Ep 1 : What happens to you after you die?

So I wants you to think of yourself as a parent to your deeds. You produce them, you raise them and you
have all sorts of hope for them. The only thing is you don’t see them yet. Now just like a parent hopes that
if they live long enough, their worldly children will comfort them and benefit them when they get older,
we all hope that our hereafter children will comfort us and benefit us once we make that transition. The
question is –

 How many seeds have you produced?

 How many deeds have you raised?
 And what is it going to be like to meet them for the very first time?
Hatem ibn Asam Rahimahullah said – I looked at mankind and I noticed that everyone has something or
someone that they love, but once they die, that beloved person or thing leaves them. So, I decided to learn
to love my good deeds. So that I enter into my grave, they get to come with me.
The prophet salallahualahiwasallam said – the deceased is followed to his or her grave by three things.
His family, his wealth and his deeds. So, his family and his wealth turn back from the grave and they go
home. And his only companion that remains with him in his new home from now on is his collection of
deeds. And we know that Allah subhanuta’la says about the day of judgement – the day that wealth and
children are no longer of any benefits. From this point onwards deeds are going to be your comfort and
they are going to be your currency. And the prophet salallahualahiwasallam once asked the companions
“do you know what Allah meant when he said that those who turn away from my remembrance will have
a constricted life and will be raised up on the Day of Judgement blind?”
Now that constricted life is certainly across all realms, but here the prophet salallahualahiwasallam said
when they go to their grave, Allah places 99 dragons over that person and the prophet
salallahualahiwasallam went on to describe that every one of those dragons is like 70 serpents with seven
heads stinging him and manning him until the day of judgement.
May Allah subahanahu wa ta’la protect us. Allahumma ameen
It is at this point that your Hereafter children are going to come to your aid for the very first time. And
this is before the angels even come.
The prophet salallahualahiwasallam said that when the believer is placed into their grave and they hear
the final footsteps of their family leaving, the punishment comes and the punishment comes from the
above, your prayer stands up and it puts its hand up and says you will not pass through me. So, the prayer
guards your head.
And then the punishment comes to you from your right side and the prophet salallahualahiwasallam said
your siyam, your fasting rises and stands guard and says you will not pass through me.
And then to his left, his zakat stands and says you will not pass through me.
And then at his feet, his Sadaqah and silah, his goodness towards his family and then his community, his
voluntary charity, his truthfulness, his honesty, all of those things stand guard at the bottom and say you
will not pass through me.
And then it said to him “Sit up”..
And he sits up..
The prophet salallahualahiwasallam said that the sun is made to appear to him as if about to set, meaning
it is almost Maghrib, it is about to be Maghrib.
So the believers is accustomed to what?
You are accustomed to salah.. You are accustomed to prayer..
And if you wake up at an odd time, sort of disoriented, the first thing you worry about is “did I miss my
prayer?”
So this person says- “Let me pray..”
And the angels say – “you will get to do that but first you have to answer our questions –

 Who is your Lord?

