إدريس عبدالله
_24 _December _2016هـ الموافق 24-12-2016م, 07:56 PM
It is the dream of all people of right mindedness who believe in the Day of judgment that their abode that Day be Paradise. It is their supreme aim in life which they work towards though the path to it may differ from one person to the other due to the difference in faith in general. In Islam, the only path to paradise is the Islamic faith which is basically exemplified in following the teachings of the Glorious Qur’an and the tradition of the Prophet Muhammad (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) without going to the extreme in that.
As Paradise is the abode created by Allah to be a reward for His pious servants, He is the Only One who can prescribe the criteria of entering it. This means that the road to Paradise is the one accepted by Allah, and not what human beings think is right. He has chosen Islam as the only way to Paradise and made it the basic prerequisite of entering it. He says:
وَمَن يَبْتَغِ غَيْرَ ٱلْإِسْلَٰمِ دِينًا فَلَن يُقْبَلَ مِنْهُ وَهُوَ فِى ٱلْءَاخِرَةِ مِنَ ٱلْخَٰسِرِينَ
“Whoever seeks other than Islam as a religion, it will not be accepted from him, and in the Hereafter he will be among the losers.” (Aali-Imraan : 85).
Adherents of all religions aim to enter Paradise through their faith in such religions, hence, there are many roads which people hope to attain such an abode through, however, all such roads does not lead to paradise except the road of Islam. That was the road of all the Prophets and Messengers of Allah including Noah, Abraham, Moses and Jesus the son of Mary (peace be upon all of them). The Islamic faith is described as the Abrahamaic faith showing that Islam was the way of all previous men of religion. Allah says;
مَن يَرْغَبُ عَن مِّلَّةِ إِبْرَٰهِۦمَ إِلَّا مَن سَفِهَ نَفْسَهُۥ ۚ وَلَقَدِ ٱصْطَفَيْنَٰهُ فِى ٱلدُّنْيَا ۖ وَإِنَّهُۥ فِى ٱلْءَاخِرَةِ لَمِنَ ٱلصَّٰلِحِينَ
إذْ قَالَ لَهُۥ رَبُّهُۥٓ أَسْلِمْ ۖ قَالَ أَسْلَمْتُ لِرَبِّ ٱلْعَٰلَمِينَ
“Who would forsake the religion of Abraham, except he who fools himself? We chose him in this world, and in the Hereafter he will be among the righteous. When his Lord said to him, "Submit(be a muslim)!" He said, "I have submitted to the Lord of the Worlds." [ Al-Baqara: 130-131}.
The milestones on the path to paradise therefore are the divinely stipulated prerequisites that lead one to paradise. In Islamic perspective, the following discussed points briefly describe such milestones:
1-Believing in the oneness of Allah and the Messengership of His Prophet (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), discharging the obligations of Allah without ascribing to Him partners as deities. The Prophet (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “ whoever believes in Allah and His Messenger, and establish the prayer, and fast the holy month of Ramadan, it becomes incumbent on Allah to make him enter Paradise’ (reported by Al-Bukhari), in another tradition, he is reported saying: “whoever meets Allah whilst ascribing none in partners with Him has entered paradise” [ by Al-Bukhari]
2- Abstaining from arrogance and extremism. It is reported in at-Tirmidhi that the Prophet of Allah (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said; “whoever dies whilst guiltless of these three: arrogance, extremism and debt, has entered Paradise”
3- Truthfulness. It is incumbent upon one to be truthful with Allah, and with his own self. This is because truthfulness lead it’s fellow to paradise as said by our beloved prophet Muhammad (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him); “truthfulness leads to piety, and piety leads to Paradise” {reported by Al-Bukhari}
4- Abstaining from sexual immorality. The Prophet (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said; “whoever guarantees me the protection of what is between his two lips (the tongue) and what is between his two thighs(the private organ), I will guarantee him paradise” (reported by Al-Bukhari)
5- Seeking proximity towards Allah through non-obligatory acts such as non-obligatory prayers, charity, night prayers and all other rightgeous deeds.
