Stages of Purification Before Entering Jannah
Transcript of the Friday Sermon delivered by Dr. Munawar Haque on Jan 12, 2018
Brothers and sisters! Regarding Paradise (Jannah), there is a Hadith Qudsi through which we learn that Allah (SWT) said: “I have prepared for my righteous servants what no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and the mind of no man has conceived…” And a verse in the Qur’an tells us:
فَلَا تَعْلَمُ نَفْسٌ مَّا أُخْفِيَ لَهُم مِّن قُرَّةِ أَعْيُنٍ جَزَاءً بِمَا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ
“No soul can imagine what delights are kept in store for them as a reward for what they used to do.” (as-Sajdah. 32:17). Another verse tells us:
وَسِيقَ الَّذِينَ اتَّقَوْا رَبَّهُمْ إِلَى الْجَنَّةِ زُمَرًا حَتَّى إِذَا جَاءُوهَا وَفُتِحَتْ أَبْوَابُهَا وَقَالَ لَهُمْ خَزَنَتُهَا سَلَامٌ عَلَيْكُمْ طِبْتُمْ فَادْخُلُوهَا خَالِدِينَ
“And those who were mindful of their Lord will be driven to Paradise in crowds. When they reach it, its gates will open, and its custodians will say, “Peace be upon you; you have done well, so enter it to reside there eternally.” (az-Zumar, 39:73)
Based on Prophetic traditions, scholars have said that it is essential for those who will be admitted to Jannah to be washed and purified of all their sins before they enter it. The cleansing of sins will take place in this world or in the Hereafter or both. There are twelve stages of purification from sins for a believer who testifies to the oneness of Allah (SWT) before he or she is admitted into Paradise: four in this life, three after death, and five on the Day of Judgment after resurrection takes place. The first stage of purification is that any sin committed is followed with good deeds.
إِنَّ الْحَسَنَاتِ يُذْهِبْنَ السَّيِّئَاتِ وَأَقِمِ الصَّلَاةَ طَرَفَيِ النَّهَارِ وَزُلَفًا مِّنَ اللَّيْلِ
“And establish prayer at the beginning and end of the day, as well as during parts of the night. Surely, good deeds drive away evil deeds” (Hud, 11:114). One of the best ways of purification is to establish prayers (salah). It reminds a person of Allah over and over again and produces those good characteristics in him that shall help him fight against evil. We should be smart enough to do as many good deeds as possible on a daily basis. While good deeds eradicate our evil deeds, they accumulate for us in the records that are maintained for each one of us in the Hereafter. Allah out of his mercy rewards a good deed at least ten times over while a bad deed is repaid only with its equivalent.
مَنْ جَاءَ بِالْحَسَنَةِ فَلَهُ عَشْرُ أَمْثَالِهَا وَمَنْ جَاءَ بِالسَّيِّئَةِ فَلَا يُجْزَى إِلَّا مِثْلَهَا وَهُمْ لَا يُظْلَمُونَ
“Whoever comes with a good deed will be rewarded tenfold. But whoever comes with a bad deed will only be repaid with its equivalent. They will not be treated unjustly” (al-An’am, 6:160). The second stage of purification is to actively and constantly seek Allah’s forgiveness (istighfar). Istighfar is the process of admitting one’s sin and being painfully sorry for it. We should have some moments of privacy with Allah, and beg Him to purify us by forgiving our misdeeds. We are not born in sin, but we are born in weakness.
يُرِيدُ اللَّهُ أَن يُخَفِّفَ عَنكُمْ وَخُلِقَ الْإِنسَانُ ضَعِيفًا
“Allah wants to lighten your burden as human beings were created weak.” (an-Nisa’, 4:28). We are prone to fall prey to the many temptations that are part of our test in this life. Allah says,
وَاسْتَغْفِرُوا اللَّهَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ غَفُورٌ رَحِيمٌ
“And ask Allah for His forgiveness. Truly, Allah is oft-forgiving, most merciful” (al Baqarah, 2:199). The third stage of purification is repentance (tawbah). It means to move away from past sinful and evil activities, and to firmly resolve to abstain from them in future. Both the Qur’an and the Hadith incorporate the word tawbah to refer to the act of leaving what Allah has prohibited and returning to what He has commanded. One of the most beautiful things about tawbah is that Allah not only wipes the sins off, but also replaces them with good deeds.
مَنْ تَابَ وَآَمَنَ وَعَمِلَ عَمَلًا صَالِحًا فَأُولَئِكَ يُبَدِّلُ اللَّهُ سَيِّئَاتِهِمْ حَسَنَاتٍ وَكَانَ اللَّهُ غَفُورًا رَحِيمًا
“Those who repent, believe, and do good deeds, Allah will change the evil deeds of such people into good ones. He is most forgiving, most merciful” (al-Furqan, 25:70). The fourth stage of purification comes through natural disasters, calamities, and adversities that we often encounter in our lives. We have to recognize that trials and tribulations are woven into our lives. Allah says,
وَلَنَبْلُوَنَّكُمْ بِشَيْءٍ مِنَ الْخَوْفِ وَالْجُوعِ وَنَقْصٍ مِنَ الْأَمْوَالِ وَالْأَنْفُسِ وَالثَّمَرَاتِ وَبَشِّرِ الصَّابِرِينَ
“We will test you with a certain amount of fear and hunger and loss of wealth and life and fruits. But give good news to those who are patient” (al-Baqarah, 2:155). We learn from Hadith that says, “No fatigue, disease, sorrow, sadness, hurt, or distress befalls a Muslim, even if it was the prick he receives from a thorn, but that Allah expiates some of his sins for that.”