 What is your religion?
 Who is your prophet?
Now the only way you are going to be able to answer who your Lord is if you used to worship him..
And the only way you are going to be able to answer what your religion is if you actually used to practice
it..
And the only way you are going to be able to answer who your prophet is (salallahualahiwasallam) if you
used to actually follow him..
And if you answer right, a voice cries out from the heavens and says “My slave has spoken the truth..”
And SubhanAllah, in one hadith the prophet salallahualahiwasallam says that those two angels that were
first frightening, they say to you after you answer the questions correctly, “you know, we knew you are
going to say that....we knew you are going to answer these questions right”
And then Allah subhanuwata’la calls out “supply him with the furnishing from jannah.. Clothe him from
the clothes of paradise... Open for him a gate to paradise... So that some of its fragrance come to him in
his grave...”
And then his grave is expanded for him as far as his eyes can see. And at that point, you are laying in the
clothes of jannah, with the window to jannah, and everything starts to feel like jannah... Starts to feel like
paradise..
Then this visitor comes to you and this visitor has this beautiful face, has these fine clothes and has these
pleasant scent and he says to you – “ Glad tidings of that which will bring you happiness... This is your
day which you were promised...”
And so the deceased says – who are you? That face of yours is only going to be a face that brings good
news”...
And that person’s respond to you and says – I am your good deeds..
Now, SubhanAllah imagine what your good deeds look like all in one person.. The beauty of that (bi
iznillah ta’ala) if you actually used to act upon that guidance from Allah... What does your Quran, your
prayer, your fasting, your charity all look like in the form of one person saying to you “ I am your good
deeds and I am here to give you good news”..
First your good deeds guarded you from your punishment. First they stood guard all around you. And
now, here they are bringing you good news. And from here on out, they are personified, and they are
going to be your greatest source of benefit and they are going to be your greatest source of good company
and there are many narrations about people that are categorically protected from the punishment of the
grave.
You have the shaheed, the martyr.. You have the one who dies of a stomach disease.. Or you have the one
who dies on the Day or night of Friday..
And then you have all these narrations about those are specifically punished in the grave due to their sins..
So you want to avoid those sins obviously..
Such as the slanderer or the one who is neglectful with their purification or the Adulterer or the one who
deals with riba, with usury and interest..
In any case everything you experience now is part of the lead up to the last day..
And the prophet salallahualahiwasallam said – when a person dies he’s shown his eventual place,
morning and evening.. And so if he is among the inhabitants of paradise, he has this window to his place
in paradise.. And he is constantly told this is where you are headed to... This is where you are going.. And
if he is amongst the people of the fire (may Allah protect us) he’s shown his place in the fire.. And he is
told this is where you are going.. And no matter what his situation is, he’s is shown one more place. And
he looks at this place and is told this is the place that you are going to be sent to on the Day of
Judgement.
So for the believer who has deeds with him as provision, he has got clothes from paradise, you have got
your window to paradise, when he sees his place on the Day of Judgement, he is not running away from
it.
In fact he is saying –
MY LORD ESTABLISHED THE HOUR..
MY LORD ESTABLISHED THE HOUR..
MY LORD ESTABLISHED THE HOUR...

Jazakum Allahu khairan..

***********

Ep:2 – When the trumpet sounds..

