In a class of psychology, a Muslim student mentioned the Islamic view that this life is a test which will distinguish the good from the bad, and determine their positions in the Hereafter. This was challenged by someone who asked why should God test us? Why does He not love us as we are?
That this life is a test which will distinguish the good from the bad among people is certainly a fact. That God needs to test us is wrong, because God does not need to know anything about us as a race or a species, or as individuals. His knowledge is absolute, which means that it is perfect and does not increase as a result of any event or any occurrence. He knows everything before it takes place.
If we find this difficult to understand, we should remember that time, as we know it, is coincidental to the earth and it results from its position in relation to the sun and its movement around itself and round the sun. As such, it does not apply to God. So, why the test if God will not know anything new as a result of it? The test is for us, so that everyone of us may prove himself or herself, and none is punished before he or she has had a chance to follow God's guidance. In the Qur'an, God makes it clear that He has sent His messengers to mankind so that they are fully aware of what course they should follow. Otherwise, if a catastrophe should befall them on account of what they do, they would be able to protest that they have had no messenger to teach them what is right and what is wrong. So, God has granted people the right to receive guidance before they are held to account. God does not punish anyone for any wrong he does, if he has had no knowledge of the divine message.
The question that is raised about God's love betrays total lack of knowledge of the Islamic view. Certainly God loves us as we are, and the best evidence of His love is the fact that He has sent us messengers to teach us how to keep to the path of good which earns us God's great reward. The fact is that God knows our potentials and our failings. He sends us messengers and provides us with His message which He guarantees to keep intact, free from distortions, so that we can always follow it. He also provides us with the clear example of the Prophet, peace be upon him, and his conduct in every situation in life. When we follow that guidance, God places us in a position higher than that of angels. Is there a greater evidence of God's love of mankind?
It is important to understand that the whole idea of testing mankind relies on the fact that human beings have been given the freedom of choice. This is what distinguishes man from other types of God's creations. Therefore when man follows the guidance provided to him by God, he deserves reward, and when he chooses to ignore that guidance and follow his caprice, he deserves punishment. Indeed the fact that man has been created with this ability is a mark of God's love, as this is a unique position.
With all that God has given man to help him make the right choice, there is no doubt that God has shown how much He loves human beings. It is left to human beings to demonstrate how much they love God by believing in Him, accepting His guidance and following His messenger, Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him. When they do that, God's love is manifested in an everlasting way when He admits them to heaven where they enjoy eternal bliss and suffer no hardship whatsoever.
But there is another aspect to God's love of human beings, which is seen most clearly in the way God rewards good deeds and how He punishes for bad ones. It is often repeated in the Qur'an that a good deed is credited at 7 times its value, but this is the standard reward. God may, if He so pleases, multiply that to 700 times the value of the good deed, and may give even greater credit. On the other hand, a bad deed is recorded against the offender exactly as it is. It is never multiplied. Moreover, when a bad deed is followed by a good one, the latter erases the former, and the slate is wiped clean.
Furthermore, God has given us means and methods to seek His forgiveness of our bad deeds, and He has promised to forgive those who seek His forgiveness after repenting having done them. He bestows on them His mercy.
This point is very important, because God describes Himself not only as compassionate and merciful, but as One who bestows His grace very often. Indeed, the derivations of mercy and grace as attributes of God are quite a few and they range from bestowing these in the normal way upon those who pray to God for mercy, to ones which signify frequency and multiplicity. This means that when we pray God to forgive us and have mercy on us He answers our supplication, and also bestows on us His grace to reward us for our supplication and for our repentance. If we are not satisfied with all this as evidence of God's love, then I do not know what should satisfy us.
• Love: One that gives the greatest prize of all
1. All over the Muslim world, people speak of "loving the Prophet, peace be upon him," as the ultimate virtue. Unless one loves the Prophet, peace be upon him, from the depth of one's heart, one is not a true Muslim, or so we are told. They say that it is genuine, deep, profound love of the man who taught us Islam which ensures salvation in the Hereafter. However, love as we commonly know is an emotional feeling which cannot be attained by intentions alone. How do we reconcile the two and work to achieve such profound love?
