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Allāh created the Heavens and the Earth. He based their creation on the Sunan (laws) that govern their existence. Gravity is an example of such a law: if the Earth’s gravitational pull fluctuated and was irregular, the Earth would not be habitable. Likewise, if the boiling or freezing point of water were inconsistent, life on Earth would be impossible.
Allāh said:
لَا الشَّمْسُ يَنْبَغِي لَهَا أَنْ تُدْرِكَ الْقَمَرَ وَلَا اللَّيْلُ سَابِقُ النَّهَارِ وَكُلٌّ فِي فَلَكٍ يَسْبَحُونَ
“It is not permitted for the sun to catch up to the moon, nor the night to outstrip the day; each swims along in its own orbit.”[1]
One of the universal features of creation is utmost consistency and regularity, almost like a mathematical equation.
Allāh said:
سُنَّةَ اللَّهِ الَّتِي قَدْ خَلَتْ مِنْ قَبْلُ وَلَنْ تَجِدَ لِسُنَّةِ اللَّهِ تَبْدِيلًا
“[This is] the Sunnah of Allāh that has occurred before. Never will you find in the Sunnah of Allāh any change.”[2]
These universal laws of Allāh are not restricted only to matters of nature. They also extend to the manner in which Allāh deals with mankind and how He interacts with His creation. There are Sunan that govern this, and, yes, they are also fixed. An example of this is the adage ‘what goes around comes around’. This principle is so widely accepted that it has become a universal proverb. In the eyes of a Muslim, such a proverb is born from the necessary belief in yet another name of Allāh: Al-Dayyān (The Recompensor).[3]
This majestic name of Allāh has not appeared in the Qur’ān but has in the Sunnah, where the Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) said:
يحشر الناس يوم القيامة أو قال العباد عراة غرلاً بُهْماً ثم يناديهم بصوت يسمعه من بعد كما يسمعه من قرب أنا الملك أنا الدَّيَّان
“Allāh will gather people on the Day of Standing naked, uncircumcised, and without anything. They will be called by a voice that is heard from afar just as clearly as from near, saying, ‘I am the King. I am Al-Dayyān…’”[4]
1: The linguistic origin of the name Al-Dayyān
The three letter root of this name carries the meaning of الانقياد والذل / compliance and humility.[5] Hence, the term “Dīn” is in reference to obedience, as Allāh said:
مَا كَانَ لِيَأْخُذَ أَخَاهُ فِي دِينِ الْمَلِكِ
“…(Prophet Yusuf) could not have taken his brother within the law [“Dīn”] of the king except that Allāh willed…”[6]
This is because laws necessitate that subjects obey and comply.
Similarly, the Day of Judgement has been given the name of Yawm Al-Dīn/The Day of Dīn for the same reason. It is the day when creation shall be recompensed for their doings, which will involve complete obedience and compliance. The pagan Arabs doubted a supposed final day of recompense, arguing:
أَإِذَا مِتْنَا وَكُنَّا تُرَابًا وَعِظَامًا أَإِنَّا لَمَدِينُونَ
“That when we have died and become dust and bones, we will indeed be recompensed (lamadīnoon)?”[7]
Similarly, a city in the Arabic language is termed a “Madīna” as its people are bound by its laws and systems that they should comply with and are held accountable towards. The Arabs also refer to the male and female who have lost their freedom as “Madīn” and “Madīna” respectively, as they are in humble obedience to their caretakers.
In all of the linguistic examples above, two meanings continually reappear: humility and obedience. Both of these are linked to the concept of recompense, as one who recompenses has humbled the recompensed and has caused him to comply. Hence, one can fully appreciate why scholars like Al-Khattābi have described the name Al-Dayyān as meaning المجازي / The One who recompenses,[8] as humanity are humbled to Him, complying by His decree.
