The Four Questions: Your Ultimate Accountability Before Allah

The Four Questions of the Day of Judgment

How did you spend your life? The specific portion of your life, which is your youth, when you had the pinnacle of your physical, mental strengths available to you, how did you utilize those blessings, those assets, those abilities granted to you by Allah?

How much knowledge of deen did you acquire? And how much knowledge of the deen that you acquired did you practice upon? And number four:

Regarding the wealth — how did you earn it and how did you spend it?

Abu Darda — The Hakeem ul Ummah

Abu Darda رضي الله تعالى عنه is a great scholar and wise sage of the sahaba of this ummah. There are many individuals throughout the past fourteen centuries who were granted the title of Hakeem ul Ummah — that he is the great hakeem, sage, wise man of the ummah. Like in the recent century from the subcontinent, they say Hakeem ul Ummah, Mawlana Ashraf Ali Thanwi, etc.

Different Hakeem ul Ummah, Hakeem ul Islam — Imam Muhammad bin Ahmed al-Ghazali is a hakeem, a wise individual. The author of Ihya Ulum al-Deen and many other great works. Imam Ghazali — everyone has heard his name.

So likewise, the first individual who was granted this title was Abu Darda رضي الله عنه from the sahaba — that he was the Hakeem ul Ummah. And Sayyidina Umar bin Khattab رضي الله تعالى عنه, during his khilafah, when all of these new republics were entering the fold of Islam, or new areas were becoming part of the Muslim khilafah, he sent great scholars, ulama, and mashayikh to go and teach the deen to these newly conquered, newly liberated areas — liberated from the yoke of tyranny and oppression of the Persian and Roman empires, brought into the justice of Islam.

Abdullah bin Mas'ud رضي الله عنه was sent by Umar رضي الله عنه to Kufa in Iraq. And in Sham — the Bilad al-Sham, the Damascus of today — he sent Abu Darda رضي الله تعالى عنه.

So Abu Darda رضي الله عنه was the great muallim, the teacher of the people of Sham — Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine of today. In this whole area, Abu Darda's fiqh, his methodology, his qira'a is dominant. He started off with a madrasa in the jami' of Damascus with a few students, and then those students, when they graduated, would create more halaqat and become teachers, and their graduates would have more circles of learning. So at one time in the masjid he would have 4,000 students and grand-students learning the deen. His whole life he was involved in learning and teaching the deen, particularly dedicated to the academics as a great alim.

And what is unique about him is that his wife was equally a partner in his efforts and endeavors for learning, implementing, preserving, and transmitting the deen — Umm Darda رضي الله تعالى عنها — a very wise, scholarly woman.

The Traveler Who Came for One Hadith

Having known a little bit about his background, another hadith about him comes to mind. One day he was sitting in Damascus — which is far away from Medina. Medina is where Rasulallah ﷺ lived for ten years and is buried. Many sahaba were still there, and Abu Huraira رضي الله عنه was the teacher of Medina at that time. But a person travels from Medina all the way to Damascus. Abu Darda رضي الله عنه was sitting in the masjid, a man enters, and he says:

"Oh Abu Darda, I have come to you all the way from Madinat al-Rasul ﷺ — from the city of the Prophet — and I came li hadithin, just to inquire from you and to learn from you one hadith. And this hadith has reached me — balaghani — that you have directly heard it from Rasulallah ﷺ. I have not come for any other purpose."

This li hadithin — the tanween, the two kasrah here — it means one hadith. Not to learn hadith in general, or to go through many hadith, or a work of hadith, or a book of hadith — but li hadithin: one hadith.

And note: he already knows the hadith. Because he says balaghani — it has reached me through your students or grand-students via a chain — that you have directly heard this hadith from Rasulallah ﷺ. So he thought: I have three links between me and Rasulallah ﷺ in this chain. Why not, while Abu Darda رضي الله عنه is still alive, travel — by foot or by camel, through the deserts of northern Arabia, from Medina all the way to Damascus? Till today it is a very difficult terrain. No train, no plane — this is centuries before the industrial revolution. You are on animals, travelling for weeks — just so that I can gain the direct information from you, what you yourself heard from Rasulallah ﷺ. Now when I narrate this hadith further I can say: haddathana Abu Darda qala sami'tu Rasulallah ﷺ — I narrate from Abu Darda who told me that he heard from Rasulallah ﷺ.

And he already mentioned the purpose of his travel, but because Abu Darda رضي الله عنه might have imagined — oh, you're also doing business, or meeting family, or attending some function, this is a great stop on your itinerary — he said: ma ji'tu li haajatin — I have not come for any other purpose. I only came to learn this one hadith directly from you, then I have to go back.

The Hadith on the Virtue of Seeking Knowledge

So Abu Darda رضي الله عنه, before he even asks which hadith the man wants to hear, begins narrating on his own. He says: sami'tu Rasulallah ﷺ — I heard Nabi ﷺ saying — I physically heard. Sometimes the sahaba would say sami'tu min udhunayya hatayni — I heard from these two very same ears — for added emphasis. Or sometimes they would say sami'tu min khalili — I heard from my dearest Habib and my friend — showing the level of affection and love they had.

(Sunan Abu Dawud, Hadith 3641; Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2682; Sunan Ibn Majah, Hadith 223)

That truly the angels — the innocent creation of Allah — spread forth their wings for the student of knowledge who is on the path to seek knowledge, who is leaving his home, who is travelling to seek the knowledge of deen. They spread out their wings in ikram, in honour of that student.

And verily Allah orders His creation — whatever is in the heavens and in the earth, so far as even the fish in the sea — to seek forgiveness from Allah on behalf of the student of knowledge. The one who is engaged in studying the sacred sciences — Allah instructs the creation to seek forgiveness of the sins of that student of knowledge.

And verily Allah has honoured the student of knowledge not only over the sinners or over the disbelievers, but rather the virtue and honour of the student of knowledge is even over those who are engaged in ibadah. There is the one who is worshipping Allah — not engaged in disobedience, but in obedience — yet the virtue of the one engaged in seeking the knowledge of deen over the one engaged in ibadah is:

kafadhl al-qamar laylat al-badr ala sa'iri al-kawakib — like the badr moon. Which moon? Not the hilal, the crescent — but the badr, the full moon:

The full moon — laylat al-badr ala sa'iri al-kawakib — with respect to all the other stars of the sky. The kawakib would include any heavenly illuminated object that lights up the night sky — whether a planet like Venus, the moon, or a star. The badr moon, the full moon, is so bright that you don't even see the stars. Very difficult to see any star, because the illumination is so great. This is the virtue of the alim.

The Question Abu Darda Feared Most

Abu Darda رضي الله عنه was so overwhelmed when he saw the talab — the desire of the student who had come from so far for one hadith. He kept giving the virtues of knowledge because of this.

Going back to the original point — amongst all of the questions that Abu Darda رضي الله عنه said he was most afraid of on the Day of Judgment is question number three of the four:

How much knowledge of deen did you acquire? Did I fulfill this right of acquiring the knowledge of deen? And how much of that knowledge I acquired did I practice upon? If there is a question coming on an exam that is keeping me awake at night — that I am most anxious and stressed about — it is this question number three of these four.

So where do we stand? This is an opportunity for us to reflect. We are spending, mashallah, with respect to our darura of a worldly life: 12 years in secular schooling to get a high school degree, then 4 years of a bachelor's — 16 years total — and then many of us have done master's, graduate school, whether in medicine, engineering, or law. And the objective of that is not that it is a sin — we are not saying it is a waste of time or a frivolous pursuit — but this is all for what? To fulfill our worldly needs. And we need to fulfill our worldly needs. It is an ibadah that we earn money to take care of our wives and our children. This is a responsibility we cannot undermine in the least.

