Praise be to Allah, and His blessings and peacefulness be upon the noblest of all the messengers, his family, companions and wives; the mothers of the believers..

Verily, Allah-SWT- made the Paradise (Aj-Jan-nah) for those who obey Him, and graded it into ranks, and He made Hellfire (An-Nar) for those who disobey Him, and graded it into bottoms/descending steps, that start with Jahan-nam and descend to Laza (Blaze), then Sak-kar, then Al-Hutamah, then Al-Ha-wyiah (Abyss), then An-Nar Al-Kubra (Grand Hellfire), etc. The Paradises (AL-Jannat) include Jan-nat Al-Ma-wa, and ascend to Jan-nat an-Na’im, then Jan-nat Al-Firdaous, etc, until the highest paradise that’s called the “Station of Praise” or (Al-Maqam Al-Mahmoud) and made a symbolic dowry (Mahr) paid by whoever aspire to enter it. One can not enter this Station by any good deeds, because it is exclusive for Allah’s Messenger –SAAW. When Allah’s Messenger was asked about this Station he said: “It’s a paradise that’s exclusive for one of Allah’s servants, and I hope to be that servant.”  The Station of Praise has a symbolic dowry (Mahr) which is evident from the verse where Allah tells the noble Messenger, “Wa Mina-Layil-li Fatahaj-jad Bihi Nafilat-an Laka A’sa An Yaba’thaka Rab-buka maqam-an mahmoud-an” which can be translated as (And pray in the small watches of the morning –it would be-an additional prayer for you: soon will your lord raise you to a Station of Praise and Glory). This verse is a proof that Allah –SWT- loves the Messenger –SAAW- because He loves the servant who draws near to Him by doing supererogatory acts of worship (Nawafil).

It’s narrated in Hadeeth Qudsi “My servant draws not near to Me with anything more loved by Me than the religious duties I have enjoined upon him, and My servant continues to draw near to Me with supererogatory works so that I shall love him. When I love him I am his hearing with which he hears, his seeing with which he sees, his hand with which he strikes and his foot with which he walks. Were he to ask [something] of Me, I would surely give it to him, and were he to ask Me for refuge, I would surely grant him it…” This shows clearly that to draw near to Allah by doing Nawafil (supererogatory work) –which are the shadow of Duties (Fraid)- leads to Allah’s love for the servant.

Dear noble reader, do you realize, as I do, that the prophet’s saying in the well known Hadeeth, “Al-Husain is from me, and I am from Al-Husain, Allah loves whoever loves Husain-an…”, makes us realize a relation between Allah’s love for a servant through doing Nawafil, and Allah’s love through the servant’s love to Maulana Al-Husain and his progeny. If love of Rasul Allah –SAAW- is a definite Duty (Fard), then how high is the rank of loving the Nafilah of “his household”???
If the answer is not obvious to you, then listen with me to Imam Shafa’i –RAA-: “O’ family of Rasul-Allah , to love you is a duty from Allah revealed in the Quran….It suffices you as a magnificent honor that whoever does not say the blessings upon you (in his prayer); his prayer is void”

But, there is no power or might except with Allah.

The Editor : For original Arabic text see Al-Behira Wal-Akalim journal issue # 213

Filed under: Let It Be Good, O' Allah on October 3rd, 2011