. Y""" (cont.)

Other Points Related to this Hadith • The process of the creation of humans and birth should lead a thinking person to believe in resurrection and the Hereafter. The one who is able to create humans from a tiny portion of a small amount of fluid certainly is able to recreate such a human after his death. Indeed, the re-creation should be considered much easier a task than the first creation. • Allah certainly has the ability to create a human without going through the stages that it goes through in the fetus. According to ibn Hajr, Allah creates humans in such a way as a mercy for the mothers. This makes it much easier upon them and much less of a hardship. Allah prepares the womb and takes the fetus slowly, step by step, into its birth.2 • A person should consider how he was created, stage by stage, in a beautiful form. He was created in a beautiful fashion and, on top of that, he was given the blessing of the mind and rational thought. This differentiates him from other animals who have not been blessed with that characteristic. The one who realizes this fact should truly be thankful to the One who created him, blessed him and gave him life. He should thank Him in a proper manner by obeying Him and not disobeying Him.3 • Furthermore, this hadith also should make a person reflect on how he was and is in need of his Lord. When he was a drop of fluid in his mother's womb, he did not bring himself about. Instead, it was Allah. 4 The human, in fact, alive today has no conscious remembrance of what occurred to him in those stages. He should think about how Allah cared for him and shaped See Muhammad Naasir al-Deen al-Albaani, Ahkaam al-Janaaiz Wa Bidaha (Beirut: al-Maktab al-Islaami, 1986), pp. 79-80. 1 Recorded by Ahmad, Abu Dawood, al-Tirmidhi and al-Haakim. According to al-Albaani, it is sahih. Al-Albaani, sahih al-Jaami, vol. 1 , p. 661. 2 lbn Hajr, Fath, vol. 13, p. 325. 3 Ibn Hajr, Fath, vol. 13, p. 325. 4 The disbelievers of today would call it "mother nature," but who other than Allah is the One who actually created and made the laws of nature? .. . ,,.- Hadith #4: Creation in the Mother's Womb him in the most beautiful of manners. Once again, this should make the person very thankful to his Creator and Lord. 1 • This hadith is evidence that a person enters Paradise or Hell because of his deeds. This is not in contradiction with another hadith that states, "The actions of any one of you will not enter him into Paradise." (Recorded by al-Bukhari and Muslim.) The meaning of that hadith is that it is only by Allah's grace and mercy that one enters Paradise. His actions alone are not deserving of what Paradise entails. 2 • Whatever Allah has decreed and determined will occur, because of His foreknowledge of all events. His decree that a person will be from Heaven or Hell will occur as He has decreed it. This is part of the overall belief in al-Qadar. However, no one knows what has been decreed for him. Therefore, he must continue to work for that goal that he is seeking. If he is from the People of Paradise, the proper deeds will be made easy for him and he will be performing them at the time of his death. • This hadith is also evidence that repentance and good deeds may wipe away the effects of evil deeds that were previously performed. • Al-Qaari states that this hadith shows that human beings should do things or undertake things gradually, step by step, each step at its appropriate time, without haste. He says that Allah has the most ability to create anything in one moment but such is not the path that Allah has followed. Humans should understand the wisdom behind this and realize that to accomplish things correctly and properly they must be done in the proper manner and stages.3 • A Muslim must not be fooled or deceived by his good deeds. His good acts should not lead him to becoming arrogant and proud. Such behavior and characteristics would never be found in a true believer who understands the reality of this world. Instead, the true believer must always be in a position between hope and fear. He must always be hoping that Allah accepts his deeds and continues to guide him. He must always be fearful that Allah may not accept his deeds or that he may stray from the Straight Path and render all of his works vain.4 • No matter what kinds of evil deeds and kufr a person may exhibit in this world, no one can be so arrogant to look at him while he is still alive and say, "This person is going to Hell." Allah may guide him to the straight path and change his ways completely and he may be from the people of Heaven.