الحيي
كلمة (الحيي ّ) في اللغة صفة على وزن (فعيل) وهو من الاستحياء الذي...
Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: We were in the company of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) at a banquet and a (cooked mutton) forearm was set before him, as he used to like it. He ate a piece of it and said: "I will be the chief of people on the Day of Judgment. Do you know why is this so? Allah will gather all mankind in one plain where an observer will be able to see (all of) them, and they will be able to hear the announcer, and the sun will come near to them. People will go through unbearable anguish and grief. They will say: 'Do you not see the (miserable) condition you are in and the state you have reached? Why do you not look for someone who can intercede for you with your Lord?' Some people will say to others: 'Go to your father, Adam.' They will go to him and say: 'O Adam, you are the father of mankind. Allah created you with His own Hands, ordered the angels to prostrate before you, and made you live in Paradise. Will you not intercede for us with your Lord? Do you not see our (miserable) state and condition?' Adam will reply: 'My Lord is so angry as He has never been before and will never be in the future. He forbade me (from eating from) the tree, but I disobeyed (Him). Myself, myself, myself. Go to somebody else; go to Nūh.' They will go to Nūh and say: 'O Nūh, you are the first messenger of Allah to the people of earth, and Allah named you a thankful slave. Do you not see our (miserable) state and condition? Will you not intercede for us with your Lord?' Nūh will reply: 'Today my Lord has become so angry as He has never been before and will never be in the future. I had a supplication that I used against my people. Myself, myself, myself. Go to someone else; go to Ibrahīm.’ They will go to Ibrahīm and say: ‘O Ibrahīm, you are the Prophet and His friend from the inhabitants of the earth; intercede for us with your Lord. Do you not see in what (miserable) state we are?’ He will say to them: ‘Today my Lord has become so angry as He has never been before and will never be in the future. I lied three lies. Myself, myself, myself. Go to someone else; go to Mūsa.' They will go to Mūsa and say: 'O Mūsa, you are the Messenger of Allah. Allah favored you with His messages and His direct speech. Intercede for us with your Lord. Do you not see the (miserable) state we are in?' He will say to them: 'Today my Lord has become so angry as He has never been before and will never be in the future. I killed a person whom I had not been ordered to kill. Myself, myself, myself. Go to someone else; go to ‘Īsa.' They will come to ‘Īsa and say: 'O ‘Īsa, you are the messenger of Allah and His word which He sent down upon Maryam, and (you are) a spirit from Him; You spoke to people in the cradle; so intercede for us with your Lord. Do you not see in what (miserable) state we are?’ ‘Īsa will say: 'Today my Lord has become so angry as He has never been before and will never be in the future.' He will not mention any sin. He will say: 'Myself, myself, myself. Go to someone else; go to Muhammad.'" Another narration reads: "They will come to me and say: 'O Muhammad, you are the messenger of Allah and the seal of the prophets. Allah has forgiven all your previous and future sins. Intercede for us with your Lord; do you not see in what (miserable) condition we are?’ I shall then set off and come below the Throne and prostrate before my Lord. Then Allah will inspire me with (statements of) His praise and glorification which He has not inspired anyone before me. Then it will be said: 'O Muhammad, raise your head, ask and you will be granted (your request), and intercede and you shall be granted intercession.' I will raise my head and say: 'O my Lord, my Ummah, O my Lord, my Ummah, O my Lord, my Ummah.' It will be said: 'O Muhammad, admit those of your Ummah who will not go through reckoning from the right gate of Paradise, and they will also share with people other doors besides this door.' The Prophet then said: 'By Him in whose Hands my soul is, the distance between the two gateposts of the gates of Paradise is like the distance between Makkah and Hajar, or between Makkah and Busra.’"
Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that they were with the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) invited for a meal. The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) was served a mutton's forearm as he liked to eat that part because its meat is of the best quality, soft, easily digestible, and healthy. After the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) had taken a bite from it, he mentioned this long amazing Hadīth. He said that he would be the chief of the children of Adam on the Day of Judgment. Indeed, it is indubitable that Prophet Muhammad (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) is the master of the children of Adam and the best and most honorable human being in the sight of Allah, the Almighty. Then the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) asked the Companions if they knew the reason behind this? They replied in the negative. Thereupon, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) clarified why he is more honorable than and superior to any other human being. He stated that all people will be resurrected on the Day of Judgment in a wide flat plain, as stated by Allah, the Exalted, Who said: ﴿Say [O Muhammad]: "Indeed, the former and the later peoples are to be gathered together for the appointment of a known Day﴾ [Sūrat al-Wāqi‘ah: 49]. People will be gathered in one place. On that day, the earth will be flat and not spherical like it is today. As the earth is now spherical, if you look ahead, you will be able to see only what is facing you on the earth’s surface. Yet, on the Day of Judgment, the earth will be flat like a stretched carpet with no mountains, valleys, rivers, or seas. Due to the flat nature of earth at that time, all those on earth will be able to hear and see one another as the earth will no longer be spherical, and no parts of it will be hidden as everyone will be in one plain. On that day, the sun will come so close to people that it will be just a mile away. People will face unbearable anguish and grief. They will be so hard-pressed that they will start looking for someone to intercede with Allah, the Exalted, on their behalf to relieve them of this horrible situation. Allah, the Exalted, will inspire them to go to the father of mankind, Adam. They will go to him, and talk of his virtues so that he may intercede on their behalf before Allah, the Exalted. They will remind him of his virtues such as the fact that he is the father of every human being, male and female, from the beginning of humanity until the Day of Judgment. Also, Allah created him with His Hands, as stated by Allah, the Almighty, when he rebuked Satan: ﴿O Satan, what prevented you from prostrating to that which I created with My Hands?﴾ [Sūrat Sād: 75]. In addition, Allah made the angels prostrate to him. Allah, the Exalted, said: ﴿And [mention] when We said to the angels: Prostrate before Adam'; so they prostrated﴾ [Sūrat al-Baqarah: 34]. Furthermore, Allah taught him the names of everything. Allah, the Exalted, said: ﴿And He taught Adam the names- all of them﴾ [Sūrat al-Baqarah: 31]. Additionally, Allah breathed of His spirit into Adam. Allah, the Exalted, said: ﴿So when I have proportioned him and breathed into him of My [created] soul, then fall down to him in prostration.﴾’ [Sūrat Sād: 72] All of this is known to people, particularly the Ummah of Prophet Muhammad to whom Allah, the Exalted, has given knowledge which He did not give to any other nation. Adam will apologize by saying that Allah is angry on that day more than any other day before or afterwards. Then he will mention his sin, which is eating from the forbidden tree even though Allah, the Exalted, forbade him from eating therefrom. Allah, the Exalted, said: ﴿But do not come near this tree, lest you be among the wrongdoers﴾ [Sūrat al-A‘rāf: 19]. Thus, Adam's punishment for that sin was removal from Paradise to the earth, for a wise reason planned by Allah, the Almighty. Adam will remember his sin, and say: "Myself, myself, myself", meaning: his hope lies in saving himself; thus he would repeat this three times. He will advise them to go to Nūh. Nūh is the second father of mankind because Allah, the Exalted, drowned all the inhabitants of the earth who disbelieved in Nūh's message. Allah, the Exalted, said: ﴿But none had believed with him, except a few﴾ [Sūrat Hūd: 40]. No lineage except that of Nūh continued to exist. Thus, Adam will tell them to go to Prophet Nūh and they will go to him because they will be in a difficult and miserable situation. They will go to Nūh and count Allah’s favors upon him, such as the fact that he was the first messenger to humanity and that Allah called him ‘a grateful servant’. However, he will say the same as Adam previously said: that Allah is angry on that day more than any time before or afterwards. Then he will remember his supplication which he made against his people when he said: ﴿My Lord, do not leave upon the earth from among the disbelievers an inhabitant﴾ [Sūrat Nūh: 26]. Another narration states that Nūh will remember his supplication which he made for his son when he said: ﴿My Lord, indeed my son is of my family; and indeed, Your promise is true; and You are the most just of judges.