Beautiful Miracles of the Final Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم
Destined for Hell
Sayyid Imran Akhtar Attari Madani
Our Prophet Muhammad صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم, by Allah’s blessing, could see future events and even knew when people were hiding their disbelief or hypocrisy.
As narrated by Sahl b. SꜤad SāꜤidī رَضِىَ اللّٰهُ عَـنْهُ, the Greatest Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم faced the disbelievers in battle. When both returned to their camps after fighting, the Beloved Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم inspected his army, and the others inspected theirs. Among the Companions of the Prophet was a man who would not let any of the fleeing disbelievers escape alive; he would pursue and kill them. The Companions رَضِیَ اللهُ عَنْهُم said, “None of us have accomplished what this man did today.’ The Greatest Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم replied, “Indeed, he is amongst the people of Hell.”
A person said, “I will accompany him (to see what he does).” He accompanied the man, standing wherever he stood, running wherever he did. The man was then seriously wounded and decided to end his life by planting his sword in his chest. The person following him returned to the Greatest Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم and said, “I testify you are Allah’s Messenger.”
The Holy Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم asked, “What happened?” The person replied, “It is about the man you described as one of the people of Hell.” The people were greatly surprised by this. He continued, “I followed him, and when he was severely wounded, he hastened to die by slanting the blade of his sword in the ground and directing its sharp end towards his chest. He then leant on it and killed himself.”
The Beloved Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم said, “A man may seem to the people as if he is practicing the deeds of the people of Paradise, whilst he is in fact from the people of Hell. Another may seem to the people as if he were practicing the deeds of the people of Hell, whilst he is in fact from the people of Paradise.”[1]
The man’s name was Quzmān, and he was a hypocrite. This incident took place during the Battle of Khaybar or Uḥud. He did not participate in the battle initially, but when women mocked him for his cowardice, saying, “You are a man, yet you act like a woman,” he joined the battle. Yet, he joined to save his honour, not for the sake of Allah Almighty. He admitted this to Qatāda b. NꜤumān رَضِىَ اللّٰهُ عَـنْهُ, saying, “I did not fight for Islam, but only to protect my reputation.”[2]
Think about how the man’s achievements were initially thought of as a great religious service by the Companions رَضِیَ اللهُ عَنْهُم. Yet, the Greatest Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم was aware of his hypocrisy. Undoubtedly, this is a great miracle. There are several lessons to be learned from this:
* Suicide is forbidden and leads to Hell.
* Appreciating and encouraging someone’s commendable achievements is a good practice. In fact, it is a sunna of the Companions.
* If people misunderstand somebody or a situation, their misunderstanding should be cleared whilst remaining within the boundaries of Islamic law.
* Deceiving others and keeping them blinded by this deception is a practice of the hypocrites.
* Committing suicide to escape the small pains and trials of life is cowardice, and a cause of suffering and punishment in the Hereafter.
* We should fear Allah Almighty’s hidden decree and ask for well-being in this world and the Hereafter.
* Sometimes, Allah Almighty assigns the work of religion to a sinful person.
Note: Self-harm and committing suicide are forbidden and lead to Hell.
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