الحمد لله نحمده ونستعينة ونستغفره، ونعوذ بالله من شرور أنفسنا، ومن سيئات أعمالنا ، وأشهد أن لا إله إلا الله وحده لا شريك له ، وأشهد أن سيدنا محمداً عبده ورسوله ، اللهم صلِّ وسلم وبارك على سيدنا محمد وعلى آله وأصحابه  ومن تبعه إلى يوم الدين

This worldly life is our bridge to our destination which is the Hereafter. This destination is either eternal happiness or eternal suffering.  At the end of the bridge, everyone will be given an oral exam of 8 questions.  Depending on the person’s answers, he may be subjected to a trial that can last for 50,000 years while the person is standing with the sun over his head.   

Three of the questions are given to the person after he is buried in the grave.  The other 5 questions will be given to him in the beginning of the person’s trial after the resurrection on the day of Judgement.

The person must answer the first three questions correctly to get full score, any wrong answer will give a failing grade and his answer to the other questions will not change the failing grade.   If the person passes the first three questions, he can take partial credit for his answers to the other 5 question.  The first 3 question that everyone will be asked in the grave are recorded for us in this account:

The Prophet (PBUH) attended the burial of one person and after the person was put in the ground and he was covered, he (PBUH) said:

عن البراء بن عازب قال: خَرَجْنَا مَعَ رَسُولِ الله صلى الله عليه وسلم في جَنَازَةِ رَجُلِ مِنَ الأنْصَارِ فانْتَهَيْنَا إِلَى الْقَبْرِ وَلَمّا يُلْحَدُ فَجَلَسَ رَسُولُ الله صلى الله عليه وسلم وَجَلَسْنَا حَوْلَةُ كَأَنّمَا عَلَى رُؤوسِنَا الطّيْرُ وفي يَدِهِ عُودٌ يَنْكُتُ بِهِ في الأرْضِ، فَرَفَعَ رَأْسَهُ فقالَ: اسْتَعِيذُوا بالله مِنْ عذَابِ الْقَبْرِ مَرّتَيْنِ أَو ثَلاِثاً. زَادَ في حَدِيثِ جَرِيرٍ هَهُنَا، وقالَ: وَإِنّهُ لَيَسْمَعُ خَفْقَ نِعَالِهِمْ إِذَا وَلّوْا مُدْبِرِينَ حِينَ يُقَالُ لَهُ: يَا هَذَا مَنْ رَبّكَ وَمَا دِينُكَ وَمَنْ نَبِيّكَ.

The buried person is being asked about three things: 

1. Who is your God? (من ربك)
2. What is your religion? (ما دينك)
3. What do you say about the man who was sent by God to you?

(ما هذا الرجل الذي بعث فيكم) (Sunan Abi Dawud)

These questions may seem simple and easy to answer, however imagine you just died, in the grave in a state of confusion and voices of the angels ask you these questions.  Do you really believe that you can answer these questions in such a state without the answers being truly embedded in your soul!

Regarding the other five questions a person will be asked on the day of judgement, Ibn Mas’ud reported that the Prophet (PBUH) said:

عَنْ ابْنِ مَسْعُودٍ عَنْ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ لَا تَزُولُ قَدَمُ ابْنِ آدَمَ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ مِنْ عِنْدِ رَبِّهِ حَتَّى يُسْأَلَ عَنْ خَمْسٍ عَنْ عُمُرِهِ فِيمَ أَفْنَاهُ وَعَنْ شَبَابِهِ فِيمَ أَبْلَاهُ وَمَالِهِ مِنْ أَيْنَ اكْتَسَبَهُ وَفِيمَ أَنْفَقَهُ وَمَاذَا عَمِلَ فِيمَا عَلِمَ

عن أبي برزة نضلة بن عبيد الأسلمي قال: قال رسول الله ﷺ: لا تزول قدما عبد يوم القيامة حتى يسأل عن عمره فيم أفناه؟ وعن علمه فيم فعل فيه؟ وعن ماله من أين اكتسبه؟ وفيم أنفقه؟ وعن جسمه فيم أبلاه؟

“On the Day of Resurrection, the son of Adam will not be dismissed from (the court of) his Lord until he is asked about five issues:

1. His life and how he lived it
2. His youth and how he used it
3. His wealth and how he earned it
4. His Wealth how he spent it
5. His knowledge and how he acted upon it.” (Al-Tirmidhi)

Our focus in the worldly life should be on preparation to give concise answers to these questions.  While you may think that answering the first 3 questions is easy, your ability to answer them correctly will depend on your preparation for answering the other 5 questions.  Keep in mind that at the end of the bridge of your life on earth, you need the divine support to answer the three questions properly, Allah says:

يُثَبِّتُ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ بِالْقَوْلِ الثَّابِتِ فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَفِي الآخِرَةِ وَيُضِلُّ اللَّهُ الظَّالِمِينَ وَيَفْعَلُ اللَّهُ مَا يَشَاء

“Allah reinforces those who believe with the firm word (response) in this world and in the Hereafter. And Allah will let the wrongdoers go astray.  And Allah does whatever He so wills.” (Ibrahim 14: 27)

During the trial of every person, Allah will produce for him three books of records.  Sayeda Aisha said that the Prophet (PBUH) Said:  

عن عائشة قالت قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم”   الدواوين عند الله عز وجل ثلاثة ديوان لا يعبأ الله به شيئا وديوان لا يترك الله منه شيئا وديوان لا يغفره الله )أخرجه الإمام أحمد في المسند  و الحاكم في المستدرك  و البيهقي في شعب الإيمان . فأما الديوان الذي لا يغفره الله فالشرك بالله قال الله عز وجل إنه من يشرك بالله فقد حرم الله عليه الجنة

وأما الديوان الذي لا يعبأ الله به شيئا فظلم العبد نفسه فيما بينه وبين ربه من صوم يوم تركه أو صلاة تركها فان الله عز وجل يغفر ذلك ويتجاوز ان شاء. وأما الديوان الذي لا يترك الله منه شيئا فظلم العباد بعضهم بعضا القصاص لا محالة )اخرجه احمد من حديث عائشه فيه صدقه بن موسى وقال مسلم بن ابراهيم صدوق وبقية رجال الحديث ثقات(

Allah will produce for every person three books of records: For one book of records, Allah does not give it attention and forgives to whom He will, what is in it.  For the second book of records, Allah does not ignore any thing in it. And for the third book of records Allah does not forgive anything in it.  

The book of records that Allah does not forgive what is in it is the book that records the shirk (taking associates with Him) as Allah said: Whoever associate others with Allah, Allah prohibited him from Paradise (من يشرك بالله فقد حرم الله عليه الجنة).

The book of records that Allah does not give it attention is the book that includes the injustices that a person committed against himself in his relationship with Allah from missing fasting or prayers, Allah forgives and overlooks these deficiencies for whom he wishes.

But the book of records that Allah does not ignore anything in it is the book that includes records of the injustices the person committed against others, there must be retribution, no doubt about it.  

In a similar hadith, Salaman Al-Farisi said that the Prophet (PBUH) said:

عن سلمان الفارسي رضي الله عنه قال قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم :“ذنب لا يغفر وذنب لا يترك وذنب يغفر فأما الذنب الذي لا يغفر فالإشراك بالله وأما الذنب الذي لا يترك فظلم العباد بعضهم بعضا وأما الذنب الذي يغفر فذنب العبد بينه وبين الله تعالى” )حديث سلمان رواه البزار و اخرجه الطبرانى(

Sins are of three types; sin that is not forgiven, sin that will not be ignored and sin that is forgiven. The sin that is not forgiven is the Shirk, the sin that is not ignored is the oppression people commit against each other and the sin that is forgiven is the one between the servant and His Lord.

The same point is emphasized in another hadith narrated by Anas ibn Malik who said that the prophet (PBUH) said:

حدثنا الربيع عن يزيد عن أنس قال قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم : “الظلم ثلاثة: فظلم لا يتركه الله وظلم يغفر وظلم لا يغفر فأما الظلم الذي لا يغفر فالشرك لا يغفره الله وأما الظلم الذي يغفر فظلم العبد فيما بينه وبين ربه وأما الظلم الذي لا يتركه فيقص الله بعضهم من بعض”.

Injustice is of three types; injustice that Allah will not neglect, injustice that is forgiven and injustice that is never be forgiven.  The injustice that Allah will never forgive is the shirk, the injustice that is forgiven is the injustice that the servant commits between himself and His Lord, and the injustice that Allah does not neglect is the injustice among one another until retribution is done. [At-Tirmidhi]

The greatest danger for any person who truly believes in Allah and never associate anything or anyone with Him in worship, comes from his relationship with other human beings.  Any injustice done against any person, no matter how small, should be a cause of concern because you will be held accountable for it unless the person whom you hurt forgives.  Worst that you commit injustice against someone whom you don’t even know. This can happen when you transmit a rumor about someone that causes him hurt.  Treating other people with the greatest respect and honor is something that should be ingrained in a Muslim’s nature.   

There are many sayings of the Prophet (PBUH) that make this point abundantly clear. On several occasions, the Prophet (PBUH) was told about a woman who spends all nights praying, and all days fasting, and spends much money in charity but she hurts her neighbors with her tongue.   Without hesitations, the Prophet (PBUH) said:

قيلَ للنَّبيِّ صلَّى اللهُ عليهِ و سلَّمَ : يا رَسولَ اللهِ ! إنَّ فلانةَ تقومُ اللَّيلَ و تَصومُ النَّهارَ و تفعلُ ، و تصدَّقُ ، و تُؤذي جيرانَها بلِسانِها ؟ فقال رسولُ اللهِ صلَّى الله عليهِ و سلم لا خَيرَ فيا ، هيَ من أهلِ النَّارِ . قالوا : و فُلانةُ تصلِّي المكتوبةَ ، و تصدَّقُ بأثوارٍ ، و لا تُؤذي أحدًا ؟ فقال رسولُ اللهِ : هيَ من أهلِ الجنَّةِ  ا)لراوي : أبو هريرة – المصدر : صحيح الأدب المفرد(

عن أبي هريرة رضي الله عنه قال: قال رجل: يا رسول الله إن فلانة يُذكر من كثرة صلاتها وصيامها وصدقتها غير أنها تؤذي جيرانها بلسانها، قال: هي في النار، قال: يا رسول الله فإن فلانة يُذكر من قلة صيامها وصدقتها وصلاتها، وإنها تصدق بالأثوار من الأقط، ولا تؤذي جيرانها بلسانها، قال: هي في الجنة.  )الإمام أحمد وغيره (

“There is no good in her, she will be in the hellfire”.  Then the people said but there is another woman who only performs the obligatory payers and gives minimum charity, but she does not hurt anyone.  The Prophet (PBUH) said: “She will be in paradise”.

Even hurting animals is a cause for a Muslim to be in the Hellfire. Abdullah ibn Omar said that the Prophet (PBUH) said:  

وفي الصحيحين أيضاً من حديث عبد الله بن عمر ر ضي الله عنهما أن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم قال: عذبت امرأة في هرة سجنتها حتى ماتت فدخلت فيها النار، لا هي أطعمتها ولا سقتها إذ حبستها، ولا هي تركتها تأكل من خشاش الأرض.

“There was a woman who punished her cat by depriving it from food and water until the cat died, and this woman entered the hellfire because of what she did.  She did not feed the cat, nor she let it go to eat from what is outside”.

