Guidance and Acting on the Prescribed Means
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In the hadith of 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) in Sahih al-Bukhari, part of the hadith contains the words of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him): (By Allah, there is no god but Him, among you are those who will do the deeds of the people of the Fire until there is nothing between them and it but the width of an arm.
) The hadith.
There are among the youth those who say: If guidance is decreed or dependent on the will, then there is no reason for me to do good deeds, or to adhere to the obedience of Allah (Mighty and Majestic). What is your opinion, O honorable Shaykh, of this statement?
When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) informed his Companions that no one exists whose seat in Paradise and his seat in the Fire has not been written, they said: O Messenger of Allah! Should we then leave off doing deeds and rely on the decree?He said: (Do your deeds, for every person is facilitated for what he was created for; as for the people of happiness, they are facilitated for the deeds of the people of happiness, and as for the people of misery, they are facilitated for the deeds of the people of misery) .
If someone were to say: If the matter is decreed, then there is no benefit in doing deeds, and he insisted on that, and carried out what he said, we know that he is from the people of misery, and I seek refuge in Allah; because he was not facilitated for the deeds of the people of happiness,Then we say to this man: Do you know that Allah decreed for you to be from the people of misery so that you do their deeds?He will say: No.
We say: So it is decreed that Allah wrote you among the people of happiness, and do the deeds of the people of happiness.
Then we say a third time: If you were told now: In such-and-such a country there is great trade, and it is a safe country with abundance of provision, and another country is far less than that,Do you say: I will not go to the first country; because if it were decreed for me, I would go! And you go to the second country,Or do you go to the first country and say: It is decreed for me?Answer: That he will say the latter, he will go to the country he sees as more beneficial for him,And he says: It is decreed for me to go to it, so it is the same with the path to Paradise and the Fire. Let us suppose that Paradise and the Fire are countries, would you go to the country of misery and punishment or the country of bliss and happiness? You will go to the second one.
Therefore, only a deluded man, and I seek refuge in Allah, would say this statement you referred to. We know that if he insists on it, it is decreed upon him that he is from the people of misery, and he will taste the wrath of Allah (Mighty and Majestic),because of the saying of Allah the Exalted: [Al-An'am: 148] .
And as for the hadith of 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him): (Indeed, one of you will do the deeds of the people of Paradise until there is nothing between him and it but the width of an arm, then the decree will overtake him, and he will do the deeds of the people of the Fire and enter it) This necessitates caution so that a person does not do the deeds of the people of Paradise in what appears to people, without what is in the inner part of his heart,And what indicates this is what is established in the Sahih also: That a man was with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in a military expedition, and he did not leave for the enemy any loose thread or weak point but he dealt with it, so the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said (This is from the people of the Fire) This was a great matter for the Companions, and it was hard for them how this man could be from the people of the Fire while he is in this state! Then one of the Companions said: By Allah, I will keep him company -I will bind myself to this man and walk with him- until I see what happens with his affair,He says: So an arrow hit him -an arrow hit this brave, good man- and he became angry and panicked, then he took his sword and placed it on his belly and leaned on it until the sword came out of his back and he died. The man who had been keeping him company came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: I bear witness that you are the Messenger of Allah,He said: (And how?) He said: The man you told us was from the people of the Fire, his ending became such and such -we seek refuge in Allah from a bad ending-So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: (Indeed, a man will do the deeds of the people of Paradise in what appears to people, and he is from the people of the Fire) , and on this basis, the hadith of 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) contains a warning against bad character and corruption of intention, and that a person must, when he does the deeds of the people of Paradise, have his deed built on sincerity and the oneness of Allah so that it benefits him at his death and his departure from this world.
) The hadith.
There are among the youth those who say: If guidance is decreed or dependent on the will, then there is no reason for me to do good deeds, or to adhere to the obedience of Allah (Mighty and Majestic). What is your opinion, O honorable Shaykh, of this statement?
