Belief & Worship Islamic Character Prophet Muhammad

The Seven Under Allah’s Shade

http://www.flickr.com/photos/30575642@N07/5008374815/Originally posted in November 2013.

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The hadith (saying of the Prophet) of the seven who are in Allah’s shade, subhanahu wa ta’ala (exalted is He), on the Day of Judgment gives us guidance as to important milestones and markers for our spiritual development. These are goals that should be sought in one’s development.

The Prophet ﷺ said:

There are seven whom Allah will shade in His Shade on the Day when there is no shade except His Shade: a just ruler; a youth who grew up in the worship of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic; a man whose heart is attached to the mosques; two men who love each other for Allah’s sake, meeting for that and parting upon that; a man who is called by a woman of beauty and position [for illegal intercourse], but he says: ‘I fear Allah’, a man who gives in charity and hides it, such that his left hand does not know what his right hand gives in charity; and a man who remembered Allah in private and so his eyes shed tears.

So there are seven things mentioned in this hadith:

  1. A just ruler.
  2. A youth who grows up in the worship of Allah.
  3. A man whose heart is attached to the mosques.
  4. Two people who love one another for the sake of Allah.
  5. Someone who resists a direct temptation from the opposite gender.
  6. A person who is completely selfless in charity.
  7. A person who remembers Allah in private and sheds tears in doing so.

The seven things mentioned all relate to serious developmental goals that should be sought throughout our own personal development and our efforts to help other people in their own growth.

The first is to develop a level of God-consciousness (taqwa) in the way that one deals with power. Being in a position of authority in Islam is a responsibility that one is held accountable for and it is very serious. Part of that is that our base selves often push us to take advantage of our positions of authority and abuse our power at the expense of others. This is a serious developmental flaw because it shows irresponsibility and a lack of taqwa. We all have varying situations throughout our lives wherein we are in a position of authority and when we have such power we have to look critically at ourselves and hope that Allah gives us good friends who help keep us in line. The developmental lesson here is in learning to act responsibly with power.

The second is a special kind of person that you meet every now and then. They are just good and always have been. These people are truly special because their consistency in worship draws them close to the fitrah, or natural state of being. You can feel their goodness in their interactions and see their genuineness in the details of their behavior. Most of us were not raised this way but that does not mean that we cannot renew our commitment to God (swt). That is something that we can do it any time by asking His forgiveness and starting fresh. This developmental point is about being consistent in our servitude to God (swt).

The third is the one whose heart is attached to the houses of worship. These are the people you meet who organize their lives around prayer. They make every effort to be at the mosque for prayer as much as possible and find beauty and pleasure in doing so. They recognize the peace and tranquility that comes from spending time in the mosque, and they call others to do so as well. This developmental point is about learning to love worship.

The fourth is two people that love each other for the sake of Allah (swt). There are many reasons why we could care for someone in this life. Sometimes those reasons are selfish and sometimes they are selfless. The one who loves solely for Allah’s sake (swt) is selfless in their love. This is a kind of training of the heart that all seekers of the Divine must experience. They must learn to purify their relationships with others and focus them on the ultimate goal, the pleasure of God (swt). This developmental point is essentially learning how to love properly and for the right reasons.

The fifth is someone who is called to fulfill their sexual desires in an unlawful way and resists. This is mentioned as a major trial that can afflict a person and as such the reward for passing it is Paradise. The person who is able to resist such a temptation is someone who has a strong control over their self and a clear awareness of God (swt). The developmental lesson is in learning to resist immediate temptations in favor of a greater reward with God (swt).

The sixth is someone who is so charitable that they lose track of their charity. The expression here is that their right hand spends so freely that their left hand does not even notice it. This habit is not about simply giving when it is convenient or only on certain things and not others. This is a habit that becomes so much a part of the person’s being that it reaches all causes of goodness. The developmental lesson is in making charity a way of life.

