The Word Mazeed: Hell's Terrifying Demand, Paradise's Abundant Grace

Opening Praises

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds, and to the righteous. And there is no enmity except against the wrongdoers.

And I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, and there is no partner for Him — the Lord of the worlds. And I bear witness that our Master, our Prophet, and our Beloved Muhammad is His servant and Messenger. Master of the first and the last. The one sent as a mercy to the worlds. Peace and blessings be upon him and his family and his companions — the good and the pure — and whoever follows them with good until the Day of Judgment.

The Word مَزِيد — Two Worlds Apart

The difference between the context of the word مَزِيد in these two ayat could not have been starker, could not have been greater. One is terrifying in its nature — increased khawf and fear of Allah and His punishment. And the other one shows the overwhelming grace and fadl of Allah.

The passages in question are Surah Qaf (Surah 50), ayah 30 to 35.

Surah Qaf — Ayah 30 to 35

Translation: "On the Day when We will say to Hell, 'Are you full?' And it will say, 'Is there any more?' And Paradise will be brought near to those who are mindful of Allah, not far. This is what you were promised — for every one who was a sincere turner and a guardian. Who feared the Most Merciful in the unseen, and came with a repentant heart. Enter it in peace. That is the Day of Eternity. They will have therein whatever they wish — and with Us is more."

Ayah 30 — Jahannam Asks for More

يَوْمَ نَقُولُ لِجَهَنَّمَ — Remember on that day, Allah Himself will address Jahannam. هَلِ امْتَلَأْتِ؟ — Are you filled up? وَتَقُولُ هَلْ مِن مَّزِيدٍ — And Jahannam will reply: Is there any more? Give me more. I am not satiated. I am not filled.

This is an ayah that, if we contemplate over it, should strike terror in our hearts. And if it doesn't, there is something terribly wrong — literally with our hearts. The imagery could not be more visceral, more alerting, more alarming.

This is the tasweer — the imagery — that Allah is depicting. It's not some abstract concept: "okay, there will be some Day of Judgment." Rather Allah says, يَوْمَ — on that day, a real day is coming, and I will be addressing Jahannam. How will Allah address Jahannam? كَمَا يَلِيقُ بِجَلَالِهِ — as befitting His Majesty.

Jahannam is not some abstract condition either. It is a living reality; it is a creation of Allah. And this creation of Allah will communicate with Allah on the Day of Judgment, just as other creations will communicate. Whether it is the earth —

— the earth will speak and tell what has happened. The body parts will be talking on the Day of Judgment, and they will be testifying:

The hands and the feet will speak and will testify to the crimes that they were committing. And the people will ask their body parts:

The people will say: "Why are you testifying against us?" And the body parts will reply: أَنطَقَنَا اللَّهُ الَّذِي أَنطَقَ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ — Allah, who gave all things speech, has given us speech. The biggest question we might have — how are these body parts speaking? — is already addressed. The body parts will say: "Allah has given us the ability to speak. He gave you the ability to speak, so why are you so surprised by it? You are speaking with the order of Allah, and now we are also speaking with the order of Allah." أَنطَقَنَا اللَّهُ الَّذِي أَنطَقَ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ — the one who gave you the ability of speech, He is the one who gave us the ability to speak today. What is so surprising about that? If you are speaking, are you speaking on your own accord, or is Allah giving you the ability to speak? Same source — nothing surprising whatsoever.

So Allah will also give the ability to Jahannam to speak. And Jahannam — SubhanAllah — is not satiated. It is calling out for more.

Why Does Allah Ask Jahannam — Does He Not Know the Answer?

When Allah is asking the question, is He asking because He does not know the answer? No. This is istifham — not to learn information He is unaware of, but to manifest, to make it clear for everyone what is going on. As a rebuke for the condemned. And for magnifying the horror. That is the objective here — for everyone to hear the answer of what Jahannam is going to say, and to affirm the truthfulness of the warnings that were given. The warnings were not a joke. They were not fiction. They are reality.

So He asks: are you filled up completely? And it says: is there any increase? Is there anything more you have? Bring it on. I want more. I'm not done. May Allah protect us.

And there is a hadith explaining this ayah — that it will continue to ask for more. It doesn't stop. More. Give me more. Until Allah will clamp down on it.

Now, this is a whole aqeedah issue of how this is possible. Whenever Allah uses a word that resembles His creation — whether it is "the hand of Allah is over their hands," or descriptions which refer to Allah's attributes — we make tafweed of this to Allah. The actual meaning of these words we say Allah alone knows. But one thing we do know is that none of the creation is like unto Allah. With this disclaimer, there is a hadith that Allah will eventually place His qadam upon Jahannam and stamp down on it, until finally it will quiet down and say: "Enough, enough, enough."

The scholars, the Sufiya, mention an interesting comparison here — the psychology of the sinner versus the abode of the sinner. The sinner in the dunya was also saying: "One more glance. I want more indulgence, more possession, more ego." The person heading to Jahannam in this dunya is also هَلْ مِن مَّزِيدٍ — can I have more money? More desires, more shahwat. His desire is never satiated, never filled. And now he ends up in Jahannam, where Jahannam is also saying هَلْ مِن مَّزِيدٍ. Is there anything more?