To ask Allah for a good ending is to live a good life and it is to seek a good beginning of the afterlife. The
believer does not necessarily focus on the realm that they are currently in. They worry about the
relationship they have with the creator of all realms. So he seeks a way in it and out of it that is pleasing
to Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala. But that request for a good ending has to be sincere and truthful. And it has
to speak to the way that you actually live your life.
The prophet salallahualahiwasallam told a man who is very specific about how he wanted to die shahid –
“Be truthful with Allah and he will be truthful with you”.
And we know how Umar RA was so specific when he asked Allah not just to die shahid but to die shahid
in Madina, which didn’t seem likely at that time. But Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala made it so that he would
be stabbed while leading salah in the masjid of the prophet salallahualahiwasallam in Madina.. And these
are not just distant stories of the past.
Sheikh Kishk Rahimahullah, who was a famous preacher in Egypt, he used to always make this Dua from
the mimbar – “O Allah allow me to live as an Imam. Allow me to die as an Imam. And resurrect me while
I am making sujood to you..”
And Allah subhanuta’la wa ta’ala granted him death in his sujood on a Friday. Imagine being resurrected
in sajdah or imagine being raised up on the Day of judgement saying words of Dhikr, words of
remembrance.
And there was this man who was doing hajj with the prophet salallahualahiwasallam and he fell off of his
riding animal and died while he was doing the talbiyah, while he was saying “labbayik allahumma
labbayik – here I come o Allah, here I come”.. And the prophet salallahualahiwasallam said – “leave him
in his ihram.. He will be raised on the Day of judgement saying labbayik Allahumma labbayik.. Here I
come o Allah, here I come..”
So the deed you die upon is the deed you are going to be raised with. And that deed should be a prominent
feature of your life..
Live the way you want to die..
Accompany here who you want to accompany there..
Built the home you want to live in there while you are still here..
And your very last moments here are your first moments there..
“The trumpet will be blown and all those in the heavens and all those on the earth will fall dead.. except
those Allah chooses to spare and then it will be blown again.. and they will rise up again, staring in
anticipation.. ”
The horn blows on the day of judgement and we are doing and saying exactly what we were when we
died.
And Allah subhanuwata’ala says – “the great shock is not going to frighten the believers and the angels
will greet them saying to them “this is your day which you have been promised..”...the same words that
were said to you in the grave... Your day that you have been promised...”
Now how soon do you meet your deeds in this realm?
The prophet salallahualahiwasallam said – when your grave is open, as soon as you look up, you see this
bright man and he is reaching out to you and he says – do you know who I am??
And you say – I don’t know who you are. I don’t recognise you...
And he says – I am your companion, the Quran.. The one who used to keep you thirsty during the day and
awake at night....everyone is out there seeking the profit of their trade and you are beyond every trade.
(Meaning you have already got everything that everyone could want...) .... And so, the dominion is placed
in your right hand and eternal life is placed in your left... And he has a crown of nobility placed on his
head..
Subhan Allah... This is as soon as you are getting out the grave..
Now, we will come back to the rest of this, because this is only the beginning for “the companion of the
Quran”..
Allah then says – and then everyone comes forth and there’s an angel that is taking you to your place and
another angel with your records that is walking alongside you.. And everyone is going to proceed
differently to Allah subhanahuwata’ala to the gathering...
The prophet salallahualahiwasallam said -You shall be gathered walking... Riding.. And some of you will
be dragged upon your faces..
As for those that are riding, that some of them are multiple people on one animal... So you have two,
three, four, up to ten on an animal....
And then you have some people that are noble enough that they have their own animal to ride.... And they
are not all moving at the same speed or pace.. They are not all the same animal..
And the prophet salallahualahiwasallam is telling us that it is in accordance with your righteousness.. The
speed is in accordance with how fast you were to the obedience of Allah subahanahu wa ta’la and your
good deeds in this life..
As for those that are walking on their faces, the companions ask the prophet salallahualahiwasallam –
“how is that even possible?”
You know you think about the scene of people walking on their faces and the prophet
salallahualahiwasallam said – “isn’t the one who made him walk on his feet in this world, able to make
him walk on his face in the next??.... It is Allah subahanahu wa ta’la who decides what you walk on and
how you walk”..
Then the prophet salallahualahiwasallam says – “The people are gathered on the Day of Resurrection on
this reddish white land, like a pure loaf of bread, meaning that this land has no landmarks to guide them
and it has no trees or anything to shade them. The everyone is gathered, naked, barefoot and
uncircumcised, the way that they were born..... and everyone only has their place in that gathering.
And Aisha Radiallahu ta’la Anha, she asked the prophet salallahualahiwasallam – aren’t people going to
be looking at each other?
And he (salallahualahiwasallam) said to Aisha RadiAllahu Anha – that everyone is too concerned with
their affair to be thinking about what other people are wearing or not wearing... Everyone is focused on
the matter at hand, the day of judgement, it is that severe for people that they can’t even notice their
nakedness....
And then prophet salallahualahiwasallam said – the sun is brought so near that you could reach out and
touch the sun.... And so everyone will be in their sweat in accordance with their deeds... Amongst them
are those that will be covered up to their ankles...and then amongst them are those who will be covered
upto their knees.... and amongst them are those who will be covered upto their waist.... and amongst them
are those who will be drowning in their sweats..”
SubhanAllah...
Now at this point, there are people who are also being consumed by the land. And that is tied to a very
specific sin – “the sin of wrongfully taking the land of someone else in this world...”
The prophet salallahualahiwasallam said – “those people will literally sink down the seven layers of land
on the Day of judgement.”
And there is this one who is burdened by the property that they didn’t pay zakat on..
And the prophet salallahualahiwasallam said – “that property is heated and placed on their body....”
And then there is the unlawfully consumed wealth and that also is a burden on the person on the Day of
judgement ..
So you are being weighed down by your sins of confiscation and you are drowning in your sins of
disobedience to Allah subahanahu wa ta’la.
The opposite of that is the person who voluntarily gave of their wealth and property EXTRA for the sake
of Allah subahanahu wa ta’la.... And for that person, Allah subahanahu wa ta’la puts shade over them
from the sun.
The prophet salallahualahiwasallam said – “That everyone is under the shade of their charity until Allah
subahanahu wa ta’la judges between the people...”
Now this is not referencing the shade of the throne of Allah Subhanahu wa ta’la, but it is the shade of
your spending for his sake... Only a select few have the shade of his throne but every believer has the
shade of their charity and hopefully not the sinking of their theft that we see in the previous situation.
So, as you are standing there on that day –
You have the Quran as your companion..
You have the charity as your shade..
And you await the arrival of your Lord..
And the next stage of that day that is equivalent to 50,000 years...
End of EP-2
Jazakum Allahu khairan...
*****

EP – 3 : Clothing of Honor or Humiliation..