When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) informed his Companions that no one exists whose seat in Paradise and his seat in the Fire has not been written, they said: O Messenger of Allah! Should we then leave off doing deeds and rely on the decree?He said: (Do your deeds, for every person is facilitated for what he was created for; as for the people of happiness, they are facilitated for the deeds of the people of happiness, and as for the people of misery, they are facilitated for the deeds of the people of misery) .
If someone were to say: If the matter is decreed, then there is no benefit in doing deeds, and he insisted on that, and carried out what he said, we know that he is from the people of misery, and I seek refuge in Allah; because he was not facilitated for the deeds of the people of happiness,Then we say to this man: Do you know that Allah decreed for you to be from the people of misery so that you do their deeds?He will say: No.
We say: So it is decreed that Allah wrote you among the people of happiness, and do the deeds of the people of happiness.
Then we say a third time: If you were told now: In such-and-such a country there is great trade, and it is a safe country with abundance of provision, and another country is far less than that,Do you say: I will not go to the first country; because if it were decreed for me, I would go! And you go to the second country,Or do you go to the first country and say: It is decreed for me?Answer: That he will say the latter, he will go to the country he sees as more beneficial for him,And he says: It is decreed for me to go to it, so it is the same with the path to Paradise and the Fire. Let us suppose that Paradise and the Fire are countries, would you go to the country of misery and punishment or the country of bliss and happiness? You will go to the second one.
Therefore, only a deluded man, and I seek refuge in Allah, would say this statement you referred to. We know that if he insists on it, it is decreed upon him that he is from the people of misery, and he will taste the wrath of Allah (Mighty and Majestic),because of the saying of Allah the Exalted:
Those who associated with Allah will say, "If Allah had willed, we would not have associated [anything] and neither would our fathers, nor would we have prohibited anything." Likewise did those before deny until they tasted Our punishment. Say, "Do you have any knowledge that you can produce for us? You follow not except assumption, and you are not but falsifying."
سَيَقُولُ الَّذِينَ أَشْرَكُوا لَوْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ مَا أَشْرَكْنَا وَلا آبَاؤُنَا وَلا حَرَّمْنَا مِنْ شَيْءٍ كَذَلِكَ كَذَّبَ الَّذِينَ مِنْ قَبْلِهِمْ حَتَّى ذَاقُوا بَأْسَنَا قُلْ هَلْ عِنْدَكُمْ مِنْ عِلْمٍ فَتُخْرِجُوهُ لَنَا إِنْ تَتَّبِعُونَ إِلَّا الظَّنَّ وَإِنْ أَنْتُمْ إِلَّا تَخْرُصُونَAnd as for the hadith of 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him): (Indeed, one of you will do the deeds of the people of Paradise until there is nothing between him and it but the width of an arm, then the decree will overtake him, and he will do the deeds of the people of the Fire and enter it) This necessitates caution so that a person does not do the deeds of the people of Paradise in what appears to people, without what is in the inner part of his heart,And what indicates this is what is established in the Sahih also: That a man was with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in a military expedition, and he did not leave for the enemy any loose thread or weak point but he dealt with it, so the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said (This is from the people of the Fire) This was a great matter for the Companions, and it was hard for them how this man could be from the people of the Fire while he is in this state! Then one of the Companions said: By Allah, I will keep him company -I will bind myself to this man and walk with him- until I see what happens with his affair,He says: So an arrow hit him -an arrow hit this brave, good man- and he became angry and panicked, then he took his sword and placed it on his belly and leaned on it until the sword came out of his back and he died. The man who had been keeping him company came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: I bear witness that you are the Messenger of Allah,He said: (And how?) He said: The man you told us was from the people of the Fire, his ending became such and such -we seek refuge in Allah from a bad ending-So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: (Indeed, a man will do the deeds of the people of Paradise in what appears to people, and he is from the people of the Fire) , and on this basis, the hadith of 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) contains a warning against bad character and corruption of intention, and that a person must, when he does the deeds of the people of Paradise, have his deed built on sincerity and the oneness of Allah so that it benefits him at his death and his departure from this world.