Ayaat 31–35 — Jannah for the Muttaqeen

Jannah will be brought near for those who have taqwa. It is brought near — the path to it is going to be shortened. It will be brought near, meaning it is an honor that Allah is giving them, Allah is welcoming them. Those who have taqwa — not just fake lip service, but who actually embody taqwa — غَيْرَ بَعِيدٍ, it is not far for them.

Allah will say: هَٰذَا — this jannah, right here, you see it? It is very real. It is not some story. مَا تُوعَدُونَ — this is the same jannah that had been promised. لِكُلِّ أَوَّابٍ حَفِيظٍ — for every one who was awwab and hafeeth.

What is أَوَّاب?

أَوَّاب is the one who returns back to Allah. Like when we go back home, the du'a we say is:

آيِب is the one who returns. أَوَّاب is the one who frequently returns. And why are you returning? Because you ended up going away. You started walking in the opposite direction from Allah. When do you start walking in the opposite direction? When you sin. And every time you sin, you start going away — then you realize: "Oh, I am going in the wrong direction," so you turn back.

Jannah is not made for the sinless, because there is no one who is sinless. Rather it is for the one who repents from the sin. We are all sinners. The best of the sinners are those who repent. لِكُلِّ أَوَّابٍ — the one who returns.

And then, when he returns back onto the path — this gives us hope — but at the same time, we must ask: are we just going to keep making U-turns and then going in the opposite direction? U-turn, opposite direction, U-turn, opposite direction — are we going to even progress or not? That is why حَفِيظٍ is preventative as well.

What is حَفِيظ?

حَفِيظٍ is the one who is guarding himself from falling and slipping — he takes preventative measures. You have to guard yourself from sin. Proceed towards Allah as far as you can, guarding yourself from sins. But when you slip and fall, then return back to Allah.

When you commit a sin, you return back to Allah. It is not a matter of if, it is a matter of when.

Fearing the Rahman — Why Not the Punisher?

Those who fear the Rahman. SubhanAllah. Fear the Rahman? What about شَدِيدُ الْعِقَابِ — the One who is severe in punishment? That is a being you should fear. So you might respectfully ask: why is it خَشِيَ الرَّحْمَٰنَ? What about شَدِيدُ الْعِقَابِ? What about the قَهَّار?

Because the nature of the fear here is not the nature of the fear we have from a zaalim, from a tyrant, from an oppressor — where you fear his oppression. The fear that the muttaqeen have is: will we commit such sins that will cause us to lose out on the mercy of the Rahman? The object of their fear is also the Rahman — He is the Merciful at all times. So the One we are fearing is the Rahman. And we are not fearing that He will punish us without deserving it, or that He will oppress us in any manner — but rather that despite Him being the Rahman and so merciful, we are afraid that through our own injustice, our own oppression, our own zulm, we will end up losing out on His mercy. That is what we are afraid of.

خَوْف is just a general fear. خَشْيَة is an internal fear that is out of reverence, out of respect, and awe of the object being feared — in this case Allah.

بِالْغَيْبِ — without seeing Him; we believe in Him in the unseen. That is one meaning. Another meaning is that when we are fearing Him is when we ourselves are not being seen by others — we are fearing Him when we are alone. We are not fearing Allah or adopting a situation where we are merely presenting ourselves as fearing Him in front of people, but rather in the unseen, in the darkness of the night, when we are alone with our devices, in environments of sin — we are still fearing Him.

وَجَاءَ بِقَلْبٍ مُّنِيبٍ — Coming with a Repentant Heart

وَجَاءَ بِقَلْبٍ مُّنِيبٍ — and they come on the Day of Judgment with a heart that is focused on Allah, turning towards Allah. You could end up in this dunya doing good deeds, but the question is: do you bring that heart safe and sound to the Day of Judgment? Because after doing good deeds there are so many ways we can end up cancelling them, losing out on the thawab. So the question is: وَجَاءَ — do you bring that heart to Jannah, to the Day of Judgment?

Enter Jannah in Peace — The Day of Eternity

Then Allah will say: ادْخُلُوهَا بِسَلَامٍ — now enter into Jannah with safety. Safety from death, safety from hunger, safety from poverty, safety from sickness, safety from all the harms of this world. This is so enjoyable, so beautiful — but is there any anxiety that one day it will be taken away? No. ذَٰلِكَ يَوْمُ الْخُلُودِ — this is for eternity.

وَلَدَيْنَا مَزِيدٌ — And With Us Is More

Then Allah says: they will have every single thing they can imagine that they wish, that they desire — لَهُم مَّا يَشَاءُونَ فِيهَا. And now Allah brings the word مَزِيد again — وَلَدَيْنَا مَزِيدٌ — and He says: and We have kept with Us in store mazeed, something even beyond that. Beyond everything that you see in Jannah. SubhanAllah.

