The Ultimate Blessing!

The Ultimate Blessing!

The Ultimate Blessing! The biggest blessing for the people of jannah –

 Seeing Allah (SWT)

By

Abida Rahmani

The Greatest Delight: Ridwaan Allah and Looking At His Face

In fact every human being has a concept of a creator as said in Quran that Allah (swt) testified every soul that I am your Rabb (lord) and the humans said yes and we testify.  وَإِذۡ أَخَذَ  رَبُّكَ مِنۢ بَنِىٓ ءَادَمَ مِن ظُهُورِهِمۡ ذُرِّيَّتَہُمۡ وَأَشۡہَدَهُمۡ عَلَىٰٓ أَنفُسِہِمۡ أَلَسۡتُ بِرَبِّكُم‌ۖ قَالُواْ بَلَىٰ‌ۛ شَهِدۡنَآ‌ۛ أَن تَقُولُواْ يَوۡمَ ٱلۡقِيَـٰمَةِ إِنَّا ڪُنَّا عَنۡ هَـٰذَا غَـٰفِلِينَ And (remember) when your Lord brought forth from the Children of Adam, from their loins, their seed (or from Adam's loin his offspring) and made them testify as to themselves (saying): "Am I not your Lord?" They said: "Yes! We testify," and that you can not say on the day of judgment that you were unaware.(Al- Araf 172) As a Muslim we have submitted to Allah (SWT) and follow his orders. Some times if we do wrong we are so scared of his wrath and punishment, while if we do good then expect his blessings and rewards in this world and the hereafter. We have never seen Allah in this world but love him or fear him. This is called Imaan bilghaib (To believe in the unseen) and this is the ultimate base of our belief(Imaan).As Allah has described in Quran that I am closer to you than your larynges or your spinal chord, I witness your thoughts and deeds that are shown or apparent and those that are hidden in your chests and minds. For us it is impossible to see Allah (SWT) in this worldly life, although we beg him, we pray him for his mercy and blessings all the times, if we are devout Muslims. We have a great bondage with Allah (SWT) and great confidence in him for this world and the here after. We seek refuge from him from evil and seek his guidance spread on our lives. With all this great connections we are unable to visualise how Allah is, how he looks like? We have no concept of his looks and appearance but we have the greatest desire and longing to see and meet Allah( SWT) after our death or after our eternal life. ٱلَّذِينَ يَظُنُّونَ أَنَّہُم مُّلَـٰقُواْ رَبِّہِمۡ وَأَنَّهُمۡ إِلَيۡهِ رَٲجِعُونَ (٤٦ (They are those) who are certain that they are going to meet their Lord, and that unto Him they are going to return. (46 Al- Baqara)  So the greatest reward for a believer is to see Allah (SWT) after our death or on the day of judgment. For this every Muslim is eagerly waiting. The pleasures of this world are tangible and present, whilst the delights of Paradise are as-yet unseen promises. People are readily influenced by what they can see and know instantly; it is hard enough for them to forgo something that is in front of them for the sake of something else that is in the future, so how much harder it is if the promise will not be attained until after death! So Allah (swt) drew a comparison between the pleasures of this world and the joys of Paradise, and explained that the delights of Paradise are far superior to this world's pleasures. The Qur'an speaks at length denouncing this world of instant, fleeting pleasures and stating that the rewards with Allah as far better and ever lasting, to encourage man to strive hard for success in the next world: "Some faces that Day will be Nadhirah [shining, radiant], Looking at their Rabb." [75:22-23] Ibn al-Itheer said, "Seeing Allah is the ultimate joy in the Hereafter, the most precious gift of Allah. May Allah (swt) help us reach that goal?" [Jaami' al-Usool, 10/557] Abu Sa'eed al-Khudri reported that the Prophet (saw) said that "Allah will say to the people of Paradise, "O People of Paradise! They will say, "We are at Your Worship, our Rabb, and all goodness is in Your hand." He will say, "Are you content?" They will say, "Why should we not be content, O Rabb, when you have given us what you have not given to anyone else of Your Creation?" He will say, "Shall I not give you better than that?" They will say, "O Rabb, what could be better than that?" He will say, "I grant you My pleasure and I will never be displeased with you after that." [al-Bukhaari and Muslim, Mishkaat al-Masaabeeh] Muslim and at-Tirmidhi reported from Suhayb ar-Rumi that the Messenger of Allah (saw) said: "When the people of Paradise enter Paradise, Allah will say: "Do you want anything more?" They will say, "Have You not made our faces white [i.e. honoured us]? Have You not admitted us to Paradise and saved us from the Fire?" Then the veil will be lifted, and they will never have been given anything more dear to them than looking at their Rabb, may He be Blessed and Exalted." One report adds, "Then the Prophet (saw) recited the aayah, "For those who have done good is the best [reward i.e. Paradise] and even more [i.e. the honour of glancing at the Countenance of Allah]..." [10:26] Thus seeing the Face of Allah (swt) was interpreted as part of the "more" [mazeed] which Allah has promised to al-Muhsinoon [those who have done good]: "There they will have all that they desire - and We have more [for them, i.e. a glance at the All-Mighty, All-Majestic." [50:35] This is a joy and honour that will be denied to the Kuffaar and Mushrikeen: "Nay, surely they [evildoers] will be veiled from seeing their Rabb that day." [83:15] Imaam Maalik ibn Anas, the Imaam of al-Madinah, used this aayah as proof that "Looking at their Rabb" [75:23] literally meant they would see the face of Allah, as some had interpreted it as meaning the people would be waiting for their reward. Maalik said, "They have lied.... The people will look at Allah on the Day of Resurrection with their own eyes. If the believers are not going to see their Rabb on the Day of Resurrection, why did Allah (swt) say that the kuffaar would be veiled from Seeing Him?" [See Sharh as-Sunnah, Mishkaat al-Masaabeeh, 3/100 no. 5662] at-Tahhaawi, the great Hanafi Imaam, said in his "al-'Aqeedah at-Tahhaawiyyah", "This seeing [Allah] is true, something that will happen to the people of Paradise; it is not necessary to attempt to define it or describe how it will happen. It is mentioned in the Book of Our Rabb [75:23]. The way it will happen is according to the will and knowledge of Allah and we have to believe in it as it was narrated from the Messenger of Allah in the saheeh hadith. We should not interpret it according to our own inclinations and opinions, for no one is sound in his deen except the one who submits fully to Allah and His Messenger. What is ambiguous should be referred to one who has knowledge (i.e. a scholar)" [Sharh at-Tahhaawiyyah, 203]