2. People back home recite the Qur'an and perform the Umrah and pilgrimage on behalf of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him. Is this appropriate?
There is no doubt that these people are well meaning and genuine in their belief. To them, loving the Prophet, peace be upon him, is an ideal to be always cherished and conveyed in all forms and modes of expression. Hence, they often speak of it, trying to impress on others the overriding need of loving the Prophet, peace be upon him, genuinely. They praise the Prophet, peace be upon him, in their ordinary speech and in gatherings held especially for the purpose.When you speak to such people, trying to understand why they attach so much importance to loving the Prophet, peace be upon him, they will tell you that they only want to make sure of being admitted into heaven in the Hereafter. To love the Prophet, peace be upon him, is the shortest way to achieve that goal. In support of their argument they quote the Hadith in which the Prophet, peace be upon him, says to Abu Tharr, one of his companions: "You, Abu Tharr, are with those whom you love." They will point out that this Hadith refers to the Hereafter and that the Prophet, peace be upon him, is the only one who is absolutely certain to be in heaven. If you want to be with him in heaven then you must love him.
That is a perfectly sound argument in as far as it goes. The Hadith they quote enjoys a good degree of authenticity and the idea it expresses is correct. Moreover, when the Prophet, peace be upon him, said it, it was in the context of loving Allah and His messenger. We may wonder, then, why scholars and others always tell us that we must do all sorts of things by way of worship and implement a strict code of conduct in order to stand a chance of being forgiven our sins and scrape through to heaven.
In order to understand all that, we need to look at the Hadith carefully and to understand what sort of love ensures that high degree in heaven. The Hadith in question is related by Al-Bukhari in his priceless book Al-Adab Al-Mufrad and also related by Ahmad, Ibn Hibban, Abu Dawood and others. It is attributed to Abu Tharr himself who states that he said to the Prophet, peace be upon him: "Messenger of Allah, what about a man who loves some people but cannot match their good deeds?" The Prophet, peace be upon him, replied: "You, Abu Tharr, will be with those whom you love." Abu Tharr said: "I love Allah and His messenger." The Prophet, peace be upon him, replied: "You will be with whom you love."
It does not take much reflection on the wordings and meanings of this Hadith to understand that its framework is that of action, not sentiment. Abu Tharr, the noble and conscientious companion of the Prophet, peace be upon him, phrases his question in this typically modest way. He is not satisfied with what he does in the service of Islam. He believes that others are far ahead of him in this respect. His love of the Prophet, peace be upon him, is, however, genuine and sincere. He wonders what he should do in order to catch up with those who are recognized to be better servants of Islam. Hence, he specifies in his question that he is asking about catching up with their work; that is, their good deeds in the service of Islam. The question he puts to the Prophet, peace be upon him, is about "a man who loves some people but cannot match their good deeds." So, an effort is made by him, but he views that effort as modest and unsatisfactory. Hence, he wonders what will happen to him. Will he have a chance to be with those whom he loves?
The Prophet, peace be upon him, who knew everyone of his companions thoroughly well, immediately recognized what was troubling Abu Tharr. He, therefore, reassures him that he will be with the ones he loves. Abu Tharr was a man of true faith and a conscience which was always alert. Moreover, ever since he became a Muslim, he showed that he was prepared to make any sacrifice that was required of him. In the Tabuk expedition which was meant as a test to all the companions of the Prophet, peace be upon him, the task the Prophet, peace be upon him set was very hard indeed. The Muslim army traversed the desert from Madinah to Tabuk, a distance of 1,000 km, in the blazing sun of the hot summer days. Those who did not have camels to ride had no hope of joining the army. Abu Tharr had but a weak camel. After having traveled some distance, his camel kept falling behind. When he realized that he ran the danger of not being able to catch up with the rest of the army, Abu Tharr carried his stuff on his back and walked as fast as he could until he caught up with the Muslim army when they encamped for rest. He did not do that for any reason other than his burning desire to be always with the Prophet, peace be upon him in any effort to defend Islam and establish its state on solid foundations. Knowing him to be a man who understood that love must be expressed by action, the Prophet, peace be upon him, gave him that reassuring answer that he would be in the Hereafter with those whom he loved. Abu Tharr wanted to make absolutely sure that he understood the Prophet, peace be upon him, well. So he said that he loved Allah and His messenger; and the Prophet, peace be upon him, repeated his earlier answer.