What is above and beyond everything in Jannah? One meaning of this is the ru'ya of Allah — being able to see Allah. As comes in another ayah:

Allah has promised Jannah and something more than Jannah — beyond Jannah, beyond imagination — which is seeing Allah. وَلَدَيْنَا — Allah says: this is all the blessings in Jannah, but then there's something I have kept with Me. لَدَيْنَا — with Me is مَزِيدٌ, above and beyond every blessing in Jannah. May Allah grant us that.

Five Key Contrasts Between the Two مَزِيد

So if we contrast هَلْ مِن مَّزِيدٍ versus وَلَدَيْنَا مَزِيدٌ, what are the differences?

First: The speaker of number one is Jahannam. The speaker of number two is Allah. SubhanAllah.

Second: The tone of number one is frightening, terrifying, devouring, hungry. And وَلَدَيْنَا مَزِيدٌ — Allah is generous, merciful, overflowing. SubhanAllah.

Third: The cause of the increase in number one is deserved punishment — they deserve the punishment. And the cause for the مَزِيد of وَلَدَيْنَا مَزِيدٌ is not that we deserve it — this is a fadl from Allah. Nobody deserves that. When Jahannam is asking for more, those are deserving people entering it. And for Jannah, when Allah is granting more, these are people receiving what is beyond any deserving. SubhanAllah.

Fourth: When Jahannam is asking for more, it is its appetite which is not satisfied. When Allah is promising more, it is His generosity which is not exhausted. SubhanAllah. Allahu Akbar.

Fifth: Jahannam has a limit — it has a capacity — but it is saying: my capacity is not yet filled. Whereas when Allah says وَلَدَيْنَا مَزِيدٌ, He is saying His generosity is unlimited. It is not only that there is a limited capacity with some more space in it — rather His generosity can never ever be exhausted.

The Take-Home Lesson

On one side we see the terrifying justice of Allah and on the other side we see the overwhelming grace of Allah. The worst case scenario — the عَذَاب جَهَنَّم — is not ظُلْم from Allah, it is عَدْل from Allah. So it is terrifying — not oppression, but terrifying justice. This is what is deserved. The worst case scenario is justice. The عَدْل of Jahannam and the فَضْل of Jannah.

If we want to avoid entering Jahannam — may Allah protect us — we have to protect ourselves from following the nafs and the desires. And if we want to be able to enter into the Jannah that Allah has promised, then we have to develop within ourselves those sifat mentioned here, those attributes:

To return back to Allah, to protect ourselves from sins, to turn with our heart — قَلْبٌ مُنِيب — and with our body — أَوَّاب — back to Allah. Then we will insha'Allah be deserving of this Jannah: لَهُم مَّا يَشَاءُونَ فِيهَا — whatever we desire — وَلَدَيْنَا مَزِيدٌ — and on top of that, the special fadl of Allah. Whether it is رِضْوَانٌ مِّنَ اللَّهِ أَكْبَرُ, whether it is the ru'ya of Allah — being able to witness Allah in the manner befitting Him. May Allah give us tawfeeq to make amal.

Announcement — Annual Retreat: Be a Host, Not Just a Guest

Today I am not here to invite any of us to the retreat. The invitations are for the people outside of this community, outside of Chicago, outside of Illinois. Alhamdulillah, we have people coming from all across the entire U.S. — buses from Baltimore, from New York, people flying in, 20 to 30 people from Arizona, from Texas, from California. So the invitations are for them.

Why are we not invited? Because if your family is hosting a gathering at their house, you don't need to send an invitation to your father or your mother. Obviously they are going to be there — because it is their house, they are the ones hosting. Similarly, we are the hosts for this annual retreat. This is our masjid. This is our community. This is our retreat. So it is a given that we are going to be there.

Rather than inviting all of us to the retreat, today we are inviting everyone to be hosts of the retreat and to help out. The Prophet mentions:

Whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day, he should most definitely honor his guests. So as we are all hosts, it is an order from the Prophet that we honor this gathering and our guests. Thousands of people are coming from all across the entire U.S. There is a lot of help needed. It is not the work of one or two people to take care of everything — serving, welcoming, cleaning. This takes hundreds of people, and there are many teams set up. We need the help of the entire community to fulfill those roles.

This might seem like something small, something simple. But if you go and ask many of the students who are studying here or who have graduated, a lot of them came to Darussalam for the very first time at one of these retreats. And they met a person — a person who had a bright smile, a shining face — who welcomed them, said salam to them, who made sure they were comfortable and felt welcome. It was because of that one interaction that they remembered, that they stayed, they studied, and they became 'ulama. And that person who welcomed them gets all the reward. Every single action that person does, every single hadith he studies, every single class he sits in — the person who welcomed him gets the reward. So this is not something small. Rather this is something great in the sight of Allah.

So whenever we get the opportunity to host these guests of Allah, we should try and take it. Please scan the QR code behind me to register as a volunteer. If you know the days you are free — whether it's Friday, Saturday, or Sunday — you can register and indicate which days you're available. But even if you don't know yet what days you'll be free, at least scan the QR code and have it on your phone. Then whenever you know your schedule, you can fill it out insha'Allah.

May Allah grant everyone the intention to not only be present for the retreat, but to also be volunteers and help out. Jazakumullahu khayran. Assalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh.