Intentions:
Posted by awaqas1 on June 11, 2007
Umar ibn al-Khattab, radiya’llahu ‘anhu, said , “I heard the Messenger of Allah, salla’llahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, saying,
‘Actions are only by intentions, and every man has only that which he intended…”
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midnight stroller said
Abu Hurairah radi Allahu anhu reported, Rasool Allah sallahu alyihi wa sallam saying, “The first person to be judged on the Day of Resurrection will be a man who died as a martyr. He will be brought forward, and after Allah has reminded him of the favours He bestowed upon him and the man acknowledges it, Allah will ask, “What did you do to show gratitude for it?” The man will reply, “I fought for Thy cause till I was martyred”. Allah will say, “You Lie. You fought that people might call you courageous, and they have done so”. Command will then be issued about him, and he will be dragged on his face and thrown into Hell. Next is the man who has acquired and taught Knowledge and read the Quran, will be brought forward. After Allah has reminded him of His favours upon him and the man acknowledges it, Allah will ask, “What did you do to show gratitude for it?” The man will reply, “I acquired and taught knowledge and read the Quran for Thy sake”. Allah will say, “You lie. You acquired knowledge that people might call you learned (Scholar), and you read the Quran that they might call you a Qari (reader), and they have done so”. Command will then be issued about him, and he will be dragged on his face and thrown into hell. Next a man whom Allah has made affluent adn whom He has given all kinds of property will be brought forward, and after Allah has reminded him of the favours He bestowed upon him and the man acknowledges it, Allah will ask, “What did you do to show gratitude for it?” The man will reply, “I have not neglected to give liberally for Thy sake to all causes approved by Thee for this purpose”. Allah will say, “You lie. You did it that people might call you generous, and they have done so”. Command will then be issued about him, and he will be dragged on his face and thrown into hell” – Muslim.
midnight stroller said
Lessons from this Hadith: —————————-
1) Allah will question all human beings regarding the blessings, which He bestowed upon them. “O mankind, indeed you are laboring toward your Lord with [great] exertion [striving throughout your life until you meet your Lord, hastening toward death] and will meet it [you will find all that you intended and accomplished awaiting you in the Hereafter. You will meet Your Lord and be recompensed by Him]” – 84: 6. “So by your Lord, We will surely question them all. About what they used to do” – 15:92-93. “Then you will be surely be asked that Day about pleasure [the comfort of the worldly life and whether you were grateful to Allah for His blessings and how you showed your gratitude]” – 102:8.
Abdullah Bin Masood Radi Allahu anhu narrated that Rasool Allah sallahu alyihi wa sallam said, “A man shall be asked concerning five things on the Day of resurrection. Concerning his life, how he spent it; concerning his youth, how he grew old; concerning his wealth, whence he acquired it, and in what way he spent it; and what was it that he did with the knowledge that he had.” – Tirmidhi
midnight stroller said
2) Everyone will receive (in both worlds) what they intended and strove for.
“Whoever should desire the immediate [worldly gratifications] – We hasten for him from it what We will to whom We intend. Then We have made for him Hell, which he will [enter to] burn, censured and banished. Btu whoever desires the Hereafter and exerts the effort due to it while he is a believer – it is those whose effort is ever appreciated [by Allah]” – 18:19
midnight stroller said
Who is bibi Rabia? I would not personally agree with sister Rabia’s statement. It demands that we worship Allah out of love alone, not out of fear of Hell fire or want of Jannah. Such an attitude might obstruct one from making duaa for salvation from hellfire. In light of the sunnah of Rasool Allah sallahu alyihi wa sallam fear of Hellfire and seeking refuge from it; aspiring Jannah and making duaa for its attainment is desirable and highly recommended.
Allah says in Surah Mu’min, verse 60 -And your Lord says, “Call upon Me; I will respond to you”… Ask Allah and Allah will answer. Supplicate for Jannah and Allah will grant you Jannah. Ali ibn Abi Talib Radi Allahu anhu used to say, “Keep knocking at the door of Divine Mercy and it will be opened for you”. Similarly seek sincere refuge from Hellfire and punishment from the grave and inshahAllah Allah will protect you from both.
