Explanation of the Book of Tawhid-34

The Shaykh : And from Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: .
First: The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Allah the Exalted does not will evil for its own sake. What is the evidence? The saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): , and whoever wills evil for its own sake, then evil is his without a doubt, but He, Glorified and Exalted is He, wills evil for a wisdom, and in that case, it is good in terms of what it contains of what? Of wisdom.
And His saying: If someone says: There is a better good, which is forgiveness of the sin. Is this higher or not? Meaning that Allah forgives a person and does not punish him in this world or the Hereafter. There is no doubt that this is better, but the Messenger said it is good in terms of the second matter, which is that the punishment is delayed to the Hereafter. So it is relative good, not absolute good.
So if someone says: What is your evidence for the third matter, which is absolute forgiveness? We say: Our evidence is what is in the Book and the Sunnah that Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, forgives His believing servant and does not punish him, due to His saying, the Exalted: And the meaning of forgiveness is no punishment. So the good is then here?
The student: ...

The Shaykh : ... the good means the relative good, the good in terms of hastening the punishment. He hastened the punishment for him, and the reason hastening the punishment is good is that it is permissible, he is punished in this world and moves on. For this reason, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said in the hadith of the two who swore oaths, what did he say to them? Even though the punishment of this world ... for the wife of Hilal ... stoning, stoning, ... the punishment of this world is easier than the punishment of the Hereafter. Allah is the Greatest. Punishment and retribution mean holding the sinner accountable for his sin, and holding the sinner accountable for his sin is called retribution because it follows the sin, but it is not said except in the context of evil.
And His saying: , what type of punishment is this? Punishment has many types, some of which relate to religion, some to the body, some to the family, and some to wealth. And what is the greatest of them? That which relates to religion, and unfortunately, it is the lightest in the view of many people.
An example of this: A man disobeys Allah the Glorious and Exalted, and the sin is very great in his soul, then he becomes light-hearted about this sin. Is this a punishment or not? It is a punishment, a punishment without a doubt, because the lightness of sins in a person's heart makes him become accustomed to them and take them lightly, and in that case, he is afflicted with many punishments. This is among the calamities. Likewise, a person's negligence in leaving off an obligatory duty is among the calamities. His lack of jealousy for the sanctities of Allah is among the calamities. His failure to enjoin good and forbid evil is among the calamities. These are punishments that no one really notices, and they are more painful than physical punishments, because physical punishments may be noticed by a person and remembered, but these may not be noticed except by one whom Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, guides and grants success. As for punishment by the body, it is like illnesses. A person is afflicted with many illnesses, which may be a punishment for the sins he committed by neglecting an obligatory duty or violating a prohibition, so these calamities expiate for him, so these calamities expiate for him these sins.
Punishment by the family is clear. A person is afflicted with a punishment in his family, either by illnesses that befall them, or by their loss, or by something else.
By wealth, likewise, by its decrease or its loss, or the person's toil after it, and the like.
He held back from him. How? By action. And is Allah described as holding back? The answer is: Yes, He is described as such, because the actions of Allah have no end, so every action He does, He is described with it. For this reason, we say: The attributes of action include all the actions of Allah the Glorious and Exalted. And Allah the Exalted said: So He affirmed holding back. This is another verse, but this is .
He said: Meaning: He meets Allah with it on the Day of Resurrection, or "until he meets it" means he meets Allah the Glorious and Exalted with it. The doer meets it on the Day of Resurrection. So it is either in the meaning of meeting Allah with it, or in the meaning that Allah meets him with it, meaning: He pays him for it on the Day of Resurrection, which is the day when people rise from their graves to the Lord of the Worlds, and it is called the Day of Resurrection. Yes?
The student: ...