Therefore, Al-Dayyān is The Subduer[9] who compels creation to His judgement and obedience, the Enumerator of their every action, and the Recompensor of their decisions on the Day when the Earth shall be made to speak along with the limbs of man. Indeed, Al-Dayyān shall display to humanity a level of accountability that it had never seen before, causing the disbelievers to wail in horror, saying;
يَا لَيْتَنِي كُنْتُ تُرَابًا
“I wish I were dust.”[10]
2: The effects of believing in this name
To call upon Him using this name
How pertinent is this name to those who have been on the receiving end of an injustice, whether financial, social, marital, reputational, or anything else? Those who find no supporter but Allāh. They are to realise that they have, in fact, found the greatest of support. Place your burdens at His doorstep and implore:
“O Allāh, O Dayyān, I ask You by virtue of Your majestic names that you settle the matter between me and such and such. O Dayyān, recompense such and such according to what he deserves. O Dayyān, avenge me from such and such according to Your unending justice.”[11]
With that said, glad tidings to the oppressed person who is inspired to invoke Al-Dayyān, and commiserations to the oppressor who is now on the receiving end of such a Du’ā – your victim has connected himself to the greatest recompensing force in existence and an answer is imminent inasmuch as you have not freed yourself from your victim’s grief.
An immediate self-assessment
Knowing Al-Dayyān is to never utter a statement, carry out an action, or see through a decision only after it has been passed through a rigorous process of accountability, realising that the lightest of unjust behaviour today will cost very heavily tomorrow in the court of Al-Dayyān. It is off the back of this reality that ‘Umar b. Khattāb said:
حَاسِبُوا أَنْفُسَكُمْ قَبْلَ أَنْ تُحَاسَبُوا، وَزِنُوا أَنْفُسَكُمْ قَبْلَ أَنْ تُوزَنُوا، فَإِنَّهُ أَهْوَنُ عَلَيْكُمْ فِي الْحِسَابِ غَدًا، أَنْ تُحَاسِبُوا أَنْفُسَكُمُ الْيَوْمَ، وَتَزَيَّنُوا لِلْعَرْضِ الأَكْبَرِ، يَوْمَئِذٍ تُعْرَضُونَ لا تَخْفَى مِنْكُمْ خَافِيَةٌ
“Hold yourselves accountable before you are held accountable, and weigh up your good deeds before they are weighed for you, for your reckoning will be easier tomorrow if you start with yourself today. Beautify your deeds in preparation for the grand presentation before Allāh, on a day where you shall be exposed. Not a secret of yours shall be hidden.”[12]
Similarly, Maymūn b. Mahrān said:
لا يَكُونُ الْعَبْدُ تَقِيًّا حَتَّى يَكُونَ أَشَدَّ مُحَاسَبَةً لِنَفْسِهِ مِنَ الشَّرِيكِ لِشَرِيكِهِ
“The station of righteousness cannot be attained until one is harsher in his self-accountability than that of two business partners.”[13]
In fact, Al-Ahnaf b. Qays would go to the extent of regularly putting his finger within the flame of his candle as he said to himself:
حس يا حنيف، ما حملك على ما صنعت يوم كذا؟ ما حملك على ما صنعت يوم كذا؟
“O Ahnaf, feel. What made you do such and such on such and such day? And why did you do such and such on such and such day?”[14]
Another giant in our Islamic history who was ever-conscious of Al-Dayyān was ‘Umar b. ‘Abd Al-‘Azīz, the eighth Caliph and the first revivalist, commonly praised as Umar II. His wife, Fatima, once entered upon him as he sat in his prayer space with his hand on his face, weeping. She asked him what had happened, to which he responded:
يا فاطمةُ! إني تقلَّدتُ أمْرَ أمة محمد، فتفكَّرتُ في الفقير الجائع، والمريض الضائع، والعاري المجهود، والمظلوم المقهُور، والغريب المأسور، والكبير، وذي العيال في أقطار الأرض، فعلمت أن ربي سيسألني عنهم، وأن خصمي دونهم محمد فخشيت ألا تثبت لي حجة عند خصومته، فَرَحِمت نفسي فبكيت
“O Fatima, I am now responsible for the Ummah of Prophet Muhammad (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam), and so I thought about the poor and hungry, the ill and lost, the unclothed and fatigued, the oppressed, the imprisoned, the old, the fathers of children all across the world, and I know that my Lord is going to ask me about them. I also realized that their advocate against me will be the Prophet Muhammad (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam), and so I fear that I will have no argument for myself when he argues against me. On realising this, I felt mercy towards myself and cried.”[15]