﴾ Allah replied: ﴿O Nūh, indeed he is not of your family; indeed, he is [one whose] work was other than righteous, so ask Me not for that about which you have no knowledge. Indeed, I advise you, lest you be among the ignorant﴾ [Sūrat Hūd: 45-46]. So, Nūh (peace be upon him) will remember his sin, and that the intercession of an intercessor can be accepted only if there is no alienation between him and the One from whom intercession is sought. As sinning causes alienation between a servant and his Lord, the shyness of sinning would prevent a servant from requesting intercession. So, upon remembering his sin, Prophet Nūh will say: "Myself, myself, myself." He would then direct people to Prophet Ibrahīm. People will go to Ibrahīm, and say that he is Allah’s friend on earth. They would mention his virtues and request him to intercede with Allah on their behalf. He would apologize and say that he lied three times, saying: "Myself, myself, myself." The lies of Prophet Ibrahīm referred to here are: 1. When he said to his people: "I am sick," even though he was not sick. However, he said this when he was planning to challenge his people who used to worship idols. 2. When he replied to the question if it was him who destroyed the idols: ﴿No, it was this biggest one of them who did it﴾ [Sūrat al-Anbiyā: 63]. This means that he said it was the biggest of the idols who destroyed all other idols even though it was Prophet Ibrahīm (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) who did so. However, Ibrahīm said that to challenge the idol worshipers. 3. When he said to the disbeliever king: ‘This is my sister,’ in reference to his wife, so that he could save himself from the king’s evil. However, his wife was not his sister. These look like lies; yet in reality and according to the interpretation of the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) these were not lies. However, because of Ibrahīm’s bountiful piety and shyness from Allah, the Exalted, he will apologize because of these incidents. He will say: "Myself, myself, myself. Go to someone else; go to Mūsa (Moses). " People will go to Mūsa and mention his virtues, such as the fact that Allah, the Exalted, spoke to Him directly and chose him from among the people of the earth to carry His message and revelation. Mūsa will remember his sin when he killed a person whom he had not been permitted to kill. That was a Copt who had a dispute with a man from the children of Israel, and Mūsa (peace be upon him) intervened as he was from the children of Israel while the Copt was from the people of Pharaoh. Allah, the Exalted, said: ﴿And the one from his faction called for help to him against the one from his enemy, so Moses struck him and [unintentionally] killed him﴾ [Sūrat al-Qasas: 15]. As Mūsa (peace be upon him) killed the Copt without being commanded to do so, he would see that as an obstacle to his intercession for people. Therefore, he would say: "Myself, myself, myself. Go to someone else; go to ‘Īsa (Jesus). " People will go to ‘Īsa (peace be upon him) and mention Allah's favor upon him, such as the fact that Allah breathed of His spirit into him, and that he is Allah’s word which He cast to Maryam. ‘Īsa (peace be upon him) will not mention a sin. However, he will direct people to Muhammad (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him). This is a great honor to Prophet Muhammad because four prophets will excuse themselves by mentioning what they did wrong, and one prophet will not excuse himself by saying anything; yet he will see that Muhammad (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) deserves the honor of intercession more than him. People will go to Prophet Muhammad and he will accept their request for intercession. He will prostrate underneath the Throne of Allah, and Allah will inspire him with words of praise and glorification which He has not inspired anyone before him. Then it will be said: Raise your head; ask and it will be granted; intercede and intercession will be accepted. The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) will intercede, and ask Allah to relieve the burden from his Ummah. His intercession will be accepted, and he will be told that those who are not going through reckoning among his Ummah would exclusively enter Paradise through its right gate, and they can also share the rest of the gates with others. This is a clear indication that Prophet Muhammad (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) is the noblest prophet, and that prophets in general are the best of creation.