7 Types Of People Under the Shade of The Throne Of Allah Part One

7 Types Of People Under the Shade of The Throne of Allah — Part One

Introduction: The Seven Types of People

In the next couple of khutab we are going to be looking at a series explaining the hadith of the seven types of people that will be under the shade of the throne of Allah azza wa jal. This is based off the hadith in Sahih Bukhari and Muslim, narrated by Abu Hurairah — seven types of people that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will provide shade for, or provide from His shade.

The Horror of the Day of Judgment

The Sun will be drawn near to the creation on the Day of Judgment.

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2864)

Until it will be the distance of a mile. And the scholars said the mile of that time is something similar to what we call a mile today.

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2864)

So then people will sweat according to their deeds, according to their good deeds. If they didn't have many good deeds, they will sweat a lot more. If they have a lot of good deeds, they will sweat less.

So the Prophet ﷺ continues:

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2864)

So some people the sweat will be all the way to their ankles. And some the sweat will reach all the way to their knees. And some of them the sweat will reach their pelvis bone — their waist basically. And another hadith mentions, all the way to the chest. And then there will be people who will be completely drowning in their sweat.

It is important to note that there are some Muslims who say ridiculous things like, "If the sun is a mile away, how will it not burn them up?" You think Allah azza wa jal — His plans don't fail. So Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will make it so. And the scholars responded to this saying: how about the fact that people will stand for 50,000 years without eating and drinking, and they still survive? So it's not a normal day where the normal laws of this earth apply, so that you can make an argument in that way.

So the sun is one mile away from people's heads, people sweating to varying degrees according to their good deeds. In a narration by Imam Ahmad, the Prophet ﷺ mentions that the sweat will be so much that if ships were sailed on this sweat, they would sail. And yet people wait in this situation and in this condition, with fear — no joking, no talking, no side conversations. No one even daring to lift their eyes and look around. But people will wait like that for 50,000 years.

This is just waiting for the judgment to begin. The judgment hasn't started yet, and people wait for 50,000 years. And the scholars mentioned that the righteous — and we ask Allah azza wa jal to make us from that group — the righteous, it passes like it's just part of a day. It passes quickly. And there will be people it will seem the 50,000 years like a week. For others, it will seem like a month. For others, it will seem like a year. And for some people, they will feel every actual second of 50,000 years.

And if you would just imagine — if someone made you stand in the Texas sun in the summer for a week or for a day, you would feel that there's no one on earth who's being punished more than you. But imagine waiting in the Texas sun for a year, and after a year finally passes — and this is no nighttime included — you still have 49,999 years. And after people wait for 1,000 years, they still have to wait for 49,000 years. And after they finally wait for 49,000 years, they still have to wait for 1,000 years. In this situation.

But the people of good deeds — this passes by and they don't even feel it. And there will be people who feel every second. And they will be so tired of waiting that they want the judgment to begin. And they don't even care if they go to the hellfire.

So, if you contemplate this — the hellfire, no one can withstand a millisecond of the hellfire. And people stand there, they know their crime, and they know they're going to end up in the hellfire. So you would imagine someone who knows they're going to go to this horrible place for all eternity would rather wait for 50,000 years, and another 50,000 years. But they're so tired of waiting that they just want the judgment to begin, and they don't care whether they go to the paradise or the hellfire. They're just tired of waiting.

So this is the day when seven types of people receive shade — on a day when there is no shade except for that provided by Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. So how special is it to receive shade on a day like this?

The Hadith of the Seven

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 660; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 1031)

Seven types of people — Allah will give them from His shade on a day when there is no shade except His shade. And even though the hadith says this, it is agreed upon by the scholars that the shade is referring to the shade of the throne of Allah azza wa jal. And this is due to another narration mentioned by Ibn Hajar rahimahullah in Al-Fath, which he classified as sahih or hasan, in which the Prophet ﷺ says:

Seven types of people — Allah will give them shade from the shade of His throne on the Day of Judgment.

So in the second khutbah insha'Allah we'll look at this magnificent structure that is offering the shade — the throne of Allah azza wa jal.

Ask Allah azza wa jal for His forgiveness. Indeed, those who ask for His forgiveness shall prosper.

The Throne of Allah: Its Greatness and Description

Scholars like Ibn al-Qayyim, Ibn Kathir, and Ibn Taymiyyah believe that the throne was the first of Allah's creation. In the hadith of Sahih Muslim, that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala wrote everything that will happen, 50,000 years before creating the heavens and the earth:

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2653)

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala wrote the decree of everything 50,000 years before He created the heavens and the earth, and His throne was above the water. So they use this hadith to say: before He created anything, His throne was already above the water.

