Explanation of the hadiths previously recited.
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The Shaykh : In the chapter on hope, the author (may Allah have mercy on him) mentioned them, and they are very numerous. Among them is:
That Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) is more merciful to His servants than a mother is to her child. The evidence for this is the story of this woman who was among the captives; she saw a boy, took him, pressed him to her chest, and nursed him. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:, and this is part of the completeness of His mercy (Glorified and Exalted is He).
And the verses indicating this are numerous, among them are these blessings that come upon us in succession, the greatest of which is the blessing of Islam. Indeed, Allah the Exalted led nations astray from Islam and guided His believing servants to it, and it is the greatest of blessings.
And among them is: that Allah sent the messengers to creation as bringers of good news and warners, so that people would have no argument against Allah after the messengers.
Likewise, the author mentioned the hadiths in which the mercy of Allah precedes His anger. For this reason, He (Mighty and Majestic) offers to the sinners that they seek forgiveness from their Lord, so that He may forgive them. Had He willed, He would have destroyed them and not encouraged them:[Fatir 35:45]. For this reason, he said in the hadith narrated by Muslim: Sahih Muslim 2749.
This is an encouragement for a person, when he sins, to seek the forgiveness of Allah. For if he seeks the forgiveness of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) with a sincere intention and a certain heart, then Allah the Exalted will forgive him:[Az-Zumar 39:53].
And among them is: أن النبي صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم لما تلا قول إبراهيم عليه الصلاة والسلام في الأصنام: رَبِّ إِنَّهُنَّ أَضْلَلْنَ كَثِيراً مِنَ النَّاسِ فَمَنْ تَبِعَنِي فَإِنَّهُ مِنِّي وَمَنْ عَصَانِي فَإِنَّكَ غَفُورٌ رَحِيمٌ ، وقول عيسى: إِنْ تُعَذِّبْهُمْ فَإِنَّهُمْ عِبَادُكَ وَإِنْ تَغْفِرْ لَهُمْ فَإِنَّكَ أَنْتَ الْعَزِيزُ الْحَكِيمُ : رفع صلى الله عليه وسلم يديه وبكى، وقال: يا رب، أمتي أمتي فقال الله سبحانه وتعالى لجبريل اذهب إليه وقل: إنا سنرضيك في أمتك ولانسوؤك That the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), when he recited the saying of Ibrahim (peace be upon him) regarding the idols: "My Lord, indeed they have led much of mankind astray. So whoever follows me—he is of me. And whoever disobeys me—indeed, You are the Forgiving, the Merciful," and the saying of Isa: "If You punish them, indeed they are Your servants, but if You forgive them, indeed You are the Exalted in Might, the Wise," he raised his hands (peace and blessings be upon him) and wept, and said: "O my Lord, my Ummah, my Ummah." Then Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) said to Jibril: "Go to him and say: Indeed, We will please you in your Ummah and not make you unhappy.".
And Allah (Mighty and Majestic) pleased him regarding his Ummah by making the reward for this Ummah multiplied, as came in the authentic hadith:: in that, the favor of Allah upon this Ummah is great.
And Allah the Exalted pleased him regarding his Ummah, and praise be to Allah, in several ways, among them: the abundance of reward, that they are the last to enter Paradise but the first in rank on the Day of Resurrection, and that it was preferred with many virtues, such as his saying (peace and blessings be upon him):Sahih al-Bukhari 438.
These are the characteristics for him and his Ummah (peace and blessings be upon him).
So the conclusion is that these hadiths mentioned by the author (may Allah have mercy on him) are all hadiths of hope, which encourage a person to do good deeds, hoping thereby for the reward of Allah and His forgiveness. And Allah is the One who grants success.
That Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) is more merciful to His servants than a mother is to her child. The evidence for this is the story of this woman who was among the captives; she saw a boy, took him, pressed him to her chest, and nursed him. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
Do you think this woman is being tormented for her child in the Fire? They said: No. He said: Then Allah is more merciful to His servants than this woman is to her child.
أَتُرون هذه المرأة يعني معذبة ولدها في النار . قالوا لا. قال: فالله أرحم بعباده من هذه بولدهاAnd the verses indicating this are numerous, among them are these blessings that come upon us in succession, the greatest of which is the blessing of Islam. Indeed, Allah the Exalted led nations astray from Islam and guided His believing servants to it, and it is the greatest of blessings.
And among them is: that Allah sent the messengers to creation as bringers of good news and warners, so that people would have no argument against Allah after the messengers.
Likewise, the author mentioned the hadiths in which the mercy of Allah precedes His anger. For this reason, He (Mighty and Majestic) offers to the sinners that they seek forgiveness from their Lord, so that He may forgive them. Had He willed, He would have destroyed them and not encouraged them:
And if Allah were to impose blame on the people for what they have earned, He would not leave upon the earth any creature. But He defers them for a specified term
وَلَوْ يُؤَاخِذُ اللَّهُ النَّاسَ بِمَا كَسَبُوا مَا تَرَكَ عَلَى ظَهْرِهَا مِنْ دَابَّةٍ وَلَكِنْ يُؤَخِّرُهُمْ إِلَى أَجَلٍ مُسَمّىًif you were not to commit sin, Allah would sweep you out of existence and He would replace (you by) those people who would commit sin and seek forgiveness from Allah, and He would have pardoned them.
