When Allah created Paradise and Hell-fire, He sent Gabriel to Paradise, saying: Look at it and at what I have prepared therein for its inhabitants. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: So he came to it and looked at it and at what Allah had prepared therein for its inhabitants. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: So he returned to Him and said: By your glory, no one hears of it without entering it. So He ordered that it be encompassed by forms of hardship, and He said: Return to it and look at what I have prepared therein for its inhabitants. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: So he returned to it and found that it was encompassed by forms of hardship (1). Then he returned to Him and said: By Your glory, I fear that no one will enter it. He said: Go to Hell-fire and look at it and what I have prepared therein for its inhabitants; and he found that it was in layers, one above the other. Then he returned to Him and said: By Your glory, no one who hears of it will enter it. So He ordered that it be encompassed by lusts. Then He said: Return to it. And he returned to it and said: By Your glory, I am frightened that no one will escape from entering it. (1) The #Arabic word used here is #makarih, the literal meaning of which is things that are disliked. In this context it refers to forms of religious discipline that man usually finds onerous. It was related by #hadith #qudsi #Tirmidhi, who said that it was a good and sound Hadith (also by #AbuDawud and an-#Nasai).
Posted on: Wed, 10 Sep 2014 16:30:02 +0000