People like Umar II held themselves mercilessly accountable during their lives as they recognised that believing in Al-Dayyān is to believe that disputes do not end with death. Allāh said to His Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam):
إِنَّكَ مَيِّتٌ وَإِنَّهُمْ مَيِّتُونَ (30) ثُمَّ إِنَّكُمْ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ عِنْدَ رَبِّكُمْ تَخْتَصِمُونَ
“Surely you shall die and they (too) shall surely die. Then, on the Day of Resurrection, you will dispute one with another before your Lord.”[16]
When this āyah was revealed, Al-Zubair b. Al-‘Awwām said:
يا رسـول الله أتكرر علينا الخصومة بعد الذي كان بيننا في الدنيا
“O Messenger of Allāh, will our disputes that we had with people in the life of this world be repeated on us (before Allāh on the Day of Judgement)?”
The Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) replied: “Yes”.
Al-Zubair said:
إن الأمـر إذًا شديد
“The matter, therefore, is severe.”[17]
Yes, the matter is severe. Today, our disputes are against mortals in the courts of mortals, with judges and witnesses who are but mere mortals. On the Day of Judgement, however, the paradigm is altogether different: the witnesses are angels, body parts that speak, an Earth that makes its voice heard, and horrifyingly precise documents, all presented to the immortal Judge: Al-Dayyān.
Whose disputes will be settled?
The disputes that will be addressed by Al-Dayyān are of a phenomenal variety, making it clear why the Day of Reckoning will last a staggering fifty thousand years:
– The people of no faith will dispute amongst themselves
– The people of Islam will dispute against the people of unbelief
– The people of Islam, in their many sects, will dispute
– The people of the same sect will dispute
– Prophets will dispute with their nations
– Jinn will dispute with their kind
– Man will dispute with Satan
– Members of the same household, relatives, friends, colleagues and business partners will dispute.
Al-Dayyān will judge between them all in truth and justice.
Commenting on the verse above – “Then, on the Day of Resurrection, you will dispute one with another before your Lord” – Ibn ‘Abbās said:
يخاصم الصادق الكاذب، والمظلوم الظالم، والمهتدي الضال، والضعيف المستكبر
“The truthful one will dispute with the truthful one, and the oppressed one will dispute with the oppressor, the guided one will dispute the misguided, and the weak will dispute with the haughty.”[18]
Who else’s disputes will be settled?
The animal world will also amazingly have their share of disputes, which Al-Dayyān will settle between them. Accompanied by Abu Dharr, the Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) once saw two sheep fighting, and he said: “O Abu Dharr, do you know why they are fighting?” Abu Dharr replied: “No”. The Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) said:
لكن الله يدري، وسيقضي بينهما
“Yet Allāh knows and He shall judge between them.”[19]
Who else’s disputes will be settled?
There is more: man will also be in a dispute against his own soul. Ibn ‘Abbās narrates the details of the conversation:
تقول الروح للجسد: أنت فعلت، ويقول الجسد للروح: أنت أمرت، وأنت سولت
“The soul will say to the body ‘You carried out the sin!’, but the body will respond ‘You seduced me to do so!’”
Allāh will then send an angel to settle the dispute between them, saying to them both:
إن مثلكما كمثل رجل مقعد بصير، والآخر ضرير، دخلا بستاناً، فقال المقعد للضرير: إني أرى ههنا ثماراً، ولكن لا أصل إليها، فقال له الضرير: اركبني فتناوَلْها، فركبه فتناولها، فأيهما المعتدي؟
“Your example is like the example of two people – one a disabled man who can see, and another able-bodied who is blind – who entered a garden. The disabled man said to the blind man, ‘I see fruits but I cannot get to them’, to which the blind man responded, ‘Mount my back and pick them’, which he did. In this case, who is to blame?”
