In a famous hadith of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (SAW) narrated by Abu Huraira (RA), the Prophet (SAW) stated that there are three categories of people from our Ummah to be burnt in the hellfire by Allah (SWT) with the first being the person that He (SWT) blessed with knowledge. This person acquired the ability to study the knowledge of the faith and understand its finer points; then given a platform to teach it to others. Also, the people of knowledge excelled in the reading and reciting of the Holy Quran.
They will be brought forward on the Day of Judgement when Allah (SWT) will make them aware of how blessed they were to seek and acquire the knowledge of faith and Quran and teach it to others. The Holy Prophet (SAW) explains that they will admit how blessed they were to possess this knowledge and then Allah (SWT) will ask them what they did with it. The person of knowledge will respond that he acquired knowledge and recited the Holy Quran for the sake of Allah (SWT).
However, the angels will tell him that he lies because he learned and sought the knowledge only for the sake of praise and craving celebrity status rather than being a humble conveyor of the knowledge and traditions left by the Prophets of Allah (SWT) and Prophet Muhammad (SAW). Since he received the praise, adulation, and remuneration that he desired in this Dunya, Allah (SWT) will send this person of knowledge into the hellfire.
The second category of people mentioned in this hadith is the wealthy person who gives to charity and good causes. This person will be asked on the Day of Judgement about what they did with the wealth and prosperity that they were blessed with. The wealthy person will reply that he donated money to just causes for the sake of Allah (SWT). But the angels will mention that he is lying and that he gave charity for the sake of receiving praise and adoration for his generosity. Allah (SWT) will send him to the hellfire as this person received the praises and VIP treatment of others that he wanted on account of his generosity, not righteousness.
The third category is the martyr or shaheed that sacrificed his life in battle for the cause of Allah (SWT). He will be asked on the Day of Judgement about what he did with the blessing of being physically able to fight and defend the weak and needy. The martyr will reply that he fought in the path of Allah (SWT) seeking to correct injustices suffered by others and fell in death as a martyr before Allah (SWT). However, the angels will say that he lies and that he struggled and fought so that people will remember him as a brave and valiant soldier. He received his reward in the Dunya since he was celebrated for his strength by the people; so, Allah (SWT) sends this martyr to the hellfire.
For most of us, we won’t reach the status of the great scholars and ulemas, famous philanthropists, or brave soldiers but the lesson from the story of the three categories of people mentioned above is that it’s the little things in life that will lead to our salvation in the hereafter.
We must not assume that good deeds done for the wrong reasons are blessed by Allah (SWT), as He (SWT) warns us in Surah Al-Furqan in the Holy Quran that He (SWT) will scatter the goods deeds of people who did them for insincere reasons, not for the sake of Allah (SWT).
In another hadith of the Holy Prophet (SAW), he tells us the characteristics that we should strive for to achieve success in this world and the hereafter. One is a person who is ghani or well-off and self-sufficient but has total contentment in their heart and soul. The second is taqi or someone pious and is fearing and loving of Allah (SWT). The third is khafee, the one who doesn’t want to be the center of attention or celebrated, which was a characteristic of our Prophet (SAW).
Now, let’s discuss the sins that lead to paradise. The Holy Prophet (SAW) narrates a rich story about a man who murdered 99 people. This man speaks to a worshipper of Allah (SWT) and asks him if Allah (SWT) will forgive him for murdering 99 people. Without any wisdom, the worshipper of Allah (SWT) replies in the negative and so, the murderer kills him and makes it 100.
One day, this murderer bumps into a righteous and knowledgeable person and asks him if he had a possible path back to Allah (SWT). The righteous person replies positively, “Yes you do, who can block your return to Allah (SWT)? Just make repentance.” Also, the righteous person gave the man advice to make a clean break and leave the village as he was already known as a murderer here, and to make the transformation towards the path of Allah (SWT) that he desired, he needed a change of scenery.
Thus, he heeds the righteous person’s advice and starts his migration to a new village. But he dies on the way there. Since he died closer to the new village, where he was intending to reform than his old village of sin, Allah (SWT) forgives his sins.
When we look at the lives of the Sahaba and the immediate generation that succeeding them, we will find that the best people that advanced Islam were the reformed “bad guys” like Umar (RA), and Khalid Bin Waleed (RA). They were able to change due to self-confrontation and acknowledge that they wronged themselves, not Allah (SWT) or the Shaytan and that seeking repentance from Allah (SWT) is the only way forward.
Also, we need to develop self-control and realize that we are wrong and need to change. The change could be in the form of leaving a place, job, or friends to make a hijra or migration from the haram to the hilal, the bad to the good, the sin to the virtue.
In a hadith reported in Sahih Muslim, the Holy Prophet (SAW) speaks about two men from a previous nation that were close companions but not blood brothers. One man was righteous, both inwardly and outwardly while the other wasn’t that much. The righteous man always told the other that he will end up in the hellfire and Allah (SWT) will never allow him to enter Paradise if he doesn’t change his ways. The unrighteous man responded to his friend that he still had hope in the mercy and forgiveness of Allah (SWT) and that he is doing the best that he can.
Eventually, both men die and are called together on the Day of Judgement in front of Allah (SWT). Allah (SWT) will speak to the righteous man first and ask him if he told his friend that He (SWT) will never forgive him and allow him to enter Paradise and the righteous man will affirm this. Allah (SWT) will scold the righteous man asking him if He (SWT) gave him the power to decide who will go to heaven or hell, or the power to see the future and how dare he speak on behalf of Allah (SWT) and place despair in the heart of his friend.
Allah (SWT) then tells the righteous man to witness His (SWT) mercy and forgiveness as He (SWT) forgives his friend and sends him to Paradise for the hope he had in Allah (SWT) while the righteous man is sent to the hellfire for putting the despair in his friend’s heart.
Sins can lead to righteousness if we give people time and support to change for the better. Allah (SWT) and the Holy Prophet (SAW) are teaching us through these hadiths that it’s not good enough just to be righteous and pious but to help others to be righteous and pious when they stray from the path of Allah (SWT), as this was the way of the Prophets.
