Part 6

Misma’ said, ‘I saw ‘Abd al-Wahid ibn Zayd when he was giving a reminder, and four people died that day in his gathering.’

Yazid ibn Murshid would cry much and say: ‘By Allah, if my Lord Said He would imprison me in the bathhouse, I would have the right to constantly cry. So how about if He threatened to imprison me in the Hellfire if I disobey Him?’

Al-Sari al-Saqati said, ‘I look at my nose everyday out of fear that my face has turned black.’

So these are the fears of the Angels, Prophets, scholars, and righteous ones, and we have more reason to be afraid than them. But fear is not due to having many sins; rather it is from having a pure heart and knowledge of Allah. We have only felt safe because of our ignorance and hardness of our hearts. For the pure heart is moved by the slightest cause of fear, while the hard heart is not affected by the strongest of reminders.

Some of the Salaf said, ‘I said to a monk, ‘Advise me.’ He replied, ‘If you can always remain in the state where a person who is surrounded by predatory animals, so he is afraid and careful never to let his guard down so they attack him; then do so.’ I said, ‘Advise me more.’ He said, ‘A small amount of water is sufficient for a

RANKS OF THE FEARFUL

What this monk said referring to a man surrounded by predators is truly the state of the believer. For whoever looks deeply inside himself with the light of true vision, will see that he is filled with these predatory attributes, such as anger, hatred, jealousy, arrogance, amazement with oneself, and showing off. All of them will attack him if he is not careful and lets his guard down. He cannot see them in this life, but when the veil is lifted and he is placed in the grave he will literally see them as snakes and scorpions that will bite and sting him, while they were his only true attributes and characteristics in this life. So whoever wishes to conquer these predators and kill them before his death, then he should take this opportunity now. Otherwise, he should prepare for these predators to sting the deepest part of his heart, let alone their sting of his outward skin.

And our last call is that all Praises are due to Allah, Lord of the worlds.

Disturber of the Hearts

The Secrets of the Barzakh [the period between a Person’s Death and his resurrection on the Day of Resurrection]

It was narrated that al-Bara’ ‘Azib said: “‘We went out with the Prophet (32) to a burial of a man from the Ansar until we arrived at the grave, and he still had not been placed in the slot of the grave. Then the Messenger of Allah (3%) sat down and we sat around him. You would have thought that birds were upon our heads from our silence, and in the hand of the Messenger of Allah (3%) was a stick which he was poking the ground with. Then he started looking at the sky and looking at the earth. Then he said to us; ‘Ask Allah for refuge from the torment of the grave’ he repeated this command two or three times. Then he said; “Verily, the believing servant, when leaving this life and journeying to the hereafter angels will descend upon him, their faces will be white as if they were suns, they will have with them a shroud from the shroud of Paradise, and an embalmment from the embalmments of heaven. Then, they will sit within eyeshot of him. Then the angel of death will come and sit at his head and will say; ‘O you

RANKS OF THE FEARFUL

virtuous soul; come out to a forgiveness and a pleasure from your Lord’. Then it comes out easily like a drop of water from the mouth of a water skin, they do not leave it in his hand for an instant before they take it and put it in that shroud with that perfume, and there comes from it a fragrance like the finest musk on the face of the earth. Then they shall ascend with it, and they shall not pass with it by any group of angels but they will say; ‘What is this good and sweet-smelling soul? Then they shall say to them [he is] ‘such’ the son of ‘such’ choosing the best of the names he used to be called in this life. Until they reach the lowest sky, then they shall ask permission to enter, and they shall be granted entry, until they end at the seventh heaven sky, then Allah, exalted and high, shall say; ‘write the book of my servant in ‘“Wiyin in the seventh heaven, and the shall be said; then Allah says: “Record the book of My slave in ‘U/iyzn in the seventh heaven, and return him to the earth, for from it I created them, to it I will return them and from it I will bring them forth once again.” Then two [severe] angels shall come and [terrify him and] sit him up next to them and shall ask him; ‘Who is your Lord?’ He shall reply; ‘My Lord is Allah’. Then they shall ask him; ‘What is your religion?’ He shall answer them; “My religion is Islam’. Then they shall ask him; “Who is this man who was sent among you?” He will reply; ‘He is the Messenger of Allah (4%)’. Then they shall ask him; ‘What have you done?’ He shall reply; ‘I read the book of Allah, then I believed in it and accepted it’. Then a caller will call from the sky; ‘My slave has spoken the truth, so spread out for him from the heaven, and clothe him from the heaven, and open a door for him from the heaven [within his grave]’, so it’s goodness and its smell will come unto him, then his grave will be expanded for him as far as he can see. Then a man will come to him. His face will be handsome, and his clothes will be handsome, and his smell will be sweet. Then he shall say unto him: I bring you