The disputants say, “Both of them,” to which the angel will say:
فإنكما قد حكمتا على أنفسكما
“You have both just testified against yourself.”[20]
In other words, one’s body is like the vehicle for the soul; both are to be blamed.
Who else’s disputes will be settled?
The disputes of the oppressed and the oppressor will be settled. Though both may be miles apart today, having not been in touch for decades, they will both arrive side by side on the Day of Reckoning before Al-Dayyān.
A man came and sat in front of the Prophet Muhammad (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) and asked:
يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ إِنَّ لِي مَمْلُوكِينَ يَكْذِبُونَنِي وَيَخُونُونَنِي وَيَعْصُونَنِي وَأَشْتِمُهُمْ وَأَضْرِبُهُمْ فَكَيْفَ أَنَا مِنْهُمْ؟
“O Messenger of Allāh, I have two servants who lie to me, deceive me, and disobey me. I insult them and hit them for this, so how will my matter be with them?”
The Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) responded:
إِذَا كَانَ يَوْمُ الْقِيَامَةِ يُحْسَبُ مَا خَانُوكَ وَعَصَوْكَ وَكَذَّبُوكَ وَعِقَابُكَ إِيَّاهُمْ فَإِنْ كَانَ عِقَابُكَ إِيَّاهُمْ بِقَدْرِ ذُنُوبِهِمْ كَانَ كَفَافًا لَا لَكَ وَلَا عَلَيْكَ وَإِنْ كَانَ عِقَابُكَ إِيَّاهُمْ دُونَ ذَنْبِهِمْ كَانَ فَضْلًا لَكَ وَإِنْ كَانَ عِقَابُكَ إِيَّاهُمْ فَوْقَ ذُنُوبِهِمْ اقْتُصَّ لَهُمْ مِنْكَ الْفَضْلُ
“The extent to which they betrayed you, disobeyed you, and lied to you will be measured against your punishment of them. If your punishment is equal to their sins, then the two will be the same, nothing for or against you. If your punishing them was lesser than their sins, then this will be credited to your scales of good deeds. If, however, your punishing them was greater than their sins, then some of your rewards will be taken from you and given to them.”
Upon hearing these words, the man took to one side and began to cry aloud. The Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) said to him:
أَمَا تَقْرَأُ قَوْلَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى: وَنَضَعُ الْمَوَازِينَ الْقِسْطَ لِيَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ فَلَا تُظْلَمُ نَفْسٌ شَيْئًا وَإِنْ كَانَ مِثْقَالَ حَبَّةٍ مِنْ خَرْدَلٍ أَتَيْنَا بِهَا وَكَفَى بِنَا حَاسِبِينَ
“Have you not read what Allāh has said: ‘And We shall set up the scales of justice on the Day of Resurrection, so no soul will be dealt with unjustly in anything. And even if a deed is the weight of a mustard seed, We will bring it forth. And sufficient are We as a Reckoner.’”[21]
The man said:
يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ مَا أَجِدُ لِي وَلِهَؤُلَاءِ شَيْئًا خَيْرًا مِنْ مُفَارَقَتِهِمْ أُشْهِدُكَ أَنهم كلَّهم أحرارٌ
“By Allāh, O Messenger of Allāh, I see nothing better for myself than me parting with them. I make you my witness that they are now all free.”[22]
Disturbingly, the only accepted currency for compensation on that Day will be the exchange of good deeds and sins, on a Day when you shall never be more in need of good deeds.
The Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) once asked his companions:
أتدرونَ مَنِ المُفْلِسُ؟
“Do you know who the bankrupt one is?”
