The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him,
once prayed Fajr with his companions.
And then he reaches his hand out,
SallAllahu 'alaihi wasallam,
as if he's trying to pluck something.
And he was smiling and then he retreated his hand,
sallAllahu 'alayhi wa sallam.
And the companion said to the messenger of Allah,
sallAllahu 'alaihi wasallam,
"We saw you do something today
that we've never seen you do before.
It was as if you put your hand out
and you were trying to pluck something
and then you suddenly pulled your hand back."
And he said, sallAllahu 'alaihi wa sallam,
"Inni ra'aytul jannah, fatanawaltu minha 'unqooda
wa law akhath-tuhu, la akaltum minhu ma baqiyat edduniya."
He said, sallAllahu 'alaihi wa sallam, that
"I just saw Paradise,
I saw Jannah and I saw a bunch of grapes
and if I was able to pluck those grapes,
you would've eaten from those grapes
until the end of the world."
And then the Prophet, sallAllahu 'alaihi wa sallam, said,
"Then I saw Hellfire.
And so I pulled my hand back from it."
Imagine if we could see Paradise
and Hellfire right now in front of us,
how different would we be?
But it's not about seeing it, it's about perceiving it.
The Prophet, sallAllahu 'alaihi wa sallam, said,
"Al jannatu aqrabu ila ahadikum min shiraki na'lihi
wa-nnaru mithlu thalik."
That "Jannah is nearer to you than your shoelaces
and so is the Hellfire."
Jannah is right in front of you,
but if you don't spiritually step into it right now
then its gates might shut and never open for you again.
(religious solemn music)
The Prophet, sallAllahu 'alaihi wa sallam, said,
"Lamma khalaqAllahu-l-jannah, qala li Jibreel:
'ith-hab fanthur ilayha'."
"In the very first moments that Allah created Paradise,
He called forth the angel Jibreel
and He said to him, "Go look at Jannah,
and see what I've prepared for its people."
So Jibreel, 'alayhi-salaam,
goes and he sees what Allah has prepared for its people.
Paradise in all of its glory,
fresh, for the very first time.
And he comes back to Allah, Subh'anahu Wa Ta-A'la,
and he says, "Ay rabbi, wa 'izzatika,
la yasmaa'u biha ahadun illa dakhalaha."
"By your might, O my Lord,
no one is going to hear about this place
except that they're going to enter into it."
Meaning when people know about how amazing this Jannah is,
everyone's going to go to Jannah.
But then Allah, Subh'anahu Wa Ta-A'la,
filled the path to Jannah with all sorts of hardships.
And He told Jibreel, 'alayhi-salaam, "Go look at it again."
And Jibreel, 'alayhi-salaam, comes back to Allah
And he says, "O my Lord, now I'm afraid
that no one's going to enter into it."
Then Allah said, "Go look at Hellfire
and see what I've prepared for its people."
So Jibreel, 'alayhi-salaam,
comes back to Allah and he says,
"By your might, O my Lord,
no one is going to hear about this place of Hellfire
and enter into it.
Once they know it exists,
they're going to do everything they can
to stay away from it."
Then Allah says, "Go look at it again."
And Allah, Subh'anahu Wa Ta-A'la, filled the path to
Hellfire
with desires and ease.
And Jibreel, 'alayhi-ssalaam,
came back to Allah, Subh'anahu Wa Ta-A'la,
and said, "O my Lord,
now I'm afraid that no one is going to be able to avoid it."
Then Allah, Subh'anahu Wa Ta-A'la, says to Jannah,
"Speak O Jannah."
And Jannah says, "Qad aflahal-mu'minun."
"The believers have succeeded!"
And Jibreel,'alayhi-ssalaam, and the angels
respond to Paradise and they say,
"Tooba laki manzil-ul-mulook"
"Blessed are you the home of kings."
But these aren't worldly kings.
Believers become kings and queens
by being sincere servants of Allah, Subh'anahu Wa Ta-A'la.
And the Prophet, sallAllahu 'alaihi wa sallam, said that,
"One time,
Paradise and Hellfire actually had an argument
and Paradise said,
"Mali, la yadkhuluni illa du'aafa'-un-nass
wa saqatuhum?"
"My Lord, why is it that it seems
like only the weak and the downtrodden enter into me?"