Clothes serve the obvious function of covering your body. But they also sometimes speak to distinction
and rank. And most of the distinctions in this world are pretentious and speak to all sorts of false ideals
and constructs of superiority... And that’s why there is the saying that – “expensive clothing is a poor
man’s attempt to appear prosperous...”
And then, of course you have the way that clothes have historically been used to define cases in society...
And that’s why in Hajj, the ihram is a means of removing distinction and equalizing all people before
Allah subhanahu wa ta’la. So you have all these people, in the same place, calling out to Allah but their
ranks are ideally supposed to be completely unknown to all, but Allah subhanahu wa ta’la.
So on the Day of judgement, what are our clothes sewn by?
They are sewn by our deeds... And our distinction is made clear solely on the basis of our deeds.
And this deeper meaning of clothes in the Quran is on multiple places. So for example, when Allah
subhanahu wa ta’la says – “The clothe of piety” or “purify your garment” which many of the scholars
said – it means “your deeds”...
Or how Allah subhanahu wa ta’la describes the spouse as a garment to the spouse and that they conceal
and they beautify...
So the needles with which you sow your garment in the hereafter are the days and hours passing by in this
world.... And the garment that you have in the hereafter is the culmination of that lifetime of sewing your
garment....
And for some, they are going to show up on the Day of judgement and find no garment of good for them
and Umm Salama RadiAllahu ta’la anha describes this .... She says – “one night I saw the prophet
salallahualahiwasallam and he kept on saying – how many people are well dressed in this life, only to be
completely naked on the Day of Resurrection...”
In an authentic narration Abu Sa’id Al khudri Radiallahu Anhu, he says - “I heard the messenger of Allah
salallahualahiwasallam, say :that the dead person will be resurrected in the clothes in which he dies...”
But of course we know the narration that is more popular and widely reported and authentic that people
are naked on the Day of judgement....
Some scholar said that this is ‘at some point on the Day of judgement’ meaning you first show up out of
your grave with the clothes that you had at death, and then they are taken away... Others said that this
refers to the “kafan” that separates the believers from the disbelievers... And some said this is refers to
your deeds.
In any case, we have sufficient evidence to say that the priority and choice of clothing on the Day of
judgement is based upon righteousness and it specifically surrounds this notion of honour... And honour
is through two ways –

