Dear brothers and sisters,

As mentioned in the last khutbah

about paradise and what
Allah(azw) has prepared for the
believer from flowing rivers,
castles and everything else that he
never thought of or crossed his
mind in this dunya. It is truly the
ever-lasting bliss and the eternal
life. Brothers and sisters, these
bounties from Allah are dearer
and deserves sacrifice and
steadfastness on this religion. As
Allah (SWT) compared it to a
successful transaction in the
Quran:
Indeed, Allah has purchased from the
believers their lives and their properties [in
exchange] for that they will have Paradise.
They fight in the cause of Allah, so they kill
and are killed. [It is] a true promise [binding]
upon Him in the Torah and the Gospel and
the Qur’an. And who is truer to his
covenant than Allah? So, rejoice in your
transaction which you have contracted. And
it is that which is the great attainment.
(9:111)
And like in any transaction, there are some
terms and conditions that Allah (SWT) has
set for the believers to attain his Jannah. As
Allah mentions in the Quran:
Or do you think that you will enter Paradise
while Allah has not yet made evident those
of you who fight in His cause and made
evident those who are steadfast? (2:142)
Dear brothers & Sisters, you should know that
Jannah is not free of charge. No one can enter
it without being tested. Allah Almighty
surrounded it by adversities and tests to see
who is committed enough and sincere enough
to reach the finish line.
If Allah Almighty wanted it could have been a
smooth ride to Jannah; He could have made it
easy to access, but He wants us to see our
own qualities, work on them and improve
them.
Anas ibn Malik reported that the prophet (saw)
said:
Paradise is surrounded by hardships and the Hell-
Fire is surrounded by temptations. (Muslim).
And in another narration of Al Bukhari :
Abu Hurairah narrated that Allah’s Messenger (
‫ )ﷺ‬said:
The (Hell) Fire is surrounded (hujibat) by all kinds
of desires and passions, while Paradise is
surrounded by all kinds of disliked undesirable
things. (Bukhari)

This hadiths emphasises on the hadith qudusi which

was compiled by abu Dawod, an-Nasa'i (in his Sunan)
and at-Trimidhi (in his Jami'):
When Allah created Paradise and Hell-fire, He sent
Gabriel to Paradise, saying: Look at it and at what I
have prepared therein for its inhabitants. The Prophet
(pbuh) said: So he came to it and looked at it and at
what Allah had prepared therein for its inhabitants.
The Prophet (pbuh) said: So he returned to Him and
said: By your glory, no one hears of it without entering
it. So He ordered that it be encompassed by forms of
hardship, and He said: Return to it and look at what I
have prepared therein for its inhabitants. The Prophet
(pbuh) said: So he returned to it and found that it was
encompassed by forms of hardship (1). Then he
returned to Him and said: By Your glory, I fear that no
one will enter it.
He said: Go to Hell-fire and look at it and what I have
prepared therein for its inhabitants, and he found that
it was in layers, one above the other. Then he returned
to Him and said: By Your glory, no one who hears of it
will enter it. So He ordered that it be encompassed by
forms of desires. Then He said: Return to it. And he
returned to it and said: By Your glory, I am frightened
that no one will escape from entering it.
So Brothers & Sisters , as we gather from these
Hadiths, Jannah is surrounded by hardships and Every
day we face obstacles to overcome and tests to
get through. This is why we have to be prepared
on our journey.
 Performing our Salahs on time and keeping up

with it it’s one of the hardships we face

especially at Fajr and ISHA times, as it’s
mentioned in a hadith, “ the two prayers that
are a burden on a hypocrite, isha prayer and
Fajr prayer, if they know the reward of these
two prayers they will attend them even by
crawling “.
 Spending in the sake of Allah is another test

for our attachement to this dounia, Although

the hadith of the prophet makes it clear “ No
wealth will ever decrease from giving charity”.
 Bringing up our children according to the

teaching of islam is another challenge to win a

place in Jannah.
And enjoin prayer upon your family [and
people] and be steadfast therein. We ask
you not for provision; We provide for you,
 and the [best] outcome is for [those of]
righteousness.
 Making halal earning despite the
temptation of Riba and illegal way of
making profit by cheating and deceiving
people is another hurdle to overcome to
earn Jannah.
We finally ask Allah (Azw) to grant us
Jannah and any good deed that make us
close to it and to keep us safe from hell
fire and any wrong doing that make us
close to it.
Allahoma Ameen wa sale Allahoma aala
nabeyena Mohamed.