Enter paradise without a reckoningAfter boarding the ship and taking a ticket to paradise (the Shahadatein), let us travel to a loftier status. It is binding on us that we manifest the true virtues of Tawheed as Prophet Ibrahim (peace be upon him) did and Allah's words confirms it. “Verily, Ibrâhîm was an Ummah (a leader having all the good righteous qualities) or a nation, obedient to Allâh, Hanîf (i.e. to worship none but Allâh), and he was not one of those who were Al-Mushrikûn -- polytheists, idolaters, disbelievers in the Oneness of Allâh, and those who joined partners with Allâh.” (Qur'an,16:120) In the above verse Prophet Ibrahim (peace be upon him) is described with four characteristics: 1. Ummah meaning a leader who has qualities of human perfection and attributes of goodness. 2. Devotedly obedient to Allah, the Almighty. 3. Haneef means rejecting the way of the polytheists and turning away from them. 4. He was not of those who ascribed partners to Allah. So, how do we actualize Tawheed to attain the loftiest status in paradise? Surat-Al-Waqiya confirms that on the Day of the Judgment people will be divided into three main groups: the foremost ones, the happy companions of the right hand and the wretched companions of the left hand. A Muslim who abstains from all kinds of major and minor acts of polytheism, innovations, major and minor sins, dislikes some of the permissible things that takes great care of desirable things will be from the foremost ones. He will be in the gardens of bliss reclining on decorated thrones, and will be granted every wish. He will enjoy the nearness of Allah. The main lesson derived from the Hadith below is to have complete dependence and reliance on Allah, the Most High to be amongst the foremost ones. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “I was shown the nations, and some Prophets passed by with a few followers, and some Prophets passed by with no followers. Then I was shown a great multitude, and I said, ‘What is this? Is this my Ummah?' It was said, ‘No, this is Moosa and his people.' It was said, ‘Look at the horizon.' There I saw a huge multitude filling the horizon. And it was said, ‘Look there, and there, on the horizons of the sky.' There was a multitude filling the horizons. It was said, ‘This is your Ummah, and of these, seventy thousand will enter Paradise without being brought to account.'Then he [the Prophet (peace be upon him)] went inside, without explaining further. The people started to discuss what he had said, saying, “We are the ones who have believed in Allah and followed His Messenger (peace be upon him); we are those or “It is our children who were born in Islam whilst we were born in Jahiliyyah.” The Prophet (peace be upon him) heard about what was being said, so he came out and said: “They are the ones who do not seek Ruqya (permissible incantation from the Qur'an and Sunnah), do not believe in bad omens and do not use branding; they put their trust in their Rabb.” (Bukhari) The seventy thousand referred to in this Hadith are of a high status from this Ummah because of some special qualities that they possess: 1. They do not seek Ruqya (permissible incantation from the Qur'an and Sunnah) from others. 2. Do not believe in bad omens. 3. Do not use branding. 4. They put their trust in their Rabb. This does not mean that those who act upon and actualize Tawheed do not seek the means for their needs, as opposed to the wrong concept some people have. The Prophet (peace be upon him) had Ruqyah performed on him and he even commanded cauterization in some cases. Finally, to be amongst the seventy thousand one must avoid seeking Ruqyah (permissible incantation) from others and cauterization because it is among characteristics of actualizing Tawheed and these traits can be achieved by placing all our trust in Allah. May Allah grant us with quantity and quality of righteous deeds. May Allah Almighty make us among the foremost ones who will draw near to Allah, and be granted all kinds of desires, the paramount being to see Allah Almighty. Ameen!! __
