Paradise and Hellfire were presented to me, and I have never seen anything like today in terms of good and evil. If you knew what I know, you would laugh little and weep much
Authenticعَنْ أَنَسِ بْنِ مَالِكٍ رضي الله عنه قَالَ: بَلَغَ رَسُولَ اللهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم عَنْ أَصْحَابِهِ شَيْءٌ، فَخَطَبَ فَقَالَ: «عُرِضَتْ عَلَيَّ الْجَنَّةُ وَالنَّارُ فَلَمْ أَرَ كَالْيَوْمِ فِي الْخَيْرِ وَالشَّرِّ، وَلَوْ تَعْلَمُونَ مَا أَعْلَمُ لَضَحِكْتُمْ قَلِيلًا وَلَبَكَيْتُمْ كَثِيرًا» قَالَ: فَمَا أَتَى عَلَى أَصْحَابِ رَسُولِ اللهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم يَوْمٌ أَشَدُّ مِنْهُ، قَالَ: غَطَّوْا رُءُوسَهُمْ وَلَهُمْ خَنِينٌ، قَالَ: فَقَامَ عُمَرُ فَقَالَ: رَضِينَا بِاللهِ رَبًّا، وَبِالْإِسْلَامِ دِينًا، وَبِمُحَمَّدٍ نَبِيًّا، قَالَ: فَقَامَ ذَاكَ الرَّجُلُ فَقَالَ: مَنْ أَبِي؟ قَالَ: «أَبُوكَ فُلَانٌ»، فَنَزَلَتْ: {يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لا تَسْأَلُوا عَنْ أَشْيَاءَ إِنْ تُبْدَ لَكُمْ تَسُؤْكُمْ} [المائدة: 101].
Anas ibn Mālik (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) was informed about something regarding his Companions, so he delivered a sermon and said: "Paradise and Hellfire were presented to me, and I have never seen anything like today in terms of good and evil. If you knew what I know, you would laugh little and weep much." He said: The Companions of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) did not experience a day more difficult than that. He said: They covered their heads and made sounds of grief. He said: Then ‘Umar stood up and said: We are pleased with Allah as a Lord, with Islam as a religion, and with Muhammad as a Prophet. He said: Then that man stood up and said: Who is my father? He said: "Your father is so-and-so." Then the following verse was revealed: {O you who believe, do not ask about things that, if they were made known to you, would only cause you hardship.} [Surat al-Mā’idah: 101]
Explanation
The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) was informed about something regarding his Companions, namely that they had been asking him too many questions, and he became upset and delivered a speech and said: Paradise and Hellfire were presented to me; I have never seen anything as good as what I saw today in Paradise, nor as evil as what I saw today in Hellfire. If you had seen what I saw and knew what I knew from what I saw today and before, you would have felt great compassion, and your laughter would have been few and your crying would have been abundant. Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) said: There was no day harder for his Companions than that day. They covered their heads, and there was a sound of weeping, with a nasal tone coming from their noses due to the intensity of their crying. ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) stood up and said: We are pleased with Allah as a Lord, with Islam as a religion, and with Muhammad as a Prophet. He said: Then that man stood up and said: Who is my father? He said: "Your father is so-and-so." Then the following verse was revealed: {O you who believe, do not ask about things which, if they are made known to you, would only cause you hardship.} [Surat al-Mā’idah: 101]
Benefits
- It is recommended to cry out of fear of Allah's punishment and not to laugh excessively, as it indicates heedlessness and a hard heart.
- The Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) were deeply affected by the sermon, and they were greatly fearful of Allah's punishment.
- It is recommended to cover the face when weeping.
- Al-Khattābi said: This Hadīth is about those who ask out of affectation or obstinacy in matters that are not necessary. As for those who ask due to necessity, such as a matter that one needs clarification on, there is no sin or blame upon it.
- The encouragement to remain steadfast in obeying Allah, to avoid His disobedience, and not violate His boundaries.
- It indicates the permissibility of anger during admonition and teaching.
Source · Agreed upon
From the Hadith Encyclopedia (hadeethenc.com).