The Hadīth of Abu Sa‘īd depicts some of the scenes of the Day of Judgment, when the believers see Allah, Blessed and Exalted; the "Sirāt" (bridge over Hell), taking anyone in whose heart there is an atom weight of faith out of the Fire, and the intercession

Explanation

Some of the Companions asked the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) if they will see their Lord on the Day of Judgment. He answered in the affirmative, saying that they will see their Lord just as they see the sun at noon and the moon in the full moonlit night, without crowding or competing for it. The similarity drawn here is related to the clarity of vision and the removal of doubt and difficulty. It is a similarity of clear vision in both cases, not of the seen objects. This sight of Allah is different from the sight of Him in Paradise, which is particular to the allies of Allah as an honor for them. The sight of Him in this Hadīth distinguishes between those who worshiped Allah and those who worshiped other deities. Then the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said that on the Day of Judgment, a proclaimer will proclaim: "Whoever worshiped other than Allah, let him follow what he worshiped." Another authentic narration says that Allah, the Almighty, is the One Who proclaims. Hence, all those who worshiped idols and stones would be gathered and thrown in the fire of Hell until only those who worshiped Allah remain, both the righteous and the sinful thereof, as well as some remnants of the Jews and the Christians, for most of them will have gone along with their idols to Hell. Hell will be presented to the people in that situation as if it is a mirage. Then the Jews will be summoned, and it will be said to them: "What did you worship?" They will say: "We worshiped ‘Uzayr, the son of Allah." It will be said to them: "You tell a lie; Allah never had a spouse or a son. What do you want now?" They will say: "We want to drink." Their primary request will be water because the successive terrors on that day will have made them extremely thirsty. Hell will seem to be water to them, so they will be told to go and drink from what they see as water. Thus, they will go, only to find that it is Hell with its raging parts, which will be consuming one another, and they will fall into it. The same will happen to the Christians after them, until no one is left except those who worshiped Allah, be they pious or sinful. It will be said to them: "Why are you still here while everyone else has gone?" They will say: "We kept ourselves separate from the people in the world though we were in great need of them because they disobeyed Allah and went against His command. So we did not associate ourselves with them, hating them for the sake of Allah and giving precedence to obeying our Lord. We now await our Lord, Whom we used to worship in our worldly life." Allah, the Almighty, will come to them in a form other than the one they saw the first time. This is an explicit indication that they had seen Him in a form that was recognizable to them before this time. It is invalid to interpret this scene differently; rather, it must be accepted without asking 'How?' or drawing analogies or distorting or negating it. When Allah, the Almighty, comes to them, He will say: "I am your Lord." They will joyfully say: "You are our Lord." Then only the prophets will speak to Him. He will say: "Is there a sign between you and Him by which you recognize Him?" They will say: "The Shin." So He will reveal His Shin, and the believers will recognize Him and fall in prostration before Him. The hypocrites, however, who used to prostrate out of ostentation, will be prevented from prostrating. Their backs will be like one stiff layer, unable to bow or prostrate. That is because they did not prostrate to Allah in the worldly life; rather, they prostrated to serve their worldly purposes. This scene establishes that Allah, the Almighty, has a Shin as one of His Attributes. Thus, this Hadīth and similar ones interpret the noble verse: {The Day the Shin will be uncovered and they are invited to prostration but they will not be able to do so} [Sūrat al-Qalam: 42]. To interpret 'Shin' in this context as 'severe affliction' or 'distress' is an outweighed interpretation. In any case, the Attribute of the 'Shin' is established for Allah, the Almighty, from the Sunnah. The preponderant view is that the verse indicates the Attribute, without asking "How?" or drawing analogies or distorting or negating. Then the Sirāt will be set up over Hell. It is slippery, feet cannot stand firm on it, with hooks to seize some of the passers on the Sirāt and thick flat thorns. The people will then pass over the Sirāt according to their faith and deeds. Those of perfect faith and good deeds that were sincere to Allah will pass like the twinkling of an eye, others will pass like lightning, like wind, etc. Those who pass over the Sirāt will be of four categories: The first: Those who will be saved and safe from harm. They pass at different speeds, as mentioned above. The second: Those who will be saved but will sustain scratches from the hooks or lacerations from the flames of Hell. The third: Those who will be cast into Hell, forcefully thrown into it. The fourth: Those who will be dragged on the Sirāt because they did not have enough good deeds to carry them over it. Then the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "There will be none among you more eager to claim a right from me than the believers on the Day of Judgment from their Lord, the