The Moments of Celebration in the Next World | Friday Khutbah | Mufti Abdul Wahab Waheed

The Two Moments of Celebration

The Prophet ﷺ in this beautiful narration says and mentions,

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 1904; Sahih Muslim, Book 13, Hadith 2764)

That a fasting person will be given two glorious moments of joy. He will be given two momentous occasions of celebration. One of those moments of celebration, one of those moments of joy and jubilance, will be experienced in this world.

فَرْحَةٌ عِنْدَ فِطْرِهِ — it will be in those moments where he or she is enjoying Eid with their family. In the moments of enjoyment with the family, in the moments of enjoyment with the community, in the moments that we realize that now the month of Ramadan has been completed and we are allowed to eat and drink and spend time with our loved ones in different ways. And these are indeed moments of joy.

These are moments of celebration. Eid is a celebration. And the days that come after Eid are indeed moments and days that we celebrate. They're days that we enjoy. But an intelligent person is able to realize that moments of celebration are not the completion of the task itself, but they're moments that we are allowed to celebrate that can motivate us to move forward.

No one celebrates as if they've completed the most enjoyable moment of their life when they finish their high school. They celebrate, but now they know they have to go through college. No one celebrates without any stress on their mind or without any continuous goals when they finish their bachelor's degree or their MCAT — now they know they have med school. No one even celebrates when they finish med school because now you know we have residency. An intelligent person realizes that moments of celebration are there to encourage us. They're there to motivate us. They're there to push us forward.

The first moment of celebration is something that we all experience. And if this is the type of celebration that Allah has given us for obeying His commands for 30 days, we can only imagine the type of joy and jubilance and celebration that will be given to people when they will be able to experience the ultimate joy.

The Second Celebration: Meeting Allah

وَفَرْحَةٌ عِنْدَ لِقَاءِ رَبِّهِ — the second moment of celebration. The second moment of joy.

Say to them, O Muhammad ﷺ, it is through the virtue of Allah. And Ibn Abbas says: هُوَ الْإِسْلَامُ — it is through Islam that people should be happy.

وَفَرْحَةٌ عِنْدَ لِقَاءِ رَبِّهِ — we can only imagine the moment of joy that we will experience when we are finally able to meet our Creator. When we are able to meet Allah.

I have these clips on YouTube — you can watch them in different places — where it's the compilation of people celebrating too early. In sports, in different places in life. When they celebrate too early, it becomes the most humorous and laughed-upon moment in sports. Because they celebrated too early. But dear friends, what would happen to us if we continue celebrating too early? Without the sense of understanding that there is a second celebration that I look forward to.

A celebration that will be such:

A celebration that no eye has ever seen, no ear has ever heard — about the joys that you and I will experience when our loved ones will be brought back together and we will be able to enjoy the company of our Prophet. We will be able to enjoy the company of those loved ones that we so dearly miss. In the moments of celebration in this world, Eid does not remain an Eid without our loved ones. Those smiles are not true smiles, and that laughter is not really laughter, because we are missing those people that we used to enjoy those celebrations with.

The Reunion in Jannah

Imagine when the announcer calls on the Day of Judgment:

That we want you to enter Jannah as a family. When Allah announces:

When Allah calls out and says: where are the parents? And why are the parents and the children separated from each other? Why is it so that the spouses are not in the same spot? Why is it so that the siblings are far away from each other in the layers and in the different ranks of Jannah? Bring them together so they can enjoy the blessings of Allah in Jannah together.

There is a celebration on Eid where we eat our sweets and we eat the different meals that are prepared for us, and we are indeed supposed to enjoy those days — because if we don't enjoy those days, perhaps we will never enjoy this day. But imagine Allah announcing: bring forth for them every type of fruit, every type of dessert, every type of meal.

Such beautiful meals that when we enjoy them and when we consume them, we will say that perhaps it is the same thing that I just ate yesterday. And the announcer will say, no, no — وَأُتُوا بِهِ مُتَشَابِهًا — it is not the same. Imagine every bite that we take, the next one becomes more delicious.

The Ultimate Joy: Seeing Allah

فَرْحَةٌ عِنْدَ لِقَاءِ رَبِّهِ — and then the ultimate moment of enjoyment, when an individual is actually able to meet Allah. We can imagine the type of joy that the Prophet ﷺ experienced when he went for Mi'raj, sitting in front of Allah. Now, every single person amongst us, and all of the believers, insha'Allah, will be able to experience:

A sense of closeness. فَكَانَ قَابَ قَوْسَيْنِ أَوْ أَدْنَىٰ was experienced by our Habib. But imagine you and I in the true celebration of life, where we understand that we cannot continue celebrating too early, but there needs to be a continuous effort — an effort that allows us to meet Allah.