      

"And strain not your eyes in longing for the things We have given them for enjoyment to various groups of them [mushrikeen and kuffaar] the splendour of this life that We may test them thereby. But the provision [good reward in the Hereafter] of your Rabb is better and more lasting" [20:131]

There are many reasons why the delights of Paradise are superior to the pleasures of this dunyaa; Amongst them:

 (i) The Pleasures of this Dunyaa are fleeting.

 "Say: Short is the enjoyment of this world. The Hereafter is [far] better for him who fears Allah.." [4:77]

 The Prophet (saw) illustrated the inferiority of this dunyaa by comparing it to what Allah has prepared in Paradise, "By Allah, this world in comparison with the Hereafter is nothing more than as if one of you put his finger" - and he gestured with his forefinger - "in the sea; let him see how much water he would retrieve" [Saheeh Muslim, 4/2193, no. 2858]. A finger dipped in the ocean would not even pick up one drop; this is how little this world is worth when compared with the Aakhirah.

 Because these pleasures are so insignificant, Allah (swt) has rebuked those who prefer the pleasures of this world to the joys of the Aakhirah:

 "O you who believe! What is the matter with you, that when you are asked to go forth in the Cause of Allah [Jihaad] you cling heavily to this earth? Do you prefer the life of this world to the Hereafter? But little is the comfort of this life, as compared with the Hereafter" [9:38]

 We have already quoted numerous texts that indicate the inexhaustible abundance of the blessings and joys of the Aakhirah.

For this reason, when the people of Paradise have been saved from the Fire, they will be detained of a bridge between Paradise and Hell, where they will be purified by settling any wrongs that may be outstanding, so that they may enter Paradise, pure of heart and soul, free from any resentment, envy or other negative emotions of this world. al-Bukhaari and Muslim report that when the people of Paradise enter Paradise, "There will be no hatred of resentment among them, their hearts will be as one, and they will glorify Allah, morning and evening" [al-Bukhaari from Abu Hurayrah, in Kitaab bid' al-Khalq, Baab maa jaa'a fi Sifaat al-Jannah, Fath al-Baari, 6/318]

 (iv) The Pleasures of This World are Transient Whilst the Joys of the Hereafter are lasting and eternal.

 This is why Allah (swt) calls the pleasures of this world "temporary conveniences" because they are enjoyed for a short while, then come to an end, but the joys of al-Aakhirah have no end:

 "What is with you, must vanish, and what is with Allah will endure.." [16:96.

(v) Seeking to Enjoy the Pleasures of this World and Neglecting the Hereafter Will be Followed By Regret and Sorrow When One Enters the Fire of Hell.

كُلُّ نَفۡسٍ۬ ذَآٮِٕقَة

ٱلۡمَوۡتِ‌ۗ وَإِنَّمَا تُوَفَّوۡنَ أُجُورَڪُمۡ يَوۡمَ ٱلۡقِيَـٰمَةِ‌ۖ فَمَن زُحۡزِحَ عَنِ ٱلنَّارِ وَأُدۡخِلَ ٱلۡجَنَّةَ . فَقَدۡ فَازَ‌ۗ وَمَا ٱلۡحَيَوٰةُ ٱلدُّنۡيَآ إِلَّا مَتَـٰعُ ٱلۡغُرُورِ (١٨٥

 "Everyone shall taste death. And only on the Day of Resurrection will you be paid your wages in full. And whoever is removed away from the Fire and admitted to Paradise, he indeed is successful. The life of this world is only the enjoyment of deception [a deceiving thing]" [3:185

 كُلُّ مَنۡ عَلَيۡہَا فَانٍ۬ (٢٦) وَيَبۡقَىٰ وَجۡهُ رَبِّكَ ذُو ٱلۡجَلَـٰلِ وَٱلۡإِكۡرَامِ

Whatsoever is on it (the earth) will perish. (26) And the Face of your Lord full of Majesty and Honour will remain forever. (27 Al-Rahman)

So the long lasting and eternal pleasures for a Momin is to attain the blessings of Allah (SWT) in the here after and the ultimate blessing is to see and meet Allah (SWT) in person. We all should pray and wait for this Ultimate Blessings!