For those believers who have not been purified of all their sins while living, there are three stages of purification when they die. One of them is the supplication or dua of the believers for the deceased, such as their offering the funeral prayer for him. This prayer is one of the means of the deceased person being forgiven, and the more people pray on the body of the deceased, the more sins will be forgiven for that deceased person. Therefore, our relationship with other Muslims and other human beings should be cordial so that when we die, more people come to perform the Salat ul-Janazah over our dead body.
When the son of Adam dies and his soul departs and he is placed in his grave, the angels who are charged with questioning come to him and ask him what he used to believe in this world: who was his Lord, what was his religion and who was his Prophet. If he gives a good answer, that is good, but if he does not answer them they inflict a severe and painful beating on him. This is the fitnah or tribulation that he suffers, and one of the stages that which expiates his sins.
Good deeds done on behalf of those who have passed away are also a source of forgiveness and purification for them. The scholars are agreed that the benefits of dua, praying for forgiveness, giving charity and Hajj reach the deceased. We should make dua for the living and the dead. That is how one of the duas begins in funeral prayer:
اللهُـمَّ اغْفِـرْ لِحَيِّـنا وَمَيِّتِـنا
“O Allah! Forgive our living and our dead…” With regard to our parents, whether living or dead, one of the best ways of benefiting them is to make a lot of dua for them, for Allah says,
وَقُل رَّبِّ ارْحَمْهُمَا كَمَا رَبَّيَانِي صَغِيرًا
“And say: “O Lord, have mercy on them as they did in looking after me when I was small.” (al-Isra’, 17:24). With regard to charity, it was narrated from ‘A’ishah that a man said to the Prophet (SAW): “My mother died suddenly and she did not leave a will, but I think that if she could have spoken she would have given in charity. Will she have a reward if I give in charity on her behalf?” The Prophet (SAW) said: “Yes.” With regard to Hajj, the Prophet (SAW) said to one who asked him about Hajj: “Don’t you think that if your mother had a debt, you would pay it off for her?” The person said: “Yes.” The Prophet (SAW) said: “A debt owed to Allah is more deserving of being paid off.” And it was narrated that the Messenger of Allah (SAW) said: “When a man dies all his good deeds come to an end except three: ongoing charity, beneficial knowledge and a righteous child who will pray for him.”
أَقُولُ قَوْلِي هَذَا وَأَسْتَغْفِرُ اللَّهَ لِي وَلَكُمْ وَلِسَائِرِ المُسْلِمينَ وَالمُسْلِمَاتْ فَاسْتَغْفِرُوهْ إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ
الحمد لله رب العالمين والصلاة والسلام على سيد المرسلين وعلى آله وأصحابه أجمعين
Brothers and sisters! There are five stages of purification on the Day of Judgment after resurrection takes place for those who still need to be purified of their evil deeds before they are admitted into Jannah.
The first of these stages of purification takes place in the difficulties, hardships and pain that people will have to undergo while experiencing the horrors of the Day of Judgment in varying degrees based on their faith and deeds and how they conducted themselves here on this earth.
The second stage of purification will take place at the time when all people will have to stand before Allah (SWT) to give an account of their deeds during their stay on earth. Even those whose good deeds are found to exceed their evil deeds will still have no idea how they will fare in the phases that were still to come.
The third stage of purification will be the great intercession of the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) and others such as angels, martyrs, and those whom Allah will give permission to intercede for sinners. In one of the Prophetic traditions, the Prophet (SAW) said: “My intercession will be for those among my ummah who committed major sins, and I was given the choice between admitting half of my ummah to Jannah and intercession, and I chose intercession because it is more general and greater. Do you think it will be only for the pious? No, it will be for the sinners who contaminated themselves with sins.”
The fourth stage of purification will be at the time of crossing the Sirat–the bridge over the Hell. The Prophet (SAW) informed us that people will go through different experiences when crossing the Sirat: some will cross it safely; others will be wounded and have their limbs maimed by the hooks found on the Sirat that will be ordered to wound them then release them; and another group of people will be cast into Hell and the Prophet (SAW) will be standing on the Sirat invoking Allah the Almighty for their salvation. This will continue until the last person is found unable to cross the Sirat except by crawling.
After passing the phase of the Sirat, there will be another Sirat for settling grievances as mentioned in a Hadith which informs us that when believers are saved from Hell they will be prevented from entering Jannah and ordered to stand at the edge of the Sirat close to Paradise. There they will settle the scores between them for any wrongs that they did to one another in this world, and when they have been cleansed and purified, and completely purged of guilt, they will be given permission to enter Paradise. And they will say:
الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ الَّذِي صَدَقَنَا وَعْدَهُ وَأَوْرَثَنَا الْأَرْضَ نَتَبَوَّأُ مِنَ الْجَنَّةِ حَيْثُ نَشَاءُ فَنِعْمَ أَجْرُ الْعَامِلِينَ
“Praise be to Allah who has kept His promise to us and given us this land as our own. Now we may live wherever we please in the Garden.’ How excellent is the reward of those who labor!” (az-Zumar, 39:74)