People often take Allah’s mercy for granted and don’t expect that He will punish them for the injustices they commit against others.  Those people ignore the truth that Allah said about Himself:

نَبِّئْ عِبَادِي أَنِّي أَنَا الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ * وَأَنَّ عَذَابِي هُوَ الْعَذَابُ الْأَلِيمُ {الحجر:49-50}.

“Tell My servants that I am indeed the Forgiving, the Merciful; (49) And that My punishment is indeed the most painful punishment.” (Al-Hijr 15:49-50)

غَافِرِ الذَّنْبِ وَقَابِلِ التَّوْبِ شَدِيدِ الْعِقَابِ ذِي الطَّوْلِ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا هُوَ إِلَيْهِ الْمَصِيرُ. {غافر: 3}

“The Forgiver of sin, the Acceptor of repentance, the Severe in punishment, the One who is the source of power. There is no God but He.  To Him is the final return.” (Ghafir 40:3)

The ultimate truth is that we all will be returning to Allah to be held accountable for what we have done in this life.  This life is our bridge to the Hereafter.  This bridge is full of temptations and the problem arises when Muslims get so distracted and attached to all the adornments on the bridge and don’t focus on the destination. 

The adornment on the bridge is part of the divine plan to assess who is getting distracted and who is firm.  Allah says:

إِنَّا جَعَلۡنَا مَا عَلَى ٱلۡأَرۡضِ زِينَةً۬ لَّهَا لِنَبۡلُوَهُمۡ أَيُّہُمۡ أَحۡسَنُ عَمَلاً۬ (٧)

“Surely, We have made what is on earth an adornment for it, so that We test them as who among them is best in conduct/deeds.” (Al-Kahf 18:7)

The imbalance happens when we focus on the adornment of this life for the expense of the adornment of the hereafter.  Yes, we can enjoy our life here and all the beauty that Allah made available to us in it but that should never be at the expense of the pleasure of the adornment of the hereafter.  All the enjoyment of this life is no comparison to the enjoyment of the hereafter.  Similarly, all the suffering in this life has no comparison to the suffering of the hereafter.

The challenge in keeping the balance between this life and the hereafter is our difficulty in imaging the pleasures and the beauty of the hereafter because they are still described to us in terms of pleasures that we have here on earth.  Yes, Allah provided to us many descriptions of the pleasures of the paradise in the Quran, but it will be nice to have the descriptions made by someone who physically saw it.   Since the Prophet (PBUH) saw both heaven and hell in his ascension trip, he tried to draw a picture for us by making comparison.   The Prophet (PBUH) said:

عن المُسْتَوْرِد بن شَدَّاد -رضي الله عنه- قال: قال رسول الله -صلى الله عليه وسلم-: «ما الدنيا في الآخرة إلا مِثْل ما يجعل أحدكم أُصْبُعَهُ في اليَمِّ، فلينظر بِمَ يَرْجع [رواه مسلم.]. 

“The life of this world compared to the hereafter is as if one of you were to put his finger in the ocean and take it out then compare the water that remains on his finger to the water that remains in the ocean” [Sahih Muslim].

All the pleasures and enjoyments that anyone can accumulate in this life from palaces, yachts, airplanes, treasures, companions, etc. compared to the those in the hereafter are like the amount of water that your finger holds when you stick it in an ocean compared to the water in the ocean. So, what is the ratio between them.  Obviously, there is no comparison between them. 

To assess that the most adornment in this life has no comparison to the ones in the hereafter, Allah revealed an interesting verse that states what Allah could have done but he did not.  Allah says in Surat Az-Zukhruf:

وَلَوۡلَآ أَن يَكُونَ ٱلنَّاسُ أُمَّةً۬ وَٲحِدَةً۬ لَّجَعَلۡنَا لِمَن يَكۡفُرُ بِٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ لِبُيُوتِہِمۡ سُقُفً۬ا مِّن فِضَّةٍ۬ وَمَعَارِجَ عَلَيۡہَا يَظۡهَرُونَ (٣٣) وَلِبُيُوتِہِمۡ أَبۡوَٲبً۬ا وَسُرُرًا عَلَيۡہَا يَتَّكِـُٔونَ (٣٤) وَزُخۡرُفً۬ا‌ۚ وَإِن ڪُلُّ ذَٲلِكَ لَمَّا مَتَـٰعُ ٱلۡحَيَوٰةِ ٱلدُّنۡيَا‌ۚ وَٱلۡأَخِرَةُ عِندَ رَبِّكَ لِلۡمُتَّقِينَ (٣٥)

“And were it not that mankind would have become one community, We would have provided for those who disbelieve in Al-Rahman “the Beneficent” silver roofs for their houses, and (silver) stairs whereby they ascend, (33) And also for their houses, doors (of silver), and couches (of silver) on which they could recline, (34) And ornaments of gold. Yet all this is nothing but an enjoyment of this world. And the Hereafter with your Lord is (only) for the righteous.” (Al-Zukhruf 43:33-35).

These verses say that if all people would have been disbelievers, Allah would have showered them with materialistic pleasures but because there will be believers who may be tempted and confused by what the disbelievers have, Allah did not make this happen.  But Allah ends the verses by saying, all these worldly pleasures are nothing compared to what the believers will have in the hereafter.

Then Allah described some of the pleasures that He has in store for the believers in paradise by saying:

ٱدۡخُلُواْ ٱلۡجَنَّةَ أَنتُمۡ وَأَزۡوَٲجُكُمۡ تُحۡبَرُونَ (٧٠) يُطَافُ عَلَيۡہِم بِصِحَافٍ۬ مِّن ذَهَبٍ۬ وَأَكۡوَابٍ۬‌ۖ وَفِيهَا مَا تَشۡتَهِيهِ ٱلۡأَنفُسُ وَتَلَذُّ ٱلۡأَعۡيُنُ‌ۖ وَأَنتُمۡ فِيهَا خَـٰلِدُونَ (٧١) وَتِلۡكَ ٱلۡجَنَّةُ ٱلَّتِىٓ أُورِثۡتُمُوهَا بِمَا كُنتُمۡ تَعۡمَلُونَ (٧٢)

“Enter Paradise, you and your spouses, showered with bliss. (70) circulated among them will be trays and cups of gold.  And there will be whatever the souls desire, and all what eyes could enjoy, and you will be living in it forever. (71) This is the Paradise which you have been made to inherit because of what you used to do. (Al-Zukhruf 43:70-72)

While Allah describes the adornment in paradise in physical terms that we can relate to, He emphasizes one attribute that no one will get in this life no matter how much pleasures one can have, and this is eternity.   No matter how much wealth and pleasures a person may have, still he will die and leave them.  Therefore, there is no comparison between eternal pleasures and transient pleasures.  

Even when Allah uses terms that we relate to, He tells us that you will never imagine the pleasure in paradise, as He said in Hadith Qudsi:

عن أبي هريرة رضي الله عنه قال: قال رسول الله- صلى الله عليه وسلم-: قال الله تعالى: أعددت لعبادي الصالحين ما لا عين رأت ولا أذن سمعت ولا خطر على قلب بشر. )البخاري ومسلم(

“I have prepared for My righteous slaves (such excellent things) as no eye has ever seen, nor an ear has ever heard, nor a human heart has ever perceived.’  (Bukhari and Muslim)

This tells us that the pleasures in paradise are indescribable by our human language. So, if you want to get some image of any house in paradise, search the internet for pictures of the most luxurious and enchanting palace in the world and realize that this is what man can build and imagine what Allah has built for you if you are smart enough to balance the equation of success whose terms are enjoyment of this life versus enjoyment of the hereafter.   Allah says regarding all the pleasure in this life relative to the pleasures in the Hereafter:

فما متاع الحياة الدنيا في الآخرة إلا قليل

“So (remember that) the enjoyment of this worldly life is but trivial in comparison to the Hereafter.” (Al-Tawba 9:38)