Having said that, we also need to quickly glance over onto the deen — which is the purpose why we are here. How many years and decades have we spent in acquiring the knowledge of the deen?

An Opportunity to Seek Knowledge — The Tafheem Program

One such opportunity is around the corner — very easy, without having to sacrifice much of our worldly career and time with our families — and that is our Tafheem program. When it starts, the classes are in session and it is hard to join in the middle. But alhamdulillah, next weekend is the beginning of the fall semester.

There are classes on Saturdays and Sundays. We have Mawlana Hamza al-Mahdar and Mufti Nouman — two great scholars who have years of experience teaching and who both moved here from different states. They will be teaching, inshallah, on Saturday three classes and on Sunday classes from ten to one.

This is the only academic class in all the classes of Darussalam that are offered online — not that we are encouraging online, but in case you get scared to sign up thinking, "what if I miss a class because I go on a family trip?" — if you miss the class, it is recorded and you can listen to the recordings afterwards.

This is a four-year course, 24 subjects, on a part-time basis for all adults — high school graduates, college graduates, college students, working professionals. Over four years. Or if you do both Saturdays and Sundays, you can complete the 24 courses in two years. There is a 16-week semester in the spring, and 16 weeks in the fall and winter. The fall semester is starting now.

We request the brothers and sisters who are listening on-site and online to go on the website, look at the courses, look at the teachers, and please sign up. If you cannot take all six, you can take five, four, three, two — even one — at your own pace. This is a great opportunity for us to study, and let us not allow this opportunity in our local community to go by without benefiting.

May Allah make it easy for us to answer this third question on the Day of Judgment and all of the remaining questions.

Announcements

Please stand up, fill in the gaps, come closer, and perform Salah. We have a few very important announcements.

Please pass the donation boxes from left to right. Donate generously. Sadaqah wards off calamity and draws the mercy of Allah. Sadaqah given on the Day of Jum'ah is greater in reward than any other day, as narrated by Rasulallah ﷺ in Musannaf Abd al-Razzaq.

Please do not park on the curbs.

Please note that our weekly programs are continuing. We have our team Fajr program after Fajr on Saturdays — tomorrow at 5:15 a.m. — and on Tuesday nights we have our weekly Tafsir after Maghrib Salah.

Open Registrations

Registrations are open for the following programs:

Tadrees Integrated High School Program — from 8th grade on the girls' side, 9th grade on the boys' side. There is high school education in an Islamic environment along with the Alim and Alimah programs.

Tafheem Weekend Islamic Studies Program — for adults. As mentioned earlier, the fall semester begins Saturday, August 19th. There is a 16-week semester. Saturday classes include: the Fiqh of Salah; the Surahs of Salah — meaning the ten Surahs and Surah al-Fatiha, a detailed analysis and Tafsir so we can understand what we are reciting in our Salah and what we are communicating to Allah; and the purification and Tazkiyah of the heart. Sunday classes include: the history and development of Fiqh — how Fiqh evolved and what all these madhabs are about; an introduction to Hadith sciences — we hear terms like sahih and da'if, so what do these terms mean?; and Aqidah — our beliefs. Each subject is phenomenal and vital for our najat, our salvation.

Sunday School — for younger boys and girls, ages 6 to 16. This program is designed for youth to learn the essentials of Islam in an environment that seeks to nurture and develop a deep love and connection to Allah and Rasulallah ﷺ. The curriculum covers Du'a, Hadith, Adab, Sunnah, and Quran. Please visit the website for more details.

There is also a continuous charity non-profit organization dedicated to promoting higher education of Muslim students by providing interest-free educational loans. It provides non-interest loans to Muslim students to go to college. Please visit their table in the lobby for more information.

Du'a Requests

There are requests for du'a for those individuals who are sick. Our brother Muhammad Yusuf, an elder of the MSI Muslim Garland Heights Muslim community, is very sick. His daughter sent a special request to make du'a for him, as he is suffering from advanced stage cancer. May Allah relieve him of his suffering and grant him shifa.