And Hellfire said, "My Lord, why is it
that it's only al-mutakabbireen wal mutajabbireen,
the arrogant and the proud that enter into me?"
And Allah, Subh'anahu Wa Ta-A'la, says to Jannah,
"Anti rahmati, arhamu biki man asha'u min 'ibadi."
"You, O Jannah are my mercy. I will show it to whomever
I wish through you."
And then Allah, Subh'anahu Wa Ta-A'la, says to Hellfire,
"And you, O Hellfire, are my punishment.
I will punish through you whoever I wish."
And now they both eagerly await.
And when you make du'aa
in regards to either of them, both of them respond.
The Prophet, sallAllahu 'alaihi wa sallam, said,
"Ma min yawm illa wal jannatu wan-nar yas'alan."
That "There is no day that passes,
except that Paradise and Hellfire ask Allah,
Subh'anahu Wa Ta-A'la, about their people."
And Jannah says, "Ya Rabb, qad tabat thamarati,
wat-taradat anhari, wa shtaqtu ila awliya'i,
'ajjil ilayya bi ahli."
"O my Lord, my fruits are ripe, my rivers are flowing,
I can't wait to see my friends.
Bring my people quickly to me."
And Hellfire says, "Oh my Lord,
my heat has become intense, my depth has gotten deeper
and my flames are bursting with fury.
So bring my people quickly to me!"
May Allah, Subh'anahu Wa Ta-A'la,
make us from the people of Paradise.
SubhanAllah,
look at Allah's mercy.
While both Paradise and Hellfire speak,
both of them wish well for the believers.
They both wish well for the righteous.
The Prophet, sallAllahu 'alaihi wa sallam, said
that, "No believer asks Allah, Subh'anahu Wa Ta-A'la,
for Paradise three times except that Paradise responds
and says, "Allhumma adkhilhu-l-jannah."
"O Allah, admit him into Paradise!"
And no believer seeks refuge from Hellfire three times
except that Hellfire says, "Allahumma ajirhu minan naar."
"O Allah, give him refuge from the fire."
So they both want good for you
but Jannah is the one that's getting ready for you.
And in general, Ka'ab radiAllahu ta'ala 'anhu said,
"Every time Allah, Subh'anahu Wa Ta-A'la, looks at Jannah,
Allah says to it, "Teebi li ahlik."
"Beautify yourself for your people!"
And it continues to increase in its beauty every single time
until its people enter into it.
And guess what?
Jannah loves Ramadan too.
It's its favorite season.
The Prophet, sallAllahu 'alaihi wa sallam, said,
"Itha dakhala Ramadan, futtihat abwabu-l jannah
wa ghulliqat abwabu-n naar wa suffidat ash-shayateen."
That "When the month of Ramadan comes,
the gates of Paradise are flung open
and the gates of Hellfire are shut,
and the devils are put into chains.
And there is not a night of this blessed month
except that the gates of Paradise are flung wider
and Allah, Subh'anahu Wa Ta-A'la,
beautifies your Jannah even more."
And it can't wait to receive you.
But how eager are you to receive it?
The Prophet, sallAllahu 'alaihi wa sallam, said,
"Ya qawm, utlubu-l jannata jahdakum
wa-hrubu min an-naari jahdakum."
"O people! Seek Paradise as much as you can
and run away from Hellfire as much as you can."
"Fa inna-l jannata la yanamu talibuha
wa inna-n-naara la yanamu haribuha."
"The seeker of Paradise does not sleep
nor does the fleer of the fire.
And he said, sallAllahu 'alaihi wa sallam,
"But the Hereafter is surrounded with difficulties.
And this world is full of pleasures.
But if you knew the pleasures of Paradise,
what pleasure or pain in this world
would interfere with your pursuit of Jannah?"
Remember the Prophet, sallAllahu 'alaihi wasallam,
reaching out to grab that bunch of grapes.
Imagine if you were like Asiya, 'alayha-salaam,
when she looked up
and she saw her entire palace in Paradise.
At that point, not even the most brutal torturer, Fir'awn,
could steal her smile.
But before you see it there, you have to feel it here,
and you have to strive for it
with every fiber of your being.
Captioning provided by MUHSEN (www.muhsen.org)