Adil Salahi, Saudi Arabia.
Questions and comments can be e-mailed to Br. Salahi at: [email protected] ]
A Hadith reported by Abdullah ibn Massoud quotes the Prophet as saying: “Communities were shown to me during the pilgrimage days, and I was pleased with the large numbers of my community, as I saw them filling the planes and the mountains. I was asked: ‘Muhammad, are you happy?’ I said: ‘Yes, my Lord.’ He said: ‘Along with these you have seventy thousands who are admitted into heaven without reckoning their deeds. These are the ones who neither ask others to pray for them when they are ill, nor sear themselves, nor believe in bad omen, but place their trust in God.’ A man called Ukkashah said: ‘Pray God to make me one of these.’ The Prophet prayed: ‘My Lord, make him one of them.’ Another man said: ‘Pray God for me to be one of them.’ The Prophet said: ‘Ukkashah has been ahead of you in this.’” (Related by Al-Bukhari, Muslim and Ahmad)
There are several points to explain in this Hadith. The first is that the Prophet was reassured by the large multitude of his followers who filled up a great expanse. Every advocate of a good cause feels extremely happy when his advocacy earns good response. In this Hadith the Prophet is asked by none other than God if he was happy with the response to his call. When he sees the numbers he is certainly pleased. However, it should be pointed out that there is an element of symbolism here, as the Prophet is shown a panoramic view, with his followers filling up the planes and the mountains. It does not necessarily mean that he was shown every one of his followers in all generations. Yet this is not beyond God’s ability to do if He so pleases.
When the Prophet expressed his happiness with what he saw, he was told that added to them are seventy thousands who attain a higher status, for which they are admitted to heaven without being questioned about their deeds in this life. Before we discuss the qualities of this special group, we should mention that in Arabic generally, and in such statements in particular, the number is often symbolic. Arabs often use the number seven and its multiples to indicate plenty, rather than the exact number. In some reports, we are told that with every thousand of these there are seventy thousands and plenty more. But these have the distinction that their admission to heaven is made much easier, as they are spared the difficult task of having to account for their deeds. This means that their sins and bad deeds are forgiven without question, and their good deeds are generously rewarded. So it is very important to know what qualifies them for this distinction.
The first quality is that they do not ask others to pray for their recovery when they are ill. What is wrong with such a request? To start with, we say that there is nothing wrong with a person who visits a friend or a relative who is ill to pray to God to speed that person’s recovery.
The Prophet did that on some occasions, but he chose to do it, and was not asked by the patient. It is also open to the patient to pray for recovery. His prayers is certain to be very sincere.
As he is the one suffering from the illness, his prayers are likely to express more urgency and sincerity, knowing that it is God alone who can ensure his full recovery. Sincere prayers are certain to be answered when coupled with complete trust in God. Requesting others to pray for one may indicate impatience, or doubt that one’s own prayers are not answered. Besides, one never knows what another person may include in his prayers. If he includes something unacceptable, such as attributing any power of recovery to any being other than God, then such prayer is counterproductive.
The second quality is that they do not sear themselves as a method of healing. This was a practice in old times, that people may burn their skin with a hot iron, believing that such searing would remove an illness. This is different from cauterisation of a blood vessel to prevent haemorrhage. Searing one’s skin is strongly discouraged because it involves permanent physical scarring and may have serious negative effects. But it is different from cauterisation which is done under good medical care. It is applied to a particular spot which may be very tiny, but causing much discomfort or pain.
These people do not allow bad omen to dictate their actions. We spoke last week about bad omen and the prohibition of letting it decide what we may or may not do. In this Hadith the Prophet makes it clear that people who deserve to be in heaven without having to account for their sins do not entertain any thought of bad omen. Thus, they negate it at source.
The fourth quality contrasts with all three mentioned so far. This is a positive action that counters all three negative ones. They are described here as those who place their trust in their Lord. This trust is complete, unhesitating and unquestioning. Such trust adds an important element, namely a complete and reassuring relationship with God. One feels that whatever happens, it will eventually have good results for one, because God will always reward His good servants who place their trust in Him.
We also have to remember here that by speaking against these practices, the Prophet does not in any way encourage adopting a negative attitude to illness, as done by some people who do not seek medical treatment and refuse to take any medication. Such people claim that seeking such treatment is contrary to complete reliance on God. This is a totally mistaken notion. The Prophet has encouraged medical treatment and made it clear that God has provided a cure for every illness, whether such a cure be known to people or not. Moreover, seeking medical treatment should be construed as part of the process of reliance on God, as it means that we do our part, and use all the means available to us. Such measures are required. When we have done that, we couple it with placing our full trust in God alone. This combination of doing what we can and relying on God is the best means to achieve any purpose.
Needless to say, when the Prophet described such people to his companions, everyone hoped to be among them. Hence, Ukkashah asks the Prophet to pray that God may count him as one of them. The Prophet prayed for him and there is no doubt that any prayer by the Prophet is answered in the most perfect way. However, the Prophet did not say a similar prayer for the next man to make the same request.
He told him that that honor has been taken by the first to make the request.
There are several explanations why the Prophet did not pray for the second man. Some say that he was not of the caliber to be included with such elite, but we do not know for certain the identity of that man. Some reports suggest that he was a distinguished figure among the Prophet’s companions. Therefore, we take the view that the Prophet was not allowed to make that prayer for more than one person on that particular occasion.
The man who benefited by the Prophet’s prayer, Ukkashah ibn Muhsin, was one of the early Muslims, and a good fighter for God’s cause. During the Battle of Badr, the first major battle against the idolaters of the Quraysh, his sword was broken in his hand. The Prophet gave him a small stick from a tree and it was transformed in his hand into a long, solid sword which he used in subsequent battles, until his death as a martyr in a battle against rebellious apostates in the year 12 A.H., during Abu Bakr’s reign.
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