Assalam
Alaykum!
May the
peace and the blessings of Allah the Almighty be upon you!
The
soft gentle breeze caressing your face… The sky is immensely blue with white
silvery clouds gliding almost imperceptibly against it… The air crisp and cool…
Isn’t it a beautiful day? No it isn’t. As in most countries, the temperature is
soaring high. Inspite of the heat, we keep up with our day to day activities. And
inspite of the heat, we do our best to keep up with our Salah. And as for the
Muslimahs, we do our best to keep up with our Hijab… Well most of us do, isn’t
it?
Here’s
the thing. The heat on Earth or let’s say the heat in this world might be a lil
above 50 degrees… But imagine the heat in the Hell fire! Allah (SWT) mentions
in Surah Baqarah, verse 24 that the fuel of the Hell fire are men and stones!
Imagine that! One of the names of the Hell fire is سَقَرْ (Saqar). Saqar simply means ‘burn’ and it has been mentioned 4
times in the Quran. But let’s look into its root meaning to see it’s intricacy.
The root meaning of Saqar means to
‘injure’ and ‘to change the form of something by heat’ and ‘to scorch
something’. The use of Saqar gives 2 meanings:
1. Extreme heat that will cause
alteration in the complexion and skin. (Have you ever had a skin burn?)
2. Extreme heat that will cause pain.
(Have you ever received a headache after a long day in the heat?)
Allah azza wa
jal asks us in Surah Muddathir,
وَمَا أَدْرَاكَ مَا سَقَرُ
“And what will
make you know (exactly) what Saqar is?” (74:27)
Then He gives
us the definition of Saqar:
لَا تُبْقِي وَلَا تَذَرُ
“It spares not,
nor does it leave!” (74:28)
لَوَّاحَةٌ لِّلْبَشَرِ
“Burning and
blackening the skins!” (74:29)
So Saqar does
not let anything remain. Everything that goes into this fire will be burned.
So that’s how
hot Jahannum is and it’s just one description of it… Ofcourse it isn’t that hot
here. So why not deal with the heat in this life and get to experience the
bliss in the Hereafter…?
Imagine a day
in Jannah… A caller will refer to you as a Jannati (people of Jannah) and tell
you that Allah wants to meet you… Imagine that day! Allah, the Lord of the
worlds! The One whom you had worshipped and obeyed all your life! The One you
used to talk to in dua! The one you cried to when you were feeling lost and
confused! The One in whom you seeked refuge! The One whom you trusted more than
yourself! The One who’s mercy and forgiveness made you a Jannati! And He wants
to meet you! Subhan Allah!
And then when
you reach your destination, where the rest of the people of Paradise are
gathered, pulpits of lights will emerge… pulpits of pearls, gemstones, gold and
silver. And then Allah, The Blessed and The Exalted will order His Chair to be
brought. And when you are comfortable and secure in your places, the caller
will call out, “O People of Paradise! You have an appointment with Allah in
which He wishes to reward you!” And you will say, “What is that reward? Has He
not already made our faces bright, made our scales heavy, entered us into
Paradise, and pushed us away from the Fire?”
And suddenly a
light will shine that will encompass all of Jannah. And when you raise your
head, behold! The Majestic, The Compeller, The Exalted, The Almighty has come
to meet you and He will say, “O People of Paradise! Peace be upon you!”. All
our life we greeted our fellow Muslims and now, Allah Himself is exchanging
words of peace with you! And this greeting will not be responded to with
anything better than: “O Allah! You are Peace, and from You is Peace! Blessed
are You, O Possessor of Majesty and Honour!”.
And then the
moment you were waiting for all your life… The People of Jannah will ask Allah
to show His Face. Then Allah – The Mighty and Majestic will remove His covering
and will majestify them and will cover them with His Light, which, if Allah had
not willed not to burn them, would have burned them.
And there will
not remain a single person in this gathering except that Allah will speak to
them and say: “Do you remember the day that you did this and that?” and
He will remind him of some of his bad deeds in the worldy life, so he will say:
“O Lord! Will you not forgive me?”. So, Allah will say: “Of course! You
have not reached this position of yours (in Paradise) except by my forgiveness.”
Is wearing
Hijab too much to ask for to experience this amazing meeting with Allah…?
Sisters! Let
not shaytan distract you from your obligations! Hijab is infact protecting you
not only from the evil eyes but also from extreme weather. Health officials have
perfectly described the ‘Islamic dress code’ by recommending that the best form
of clothing to wear should be good quality, loose fitting clothing that cover
the maximum amount of skin. The
headscarf provides protection from both extremes of temperatures and guards the
vital organs from sustaining damage from each of the extremes. The Islamic dress maintains a state of balance within
the human body that helps keep it healthy through out its lifetime.
This proves
that there are always valid reasons behind any divine rulings and regulations
given to mankind and it is clear that the wisdom of Allah in prescribing such
rulings related to hijab and the Islamic dress code provides protection not
only from sociological and psychological issues but from a health perspective
too.
So dear
sisters! Let us all make the best use of this summer to please Allah so that we
gain the rewards not only in this life but in the Hereafter as well! In sha
Allah!
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