Story of Hope and Divine Mercy

Doctor, may I ask you something?

Go ahead.

I want you to tell us a story,

one related to glorifying God Almighty.

I feel that when I hear it, there is hope. There is hope.

It lifts my spirits.

Yes. The story will not be one whose authenticity is doubtful.

Rather, it is

in an authentic hadith narrated by Bukhari and Muslim.

Yes.

I often repeat this hadith because it is so profound.

The Prophet, peace be upon him, said that among those before you was a man

who never did any good. Imagine that.

He never did any good.

Not a single good deed.

When he was dying. Of course, hadith commentators said either he truly had

no righteous deeds whatsoever, or he was

extremely sinful, and thus the Arabs described him as someone who

never did any good, as an exaggeration.

Yes.

Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani examined the hadith’s chains and narrations and said that this man used to be

a grave robber. Damn, your heart is hard.

How was he a grave robber?

A grave robber is not ritually pure.

Meaning, he goes there, but he is not ritually pure, meaning he goes to

The grave after people buried their dead. Back in the old days, they would fit their dead with gold noses.

If a person's nose or ear was cut off in war, or if they lost a tooth, they would replace it with gold or silver.

And so on. So what would this fellow do when the deceased's family went to take care of things?

He would go and dig up the grave, and if he found a gold tooth or a silver nose, or a shroud

that he could benefit from, he would take it and leave.

He, peace be upon him, said, when death came upon him, he gathered his sons and said, "What kind of father was I

to you, my sons? How was I with you? What kind of father was I to you?" They said, "The best father."

Some may say, "How was he the best father when he never did any good?"

He may have been affectionate with his children, but as for religious acts of obedience

for God's sake, there were none. Or perhaps because of how evil he was, he was described this way.

Anyway, they said, "The best father."

He said, "If I..." They used to tell them, "May God protect you, Father. May God protect you. Be careful.

Listen carefully and carry it out." He said, "When I die, burn me.

Then, when there is a windy day, grind me up

and scatter me

with the wind."

By God, if God gets hold of me, He will punish me

with a punishment He has never inflicted on anyone in the worlds.

I mean, gentlemen, may God protect you. I know my state. I'm in deep trouble. I am.

My pages with God are all black. So burn me.

Gentlemen, may God protect you. A day of storms and wind and such will come, then you go

and scatter my ashes so God will not gather me. Buy it.

Some may say, "He said something blasphemous." He did not doubt God's power, but he did not

know the extent of God's power. He was ignorant of the extent of Almighty God's power.

His children wasted no time.

When their father died, they burned him. A day of fierce winds

came, and they threw him out.

They scattered him right and left, up and down. Then he was dispersed over the mountaintops and

in the valleys and rivers.

Do you think this works with the Lord of the worlds?

It does not.

So Almighty God gathered him.

He said, "My servant, what drove you to do what you did?" Your Lord knows,

but the words come out of him, and we hear them until Judgment Day.

Of course, this is an authentic hadith.

Narrated by al-Bukhari and Muslim.

Al-Bukhari and Muslim.

My servant, what drove you to do what you did?

He said, "Lord, I feared You and dreaded my sins. I feared You"

and dreaded my sins." This man had weak reverential fear, a weak

fear. He wasn't mocking. He wasn't sarcastic. He wasn't

cursing God Almighty. He had weak fear. Weak.

Weak. Weak.

The hadith ends with three words. Some scholars and some of our preacher brothers

might say, "Doctor, you're wrong. You shouldn't tell this hadith because it will embolden

people. Everyone, the Messenger said this hadith.

Therefore, we need to strike a balance. We need to give people this hope and frighten them.

The three words with which the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, ended it are, by God, more beautiful than

the most beautiful melodies you could hear. They give you a window of hope

a great one. What are the three words?

Again: "My servant, what drove you to do what you did?"

"Lord, I feared You and dreaded my sins." He said, "So God forgave him."

God forgave him. He forgave him his entire black record, which may have lasted

seventy or eighty

years. And God knows best. It was because of the reverential fear and veneration that were in his heart.

And this is one of the things that opens a great gateway to hope and optimism in

May God Almighty have mercy. In God's name, people, don't extinguish this

candle, even if it is weak. By God's will, it will grow. By God's will, our Lord will carry you through it.

Just don't let anyone take it, take it from you.