(131) It is related
by Abu Hurairah that the Apostle of God said: “By the Holy Being
in whose control is my life, if you knew what is known to me [about
the Anger of the Lord and the terrible events of the Last Day and the
Hereafter] you would laugh less and weep more.”
- Bukhari
Commentary.-It shows that if all that was revealed to the Prophet about
the Lord’s supreme indifference to everything, and His Anger and
Almightiness and the frightful happenings of the Last Day and Futurity
came fully to our knowledge and our eyes could see what was visible
and ears could hear what was audible to him, our peace of mind would
be destroyed so completely that we would grieve much and rejoice little.
(132) It is related by Abu Zarr Ghifari that the Apostle of God said:
“I see the things of the invisible world you do not see and hear
the sounds [of the invisible world] you do not hear. The sky is shaking
and it is appropriate that it shook. By the Glorious One in whose power
is my life ! There is not even a space of four fingers in the heavens
where an angel is not prostrating himself before the Almighty, with
his forehead touching the ground. If you knew the things that are known
to me, you would laugh little and weep much, and could not enjoy the
bed with your spouses, and would go out into forests and deserts groaning
and crying out to the Lord.” [After relating it] Abu Zarr said
to us, “I wish I were a tree that was cut down.”
-Musnad-i-Ahmad, Tirmidhi and Ibn-i-Maja
Commentary.-As we have seen earlier, in connection with Traditions pertaining
to Faith, the chief task and mission of the Apostle is to communicate
to the bondmen the truths that are revealed and the commands that are
sent down to him and the duty of his followers is to believe in those
truths and observe those commands as the fundamental principles of their
lives. The range of the sources of knowledge, like the intellect and
the sense,. God has granted to mankind is limited to the visible world.
They do not go far enough to uncover the realities of the other [the
invisible] world. The only way for us to know and understand the transcendental
truths, therefore, is to rely on and accept as authentic what the Divine
Apostles see, hear or tell. This is Faith in a nutshell.
In this Tradition the Prophet has made the awe-inspiring revelation
about the other world that the sky is shaking with the Power and Splendour
of the Lord and with the abundance of the angels. There is hardly any
space in it where an angel may not be prostrating himself in reverence
and humility. He has, further, emphasised that if we became aware of
what was known to him, we would not be able to live happily in this
world and enjoy its comforts but abandon our homes and roam about in
wilderness, wailing and beseeching the Lord for mercy.
The narrator, Abu Zarr, was so deeply moved by the report that while
relating it he would often burst out: “Would to God that I was
a tree which was cut down from the roots so that I was not presented
to the Lord for the Great Reckoning.”
Since man has been created to function as the Vicegerent of God on earth
and he can discharge his duty properly only when he enjoys peace of
mind in the world, the truths have not been revealed to him which would
have ruined his composure and tranquillity. For example, if the punishment
of the grave of Hell was made known to men like us and we could see
all the events of the Hereafter with our own eyes, we could not attend
to the daily needs or even manage to live. But as the Prophet Muhammad
was raised up for the fulfillment of a special mission, it was essential
that these realities were revealed to him to a certain extent so that
he could attain the certitude and assurance that was needed for his
lotty work and position. Thus, certain truths beyond the sphere of human
experience were made known to him, and, with it, Divine Providence ordained
for his heart an extraordinary strength that enabled him to carry out
the tremendous responsibilities of Apostleship in a fitting manner and
lead a balanced life that could serve as a model to mankind at all times.