The seventh, and final, is the one who remembers God (swt) in private and tears up. This last one is very intimate. Many people are able to maintain a stable Islamic personality in public, but when they are left alone by themselves they start to slip. Their identity and worship are public affairs but have not reached the inner depths of the self where true spirituality lies. The one who remembers Allah (swt) when alone and cries is the one who has cultivated a truly special and unique relationship with their Creator; an intimate relationship that cannot be explained by words and is only obtained through long periods of struggling for His sake. The developmental goal is to become intimate with God (swt) and move past the superficiality of common religious discourse.

About the author

Jamaal Diwan

Jamaal Diwan

Jamaal Diwan was born and raised in Southern California and received a Bachelor’s Degree in Third World Studies and a minor in Psychology from the University of California, San Diego . He accepted Islam in 2003 and has been married to his wife, Muslema Purmul, since 2004. He has served with the Muslim Student Association (MSA), MSA West, and Muslim American Society (MAS) at varying capacities. He remains an active MAS member and is a scholarship student with the Islamic American University. Jamaal is a graduate of the Faculty of Shariah at al-Azhar University in Cairo and has done some graduate work in Islamic Studies from the Western academic perspective. He recently finished serving as the Resident Scholar at the Islamic Center of Irvine (ICOI).

15 Comments

  • Jazak Allah khair for this beatiful reminder.May Allah swt make us be amongst those people, whom He keeps under His shelter in this world and in the Day of judgment, ameen.

    • The day of judgement will be extremely hot. This is due to the sun’s distance for Earth. It is going to be very close and many people are ging to sweat. They’ll sweat so much that some of them will have sweat up to their ankles. Others to their hips or even neck. Some might be drowning in their sweat. Having Allah’s shade will save us from that.

    • Dear Sinner,

      As Salamu Alaikum. May Allah forgive you and all of us for our sins and guide you and all of us to the straight path and Jannah.

      With that being said, I would like to defend this website.

      I think this website is one of the best on the web in talking about sins we Muslims are struggling with in an open and frank manner. However, while acknowledging we are sinners, we also need roles models to aim for – that was the aim of this particular article.

      Some articles talking about sins and how to deal with them in a frank manner:

      The entire ‘How to achieve tranquility of the heart’ series by Jinan Yousef.

      Articles by Maryam Amirebrahimi including “5 ways to stop being judgmental” and “You’re haram”

      “Battling Temptation (Parts 1 and 2)”

      By Suhaib Webb himself: “The Night Before Eid: Substance Abuse in the Muslim Community”

      “Taking off the hijab”

      “Gay Muslims – the elephants in the prayer room”

      “Does God Exist” – about people who are doubting God

      There are many more, of course: these are just recent ones, or ones that have struck a chord with me.

  • I think there is a translation mistake in the following line: “two men who love each other for Allah’s sake, meeting for that and parting upon that; a man who is called by a woman of beauty and position”. Use of the word “woman” implies that the word “man” is always used in the sense of “male”. Would not it be better to say instead “two people who love each other”?

  • Beautiful reminder. Thank you for posting Jamaal. The seven personalities under the shade of Allah is something we should all try to emulate and strive for. It’s so important and detrimental to our well being in the next life. The day of judgement is true and without knowledge and learning you’ll always see it as a far of thing but it’s very, very frighteningly near. May Allah Sunhanallah TaAllah guide us in this life so we can escape the horrors of this tumultuous day which HE has described over and over again in his Glorious Quran. Is there anyone who will take heed?

  • I had a question I really need answered, if someone can please help me… perhaps Imam Suhaib himself?

    I wanted to ask, due to a failing in personal faith… Why would Allah create people He knew would end up in Jahannam forever, no matter what? The only logical explanation I can reach is that perhaps He intentionally created people to fail & suffer for eternity or that no one will stay in Hell eternally. I don’t know which other answer will suffice. Please help.

    Jazakallah khair.

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