کسی کی آخرت کے متعلق حتمی رائے نہ دو

Narrated by Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) that one of the noble Companions (may Allah be pleased with them all) passed away, and a man said, "(Through the blessing of the company of the Prophet ﷺ) rejoice, for Paradise is yours." At this the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "What are you saying, when you have no knowledge of the true state of affairs? Perhaps he engaged in idle talk, or was miserly with something whose withholding did him no harm." (Tirmidhi)

The noble Prophet ﷺ cautioned the man who had given the glad tidings: how can you say with such certainty that he is of Paradise? No one has before him the full circumstances, deeds and occupations of another person; therefore such a thing should never be said with certainty as would amount to a claim to knowledge of the unseen. Rather, for the deceased one should make supplication and seek forgiveness, mention his good qualities, and hope from Allah, the Glorified and Exalted, for good on his behalf.

In cautioning, the noble Prophet ﷺ mentioned two things that can bar a person from entering Paradise. One is that he may at some time have engaged in idle talk. From this we learn how delicate the matter of religion and character is: even a person who has committed no great crime may find that his idle and frivolous talk becomes an obstacle to entering Paradise, for pointless and vulgar talk can spoil a person's position and land him in calamity. That is why to announce with full certainty that someone is straightaway of Paradise is contrary to piety.

"Idle talk" (la-ya‘ni) means unnecessary talk or improper conversation; concerning it a hadith states that abandoning such things is itself a beauty and excellence of a person's Islam — the beauty and excellence of a person's Islam lies in his leaving what is of no benefit or necessity to him (reported by Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah).

"Idle" is what brings no benefit in this world or the Hereafter; this includes both talk that causes worldly and otherworldly harm, and talk in which there is neither harm nor benefit. To avoid things in which there is harm and accountability and punishment is required by the intellect of every person; but words in which there is neither benefit nor harm are also harmful, because for as long as one engages in such talk, one could instead have taken Allah's name, recited the Qur'an, sent blessings upon the Prophet, or sought forgiveness — so the loss of this benefit is itself the real loss and ruin. Moreover, once idle and superfluous talk begins, it grows until it reaches the point of speaking ill of great people and backbiting them. So the good lies in the servant not speaking without cause — either remaining silent, or engaging in the remembrance of Allah, or, as far as necessary, speaking of worldly matters that concern lawful affairs. Excessive speech breeds hardness in the heart, so there is a great need to guard against superfluous and idle speech.

The second matter is that he may have been miserly with something whose spending would not diminish him — for example, someone asked him about a matter of knowledge and, though he knew it, he did not tell; or he was stingy in giving the obligatory zakat; or in other charities and expenditures that had to be spent, he held back from spending. For by sharing knowledge and paying zakat, neither knowledge nor wealth diminishes at all; rather they increase. By being miserly in such things a person merely proves his own baseness and small-mindedness, in which there is no real loss to him — such as giving the greeting of salam, or receiving a brother with a cheerful face; this kind of miserliness can become a barrier between a person and his Paradise.

Charities and expenditures are counted among the things by which wealth does not decrease — for outwardly they appear to diminish wealth, but in reality it increases; this is established from the Qur'an and Hadith. Allah has placed only blessings in charity and other good works, as Allah says in one place: "Whatever you spend in the way of Allah, He will repay it (in full)" (Saba 39). A hadith states likewise: "Spend, and it will be spent upon you" (reported by Bukhari and Muslim).

The upshot of this saying of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ is: why did you express such certainty about this person's entering Paradise, when you have no acquaintance with all the outward and inward corners of his life, nor knowledge of the reality of his states? No doubt this person's outward life was very pure, and he attained the honour of Companionship; but it may be that some idle word issued from his tongue, or he was miserly, and being caught up in the accountability and reckoning for it, he was barred from entering Paradise straightaway.