لو لم تذنبوا لذهب الله بكم، ولجاء بقوم يذنبون، فيستغفرون الله، فيغفر لهمThis is an encouragement for a person, when he sins, to seek the forgiveness of Allah. For if he seeks the forgiveness of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) with a sincere intention and a certain heart, then Allah the Exalted will forgive him:
Say, "O My servants who have transgressed against themselves [by sinning], do not despair of the mercy of Allah. Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. Indeed, it is He who is the Forgiving, the Merciful."
قُلْ يَا عِبَادِيَ الَّذِينَ أَسْرَفُوا عَلَى أَنْفُسِهِمْ لا تَقْنَطُوا مِنْ رَحْمَةِ اللَّهِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوبَ جَمِيعاً إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُAnd among them is: أن النبي صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم لما تلا قول إبراهيم عليه الصلاة والسلام في الأصنام: رَبِّ إِنَّهُنَّ أَضْلَلْنَ كَثِيراً مِنَ النَّاسِ فَمَنْ تَبِعَنِي فَإِنَّهُ مِنِّي وَمَنْ عَصَانِي فَإِنَّكَ غَفُورٌ رَحِيمٌ ، وقول عيسى: إِنْ تُعَذِّبْهُمْ فَإِنَّهُمْ عِبَادُكَ وَإِنْ تَغْفِرْ لَهُمْ فَإِنَّكَ أَنْتَ الْعَزِيزُ الْحَكِيمُ : رفع صلى الله عليه وسلم يديه وبكى، وقال: يا رب، أمتي أمتي فقال الله سبحانه وتعالى لجبريل اذهب إليه وقل: إنا سنرضيك في أمتك ولانسوؤك That the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), when he recited the saying of Ibrahim (peace be upon him) regarding the idols: "My Lord, indeed they have led much of mankind astray. So whoever follows me—he is of me. And whoever disobeys me—indeed, You are the Forgiving, the Merciful," and the saying of Isa: "If You punish them, indeed they are Your servants, but if You forgive them, indeed You are the Exalted in Might, the Wise," he raised his hands (peace and blessings be upon him) and wept, and said: "O my Lord, my Ummah, my Ummah." Then Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) said to Jibril: "Go to him and say: Indeed, We will please you in your Ummah and not make you unhappy.".
And Allah (Mighty and Majestic) pleased him regarding his Ummah by making the reward for this Ummah multiplied, as came in the authentic hadith:
That the example of this Ummah with those who came before it is like a man who hired workers from the beginning of the day until noon, and gave them one dinar for each dinar, and hired workers from noon until the afternoon, and gave them one dinar for each dinar, and hired workers from the afternoon until sunset, and gave them two dinars for each dinar. So the first group objected and said: How do you give us one dinar for each dinar when we have worked more than them, and give these two dinars for each dinar? He said to them: Have I wronged you in anything? They said: No. He said: Then there is no blame on me.
أن مثل هذه الأمة مع من سبقها، كمثل رجل استأجر أُجراء، من أول النهار إلى الظهر، فأعطاهم على دينار دينار، واستأجر أجراء من الظهر إلى العصر وأعطاهم على دينار دينار، واستأجر أجراء من العصر إلى الغروب وأعطاهم على دينارين دينارين، فاحتج الأولون وقالوا: كيف تعطينا على دينار دينار ونحن أكثر منهم عملاً وتعطي هؤلاء على دينارين دينارين ؟! فقال لهم الذي استأجرهم: هل ظلمتكم شيئاً؟ قالوا: لا، يعني قال: إذن لا لوم عليAnd Allah the Exalted pleased him regarding his Ummah, and praise be to Allah, in several ways, among them: the abundance of reward, that they are the last to enter Paradise but the first in rank on the Day of Resurrection, and that it was preferred with many virtues, such as his saying (peace and blessings be upon him):
Narrated Jabir bin `Abdullah: Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "I have been given five things which were not given to any amongst the Prophets before me. These are: -1. Allah made me victorious by awe (by His frightening my enemies) for a distance of one month's journey. -2. The earth has been made for me (and for my followers) a place for praying and a thing to perform Tayammum. Therefore my followers can pray wherever the time of a prayer is due. -3. The booty has been made Halal (lawful) for me (and was not made so for anyone else). -4. Every Prophet used to be sent to his nation exclusively but I have been sent to all mankind. -5. I have been given the right of intercession (on the Day of Resurrection.)
أُعطيت خمساً لم يعطهن أحد من الأنبياء قبلي: نُصرت بالرعب مسيرة شهر، وجُعلت لي الأرض مسجداً وطهوراً، وأحلت لي الغنائم ولم تحل لأحد قبليThese are the characteristics for him and his Ummah (peace and blessings be upon him).
So the conclusion is that these hadiths mentioned by the author (may Allah have mercy on him) are all hadiths of hope, which encourage a person to do good deeds, hoping thereby for the reward of Allah and His forgiveness. And Allah is the One who grants success.