Where Allah will say to the people of Jannah: do you want anything else? Do you wish to enjoy any other blessing? And the people of Jannah will respond by saying:

Ya Rabb, what else could we be given? You have freed us from the excruciating pain of Jahannam, and have given us entrance into the gardens of Jannah, and have united us with our family members. What else could we ask for?

فَكُشِفَ الْحِجَابُ — and the veils will be lifted. And all of the hundred layers of nur that will be present between the Creator and His creation will be removed. And every person in Jannah will be able to experience the epitome of enjoyment and joy at that very moment when we will be able to see Allah.

Allah says: for those that continue excelling, yes, they will be given the average, mediocre gifts of enjoyment — but they will also be given something better. Ibn Abbas says: هَذِهِ رُؤْيَةُ اللَّهِ — this is the ability of seeing Allah.

The Sahabah when they heard this said: Ya Rasulullah, how will it be that all of us will be in Jannah at that same time? How will we all be able to see Allah together? Would some of us have our vision blocked? Will there be barriers in between, like how it is in this world — where there are levels of seating, where the people that can earn more and pay more may have a closer seat in the auditorium, and the people that have a better degree have a better spot and a better view of what they want to see? But who will be given the right view of Jannah and the greatest view of Allah on the Day of Judgment? Will it be based upon the factors of dunya? Or will it be based upon something that we internally hold in our hearts, which is Iman?

And the Prophet ﷺ says to them: all my companions — on that day, every one of you, based upon your Iman, will be able to see Allah:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 554; Sahih Muslim, Book 5, Hadith 1812)

The same way you see the moon on the 14th night — that everyone is able to have the full view of that moon, and everyone is able to stare back at that moon as if the moon is only shining light upon him or her. And this is how we will experience seeing Allah. This is فَرْحَةٌ عِنْدَ لِقَاءِ رَبِّهِ.

The Story of Abdullah and His Love for the Prophet ﷺ

My dear brothers, youngsters, and sisters — as we continue after the month of Ramadan, that light that we were able to experience, the heights of our spirituality that we were able to enjoy, let us use it for the ultimate joy. Let us motivate ourselves to use that, so that we can also one day see our Prophet ﷺ in the Akhirah.

There was a companion by the name of Abdullah رضي الله عنه — and his last name has different narrations. But the Prophet ﷺ, when he went to Ta'if, on his journey where he was pelted with stones and made to bleed, amongst the people that he met was a youngster by the name of Abdullah. And this youngster, upon sight of the Prophet ﷺ, fell in love with him — because that was the Prophet's sight.

Ibn Hajar says more than 33 people accepted Islam just by seeing the Prophet ﷺ. Hassan ibn Thabit says:

That if this man ﷺ came down with no miracle, just sat on a chair his entire life, just by seeing him, you will know he is someone unique and special.

Umm Ma'bad رضي الله عنها narrates to her husband perhaps the most comprehensive description of our Habib ﷺ:

She says: I saw a man with a striking appearance, beautifully created. His stomach was not protruding, neither was his head overly large — every limb of his body was perfectly proportioned. قَسِيمٌ وَسِيمٌ — a specimen of a creation. فِي عَيْنَيْهِ دَعَجٌ — he had a contrast in his eyes where the black was excessively black and the white was immensely white. وَفِي أَشْفَارِهِ وَطَفٌ — and he had a natural length in his eyelashes. أَكْحَلُ — people would think he was wearing kohl, but it was natural. أَزَجُّ أَقْرَنُ — and he had a natural redness in his cheeks, his eyebrows were naturally arched. She says that if he was to remain quiet and not speak, even the birds would stop chirping — they would listen to see if the Prophet was about to speak. And when he would speak, everyone would remain silent. He was the most beautiful person that you could see from a distance, and contrary to the beauty we experience, the closer he would come, he would become more beautiful and look even better.

So Abdullah falls in love with him, and says to his uncle: please let me go with this man by the name of Muhammad ﷺ and let me be with him. His uncle says: if you leave, I will disown you and you will have nothing to survive with. So he stays with his uncle.

