The seven under the Shade of Allaah Almighty 1

On the Day of Resurrection, all people that ever lived will be
gathered before Allaah toawait His judgment for all they have done of
saidduring their lives. During this time, the sun will come very close
to the people (as close as one mile according to some narrations).
People will want to get away from the heat of the sun but there will
be no Shade or shelter to goto and they will start sweating in
proportion to their sins. The more sins a person has the more he or
she will sweat.
During this traumatic time, however, the seven groups of people who
are mentioned in the following Hadeeth (Prophetic narration) willbe
completely immune tothe sun's heat and they will be in complete
comfort.
These people will be in such comfort because they will be enjoying the
only shade available on that day and that is the Shade of Allaah. They
willenjoy such an honor because of their piety and obedience to Allaah
while they were in this life.
The Prophet said: "There are seven whom Allaah will shade in His Shade
on the Day when there is no shade except His Shade: a just ruler; a
youth who grew up in the worship of Allaah, theMighty and Majestic; a
man whose heart is attached to the mosques; two men who love each
other for Allaah's sake, meeting for that and parting upon that; a man
who is called by a woman of beauty and position [for illegal
intercourse], but be says: 'I fear Allaah'; a man whogives in charity
and hidesit, such that his left hand does not know what his right hand
gives in charity; and a man who remembered Allaah in private and so
his eyes shed tears." [Al-Bukhaari and Muslim]
In this beautiful narration, the Prophet spoke about small acts
ofworship which result in such a huge reward: shade on the Day when
there will be no shade except His Shade, i.e., the Shade of His
Throne.
This may not seem like much at first but then reflect upon the
following narration: "On the Day of Resurrection, the sun would draw
so close to the people that there would be left a distance of only one
mile.The people will be submerged in perspiration according totheir
deeds, some up to their ankles, some up to their knees, some up to the
waist and some would have the bridle of perspiration (and, while
saying this, the Messenger of Allaah put his hand towards his mouth)."
[Muslim]
Let us examine now the characteristics and virtues of these seven
categories of people whowill be worthy of such anexalted position on
the Day of Gathering.
1. A Just Ruler:
The concept of Justice in Islam is very important and it is something
which the Muslim - Ruler and the ruled - must apply in all matters
without exception. Justice means to give each the right he deserves:
Muslim or non-Muslim, relative or stranger, friend or enemy. Allaah
Says (what means): "...And do not let hatred cause you to act
unjustly, that is nearer to piety." [Quran 5:8]
Unfortunately, even if weadmit this in theory, we quickly forget it in
practice. So we find that when we speak about our friends and loved
ones, we praise them beyond reason and whenwe speak about those whom
we hold difference with, we can find no good in them andwe just
capitalize on their bad points.
The Prophet said: "Allaah does not bless a people among whom a weak
man is not given his right." [At-Tirmithi]
The concept of justice is most important for the Ruler, since he is in
charge of his people and the primary disposer of justice in the land.
For this reason, the Ruler is given special mention as one of the
seven who will be honored with Allaah's Shade.
2. A youth who grew up in the worship of Allaah:
The great scholar, Imaam Ayyoob As-Sakhtiyaani (d.131H) stated: 'From
the success of a youth is that Allaah guides him to a scholar of the
Sunnah (to study under and learnfrom).'
Indeed, it is a great blessing from Allaah for ayouth be guided
towardsworship and be befriended by the righteous, since it is in
youth that a person is most vulnerable to the temptations of life and
liable to drift away from the Islamic Path. This becomes apparent when
we look at society around us and we see that most of the worldly
distractions, such as music, games, clubs, fashion etc. are all
specifically targeted at the young.
'You're only young once!'they are told, which is why many Muslims
nowadays waste their youth thinking that they will pray, wear Hijaab
and go on Hajj, etc. whenthey are old, as if they have a guarantee of
longevity from Allaah! How well we would do toheed the Prophet's
advice when he said: "Take benefit of five before five: your youth
before your old age, yourhealth before your sickness, your wealth
before your poverty, your free time before you are preoccupied and
your life before your death." [Al-Haakim]
3. A man whose heart is attached to the mosques:
There is great encouragement in the Sunnah for men to pray in the
mosques and the reward associated with itis tremendous. Not only does
it make the person eligible for Allaah's Shadeon the day of
Judgement,but also: "he does not take a step [towards the mosque
except that because of it, he is raised by one rank and one sin is
removed from him. Then when he prays, the Angels do not cease
supplicating for him [for]as long as he remains at his place of Prayer
[sayings]: O Allaah send blessings upon him, O Allaah have mercy upon
him..." [Al-Bukhaari]
It must be emphasized here however, that all the narrations
encouraging the men to be attached to the mosques are not intended to
lead one to the conclusion that Islam is a Religion which should be
confined to themosques, as many peopleimagine. Nonetheless, the mosque
should be at the heart of the Muslim community, and the role of those
in authority of the mosques is vital here.They are the ones mainly
responsible for making the mosque a welcome refuge for the Muslims.
To be concluded/