Narrated Mus’ab: Sa’d used to recommend five (statements) and mentioned that the Prophet I used to recommend it. (It was) “O Allah! I seek refuge with You from miserliness; and seek refuge with You from cowardice; and seek refuge with You from being sent back to geriatric old age; and I seek refuge with You from the affliction of this world (i.e., the affliction of Ad-Dajjal etc.); and seek refuge with You from the punishment of the grave.” (Bukhari: Volume 8, Book 75, Number 376)
Narrated ‘Aisha: Two old ladies from among the Jewish ladies entered upon me and said’ “The dead are punished in their graves,” but I thought they were telling a lie and did not believe them in the beginning. When they went away and the Prophet entered upon me, I said, “O Allah’s Apostle! Two old ladies..” and told him the whole story. He said, “They told the truth; the dead are really punished, to the extent that all the animals hear (the sound resulting from) their punishment.” Since then I always saw him seeking refuge with Allah from the punishment of the grave in his prayers. (Bukhari: Volume 8, Book 75, Number 377)
midnight stroller said
Islam also advocates expression of faith through actions, “Be mindful of your duty [to God], and do good works; and again, be mindful of your duty, and believe; and once again: be mindful of your duty, and do right. God loves the doers of good” – 5.93. We are further informed, “Good deeds annul evil deeds. This is a reminder for the mindful”- 11:114
Allah bestows love on those who believe and work deeds of righteousness (19:96). He is the Rabb (Only Cherisher and Sustainer) of Grace, Abounding (57:29). He listens to those who believe and do deeds of righteousness and gives them an increase of His Bounty (42:26). He grants the need of every creature (55:29). He commands that His followers, who year for His Mercy and Grace, “hasten towards all that is good” (Quran 2:148).
Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him, reported, Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, ” Be prompt in doing good deeds (before you are overtaken) by turbulence which would be like a part of the dark night. A man would be a believer in the morning and turn to disbelief in the evening, or he would be a believer in the evening and turn disbeliever in the morning, and would sell his Faith for worldly goods.” [Muslim].
This Hadith tells that the Day of Resurrection will be preceded by a long chain of calamities. Because of the rush of these calamities, religion and Faith will loose their value in people. There will be a race for wealth, so much so that people would not hesitate to compromise their religion and Faith to acquire wealth. People will rapidly change their faces.
This is what actually happening. In this situation true believers are exhorted to adhere strictly to Faith and perform noble deeds without delay. However, after doing good deeds (any deed, which Allah has orded to do and it is performed according to the Sunnah of Rasool Allah sallahu alyihi wa sallam, is good) one should not rest assured of his place in Jannah. After performing any deed, one should always supplicate to Allah to accept his deed, bless his work, reward him for it and forgive any shortcomings or errors on his part.
In the example of Ibrahim alyihi sallam (Nabi of Allah, whom Allah calls, Kaleel – His friend and Imaam – leader or father of nations) when he contructed the Ka’bah (what could be a nobler and righteous deed in building the House of Allah on Earth?) he said, “O Allah accept from us this service; indeed only You are the Hearing and Knowing of all things” (2:127). This indicates that only the good deeds *accepted* by Allah will be rewarded and be means of salvation from Hell fire and enterance to Jannah. Hence, we msut devout our lives to worship for we do not know which of our acts will be rejected and which will be accepted by Allah. Abu Sai’d Al Khudri Radi Allahu anhu reported Rasool Allah sallahu alyihi wa sallam said, “A believer never gets discontented with good until he finally reaches Jannah” (Tirmidhi).
midnight stroller said
Islam teaches that believers should do good deeds, but they should never say that we are purchasing Jannah by our good deeds. Jannah or eternal salvation is only because of Allah’s grace and love.
Allah says, “And We shall strip away all rancor from their hearts – beneath them will be rivers flowing – and they shall say: ‘Praise be to Allah, Who guided us on to this. Had it not been for Allah Who granted us guidance, we would not have found guidance. Surely, the Messengers of our Lord did come with Truth.’ Then a voice will cry to them, ‘Behold! This is the Paradise which you are made to inherit as a reward for your deeds.” (Quran 7:43) In this verse there is a beautiful description of the people of Paradise. Before they enter their blessed abode, Allah will purify them from any lurking sense of rancor or grudge that they might have had against each other. Then He will grant them a most happy place to live. Then there is a wonderful dialogue that will take place. They will praise Allah’s grace. They will not boast of their virtues or good deeds that led them to Paradise. However, Allah on the other hand will appreciate their goodness and will say that whatever they are receiving is not some crumbs of charity from Him, but this is a due recompense because of their own good deeds. This is a kind of mutual appreciation and gratitude + humbleness between the human and divine that is the hallmark of this verse.