Appendix One: Disturber of the Hearts

glade tidings of that which will make you happy . He shall reply: ‘I am your good deeds’, Then he shall say: ‘My Lord bring the hour so that I might return to my family and my wealth’ He (3) said; ‘And the disbelieving [transgressor/wicked] servant, if he is leaving this life and journeying to the hereafter then angels will descend upon him, their faces will be black, they have with them a coarse woolen fabric [sackcloth] [ made of fire]. Then they will sit within eyeshot of him. Then the angel of death will come and sit at his head and will say; ‘O you wicked soul; come out to a anger from your Lord and a fury [from Him]’. So it will be distributed [spread out] throughout his body, then it will be ripped away as a skewer/spit is ripped out of damp cotton [and in its way out it will tear and cut the nerves and blood vessels], not leaving it in his hand for longer than a blink of an eye until they have placed it in that sackcloth. And there will emanate from it a stench like that of the most evil smelling corpse on the face of the earth. Then they shall ascend with it, and they shall not pass with it by a group of angels but they will say: ‘What is this wicked soul? Then they shall say to them fhe is] ‘such’ the son of ‘such’ choosing the most hated of the names he used to be called in this life. Until they reach the lowest heaven [sky], then they shall ask permission to enter, and they shall not be granted entry. Then the Messenger of

“For them the gates of heaven will not be opened, and they will not enter Paradise until the camel goes through the eye of the needle.”

RANKS OF THE FEARFUL

Then Allah, exalted and high, shall say: “Record the book of My slave in Sijjin in the lowest earth, and return him to the earth, for from it I created them, to it I will return them and from it I will bring them forth once again.” So his soul is cast down.’ Then the Messenger of Allah (38) recited the verse:

7 Go cd Siygacrss eet

“And whoever igus partners to Allah, it is as if he had fallen from the sky, and the birds had snatched

him, or the wind had thrown him to a far off place.”

Then his soul will be returned into his body. Then two angels shall come and [terrify him and] sit him up and shall ask him, ‘Who is your Lord?’ He shall reply; ‘Huh? Huh [this is an expression of sorrow], I don’t know.’ Then they shall ask him; “What is your religion?’ He shall answer them; ‘Huh? Huh, I don’t know.’ Then they shall ask him; ‘Who is this man who was sent among you?” He will reply; ‘Huh? Huh?, I don’t know’ Then a caller will call from the sky; ‘My slave has spoken falsely, so spread out for him from the hell fire, and open a door for him from the hell fire [within his grave]’, so its heat and hot wind will come unto him, then his grave will be contracted upon him until his limbs are caught up among one another. Then a man will come to him. His face will be ugly, and his clothes will be ugly, and his smell will be vile, who says, “Receive the bad news, this is the day that you were promised.” He says, “Who are you? Your face is a face which brings disastrous news.” He says, “I am your evil deeds.” He says, “O Lord, do not let the Hour come, do not let the Hour come.”

'Sunan Aba Dawid (4753), Musnad Ahmad (4/287)

Appendix One: Disturber of the Hearts

In another narration reported from the way of Yinus ibn Khabab that al-Bara’ ‘Azib said: “We went out with the Messenger of Allah (38) for the funeral of a man...[therein he added}: Then an angels who cannot see nor speak nor hear comes with a hammer in his hand; with which he can hit a mountain and turn it into dust, and is appointed [to punish him]. The angel hits him one hit so hard he becomes dust [due to the extreme strength of the hit] then Allah restore him to his original state then the angel hits him again so he screams out a scream that everyone hears it except humans and Jinn”? Al-Bara’ added: “Then a gate of Hell is opened for him and his grave is paved with furniture from Fire.”