To bring the image of paradise close to our mind, the Prophet (PBUH) described the construction materials and the covering of the land in paradise as materials that we extremely value in this life, but they are of no major value since they are equivalent to the construction material and the covering of the land in this earth that are mainly sand or soil.  The prophet (PBUH) said:

حديث أبي هريرة رضي الله عنه أنَّ النَّبِيِّ   صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ : الْجَنَّةُ بِنَاؤُهَا لَبِنَةٌ مِنْ فِضَّةٍ وَلَبِنَةٌ مِنْ ذَهَبٍ وَمِلَاطُهَا الْمِسْكُ الْأَذْفَرُ وَحَصْبَاؤُهَا اللُّؤْلُؤُ وَالْيَاقُوتُ وَتُرْبَتُهَا الزَّعْفَرَانُ مَنْ دَخَلَهَا يَنْعَمُ لَا يَبْأَسُ وَيَخْلُدُ لَا يَمُوتُ لَا تَبْلَى ثِيَابُهُمْ وَلَا يَفْنَى شَبَابُهُ )الترمذي )

“The buildings in paradise are made of gold and silver bricks and the mortar between the bricks is musk. Its sand is pearl and ruby, and its soil is the saffron. The one who enters it will have bliss and never feels discomfort and lives for eternity and his youth will never age”.  (Al-Tirmidhi)

Are people stupid enough to sacrifice all these pleasures for some temporary enjoyment in this earth!   Even if one lives in this earth for 100 years with life full of enjoyment and pleasures and do not even suffer one moment of discomfort, all this will be erased by one minute in the Hellfire.  Also, if one lives in this earth for 100 years subjected to the worst kind of suffering and injustices, all of this would be erased by the pleasure of one minute in paradise. Anas ibn Malik reported that the Prophet (PBUH) said:

عن أنس بن مالك -رضي الله عنه قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: «يُؤْتَى بِأَنْعَمِ أَهْلِ الدُّنْيَا مِنْ أَهْلِ النَّارِ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ فَيُصْبَغُ فِي النَّارِ صَبْغَةً ثُمَّ يُقَالُ: يَا ابْنَ آدَمَ هَلْ رَأَيْتَ خَيْرًا قَطُّ؟ هَلْ مَرَّ بِكَ نَعِيمٌ قَطُّ؟ فَيَقُولُ: لَا وَاللَّهِ يَا رَبِّ وَيُؤْتَى بِأَشَدِّ النَّاسِ بُؤْسًا فِي الدُّنْيَا مِنْ أَهْلِ الْجَنَّةِ فَيُصْبَغُ صَبْغَةً فِي الْجَنَّةِ فَيُقَالُ: لَهُ يَا ابْنَ آدَمَ هَلْ رَأَيْتَ بُؤْسًا قَطُّ؟ هَلْ مَرَّ بِكَ شِدَّةٌ قَطُّ؟ فَيَقُولُ لَا وَاللَّهِ يَا رَبِّ مَا مَرَّ بِي بُؤْسٌ قَطُّ وَلَا رَأَيْتُ شِدَّةً قَطُّ». )رواه مسلم(.

“The one who had the most enjoyable and comfort life in this world who is destined for the Hellfire will be brough on the day of judgment and dipped once in the Fire then he will be asked: O son of Adam, have you ever witnessed any goodness? Have you ever experienced any bliss? He will say: O Lord, by Allah I have not.

Then, the one who has the most miserable life in his world who is destined for Paradise, and will be dipped once in Paradise then he will be asked: O son of Adam, have you ever witnessed any misery? Have you ever experienced any hardship? He will say: No by Allah, I have never witnessed any misery, nor have I experienced any hardship.” 

This is the equation that we need to balance:  100% enjoyments in this life versus one dip in hell in the hereafter or major suffering in this life versus one drip in paradise the hereafter.  But there will be no one dip; it is an eternal immersion. You set your own priority and act accordingly.