6- Feeding people and spreading greetings to those you know and those you know not. The Prophet Muhammad (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said; “Oh people!, spread salutations, give out food (to the poor) and pray whilst people are asleep and you shall enter paradise in peace”. (Tirmidhi)
May Allah guide all of us to Paradise. Ameen
As Paradise is the abode created by Allah to be a reward for His pious servants, He is the Only One who can prescribe the criteria of entering it. This means that the road to Paradise is the one accepted by Allah, and not what human beings think is right. He has chosen Islam as the only way to Paradise and made it the basic prerequisite of entering it. He says:
وَمَن يَبْتَغِ غَيْرَ ٱلْإِسْلَٰمِ دِينًا فَلَن يُقْبَلَ مِنْهُ وَهُوَ فِى ٱلْءَاخِرَةِ مِنَ ٱلْخَٰسِرِينَ
“Whoever seeks other than Islam as a religion, it will not be accepted from him, and in the Hereafter he will be among the losers.” (Aali-Imraan : 85).
Adherents of all religions aim to enter Paradise through their faith in such religions, hence, there are many roads which people hope to attain such an abode through, however, all such roads does not lead to paradise except the road of Islam. That was the road of all the Prophets and Messengers of Allah including Noah, Abraham, Moses and Jesus the son of Mary (peace be upon all of them). The Islamic faith is described as the Abrahamaic faith showing that Islam was the way of all previous men of religion. Allah says;
مَن يَرْغَبُ عَن مِّلَّةِ إِبْرَٰهِۦمَ إِلَّا مَن سَفِهَ نَفْسَهُۥ ۚ وَلَقَدِ ٱصْطَفَيْنَٰهُ فِى ٱلدُّنْيَا ۖ وَإِنَّهُۥ فِى ٱلْءَاخِرَةِ لَمِنَ ٱلصَّٰلِحِينَ
إذْ قَالَ لَهُۥ رَبُّهُۥٓ أَسْلِمْ ۖ قَالَ أَسْلَمْتُ لِرَبِّ ٱلْعَٰلَمِينَ
“Who would forsake the religion of Abraham, except he who fools himself? We chose him in this world, and in the Hereafter he will be among the righteous. When his Lord said to him, "Submit(be a muslim)!" He said, "I have submitted to the Lord of the Worlds." [ Al-Baqara: 130-131}.
The milestones on the path to paradise therefore are the divinely stipulated prerequisites that lead one to paradise. In Islamic perspective, the following discussed points briefly describe such milestones:
1-Believing in the oneness of Allah and the Messengership of His Prophet (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), discharging the obligations of Allah without ascribing to Him partners as deities. The Prophet (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “ whoever believes in Allah and His Messenger, and establish the prayer, and fast the holy month of Ramadan, it becomes incumbent on Allah to make him enter Paradise’ (reported by Al-Bukhari), in another tradition, he is reported saying: “whoever meets Allah whilst ascribing none in partners with Him has entered paradise” [ by Al-Bukhari]
2- Abstaining from arrogance and extremism. It is reported in at-Tirmidhi that the Prophet of Allah (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said; “whoever dies whilst guiltless of these three: arrogance, extremism and debt, has entered Paradise”
3- Truthfulness. It is incumbent upon one to be truthful with Allah, and with his own self. This is because truthfulness lead it’s fellow to paradise as said by our beloved prophet Muhammad (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him); “truthfulness leads to piety, and piety leads to Paradise” {reported by Al-Bukhari}
4- Abstaining from sexual immorality. The Prophet (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said; “whoever guarantees me the protection of what is between his two lips (the tongue) and what is between his two thighs(the private organ), I will guarantee him paradise” (reported by Al-Bukhari)
5- Seeking proximity towards Allah through non-obligatory acts such as non-obligatory prayers, charity, night prayers and all other rightgeous deeds.
6- Feeding people and spreading greetings to those you know and those you know not. The Prophet Muhammad (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said; “Oh people!, spread salutations, give out food (to the poor) and pray whilst people are asleep and you shall enter paradise in peace”. (Tirmidhi)
May Allah guide all of us to Paradise. Ameen