Almighty." This is part of the mercy and generosity of Allah, as He permits His believing slaves to implore Him to pardon their brethren who were thrown in Hell because of the sins that they defied their Lord with. He will inspire the believers who were saved from the torment of the Fire and the terrors of the Sirāt to implore Him and intercede with Him for those sinning slaves. This is indeed an aspect of His mercy, exalted be He. They will say: "O our Lord, they were our brethren who prayed with us, fasted with us, and did good deeds with us." This indicates that those who do not pray with the Muslims nor fast with them are not entitled to the intercession of the believers with their Lord on their behalf. It also indicates that those whom the believers interceded for were also believers who worshiped Allah alone. They used to pray and fast, but they committed some sins which entailed entering Hell. This is a refutation of two deviant sects: the Kharijites and the Mu‘tazilites, who claim that whoever enters Hell never comes out of it and that the person who commits a major sin will remain eternally in Hell. Allah, the Almighty, will say to the believers: "Go and take out (of Hell) anyone in whose heart you find faith equal to the weight of a dinar (a gold coin)." And Allah will forbid the Fire to burn the faces of those sinners. They will go and find that some of them will have been overtaken by fire up to their feet, and some up to the middle of the shank or up to the knees. They will take out those whom they recognize. Then they will return and implore Allah again. He will say: "Go and take out anyone in whose heart you find faith equal to the weight of half a dinar." They will take out those whom they recognize. Then they will return and implore Allah again. He will say: "Go and take out anyone in whose heart you find faith equal to the weight of an atom." They will take out those whom they recognize. At this point, Abu Sa‘īd al-Khudri said: "If you do not believe me, then recite (the noble verse): {Surely Allah wrongs not the weight of an atom; and if it is a good deed, He multiplies it.} [Sūrat An-Nisā': 40]" The fact that Abu Sa‘īd used this verse as evidence is clear proof that if the slave had an atom’s weight of faith in his heart, Allah will multiply it for him and thus save him from the torment thereby. Then he said: "The prophets, the angels, and the believers will intercede." This is explicit proof that these three categories will be granted permission to intercede. However, it must be noted that any intercession from anyone does not take place except after Allah, the Almighty, permits it, as proved by their imploring their Lord, upon which He gives them permission and says: "Go and take out anyone you find…" He said: "Then the Almighty will say: 'Now remains My Intercession.' He will then hold a handful of the Fire, from which He will take out some people whose bodies have been charred." The intercession of Allah, the Almighty, means bestowing His Mercy upon those tormented slaves, so He takes them out of the Fire. The statement: "He will then hold a handful," establishes that Allah, the Almighty, has a grip with which He holds a handful. There are several texts in the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger that establish the attributes of the 'Hand' and 'Grip' for Allah, the Almighty. However, the advocates of distorted, flawed interpretations refuse to accept these attributes and do not believe in them. They shall soon know that the truth is what Allah said and what His Messenger said: and they will realize that they had gone astray in this regard. Allah, the Almighty, will hold a handful of the Fire from which He will take out some people whose bodies have been charred. They will then be cast into a river called the water of life on the outskirts of Paradise. Upon that, their flesh and bones and vision that were burnt by the fire will grow again near that river just as a seed grows from the silt carried by flood water. "You have noticed how it grows beside a rock or beside a tree and how the side facing the sun is green while the side facing the shade is white." This means that their flesh will grow swiftly, because the seed carried by the torrent germinates quite fast. "The side facing the shade is white while the side facing the sun is green" due to its fragility and tenderness. This simile does not necessarily mean that those people will grow with those colors, as some interpreters said: "The side facing Paradise will be white, while the side facing Hell will be green." Rather, the simile is intended to resemble them to said plant in the swiftness of its growth and its fragility. Therefore, he said that they will come out (of the water of life) like pearls in the purity and beauty of their skin. "And they will have seals on their necks" on which it is written: The ones emancipated from Hell by the Most Merciful. "Then they will enter Paradise, whereupon the people of Paradise will say: 'These are the people emancipated by the Most Merciful. He has admitted them into Paradise without them having done any good deeds and without sending forth any good (for themselves).'" This means that though they did not do good deeds in worldly life, they do have the fundamental basis of faith, which consists of testifying that there is no god but Allah and believing in their Messenger. "Then it will be said to them: 'For you is what you have seen and its equivalent as well.'" Apparently, they will enter vacant places in Paradise; hence, this was said to them.