The Shaykh : For three reasons: First, the rising of people from their graves to the Lord of the Worlds, and second, the rising of the witnesses , and third, the establishment of justice.
The purpose of the author's context for this hadith is to explain or console a person when he is afflicted with calamities. To console him when he is afflicted with calamities so that he does not despair, for that may be good for him. And there is no doubt that the punishment of this world is easier than the punishment of the Hereafter, as the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said regarding the two who swore oaths. He said to them: And what is the punishment of this world that occurs in the case of the woman whose husband swore an oath against her? Stoning, meaning the highest type of punishment in this world is stoning, and yet he, peace and blessings be upon him, said that it is easier than the punishment of the Hereafter. So the Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him, made it clear that all the punishments that occur in this world are, in relation to the Hereafter, nothing, they are easier. So if you are afflicted with a calamity, say: Praise be to Allah who did not delay my punishment to the Hereafter. It may be good for you, as in this hadith. Then know also that if, on the impossible assumption, and knowledge is with Allah, that a person did not commit a sin and was afflicted with a calamity, then we say this calamity may be from the category of testing, testing the servant in patience. But it is not permissible for a person, when he is afflicted with a calamity and he sees that he has not sinned, to say: "I swear to Allah I have not sinned," and count himself among the near ones. This is self-praise. But I say, if we assume that a person among people did not commit a sin, then was afflicted with a calamity, then this calamity does not meet a sin to expiate it, but it meets a heart to purify it, so that a person is tested with calamities, to see whether the one whom He, Glorified and Exalted is He, tested will be patient or not. For this reason, the most fearful of people of Allah and the most mindful of Him was Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). He would be ill as two of us would be ill. The reason? In order to attain the highest degrees of patience, so that he would be patient with this affliction that no one else is afflicted with, as two of us would be ill, so that he would attain the rank of the patient in its highest forms. And he, peace and blessings be upon him, was made to suffer at the time of his death the most severe suffering, all of this so that he would reach the highest degrees of patience. And despite this great severity, you find him firm in heart. 'Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Bakr entered upon him with a miswak, and he was using it to clean his teeth. So his vision became clear, meaning he directed his vision to look at him, so 'A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) knew that he wanted the miswak. So she said: "Shall I take it for you?" So he nodded his head, yes. So she took the miswak and chewed it and softened it for the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), and she gave it to him, and he used it to clean his teeth. She says: until he leaned ... peace and blessings be upon him. So look at this firmness and certainty and great patience with this great severity. This is so that it becomes clear, or so that the Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him, would reach the highest degrees of the patient. He was patient for Allah, and patient in Allah, and patient by Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, until he attained the highest ranks.
So I say: You, my Muslim brother, if you are afflicted with calamities and your soul tells you that your calamities are greater than your sins, beware of saying this. Beware of this, because by this you are showing off to your Lord with your action, and you are bestowing upon Him with your obedience. And yet we say, if we assume that this matter is the reality, then these calamities are good for you. What do you attain by them? The high degrees of the patient. So these are two matters: One is that a person's affliction with calamities is considered an expiation for his bad deeds, and hastening the punishment for him in this world is better than delaying it to the Hereafter. This is one. Second: The calamities may be more than the sins, but in order that a person be tested so that he reaches, by his patience, the highest degrees of the patient, because patience, as you see, is a high degree, it is not easy. "Patience is to faith as the head is to the body" It is very important. So this is what this great hadith contains.
And he, peace and blessings be upon him, said, yes?

The questioner : Holding back ... .

The Shaykh : No, in truth, He holds back from him his sin, meaning He delays it. You think holding back means holding with the hand? No, absolutely not. Holding back in every matter is according to its nature. If one said, "Hold him by the hand," that would be problematic. But if one said, "Hold back," it could mean holding back from speech, i.e., restraining oneself. Does he hold back his tongue with his hand? No, he remains silent. Every case is according to its specific nature.

The questioner : Is it reported that when the believer is in the throes of death, his soul is extracted like hair from dough?

The Shaykh : Yes, yes. It is made easy for him despite the severity of the dying process. The physical pain may be severe, but the exit of the soul is easy because it is greeted with mercy, so it submits easily. Thus, the extraction of the soul is easy, though accompanied by pain; the pain does not prevent the ease. In contrast, and may Allah protect us, when the disbeliever is greeted with anger and the Fire, the soul refuses to exit and scatters throughout the body, because, may Allah protect us, it is greeted with what displeases and terrifies it. For this reason, look at the context of the noble verse in ... "Bring out your souls," as if they are reluctant and withholding them. They say, "Bring them out," just as a person says to a delinquent debtor, "Give me my debt." Yes.