...And Prison for the Believer?!


In Bukhari and Muslim Shareef etc. is the story of the messenger of Allah peace be upon Him's displeasure with the wives of His household. At that time, Umar, may Allah be pleased with Him is reported to have said: 'I went to the house of the Prophet peace be upon Him and found that His household consisted of three or four things. There were a few handfuls of barley and one or two untanned skins lying in one corner. Apart from these, there were one or two other similar items. The Prophet peace be upon Him was laying(?) on a mat of palm-tree leaves without any spread with which to cover His body, and there was nothing on the mat covering the roughness. The result was that the rough pattern of the mat left its imprints in His body. Seeing this (simplicity) I began crying bitterly. The Prophet peace be upon Him asked the reason for this weeping. I replied:

'O messenger of Allah! Why should I not cry when the marks of thr mat on which you lie have been imprinted on your holy body? And why should I not cry when the complete contents of your home consist of only this which I see now? Look at the condition of Rome and Persia! They do not worship Allah but look at their riches and wealth on the one side and your poverty on the other!

(Hadhrat Umar continues):
The Prophet peace be upon Him was at the time laying(?) with His head on a pillow, but hearing these words from me, sat upright and said:

'Are you still in doubt, 'O son of Khattab? They - the Romans and the Persians, are a people whose rewards for their good deeds have been granted to them in this world.'

In the Qur'an we are told: "And had it not been that (through love of wealth) all mankind would have become one nation (almost all non-believers), We would have appointed those who disbelieved in the Merciful One, roofs of silver over them for their houses and their stairs (of silver) whereby they ascend, and doors of silver for their houses and couches of silver whereon they recline and also ornaments of gold. Yet all that would have been only a provision for this world's life. And the (success) the Hereafter is only with your Lord for those who -guard against evil and fear Allah."

According to one Hadeeth, the messenger of Allah peace be upon Him said: "Allah Ta'alah says: 'Had it not been that the believers would have become distressed (and troubled on seeng the ease and comfort of others as compared to their sufferings) I would have bound the non-believers in iron cases (so that they feel no pain at all) and I would have freely granted the world to them." (Durr Manthoor)

Continued...