The companions responded:
المفْلسُ فِينَا مَنْ لا دِرهَمَ لَهُ ولا مَتَاع
“The bankrupt person is he who has no money or provisions,” to which the Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) said:
إنَّ المُفْلسَ مِنْ أُمَّتي مَنْ يأتي يَومَ القيامَةِ بصلاةٍ وصيامٍ وزَكاةٍ، ويأتي وقَدْ شَتَمَ هَذَا، وقَذَفَ هَذَا، وَأَكَلَ مالَ هَذَا، وسَفَكَ دَمَ هَذَا، وَضَرَبَ هَذَا فيُعْطَى هَذَا مِنْ حَسَنَاتِهِ، وهَذَا مِنْ حَسناتهِ، فإنْ فَنِيَتْ حَسَناتُه قَبْل أنْ يُقضى مَا عَلَيهِ، أُخِذَ منْ خَطَاياهُم فَطُرِحَتْ عَلَيهِ، ثُمَّ طُرِحَ في النَّارِ
“The one who is truly bankrupt is the one comes on the Day of Resurrection with prayers, fasting, and Zakāh, but comes having insulted someone, falsely accused someone, unlawfully consumed the wealth of someone, shed the blood of someone, and assaulted others. His deeds will be distributed to the accounts of his victims one after another. If his good deeds fall short to clear the account, then they will load their sins on him and then he would be thrown into Hell.”[23]
What further compounds the problem is that the measuring of these deeds will be via a scale of immense sensitivity, one that detects the smallest units of deeds. Today, metal is usually weighed in tons, fruit in kilos, gold in grams, and diamond in carats. As for your deeds, they shall be weighed in the court of Al-Dayyān in atoms.
Allāh said:
فَمَنْ يَعْمَلْ مِثْقَالَ ذَرَّةٍ خَيْرًا يَرَهُ (7) وَمَنْ يَعْمَلْ مِثْقَالَ ذَرَّةٍ شَرًّا يَرَهُ
“So whoever does an atom’s weight of good will see it. And whoever does an atom’s weight of evil will see it.” [24]
What is the need, therefore, to overstep any mark of Allāh’s religion? What is the need to unjustly harm another via insults, backstabbing, or slurs when the reparation may cost you, say, 15 days of Ramadan? Or cost two occasions of your ‘Umrah? Or cost you 20 of your full recitations of the Qur’ān? Or cost you 5 years’ worth of charity? You have no need to be in this situation. Is it therefore not worth making a courageous apology today and saving your good deeds from forceful distribution, ones that you have worked so hard to amass today?
The purpose of mentioning all of the above is to arrive at one key point: belief in Al-Dayyān forces accountability. It drags one to the mirror for a long and hard look, bringing about an honest inner audit of one’s life and behaviours. This propels one to make the necessary changes regardless of their cost today. The more we do this, the lighter our load of sins will be before Allāh, and the lighter that load, the quicker we will be dismissed from the horrors of the Day of Reckoning and granted access to the gardens of joy.
Mālik b. Dīnar said:
“I was once returning from travel via boat. We reached a bridge where a man was making travellers pay a toll. The man shouted, “None of you are to leave the boat nor are you allowed to move!” I did not have anything to offer, so I took my garment, jumped off the boat, and continued my way. The man said to me, “Why have you left?” I said, “I don’t have anything,” so he said, “Off you go then.” I said to myself, “This is exactly how the Hereafter will be.”[25]
This statement of Mālik means that the lighter one will be of sins, the quicker his judgement will be on the Day of Judgment.
Here we may ask: how does one hold himself accountable, and what does it look like? Below is a suggested conversation that you can have with yourself.
(1) Start by filling the holes in your obligatory acts of worship.
“Are my five daily prayers still lacking?”
“Is my Zakāh yet to be issued or properly calculated?”
“Have I visited every country in the world but Makkah for Hajj?”
“Am I still neglecting the book of Allāh?”
“Do I not realise that Al-Dayyān’s first questions will be about these obligations?”
(2) Next, home in to lingering sins.
“Am I still involved in secret immoral conversations?”
“Am I yet to quit my prohibited addictions?”
“Is my Hijāb & public presentation of myself still lacking?”
“Is my fallout with such and such yet to be amended?”
“Am I yet to learn how to fear Allāh and lower my gaze?”
“Am I yet to purify my income from the prohibited?”
“Am I one who takes the bait of every sin that pops up online and offline?”
(3) Then, move onto the levels of excellence.
“How often does my heart tremble at Allāh’s remembrance?”
“Do I need to sleep less? Am I wasting too much time?”
“Am I yet to crave the moments of privacy with Him?”
“Is my worship still one of a soulless tick-box exercise?”
“Do I have a plan of daily Islamic learning?”
“Am I yet to prepare a project for my Hereafter?”
Accountability comes as part of any job description. In the experience of every professional, accountability is the single biggest differentiator between successful and unsuccessful outcomes. As a believer in Al-Dayyān, you can have no further compelling reason to hold yourself accountable.
Comfort to the oppressed
‘Umar b. Khattāb said:
وَيْلٌ لِدَيَّانِ الْأَرْضِ مِنْ دَيَّانِ السَّمَاءِ
“Woe to the dayyān (recompensor) of this world from the Dayyān (Recompensor) of the heavens.”[26]
A day of horror and despair for the oppressor, and one of perfect justice and consolation to the oppressed; this is precisely how Al-Dayyān has designed the Day of Reckoning. Believing in this is to finally draw the curtains over the anguish and rage that may consume the oppressed one today, finding solace with the fact that justice and retribution in their fullest manifestations are imminent as he reads in the Qur’ān:
وَلَا تَحْسَبَنَّ اللَّهَ غَافِلًا عَمَّا يَعْمَلُ الظَّالِمُونَ إِنَّمَا يُؤَخِّرُهُمْ لِيَوْمٍ تَشْخَصُ فِيهِ الْأَبْصَارُ
“Do not think that Allāh is unaware of what the wrongdoers do. He only delays them until a day when eyes will stare in horror.”[27]
Consider the following situations of oppression:
– One who came home to a house that has been burgled
– A husband whose wife walked away from him, having been goaded to hate him in favour for another man
– A wife who has suffered at the hands of an abusive husband
– A buyer/seller who was conned out of his wealth
– A nation whose land, infrastructure, heritage, and community were decimated by an invader.
When one surrenders to the reality of an impending judgement before Al-Dayyān, where he and his oppressor will be gathered together toe to toe, grief is eased all of a sudden. Patience becomes blissful and life becomes worth living again.
Having said all of the above, this is not to say that Al-Dayyān’s retribution is limited to the Day of Reckoning. At times – and many times indeed – He will decree a worldly retribution for wrongdoing.
Abu Dardā’ said:
البر لا يبلى، والذنب لا يُنسى، والديان لا يموت، ابن آدم اصنع ما شئت فكما تدين تدان
“Goodness never disappears, sins are never forgotten, and Al-Dayyān will never die. O son of Adam, do as you wish, for as you sow so shall you reap.”[28]
From this statement and others, scholars have deduced a universal principle that Al-Dayyān never fails to act upon; ‘al-jazā min jins al-ʿamal‘, which translates to ‘the recompense fits the nature of the act’. In other words, what goes around comes around. The punishment of a sin as well as the reward of a good deed usually appear in a way that resemble the nature of that good deed or sin.
Consider these following examples:[29]
Mūsā’s speech impediment
The Pharaoh long mocked the speech impediment of Mūsā (ʿalayhi al-Salām), saying:
أَمْ أَنَا خَيْرٌ مِنْ هَذَا الَّذِي هُوَ مَهِينٌ وَلَا يَكَادُ يُبِينُ
“Am I not better than this one (Mūsā) who is despicable and can scarcely express himself clearly?”[30]
How fitting it was that during his final drowning moments in the sea, he would be tossed and turned as angel Jibrīl (ʿalayhi al-Salām) stuffed his mouth with mud to prevent him from saying anything that would cause the mercy of Allāh to reach him; the epitome of a speech impediment.
