When life on earth ends and the Day of Resurrection arrives, all mankind will be resurrected. They come hurriedly out of their graves to stand in an open expanse. No one looks at another, because they are all preoccupied with their own destiny. The sun is brought near and the heat is enormous. They suffer the heat according to their own deeds. Some of them will be so profusely sweating that their sweat reaches as high as their knees, or even higher. Yet seven types of people are immune from that heat. Who are these?

Abu Hurayrah quotes the Prophet (peace be upon him) as saying: “Seven types shall enjoy God’s shelter on the Day when there is no shelter other than what He provides: a just ruler, a young man who is brought up as a committed worshipper, a man whose heart always inclines toward mosques, two friends whose friendship is for God’s service: it is uppermost in their minds when they meet and when they part, a man who resists seduction by a woman of power and beauty saying to her, “I fear God,” a man who gives something to charity in secret so as his left hand would not know what his right hand has given away, and a man who remembers God when alone and his eyes are tearful.” (Related by Al-Bukhari).

We must first of all make clear that whatever applies to men in this Hadith also applies to women. When we read this Hadith carefully, we realize that it speaks of people who are true believers and whose faith is so strong that they are able to put it ahead of all other considerations. Let us briefly look at each one of the seven.

There is no doubt that any ruler will be hard pressed to maintain justice in all situations and all types of dispute. Therefore, a ruler who makes ensuring justice his priority needs to put up very hard effort not to err against justice. This ensures for him God’s protection on the Day of Judgment.

Scholars explain that although the Prophet mentions rulers in this Hadith, this type includes anyone who is in a position of authority over others and maintains justice between them. Thus it includes every head of a department who supervises a number of employees, an army officer who commands a number of soldiers, a company owner or director who ensures justice among his staff, etc. In fact it also includes a teacher who does not favor certain students over others and a parent who has several children and treats them equally. The Prophet says: “The just will be with God, sitting on desks of light, to the right of the Lord of Grace. These are the ones who maintain justice in their rulings, and within their families, and with whoever is under their authority.” (Related by Muslim).

The just ruler is specifically stated here because his rules affect a large number of people. When he maintains justice and makes it uppermost among his concerns all his people will benefit.

Young people are often tempted by their strong desires and flowing energy. They find it hard to resist tempting situations. Therefore, when a young person goes through youth, adolescence and early adulthood attending to his worship, preferring always to remain obedient to God, he deserves reward of the richest type. His resistance of temptation indicates that he is truly God-fearing. The Prophet says in another Hadith: “God is particularly pleased with a young person who does not give in to desire.” Hence, such young people are included in the seven categories enjoying God’s favor.

– By Adil Salahi