 through personal piety

 And then it is through honouring others, your brother and sisters.
Now the first person the prophet salallahualahiwasallam told us is going to be dressed on the Day of
judgement is our father Ibrahim alahisalam... And the scholars say that is not just because he was
constant in praying for honor on the Day of judgement, but it is because of the humiliation of when he
was stripped in front of the people and thrown into a fire..
So look how Allah Subhanahu wa ta’la makes it up to him... He is brought forth in front of all of the
people on the Day of judgement, just as he was brought forth in front of his people in this life... But this
time he has given the special garment that is reserved for him while everybody else is waiting for their
turn...
Now at that point, you have those who sought honour in this life through pretentious clothing and for
them the prophet salallahualahiwasallam said – “that whoever wears a pretentious garment in this life
will have a garment of humiliation on the Day of judgement”....
The prophet salallahualahiwasallam said in another narration on the other hand – “whoever gives up fine
clothes due to humility for the sake of Allah Subhanahu wa ta’la even though he is able to wear
them...Allah will call him on the Day of judgement in front of all creation that he may choose any
garments of faith that he desires to wear”...
Now, wait a minute, Does this mean that wearing nice clothes if you can afford them, is a problem?
No...
Because the prophet salallahualahiwasallam said – “Allah likes to see his blessing on the one who he has
bestowed it upon”.... But this referring to clothes that are extravagant and corrupt the person or corrupt
the society with false standards..
So, the scholars say first and foremost clothes that are haram like silk for men and the prophet
salallahualahiwasallam said – “whoever wears silk in this life will not wear it in the next...”
Then you have clothes that people can not afford. So it makes them feel bad and it sets a bad trend in
society.... Then you have clothes that are worn to show off... So the permissible pure and modest, even if
nice, is what is preferable...
Now, beyond that, remember the Quran and sadaqa being your companion and shade... They continue to
bear their blessings here when it comes to your clothing...
Firstly, you have with the Quran....
The prophet salallahualahiwasallam said – “the Quran comes and it says to its companion : Ohh lord,
decorate him...”
So he has then clothed with the crown of nobility...
And then The Quran continuous to say – “ Ohh my lord, give him more.”... And so he has clothed with a
suit of nobility”..
So then it says – “Ohhh my lord, Be pleased with him...” And so Allah Subhanahu wa ta’la will be
pleased with him and he will say – “Recite and rise up... Be increased in honour for every single verse”...
But It doesn’t just stop with that companion of Quran... The prophet salallahualahiwasallam said – “ his
parents are then dressed with these two beautiful garments and they are unmatched in beauty by anything
in this world...”
So they say – “ohhh our lord, for what reason we’re we given this garments?”...
And it is said to them – “by your child’s memorization of the Quran”...
So that’s the honor of the Quran which we are still not finished with on this day..
As for the charity, remember that charity is of multiple types.
So the prophet salallahualahiwasallam said – “That no believer consoles his brother at the time of
calamity, except that Allah Subhanahu wa ta’la will dress him with noble garments on the Day of
Resurrection”....
But my favourite narration in this regard is another one that shows you how Allah Subhanahu wa ta’la
will always outdo the kindness that you show to your brother or sister..
And it is a narration from Abu Sa’eed RadiAllahu Anhu he says that the prophet salallahualahiwasallam
said – “and whenever a believer clothes a naked believer, Allah will clothe him on the Day of judgement
from the green garments of paradise.”
So the clothes of honour on that day are for those who honour themselves with good deeds... And it
is also for those specifically who honor their brothers and sisters by clothing them when they are in
need....
End of EP - 3...

Jazakum Allahu khairan

**********

EP 4: You will be with those whom you love..

In this life, if you surround yourself with people of certain traits, it is impossible for that not to translate
into some observable way in your own traits. A good friend is going to rub off on you in a way that your
character is so obviously made better by their companionship... And a bad friend is going to cause you to
reek in this life in a way that everyone can smell it on you and will feel an aversion to you, unless they
have those exact same rotten qualities..
And so, on the Day of judgement, the people you are going to find standing around you are the people
you surround yourself with here.. Or those that you loved and longed for even if you weren’t able to
physically accompany them...
So ask yourself – “are these the people I want to see around me when I am resurrected??”
Make that part of the criteria for your friend selection... As the prophet salallahualahiwasallam said – “
No one loves the people except that they are going to be resurrected with them... And when paradise is
brought near and hellfire is brought near, you want to be standing with and resembling the people of
paradise not the people of the fire...”...
The prophet salallahualahiwasallam said – “ Hellfire is brought forth on that day with 70,000 bridles and
70000 angels are on each one of those bridles dragging it forward”...
Now if you do the math, that is 4.9 billion angels dragging hellfire while it is roaring and ready to
consume the wicked..
 - “ And then you look and you see Jibreel Alahissalam and all of the angels lined up in rows.. And
none of them are saying a word.. And you see every nation is brought to its knees and its records
are brought forth... Today you will be compensated for what you used to do...”
So whole Jahannam is roaring and ready to consume the wicked (May Allah protect us), Allah azzawazal
then says – “ paradise is brought close to the righteous, it is no longer distant.... This is what you were
promised, for whoever constantly turned to Allah and kept up his commandments, those who were in awe
of the Most Merciful even when they couldn’t see him, and they have now returned to him with pure
hearts...”
So if you notice there are five traits for those people to whom jahannam is brought near..

 Number 1 – They are Muttaqeen..