Holding on to your Emaan... Like HOT COAL !!!

The Messenger of Allah (saws) said: "There will come a time when holding on to your Eemaan (belief) will be like holding on to hot coals." [Tirmidhi]

We are currently living in an age where religion and morality have been pushed aside. The floodgates of secularism have been opened and the effect of this has reached even the most remote of places. What is good appears to the people, to be evil, what is evil appears to be good, and the confusion has infected the Ummah at large. Despite this disease which has plagued us, the mercy of Allah is ever present. It is narrated on the authority of Thauban that the Messenger of Allah (saws) said:
“A group of people from my Ummah will always remain triumphant on the right path and continue to be triumphant (against their opponents). He who deserts them shall not be able to do them any harm...” [Saheeh Muslim]
This group will be upon the truth and will not be affected by the taunts of outsiders, the persecution of the ignorant, or the defamation of the innovators. This is the religion of Allah and He (swt) will protect it. Those who follow it will be victorious, as was uttered on the tongue of the Messenger (saws) and he who abandons this truth is upon nothing but misguidance, as Allah says:
“Such is Allah, your Lord in truth. So after the truth, what else can there be, save error? How then are you turned away?” [Surah Yoonus: 32]

Also:
“And verily, this is my Straight Path, so follow it, and follow not (other) paths for they will separate you away from His path. This He has ordained for you that you may become Al-Muttaqoon (pious)” [Surah Al-An’aam: 153]

We are under strict orders to travel upon the straight path and we ask Allah every day, in every salaah:
“Guide us to the Straight Path” [Surah Fatihah: 6]

It is incumbent upon us to gain knowledge and equip ourselves with the tools necessary to distinguish what is truth from what is falsehood. Today, we cannot survive if we do not acquire knowledge of the Deen of Allah. The Muslims are being attacked from every angle and ‘ilm (knowledge) is the armour which will protect us; Allah will aid His servants and will not oppress the one who is sincere in his acquisition of knowledge.

We must know that knowledge is useless without action, so we must enforce that which we know to be true, since Eemaan is: belief in the heart, a statement of the tongue and action of the limbs. This is the reason I decided to write about the great, authentic Hadith of holding on to your eemaan being like holding hot coals. The one who practises the Sunnah today appears to be upon misguidance because the Sunnah is not known among the ignorant masses. The Messenger of Allah (saws) said:
“Islam initiated as something strange, and it would revert to its (old position) of being strange. So glad tidings for the strangers” [Saheeh Muslim]
The one, who is trying to follow the Qur’aan and the Sunnah according to the understanding of the Sahaabah, must understand this; being a stranger amongst the people is not a bad thing, if you are in this position because you are following the Deen of Allah.

“And the slaves of the Most Beneficent (Allah) are those who walk on the earth in humility and sedateness, and when the foolish address them (with bad words) they reply back with mild words of gentleness.” [Surah Al-Furqaan: 63]

The foolish among men do not harm anyone except themselves:
“...and no bearer of burdens shall bear the burden of another. Then unto your Lord is your return, so He will tell you that wherein you have been differing.” [Surah al-An’aam :164]

Now we return to this great Hadith:
The Messenger of Allah (saws) said: "There will come a time when holding on to your Eemaan (belief) will be like holding on to hot coals." [At-Tirmidhi]

Imagine the condition of the one who is holding on to a hot coal. The heat is scorching, his skin is roasting, the smell of burning fat becomes apparent and every second that goes by feels like a lifetime. Yet, the one who is in this position knows that he cannot let go. Why? Because he knows that it is temporary, he knows that the promise of Allah is true, he knows that eternity in Jannah is better than any pain suffered in this lowly dunya, he knows that this pain is nothing compared to the pain of the inhabitants of the Hellfire.

“And on the Day when He shall gather them together, (it will be) as if they had not stayed (in the life of this world and graves etc.) but an hour of a day” [Surah Yoonus: 45]

The righteous slave of Allah will not sell his seat in Paradise for an hour in this lowly, transient, dunya. He will be patient and strive to please Allah in spite of the persecution of the ignorant. He will find comfort in the words of Ar-Rahmaan, when He says:
“And don’t be weak in the pursuit of the enemy; if you are suffering (hardships) then surely, they (too) are suffering as you are suffering, but you have a hope from Allah (for the reward i.e. Paradise) that for which they hope not, and Allah is Ever All-Knowing, All-Wise.” [Surah An-Nisaa’: 104]

And:
“...Surely Allaah wastes not the reward of the Muhsinoon (the good doers)” [Surah at-Tawbah: 120]

I conclude by reminding myself and anyone who reads this; Eemaan is a gift to be cherished, the reward of the people of Eemaan is admittance in to Paradise. A Paradise wherein there are rivers of milk, honey, wine and fresh water. Therein are delights which no eye has ever seen, no ear has ever heard and no heart has ever imagined. Therein the believers will be told that Allah is pleased with them:

“Say: ‘Shall I inform you of things far better than those? For Al-Muttaqoon (the pious) there are Gardens (Paradise) with their Lord, underneath which rivers flow. Therein (is their) eternal (home) and purified mates, and Allah will be pleased with them. And Allah is All-Seer of (His) slaves.” [Surah Ali Imran: 15]

Therein the believers will gaze at the Face of their Lord:

The Prophet (saws) said: "When those deserving of Paradise would enter Paradise, the Blessed and the Exalted would ask: ‘Do you not wish for Me to give you anything more?’ They would say: ‘Have you not brightened our faces? Have you not made us enter Paradise and saved us from the Fire?’ He (the narrator) said: He (Allah) would then lift the veil, and of the things given to them, nothing would be dearer to them than the sight of the Lord, the Mighty and the Glorious.” [Saheeh Muslim]

I ask Allah by His Beautiful Names and His Perfect Attributes that He make firm our hearts in His religion. I ask that He benefits me and those that read this. I ask that He unite the hearts of the Muslims upon the truth and rectify our conditions. May the peace and blessings be upon our beloved Prophet (saws) his family and his companions.