The years pass, and as he grows older, he turns to his uncle one day and says:

He says: my heart is burning — it is as if I have a flame in my heart — it's burning to meet my Habib ﷺ. Please let me go. His uncle says: you can leave, but you cannot take anything with you. And he leaves.

He travels now to Madinah al-Munawwarah, where our Habib ﷺ has migrated. The Prophet ﷺ is sitting in a masjid with his companions. This man enters into the gathering. The narrator mentions that he walked from Ta'if to Madinah al-Munawwarah, and by the time he reached there the clothes that he was wearing were ripped up — he hardly had enough cloth to cover his awrah — and he was tanned and scorching with heat, and you could tell this person was just about to pass out.

The moment he entered into the gathering, he saw the Prophet ﷺ and the Sahabah from a distance. And the Prophet ﷺ says:

Cover your brother. And as they go to cover him, he falls unconscious. They cover his body, give him water to drink, and he comes forth to the gathering of the Prophet ﷺ. He says: مَنْ مِنْكُمْ مُحَمَّدٌ؟ — who is the Prophet over here? And the Prophet ﷺ says: I am Muhammad ﷺ.

And he comes forth and falls on top of the Prophet ﷺ, and he hugs him and holds him tight, and says to him: Ya Rasulullah, do you remember who I am? And the Prophet of Allah says: yes, I do — you are that youngster that came and met me in Ta'if.

This is the joy of meeting the Prophet of Allah ﷺ. Imagine the joy of meeting Allah in the Akhirah.

The Du'a at the Battle of Tabuk

This same youngster — in the Battle of Tabuk, traveling with the Prophet ﷺ — says to the Prophet of Allah: O Prophet of Allah, ask Allah:

Grant me martyrdom. And the Prophet of Allah ﷺ raises his hands and says:

O Allah, protect him from the swords of the non-believers. So he makes the du'a that actually protects him from being killed or martyred in this blessed battle of Tabuk. He says: O Prophet of Allah, why would you make such a du'a? I want martyrdom! And the Prophet ﷺ says: there are other ways to become shaheed — if you pass away traveling in the path of Allah, if you are hit while you are on your camel, if you become sick, if you have a stomach disease, if you pass away in a plague or a pandemic like many of our loved ones — you are also shaheed.

He remains quiet. On the journey back, he falls off his camel and becomes shaheed.

Abu Musa al-Ash'ari رضي الله عنه says: in the middle of the night I wake up, and I see a lantern — a lamp that is lit — and a grave that is dug. I see from a distance that Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه and Umar رضي الله عنه are standing outside the grave. I come closer, and I see the Prophet of Allah ﷺ inside of the grave, making sure that every part of the grave is even. He sets it. Then the body is handed by Abu Bakr and Umar رضي الله عنهما to the Prophet of Allah ﷺ. The Prophet of Allah ﷺ takes his body, lays it to rest inside of this grave, then comes out, covers his body, and says:

O Allah, I make You a witness that we are happy with him — so You also become happy with him. We are pleased with him — so You also be pleased with him.

Abu Musa رضي الله عنه says: we did not know who this person was, but everyone that witnessed this scene echoed the same statement — يَا لَيْتَنِي كُنْتُ مَكَانَهُ — we wish, we wish that we were in his spot. Because he left the world with the Prophet of Allah ﷺ being pleased with him. And this was that same companion.

Conclusion: Keeping the True Celebration in View

So my dear friends, there are two moments of celebration. The first moment of celebration — we celebrate and enjoy the most we can within the paradigm of the rules of our religion. But the second moment of celebration should not be blurred to us, should not become obscure to us. Rather, it should become crystal clear to us that everything we are doing — these are moments — but the true end destination is meeting Allah and the Prophet of Allah ﷺ on the Day of Judgment.

When the Prophet of Allah ﷺ told Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه that there are seven or eight doors of Jannah, and there will be such people that every door will call their name — the Sahabah inquired: is there anyone amongst us who will be amongst them? And the Prophet of Allah ﷺ says:

Abu Bakr will be amongst them. This was a moment of celebration — but it wasn't the ultimate celebration for him, because he continued making an effort to the moment that he left this world.

So as we enjoy these days and these weekends that we have left — especially after Eid — these are moments that we enjoy, while keeping in front of us the truest moment of celebration, which will be, insha'Allah:

The moment we are able to meet Allah in a manner that He is pleased with us, and the moment that we are able to enjoy the blessings of Jannah with our loved ones. كُلُّ عَامٍ وَأَنْتُمْ بِخَيْرٍ، وَالْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