922
It was narrated that Asma’ bint Abi Bakr al-Siddiq said: I came to ‘A’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) when the people were praying. I said: What is the matter with the people? And she gestured towards the sky with a movement of her head. I said: A sign? She nodded to say yes. The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) prayed for a very long time, until I almost fainted. Beside me there was a waterskin containing water, so I opened it and began to pour some of it on my head. The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) finished his prayer after the sun had reappeared, then he addressed the people. He praised Allah as He deserves, then he said: “To proceed…” Some of the women of the Ansar began to talk, so I turned to them to tell them to be quiet. Then I said to ‘A’ishah: What did he say? She said: He said: “There is nothing that I had not been shown before but it was shown to me whilst I was standing just now, even Paradise and Hell. It has been revealed to me that you will be tried and tested in your graves, similar – or close – to the trial (fitnah) of the Dajjal. One of you will be approached [in the grave] and it will be said to him: What do you know about this man? As for the believer – or the one who is certain in faith; Hisham was not sure – he will say: He is the Messenger of Allah, he is Muhammad (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him). He came to us with clear proofs and guidance, and we believed, responded, followed him and affirmed that he told the truth. It will be said to him: Sleep, benefitting from your righteous deeds, for we knew that you believed in him. As for the hypocrite – or the doubter; Hisham was not sure – it will be said to him: What do you know about this man? He will say: I do not know; I heard the people saying something so I said it too.”.
Commentary :
The trial of the grave is one of the greatest trials that a person will go through. The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) used to seek refuge with Allah from it at the end of the prayer, after the tashahhud and before the taslim.
In this hadith, the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) spoke of the state of the believer and the hypocrite during the trial of the grave. This was in a khutbah that he delivered following the eclipse prayer, as Asma’ bint Abi Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates that she came to her sister ‘A’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) – and in one report it says that she was praying standing, and the people were also standing, offering the eclipse prayer. She said to ‘A’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her): What is the matter with the people? Because they were startled. ‘A’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) gestured towards the sky, pointing to the eclipse of the sun. From that it may be understood that ‘A’ishah gestured to her sister whilst she was praying with the people. ‘Asma said, asking a question: A sign? In other words: is this one of the signs of Allah? ‘A’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) nodded in affirmation. So Asma’ stood and prayed with them, and the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) prayed for so long that Asma’ (may Allah be pleased with her) almost fainted, because of standing for so long and because it was so hot. Next to her there was a waterskin, so she opened it and began to pour some of the water on her head. When the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) finished the prayer after the sun had reappeared, he addressed the people. He praised Allah, and when he began his khutbah, some of the Ansari women began to talk; the word translated here as talk refers to a murmur of mixed voices that cannot be understood. Asma’ (may Allah be pleased with her) leaned towards them to tell them to be quiet, then she asked ‘A’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her): What did the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) say in his khutbah? She said: He said: “There is nothing that I had not been shown before but it was shown to me whilst I was standing just now, even Paradise and Hell.” In other words, everything that I had not seen before, I have seen now in a real sense, even Paradise and Hell. “It has been revealed to me that you will be tried and tested in your graves, similar – or close – to the trial (fitnah) of the Dajjal” – that is, in the grave, you will face a test and trial, and this trial will be similar to the trial (fitnah) of the Dajjal, or close to it. The fitnah of the Dajjal is one of the greatest and most serious of trials. The word Dajjal comes from the word dajal, which means covering or concealing. He is so called because he will conceal the truth with his falsehood. He is a human being, and his appearance will be one of the major signs of the Day of Resurrection. Allah will test His slaves by means of him, and will give him the ability to do some things that only Allah (may He be exalted) is able to do, such as bringing back to life a dead person whom he killed, and the glamour of this world and the fertility of the land will appear with him; he will have his paradise and his hell, and his two rivers, and the treasures of the earth will follow him. He will command the sky to rain, and it will rain, and he will command the earth to bring forth its vegetation and it will bring it forth. All of that will happen by the might and will of Allah (may He be exalted).
Then the Prophet stated that the person who has died will be asked what he knows about him (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him). As for the believer, he will say:He is the Messenger of Allah, he is Muhammad (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him). He came to us with clear proofs – referring to the miracles which confirmed that he spoke the truth – and guidance – referring to that which shows the way of Islam. And we believed in him, responded to his call, followed him on the path of guidance, and affirmed the truth of what he brought from Allah. All of these phrases are close in meaning, and are said by way of affirmation. It will be said to him: Sleep, benefitting from your righteous deeds. Thus he will be reassured and will be safe from the punishment of the grave. As for the hypocrite and doubter, he will say: I do not know; I heard the people saying something, so I said it too. In other words, he merely said something like that which the people said, but he was not certain about the prophethood of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him); rather he had doubts about it.
This hadith indicates that prayer is not invalidated by a small movement or a gesture.
It indicates that in the eclipse prayer, the standing is lengthy.
It indicates that the one who doubts the truthfulness of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) or doubts the soundness of his message is a disbeliever.
It indicates that the Muslim is urged to accept and follow what the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) brought of guidance and light..