In the hadith: “A man from the people of Paradise will appear to you now.”
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : Shaykh, may Allah preserve you, regarding the statement of Abdullah ibn Amr (may Allah be pleased with them both): “This is what has brought you to this state, and it is what we cannot do”, when he said it to the man about whom the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: As-Sunan al-Kubra lil-Nasa'i 64:1274 Does this phrase mean literally that he is lower, meaning that man, or is it something else? May Allah keep you safe?
The Shaykh : I did not understand you.
The questioner : Does this phrase actually mean literally that he is lower than him in this matter, that he does not hold in his heart any arrogance or envy toward anyone, and so on?
The Shaykh : I mean, he is speaking about himself.
The questioner : He said, Shaykh, using the plural pronoun, yes, he said: “It is what has brought you to this state, and it is what we cannot do”.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : So the question here is, is this actually literal?
The Shaykh : Of course, it is literal. What is the necessity of diverting it to metaphor? First, there is no doubt that the matter is so. Second, no matter how high a person rises, he may be complete in one aspect and deficient in another.
Another person may be complete in that other aspect and deficient in the first one. And the matter is as Allah the Exalted said:[Al-Qiyamah 75:14] So when Ibn Amr heard that character from that guest, he pinpointed the point of perfection present in that guest, which Ibn Amr acknowledged that he and those like him cannot attain. So it is a specific aspect. Therefore, it is not strange that a distinguished Companion like Ibn Amr would say, “This is what we cannot do.” So it is literal.
The questioner : I mean, Shaykh, may Allah reward you with good, we have benefited from you regarding the issue of capacities, if the expression is correct, the individual differences in the performance of worship. I mean, a person may differ.
The Shaykh : In worship? I think it is character, not worship.
The questioner : In its performance, yes. But here, does it mean that the majority of the Companions, or “it is what we cannot do”, or the majority of, I mean, of whom?
The Shaykh : No, he means a group.
The questioner : A group.
The Shaykh : It does not mean every single individual except that man. That is not what it means, because the minimum for a plural is two.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh : And you as well.
A man from the people of Paradise will now appear to you.
يطلع عليكم الآن رجل من أهل الجنةThe Shaykh : I did not understand you.
The questioner : Does this phrase actually mean literally that he is lower than him in this matter, that he does not hold in his heart any arrogance or envy toward anyone, and so on?
The Shaykh : I mean, he is speaking about himself.
The questioner : He said, Shaykh, using the plural pronoun, yes, he said: “It is what has brought you to this state, and it is what we cannot do”.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : So the question here is, is this actually literal?
The Shaykh : Of course, it is literal. What is the necessity of diverting it to metaphor? First, there is no doubt that the matter is so. Second, no matter how high a person rises, he may be complete in one aspect and deficient in another.
Another person may be complete in that other aspect and deficient in the first one. And the matter is as Allah the Exalted said:
Rather, man, against himself, will be a witness,
بل الإنسان على نفسه بصيرةThe questioner : I mean, Shaykh, may Allah reward you with good, we have benefited from you regarding the issue of capacities, if the expression is correct, the individual differences in the performance of worship. I mean, a person may differ.
The Shaykh : In worship? I think it is character, not worship.
The questioner : In its performance, yes. But here, does it mean that the majority of the Companions, or “it is what we cannot do”, or the majority of, I mean, of whom?
The Shaykh : No, he means a group.
The questioner : A group.
The Shaykh : It does not mean every single individual except that man. That is not what it means, because the minimum for a plural is two.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh : And you as well.