It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “There are seven whom Allah will shade with His shade on the Day when there will be no shade but His: a just ruler; a young man who grows up worshipping Allah; a man whose heart is attached to the mosque; two men who love one another for the sake of Allah, meeting and parting on that basis; a man who is called (to sin) by a woman of status and beauty, but he says, ‘I fear Allah’; a man who gives charity so secretly that his left hand does not know what his right hand is giving; and a man who remembers Allah when he is alone and his eyes fill with tears.”.
Commentary :
The Day of Resurrection will be a difficult day, filled with terrors, on which the sun will come close to people’s heads and its heat will grow intense. But the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) has given us the glad tidings that Allah has slaves whom He will shade with His shade on that Day on which there will be no shade except His.
In this hadith, the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) mentions seven types of people in this ummah who will be blessed with His shade on that Day on which no one will find any shade except those whom Allah (may He be glorified and exalted) will shade with His shade. What is meant by shade here is the shade of the Throne, as is explained in other hadiths, including the report narrated by Ahmad and al-Tirmidhi from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) , according to which the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Whoever grants respite to the one who owes him money, or lets him off, will be in the shade of the Throne on the Day of Resurrection.” As what is meant is the shade of the Throne, this implies that they will be in the care of Allah (may He be exalted) and honoured by Him. The first of these seven is the just ruler; this is a ruler who treats his subjects justly, protects their rights, takes care of their interests, and judges between them according to the law of Allah (may He be glorified and exalted). Thus he takes care of their religious and worldly interests. The second is a young man who grows up striving in worshipping his Lord, committed to obeying Him and His commands and prohibitions. The young man is singled out for mention, because worship is harder or more difficult for young people, as the inclination to commit sin is very powerful in their case, and they are overwhelmed by physical desires. But if a young person persists in worship at that age, it is indicative of his being very mindful of Allah and having great fear of Him. The third is a man whose heart is attached to the mosques, so he loves the mosques very much, frequents them and stays in the mosque for a long time, always attending prayers in congregation and obligatory prayers, waiting for prayer after prayer. It is as if his heart is one of the lamps of the mosque. The fourth is two men, each of whom loves the other for the sake of Allah (may He be exalted), seeking His pleasure and obeying Him, and not for any worldly purpose, so they meet one another on this basis and continue to love one another for His sake. The apparent meaning of the phrase “meeting and parting on that basis” is that their love for the sake of Allah is sincere when they meet and when they part. The fifth is a man who is pursued for immoral purposes by a beautiful woman of noble lineage, high status and wealth, but he says, “I fear Allah.” It may be that he utters these words out loud, to deter her from shameful deeds, or he says that to himself in his heart and confirms it by his actions, meaning that fear of Allah prevents him from committing an action that would incur His wrath. The woman of status and beauty is singled out for mention because such a woman is very desirable, and by taking this stance despite all these temptations, this man is able to attain the highest level of obeying and fearing Allah (may He be exalted); this is the character of those who are strong and true in faith (siddiqin). The sixth is a man who gives voluntary charity and goes to extremes in concealing his charity from people, from everything and from his own self, to the extent that his left hand does not know what is right hand is spending. The right hand and left hand are mentioned to emphasize how much he conceals his charity. This likeness is given because the right hand is close to the left and they are always together. What this likeness means is that if his left hand was a man who is alert and notices everything, it would still not be able to find out about it, because he goes to such great lengths to conceal his charity. This is the best approach when giving charity, and is furthest removed from showing off, even though it is permissible to give charity and zakah openly if you are confident that showing off can be avoided, and the intention is to encourage others to also spend in charity, and to set an example for others to follow, and to openly practice the teachings of Islam. The seventh is a man who remembers Allah when he is on his own, either by uttering words of dhikr verbally or by remembering the greatness of Allah (may He be exalted), and the meeting with Him, when he will stand before Him and be brought to account for his deeds, and he remembers that when he is on his own, away from other people, because at that time he is furthest removed from showing off. It was also said that the phrase translated here as “when he is alone” refers to total focus, not paying attention to anyone other than Allah, even if he is amongst people, so his tears flow out of fear of Allah (may He be exalted).
These seven people only attained this blessing by being sincerely devoted to Allah (may He be exalted) and going against their whims and desires. That is because the ruler who has power cannot be just except by going against his whims and desires. The young man who gives precedence to worshipping Allah over the impulses of youth would not be able to do that without going against his whims and desires. With regard to the man whose heart is attached to the mosque, what makes him do that is going against the whims and desires that call him to places of entertainment and leisure. With regard to the giver who hides his charity from his left hand, if he did not suppress his whims and desires, he would not be able to do that. With regard to the one who is called to sin by a beautiful woman of high standing, but he fears Allah (may He be glorified in exalted) and goes against his whims and desires, and the one who remembers Allah (may He be glorified and exalted) when he is on his own and his eyes flow with tears out of fear of Him, only attain this status [of being shaded by Allah’s shade on the Day of Resurrection] by going against their whims and desires. Therefore Allah will save them from the heat, sweat and hardship of the standing on the Day of Resurrection.
This hadith mentions seven types of people, and there are other reports which mention other types in addition to those who are mentioned here. One of these hadiths is that which was narrated by Imam Muslim from Abu’l-Yasar Ka‘b ibn ‘Amr al-Ansari (may Allah be pleased with him), according to which the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “The one who gives respite to a debtor who is in difficulty, or waives the debt, Allah will shade him with His shade.” This blessing will also be granted to: the warrior and those who help him, the honest trader, and the one who helps a slave who has a contract of manumission to pay off what he owes to his master, as is narrated in other reports and hadiths. This indicates that the number of those who will be shaded by Allah’s shade is not limited to these seven.
This hadith highlights the virtue of the seven types of people mentioned here, and the virtue of one who is saved from sin and focuses on obeying his Lord all his life.
It also urges the Muslim to do acts of worship and obedience, because they are means of attaining the pleasure of Allah (may He be exalted) in the hereafter.
It also indicates that one of the blessings that Allah (may He be glorified and exalted) will bestow on the Day of Resurrection is shelter beneath His shade..
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Hadiths
