the present existence on earth.
(ii) About the existing world we are certain that it is transitory. It is bound to perish one day along with all that is contained in it. On the other hand, the Hereafter is everlasting. One reaching there, man, too, will be endowed with eternity. The life that will be granted to him in the next world will be endless. In the same manner, the boons and favours conferred on worthy bondmen in the future existence will also be unending. Or, as the Quran has put it: A gift unfailing. [xi : 108]. Similarly, the punishment of those who will incur the wrath of the Lord due to Apostasy, intransigence or evil-doing will, also, be without end, as it has been said at various places in the Quran: And they will not emerge from the Fire. [ii : 167]. For them is Fire of Hell; it taketh not complete effect upon them so that they can die, nor is its torment lightened for them. [xxxv : 36].
We, again, place our reliance on the relevation made by the Divine Apostles and in the Scriptures about the joys and comforts of the Hereafter that they are immeasurably superior to those of this world. The real pleasures and blessings are, in truth, of the Hereafter. No pleasant conditions of earthly life can bear comparison with them. Like wise, the pain and suffering of the present world is nothing in contrast with the torment of Hell of the lowest order.
All these things would, obviously, demand that man's activities were directed wholly towards the life to come and the attachment to this world was restricted only to what was essential and unavoidable.
(iii) But since the world is surrounding us all the time and the Hereafter is hidden from our eyes even those of us who believe in these truths are, generally, swayed by material aims and interests. It is an inherent weakness with us. Our thinking in this regard is like that of the children who remain engrossed in toys and games and find the educational pursuits that are intended to make them successful in life most tiresome and uninteresting.
(iv) Through the Apostles raised up by God and the Scriptures revealed by Him the endeavour has always been made to remove this failing and to make clear the position of the Hereafter vis-à-vis the present world, but man has continued to be have like a child.
(v) The Quran being the last message to be sent down by God, the importance of Futurity and the immateriality of this world have been emphasised in it with utmost force and clarity. For instance, it says:
Say [unto them, O Muhammad]: The comfort of this world is scant; the Hereafter will be better for him who wardeth off evil; and ye will not be wronged the down upon a date-stone.
[iv : 77]
Naught is the life of the world save a pastime and a sport. Better far is the abode of the Hereafter for those who keep their duty to Allah. Have ye then no sense?
[vi : 32]
Lo! This life of the world is but a passing comfort, and lo! The Hereafter, that is the enduring home.
[xi : 39]
And in the Hereafter there is grievous punishment [for the rebels and the transgressors], and also forgiveness from Allah and His good pleasure [for those who are loyal and do good], whereas the life of the world is but a matter of illusion.
[lvii : 20]
(vi) Among the few points on which special stress has been laid by the Divine Apostles and holy Scriptures, one is that the material world should be regarded as utterly worthless. One must not get unnecessarily involved in it nor make it the end and purpose of his hopes and aspirations but believing in the Hereafter to be his real abode and keeping in mind the preference it enjoys over the present world, allow the solicitude for success in future existence to prevail over all worldly cares and considerations. An essential condition of felicity in the Hereafter, therefore, is that this world is looked down upon as base, contemptible and valueless, the heart is set on life after death, and, O God! There is no joy other than the joy of Futurity is the cry of one's soul. Hence, the sacred Prophet, also, taught it through his sayings and sermons and inscribed it on the hearts of the Believers by his own conduct. The object of the Traditions we are now going to discuss and in which the prophet has dwelt upon the futility and worthlessness of this world ought to be understood against this background.
(vii) It needs, further, be remembered that the material world that has been condemned in these Traditions is that which is inimical to felicity in the Hereafter. Otherwise, active engagement in worldly occupations and pursuit of material gain and enjoyment which is subordinated to earnest anxiety for Futurity and does not offer a hindrance to salvation is not only not undesirable but also a stepping stone to Paradise.

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