Abdullah ibn Umar radiallahu anhuma said it was his opinion that Allah created only four things with His own two hands: the throne, the qalam — the pen that wrote everything — Adam alayhi salam, and Jannat 'Adn. And the rest of the creation, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala said to it, كُنْ — "Be" — and it became. So the throne is of the greatest of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala's creations.

The Distances Between the Heavens

In Musnad Imam Ahmad, narrated by Al-Abbas, the uncle of the Prophet ﷺ — he says: one day we were with the Prophet ﷺ, and he began to ask us some questions. Then he began to describe the distances between the heavens and the earth. So between the first earth and the first heaven, there is a distance of 500 years of travel. Then between the first heaven and the second is a distance of 500 years of travel. Then between the second heaven and the third heaven, a distance of 500 years of travel. Then the thickness of each one of the heavens — so the thickness of the first heaven is 500 years of travel. The thickness of the second heaven, the same. Third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh. Then on top of the seventh heaven, there is water, the depth of which is 500 years of travel. And then above that is the throne of Allah azza wa jal.

But then look at the wording of the Prophet ﷺ. When he got to the throne in his description, he says: and no one knows its magnitude except Allah azza wa jal. It is so magnificent, no one truly understands its magnitude except for Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

The Kursi and the 'Arsh: A Comparison

In another hadith, the Prophet ﷺ describes that the seven heavens and the earth — their size in comparison to the kursi. And Al-Abbas radiallahu anhu says the kursi is the footstool of Allah azza wa jal. So the seven heavens and the earth — their comparison in size to the footstool of Allah azza wa jal is like you stand in the middle of a vast desert, and you take a small ring, and you throw it in the middle of that desert. The size of that small ring in comparison to this large desert — that is the footstool in comparison to the size of the heavens and the earth.

And then he says: if you compare the size of the footstool to the 'arsh of Allah — the throne of Allah azza wa jal — it is like you take another small ring, and you throw it in the middle of a vast desert.

The Angels Who Carry the Throne

In another hadith, the Prophet ﷺ said: "I have been given permission to talk about one of the angels that carry the throne of Allah azza wa jal." So the Prophet ﷺ was given permission to describe one of the angels that hold up and carry the throne of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And the Prophet ﷺ describes that from his earlobe until his shoulder is a distance of the flight of a bird for 700 years.

Imagine how much distance a bird could cover if it flew night and day, 24/7, for one year. How much distance could it cover? But the distance of 700 years of the flight of a bird — and that's just from the earlobe to the shoulder, not counting from the head all the way down.

So all this — this is the greatness of the throne of Allah azza wa jal. This is the honor that those types of people receive: to be able to be under the shade of the throne of Allah azza wa jal on a day where people stand for 50,000 years with the sun a mile away from their heads.

More Than Seven: Additional Categories

As final points, we do want to mention that the scholars Ibn Hajar and As-Suyuti rahimahullah mentioned another 70. So meaning, it is not just limited to these seven types of people. It's almost like the hadith of the ten given glad tidings of paradise — they're not the only ten, but in that hadith the Prophet ﷺ listed ten, so it became famously known as the hadith of the ten. But there are many other companions who were given glad tidings of paradise.

So they said in the same way, this hadith mentioned seven types of people that will be under the shade of the throne of Allah azza wa jal, but they mentioned another 70 types of people. From quick examples:

Al-Ghazi — the Mujahid — and this is narrated by Umar ibn al-Khattab, by Ibn Hibban — will be under the shade of the throne. Those who assist and prepare the Mujahid — narrated by Imam Ahmad and Al-Hakim — will also be under the shade of the throne. And those who help someone else pay off their debts will also be under the shade.

And those who help the Mukaatab — al-Mukaatab is from back when they had slavery. So if the slave wanted to buy his freedom, he would go and ask for the price. And according to the majority of scholars, the owner was obligated to give a price — he can't say "I'm not selling right now." So he is obligated to give him a price, and then he is obligated and encouraged to decrease the price. And then everyone else is obligated or encouraged to assist and donate to give that person their freedom. So helping the Mukaatab is one of the things that will also get you to be under the shade of the throne.

And narrated by Al-Baghawi, the truthful merchant is also one who gets to be under the shade of the throne.

Du'a

With that, we ask Allah azza wa jal to make us of those who recognize the truth as clear truth and follow the best of it. And to make us of those who recognize falsehood as clear falsehood and abstain from it.

And stand for your prayer, may the mercy of Allah be upon you.