This does in no way mean that believers should not seek the pleasures of this life, but it depends on how they are seeking it.  It should be sought through justice, honesty, and fairness and never through injustice and greed.   Allah wants the believers to enjoy His blessings in this life too.  Allah says:

قُلۡ مَنۡ حَرَّمَ زِينَةَ ٱللَّهِ ٱلَّتِىٓ أَخۡرَجَ لِعِبَادِهِۦ وَٱلطَّيِّبَـٰتِ مِنَ ٱلرِّزۡقِ‌ۚ قُلۡ هِىَ لِلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ فِى ٱلۡحَيَوٰةِ ٱلدُّنۡيَا خَالِصَةً۬ يَوۡمَ ٱلۡقِيَـٰمَةِ‌ۗ

” Say: Who has forbidden the adornment of Allah which He has brought forth for His servants, and the wholesome things of provisions? Say: “They are for the believers during this worldly life (though shared by others), but they are exclusively for them on the Day of Resurrection.” (Al-Araf 7:32)

The main difference between the companions of the Prophet (PBUH) and the majority of the following generations is that the companions had the adornment of this worldly life in their hands but never in their hearts.   Ibn Masoud said to the following generation:

قال ابن مسعود رضي الله عنه لأصحابه : أنتم أكثر صلاة و صياما من أصحاب محمد صلى الله عليه و سلم و هم كانوا خيرا منكم قالوا : و لم يا أبا عبد الرحمن ؟ قال : كانوا أزهد منكم في الدنيا و أرغب في الآخرة

“You perform more prayers and fasting than the companions of Mohmmad (PBUH), but they were better than you.  The people said: why? He said: “They were more dismissive of the pleasures of this life and more desirable for what is in the Hereafter.”

Many people have concocted ideas to convince themselves that they will enter paradise independent of their work and behavior in this life.  Some suggested that they are guaranteed paradise because of their race, others believe that they are guaranteed paradise because someone else sacrificed on their behalf.  Even Muslims suggest that if they say that “there is no god but Allah” they are fine independent of the sins they commit because they don’t commit shirk.   Those Muslims are naïve because they ignore two things:

First, Allah has always associated the belief in Him with righteous deeds because it does not make sense that someone claims that he believes in Allah and continuously disobeys his commands. 

Second, they ignore Satan’s example and that Allah cursed him and condemned him to Hell for eternity not because he associated any other god with Allah, he had full belief in the oneness of Allah, but because of his intentional rejection of Allah’s command.   Satan’s shirk was not associating someone else with Allah, but his shirk was merely following his own desires ahead of Allah’s commands and this is a form of shirk as Allah defined by saying:

أَرَءَيۡتَ مَنِ ٱتَّخَذَ إِلَـٰهَهُ ۥ هَوَٮٰهُ أَفَأَنتَ تَكُونُ عَلَيۡهِ وَڪِيلاً (٤٣)

“Have you seen the one who takes his desires as his god.? Would you then be guardian for him?” (Al-Furqan 25:43)

So, a person who commits shirk is not only the one who associates other deities with Allah but is also the one who puts his own desires ahead of Allah’s commands.  This is all what Satan did to deserve Allah’s curse, he chose his own desires over Allah’s commands.   So, we should be fully aware of this type of shirk that is classified by Allah as disbelief (kufr) that will not be forgiven.  

Muslims must be careful with statements such as this command of Allah is not suitable for our time, or this command of Allah is not necessary.  There is a big difference between a person who rejects a command of Allah because his logic tells him so, and the person who do not obey a command of Allah because of his weakness or laziness but keeps repenting to Allah for his shortcomings.  The person in the first case is a disbeliever of the satanic disbelief type.   The second person is sinful, but he has not been deprived from the mercy and forgiveness of Allah.

We pray to Allah to cleanse our hearts from all forms of shirk and purify our deeds from any form of injustice or ill treatment of anyone. 

DUA