It is then within the context of action as an expression of love that we must understand this Hadith. Islam is a religion which requires action by its followers. It is for this reason that it has a detailed legislation for every aspect of life. If action was of little value, it would not have been given that emphasis which we find throughout the Qur'an and the Hadith. There is also a very similar Hadith which adds further clarification to this point. It is reported by Anas that a man asked the Prophet, peace be upon him: When does the last hour fall? The Prophet, peace be upon him, said: "What have you prepared for it?" The man said: "I love Allah and His messenger." The Prophet, peace be upon him, said: "Everyone will be with those one loves." Anas comments: "I have never seen the Muslims more pleased with anything after having embraced Islam than with this Hadith." (Related by Abu Dawood, An-Nassaie', At-Tirmithi and Al-Bukhari in Al-Adab Al-Mufrad).
The context of this Hadith is set by the first question and the Prophet's answer to it. The man asks about the time when human life ends and people are resurrected to face the reckoning and the judgment. It is a basic principle of Islam that everyone is judged on the basis of his or her deeds and actions. We go through this life preparing for the life to come by word and deed. We know that it is not enough to say that we have faith unless our claim has the proper practical effects. It is our deeds that we put forward in preparation for that reckoning in the hope that we will be judged favorably. Hence, the Prophet's answer is a question: what the man has prepared for that hour. This is highly significant on more counts than one. Firstly it draws the attention of the questioner that he should not try to know the timing of the hour, because he will not know it. The timing is something that Allah has kept to Himself. The hour, however, is certain to come, and it always comes suddenly. Hence, the need for conscientious preparation for its arrival. Secondly, there is an implicit reminder of the fact that for every person the hour falls at the time when he dies. Preparations for it can only be made during one's life. When one dies, one no longer prepares anything for the life to come. There is, thirdly, the emphasis that it is action and good deeds which make all the difference when that hour comes.
The man acknowledges that he has not prepared much, except to love Allah and His messenger. And the Prophet's answer is the one which gives his companions the greatest moment of happiness after they have become Muslims: "Everyone will be with those one loves". Within this context, love can only have one meaning: it is practical love which manifests itself in action and sacrifice that counts.
We do not demonstrate our love of the Prophet, peace be upon him, by singing his praises. It is not enough for anyone to sing, recite or even compose a poem extolling the Prophet, peace be upon him, beyond any measure. Words count for very little. It is how conscientiously one follows the Prophet, peace be upon him, by conducting the life according to his teachings that really proves that one loves the Prophet, peace be upon him. Otherwise, it is extremely easy to spend a couple of hours everyday, repeating expressions of love. That does not require any effort. Heaven is earned only through great effort of all to demonstrate their love of Allah and the Prophet, peace be upon him. We should follow their example if we truly love the Prophet, peace be upon him, and want to be with him in the Hereafter.
[To the second questioner] No, it is not appropriate. Why should they do this? Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, is in no need of their good deeds.
They themselves are in much greater need of such good deeds to improve their standing on the day of judgment. Besides, every good deed a Muslim does for himself has been taught to him by Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him. Hence the Prophet will earn a reward for teaching us these reward-earning actions. The thought of doing something on behalf of the Prophet, peace be upon him, suggests that he is in need of it and this is not the case. The best way to demonstrate our love of the Prophet, peace be upon him, is to follow his example and abide by his teachings. In this way we can prove that we have benefited by his teachings. We also demonstrate to other nations and communities that Islam is applicable and that it promotes every good aspect of human life. Thus we carry the Prophet's message to mankind.
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