The meaning of his saying (peace and blessings be upon him): “Indeed, a man may do the deeds of the people of Paradise…
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The Meaning of His Saying (peace and blessings be upon him): (Indeed, a man will do the deeds of the people of Paradise)
His Eminence the Shaykh: What is the meaning of his saying (peace and blessings be upon him): “Indeed, a man may do the deeds of the people of Paradise until there is nothing between him and it but a cubit, when the decree overtakes him, and he does the deeds of the people of the Fire and enters it”?
This is very serious and obliges a person to cut off self-admiration from himself,It is not said: “I did it, I did it.” This is the one who did the deeds of the people of Paradise until there was nothing between him and it but a cubit—Meaning: in terms of time—Meaning: near the end of his life. It does not mean in terms of rank, that he ascends by his deeds until only a cubit remains; because if that were the case, Allah the Exalted would not have killed him. But it is in terms of time, until there is nothing between him and it but a cubit, meaning in terms of time. As for his deeds, they are nothing; because if his deeds had raised him to the point where only a cubit remained between him and Paradise, Allah the Exalted would not have abandoned him.How can He abandon him when He says: “Whoever draws near to Me a hand’s span, I draw near to him an arm’s span”.
If someone says: How can his deeds be the deeds of the people of Paradise?We say: Yes, this appears to people as if he is from the people of Paradise. We ask Allah to protect us and you from this state. It is a difficult state,And what indicates this condition is what al-Bukhari narrated: where a man was with the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) in one of the battles, and he was a brave man who did not leave the enemy a single hair or strand, but he would deal with it,So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “This man is from the people of the Fire”—we ask Allah for safety—so this was a great shock to the Muslims.They said: How can this brave, courageous man be from the people of the Fire?!! So a man said: By Allah, I will stay with him. What does “I will stay with him” mean?Meaning: I will be with him to see the end. So he stayed with him, and this man was hit by an arrow from the enemy. He panicked, drew his sword, placed its tip on his chest, and then leaned on it until it came out of his back, may Allah protect us. So the end was that he killed himself. The man who had stayed with him returned to the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: I bear witness that you are the Messenger of Allah! He said: On what basis?He said: The man you mentioned to us yesterday, who is from the people of the Fire, did such and such.So he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Indeed, a man may do the deeds of the people of Paradise in what appears to people, while he is from the people of the Fire.” I ask Allah to make my ending and yours good. We must be cautious in matters and look at what we are in, and not be proud of ourselves. For whatever our deeds may be, our sins are great and numerous.
So the meaning of his saying: “Until there is nothing between him and it but a cubit”? In terms of time, not in terms of rank.Meaning: Until his end approaches, and he does the deeds of the people of the Fire. Like this man now, his deeds are the deeds of the people of Paradise in what appears to us. When his end approached, this happened.
As for a man who does the deeds of the people of Paradise sincerely for Allah and following the Messenger of Allah, until he reaches a high rank where nothing remains between him and Paradise but a cubit, Allah the Exalted cannot abandon him; because Allah is more generous than His servant, Glorified and Exalted is He.
His Eminence the Shaykh: What is the meaning of his saying (peace and blessings be upon him): “Indeed, a man may do the deeds of the people of Paradise until there is nothing between him and it but a cubit, when the decree overtakes him, and he does the deeds of the people of the Fire and enters it”?
This is very serious and obliges a person to cut off self-admiration from himself,It is not said: “I did it, I did it.” This is the one who did the deeds of the people of Paradise until there was nothing between him and it but a cubit—Meaning: in terms of time—Meaning: near the end of his life. It does not mean in terms of rank, that he ascends by his deeds until only a cubit remains; because if that were the case, Allah the Exalted would not have killed him. But it is in terms of time, until there is nothing between him and it but a cubit, meaning in terms of time. As for his deeds, they are nothing; because if his deeds had raised him to the point where only a cubit remained between him and Paradise, Allah the Exalted would not have abandoned him.How can He abandon him when He says: “Whoever draws near to Me a hand’s span, I draw near to him an arm’s span”.
If someone says: How can his deeds be the deeds of the people of Paradise?We say: Yes, this appears to people as if he is from the people of Paradise. We ask Allah to protect us and you from this state. It is a difficult state,And what indicates this condition is what al-Bukhari narrated: where a man was with the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) in one of the battles, and he was a brave man who did not leave the enemy a single hair or strand, but he would deal with it,So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “This man is from the people of the Fire”—we ask Allah for safety—so this was a great shock to the Muslims.They said: How can this brave, courageous man be from the people of the Fire?!! So a man said: By Allah, I will stay with him. What does “I will stay with him” mean?Meaning: I will be with him to see the end. So he stayed with him, and this man was hit by an arrow from the enemy. He panicked, drew his sword, placed its tip on his chest, and then leaned on it until it came out of his back, may Allah protect us. So the end was that he killed himself. The man who had stayed with him returned to the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: I bear witness that you are the Messenger of Allah! He said: On what basis?He said: The man you mentioned to us yesterday, who is from the people of the Fire, did such and such.So he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Indeed, a man may do the deeds of the people of Paradise in what appears to people, while he is from the people of the Fire.” I ask Allah to make my ending and yours good. We must be cautious in matters and look at what we are in, and not be proud of ourselves. For whatever our deeds may be, our sins are great and numerous.
So the meaning of his saying: “Until there is nothing between him and it but a cubit”? In terms of time, not in terms of rank.Meaning: Until his end approaches, and he does the deeds of the people of the Fire. Like this man now, his deeds are the deeds of the people of Paradise in what appears to us. When his end approached, this happened.
As for a man who does the deeds of the people of Paradise sincerely for Allah and following the Messenger of Allah, until he reaches a high rank where nothing remains between him and Paradise but a cubit, Allah the Exalted cannot abandon him; because Allah is more generous than His servant, Glorified and Exalted is He.