Walking with my son the other day I felt I was going to melt. The air was heavy and our throats were dry from thirst. As we trudged along, we looked for anywhere to stand that had shade.
The heat was unbearable; the afternoon sun was scorching, the humidity at an all-time high.
Headlines worldwide warned of the dangers of the heat wave. Precautions against heatstroke were everywhere.
My son went and bought us something to quench our thirst. As we drank, I realized we were lucky to find something to protect us from the heat of this world.
But what will help us on the day we stand before our Creator, waiting for our judgment, craving the shade of Allah’s throne? I began to reflect.
Time For Reflection
So, we have read and learned how to protect ourselves against the heat in this world. A temporary heat. A heat which may last a minute, an hour, a day, a month, but it will subside and other weather will take its place.
Just as we have relieved ourselves now, what can we do to offer comfort on the day that those closest to us will flee?
What can we do to enter Paradise? A life prepared for us in the Hereafter, where every good thing will be ours. A paradise that surpasses our present ability to imagine.
The Quran reads:
{Indeed, those who have believed and done righteous deeds – their Lord will guide them because of their faith. Beneath them, rivers will flow in the Gardens of Pleasure.} (Yunus 10:9)
Paradise is a place where all blessings are created perfectly. There, we will get everything our souls and hearts will desire.
We will be far removed from want and need, anxiety, sadness, sorrow, and regret.
But before we can enter Paradise, we will stand under the sun’s scorching heat on the Day of Judgment and wait for our reckoning. But there will be some special people who will get to enjoy the shade of Allah’s throne.
7 Under Allah’s Throne Shade
Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said,
“There are seven people whom Allah will shade on a day when there is no shade but His:
a just ruler,
a young person who grew up in the worship of Allah,
a person whose heart is attached to the mosques,
two persons who love each other and who meet and depart from each other for the sake of Allah,
a man whom a beautiful woman of high status seduces but he rejects her by saying I fear Allah,
a person who spends in charity and conceals it such that his right-hand does not know what his left hand has given, and
a person who remembered Allah in private and he wept.” (Al-Bukhari and Muslim)
? Read Also: Joys in Highest and Lowest Ranks of Paradise
According to this hadith, there are seven groups of people who will be under the shade of the throne of Allah on the Day of Judgment.
This day is 50,000 years long and we will be only miles from the sun.
Contemplate that; only miles away from the sun compared to the millions of miles we are now. We will be so close, scared, and suffering in its unbearable heat.
The mere thought is overwhelming. But as mentioned earlier, there are seven groups of people who are so special to Allah, He will take these groups out of the heat and into the shade.
This will be the only shade that exists on that day.
Which Category Will You Belong to?
We mustn’t fret though; we can be on this list of special people. No matter who we are, there is one, maybe several categories that we can work hard to fall into. Allah is All-Merciful for sure.
As humans though, we are prone to forget and we are distracted by the glitter of this world. To keep this reminder fresh in our minds, Allah mentions the Hereafter many times in the Quran.
The immense heat of the day put me in a state of taffakur (reflection); something we should eagerly practice as we watch the universe, the world, and all of Allah’s creations fall into place.
As we are often reminded of Hell-Fire and Paradise in the Quran, we need to try to comprehend their nature.
If we understand the nature of the Fire, we will fear it like nothing else. In turn, if we understand the real nature of Paradise, we will yearn for it more than anything we’ve yearned for before.
In short, the aforementioned seven people are not supernatural beings, nor are they born with special gifts. These people, normal people, chose to act in the right way under the conditions they were exposed to.
Allah Promised
In Paradise, in the life of the Hereafter, there will be neither hardship nor suffering. People will live in pure joy and delight. The Quran reads:
{Its provision is eternal and so is its shade.} (Ar Ra’ad 13:35)
Beautiful promises by the One, the Compassionate, the Merciful, the King.
So as life passes, bringing us closer to the Day of Judgment, let’s try to fulfill at least one of the qualities listed above.
We will be enormously blessed if we are chosen to stand under the shade of the throne of Allah.