Imaam Ibn Qayyim may Allah have
mercy on him) said:
If you are asked about the Day
of Increase and the visit of the Exalted in Might, the Praiseworthy, and
looking at His Face, that is free from likeness and resemblance, the same way
you look at the sun during the day time and the moon at its full phase night as
numerously related from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)
and that is found in books of hadeeth from the narration of Jareer, Suhayb,
Anas, Aboo Hurayrah, Aboo Moosaa and Aboo Sa‘eed. So listen on
the Day when the Caller will call out: “O people of Paradise, your Lord –
exalted and blessed be He – requests you to visit Him, so rush to visit Him.”
They will then say, ‘We hear and we
obey’ and will immediately take off for the meeting. Behold they will see
mounts that have been prepared for them, so they will sit firmly on their backs
without delay until they arrive
at the wide valley that He has made the appointed place for them. They will all
gather there without anyone being disloyal to the Caller. Then the Lord –
blessed and exalted be He - shall order that His chair be set up there. Then
pulpits of light, as well as pulpits of pearls, pulpits of gemstone, pulpits of
gold, and pulpits of silver will be put in place for them.
The
lowest of them in rank will sit on sheets of musk – may Allah forbid that there
should be lowness in them- and they will not think that those on the chairs are
above them in gift. When they settle down in their seats and are comfortable in
their positions, a Caller will call out “O
People of Paradise! You have an appointment with Allah in which He wishes to
reward you!” So they will say, “And what is that reward? Has He not
brightened our faces, made our scales heavy, admit us into the Paradise and
distanced us from the Fire?” And when they are in that state, behold a light,
that encompasses all of the Paradise, will shine at them. Then they will raise
their heads and behold, The Compeller – the Mighty and Majestic - will come to
them from above them and honor them; He will say: “O People of Paradise! Peace
be upon you.”
They
will not respond to this greeting with anything better than their saying: “O Allah,
You are Peace and from You is peace. Blessed are You, O possessor of Majesty
and Honor.” Then the Lord - blessed and exalted be He - will manifest Himself to
them and laugh at them saying: “O People of Paradise.” It will be the first
thing they will hear from Him: “Where
are My servants who used to obey Me without having ever seen Me? This is the
Day of Increase!” So they will be united on one statement: “We are pleased, so
be pleased with us.” So He will say: “O People of Paradise, if I was not
pleased with you, I would not have made you inhabit My Paradise. So, ask of
Me.” So, they will all be united on a single response: “Show us Your Face that
we may catch a glimpse of it.”
So,
the Lord -Mighty and Majestic- will remove His covering for them. He will reveal
Himself to them and will cover them with His light which if Allah the most High
had not decreed not to burn them, they would have been burned. And there will
be none in this gathering except that his Lord the most High will speak to Him until
He will say: “O so and so, do you remember the day that you did this and that?”
And He will remind him of some of his disloyalties in the worldly life, so he
(the person) will say: “O Lord, will you not forgive me? He will say: “Of
course! You have reached this status of yours (in Paradise) by dint of My
forgiveness.”
What a pleasure to the ears are those
conversations! What a comfort to the eyes of the pious is glancing at His noble
Face in the abode of the Hereafter! And what a depravity to those who returned
with poor deal! “Some faces that Day
shall be Naadirah (shining and
radiant). Looking at their Lord (Allâh); And some faces, that Day, will be Baasirah (dark, gloomy, frowning, and
sad). Thinking that some calamity was about to fall on them.” [Soorah
al-Qiyaamah: 22-25]
“Come to the
Gardens of ‘Adn, for it is your first abodes and therein is camp.
However, we are captives of the enemy. Do you think we will return to our
homeland and be safe?”
Source: Haadee al-Arwaah ilaa Bilaad
al-Afraah by Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah, transl. by Abdussamee Abdussalam