Al-Namrūd’s claim to divinity
Similarly, Al-Namrūd b. Kan’ān claimed to give life and death, so a mosquito was made to find its way into his nostrils. The endless uncomfortable buzz would not cease until al-Namrūd was delivered a series of physical blows to his head at his request, a befitting punishment a man who had made the biggest of all claims; the smallest of creatures was sent to test his claim. In the end, he was beaten to death, whilst the insect remained alive.[31]
Prophet Ibrāhīm clothed
Picture the mighty messenger Ibrāhīm (ʿalayhi al-Salām) sitting patiently within the bucket of a catapult, waiting to be launched into a smouldering fire, stripped of his clothes,[32] alone and isolated in his custodianship of Islām as the city watched on with evil intent.
Now, imagine Ibrāhīm (ʿalayhi al-Salām) once again, but this time, all eyes of humanity are set on him, staring in awe, as they see him being the first to be clothed on the Day of Judgement as the Prophet Muhammad (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) said.[33] The rest of humanity is naked, awaiting to be clothed. Such a reward for Ibrāhīm (ʿalayhi al-Salām) is apt for the nudity that he was once made to endure.
Khadīja finally rests
She was our Messenger’s home and the jewel of his eye. She was his champion and support, having believed in him without a moment of hesitation. She stood beside him in the three-year siege enforced by the Quraish until she died from exhaustion. When the Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) withdrew to the cave of Hirā for a purpose not necessarily clear to her, she would climb behind him on the 270m tall rocky terrain. Imagine her, standing fatigued with the Prophet’s plate of food, at the mouth of a dark and desolate cave, content that her beloved husband and messenger seclude himself for moments otherwise spent with her.
Next, picture angel Jibrīl (ʿalayhi al-Salām) arriving with news to the Prophet Muhammad (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) of a reward personally tailored to the troubles of this remarkable woman:
يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ: هَذِهِ خَدِيجَةُ قَدْ أَتَتْ مَعَهَا إِنَاءٌ فِيهِ إِدَامٌ، أَوْ طَعَامٌ أَوْ شَرَابٌ، فَإِذَا هِيَ أَتَتْكَ فَاقْرَأْ عَلَيْهَا السَّلاَمَ مِنْ رَبِّهَا وَمِنِّي وَبَشِّرْهَا بِبَيْتٍ فِي الجَنَّةِ مِنْ قَصَبٍ لاَ صَخَبَ فِيهِ، وَلاَ نَصَبَ
“O Messenger of Allāh, here is Khadīja coming to you with a vessel containing something to drink. Greet her with Salām on behalf of her Lord and on my behalf, and give her the glad tidings of a palace of hollowed pearls in Paradise wherein there will be neither any noise nor any fatigue (trouble).”[34]
Since her life was filled with both noise and fatigue, Al-Dayyān has prepared for her a palace in Jannah that is free from both.
Other deeds and sins that can likewise be seen through the same lens of this universal law:
Arrogance: a trait that incapacitates its holder from seeing the status or size of others, causing him to trample over their value and advice, seeing them as but tiny particles. Their recompense shall therefore be as the Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) described:
يُحْشَرُ الْمُتَكَبِّرُونَ يَوْمَ القِيَامَةِ أَمْثَالَ الذَّرِّ فِي صُوَرِ الرِّجَالِ يَغْشَاهُمُ الذُّلُّ مِنْ كُلِّ مَكَانٍ
“The arrogant will be gathered on the Day of Judgement resembling tiny particles in the image of men. Humiliation will surround them from everywhere.”[35]
Fornication: a trait relished in undressed communion, enveloped by the heat of sin. They will similarly be in each other’s undressed company but in a baking pit. Each time the fire ignites beneath them, they rise to its mouth, screaming, before it subsides in preparation for another cycle, until the Day of Judgement.[36]
Usury: a usurer bathes in their victims’ poverty, destroying their wealth and livelihoods. Similarly, in the Hereafter, he will be made to swim in a river of blood. Every time he nears its banks, a stone will be hurled into his mouth before he turns and continues to paddle.[37]
Fasting: those who fasted held off from food and drink during Ramaḍān and at other times in the year. For the uniqueness of their deed, they will enter Jannah through a gate that is exclusive to them, known as Al-Rayyān (“the quenched”). This is a fitting reward for those whose thirst was unquenched, not due to the scarcity of water, but the abundance of īmān.
Abstinence from sins: those who guard their limbs from prohibitions will have them guarded by Allāh. The famous Shāfi’ī scholar of Baghdad, Abū al-Tayyib al-Tabari, enjoyed mental alertness and physical strength even during his elder years. One day he jumped off a boat, and when gently reproached for doing such at his age, he replied: “We protected these limbs in our youth, so Allāh protects them for us in our old age.”[38]
Examples of these principles in action – what goes around comes around – in today’s world are endless and known to most. The purpose of this section is to remind the oppressed that his grief is not unknown to Allāh. The Du’ā of the oppressed has not gone to waste. The passage of time does not mean that Allāh has forgotten, even though the oppressed himself may have forgotten and moved on.
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Source: www.islam21c.com
Notes:
[1] Al-Qur’ān, 36:40
[2] Al-Qur’ān, 48:23
[3] Listed as a name of Allāh by Al-Khattāb, Ibn Mandah, Al-Bayhaqī, Al-Qurtubī, Ibn Al-Qayyim, and others
[4] Adab Al-Mufrad, Al-Bukhāri
[5] Mu’jam Maqāyīs Al-Lugha
[6] Al-Qur’ān, 12:76
[7] Al-Qur’ān, 37:53
[8] Sha’n Al-Du’ā
[9] Al-Qahhār, as was mentioned by Ibn Al-Athīr
[10] Al-Qur’ān, 78:40
[11] Yes, forgiveness and pardoning have their known merits, but when speaking about the name Al-Dayyān and how it is used within the context of Du’ā, a discussion of pardoning is not suitable.
[12] Hilyat Al-Awliyā, Abu Nu’aim
[13] Ighāthat Al-Lahfān, Ibn Al-Qayyim
[14] Ighāthat Al-Lahfān, Ibn Al-Qayyim
[15] Siyar A’lāmin Nubalā, Al-Dhahabi
[16] Al-Qur’ān, 39:31
[17] Al-Tirmidhi
[18] Tafsīr Ibn Kathīr
[19] Musnad Ahmad
[20] Kitāb Al-Rūh, Ibn Mandah
[21] Al-Qur’ān, 21:47
[22] Al-Tirmidhi, on the authority of ‘Aisha
[23] Muslim, on the authority of Abu Huraira
[24] Al-Qur’ān, 99:7-8
[25] Safwat Al-Safwa
[26] Al-Zuhd, Ahmad Ibnu Hanbal
[27] Al-Qur’ān, 14:42
[28] ‘Abd Al-Razzāq
[29] The following has been adapted from https://www.islam21c.com/spirituality/you-reap-what-you-sow/
[30] Al-Qur’ān, 43:52
[31] Tafsīr Ibn Kathīr
[32] Qurtubi mentioned this in his Tadhkirah, mentioned in the commentary of al-Suyuti on al-Tirmidhi
[33] Bukhāri on the authority of ʿAbdullāh b. ʿAbbās
[34] Bukhāri on the authority of Abū Hurairah
[35] Jami’al-Tirmidhi on the authority of ʿAmr b. Shuʿaib
[36] Bukhāri on the authority of Samurah ibn Jundub
[37] Bukhāri on the authority of Samurah ibn Jundub
[38] Majmū’ Rasā’il ibn Rajab
