You shall be asked about these blessings

Imam Muslim reported in his Sahih on the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), Abu Bakr, and `Umar (May Allah be pleased with them) were guests at a man of the Ansar [the Supporters] after they had come out from their homes because of hunger. The man offered them fresh water and a bunch of date fruit, having dates, some still green, some ripe, and some fully ripe, then slaughter an ewe. After they had eaten and dunk water, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: "By Him in whose Hand my life is, you shall be asked about these favors on the Day of Recompense. You had come out of your homes because of hunger then you did not came back but after having these favors."

In the narration of At-Tirmidhy: By Him in whose Hand my life is, you shall be asked about these blessings on the Day of Recompense: Shade, good fresh dates, and cold fresh water.

Therefore, when Jabir ibn `Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) was asked about this Ayah, he said: The meaning of bliss is good food and drink.

Makhul said: Bliss is a full stomach, cold fresh water, and shades of houses.

Al Hasan said: Bliss is having lunch and dinner.

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "The first thing about which one shall be questioned on the Day of Resurrection is blessings. It will be said: Did we not give you a sound, healthy body and quench your thirst with cool water."

Al Qadi `Iyad said: The meaning is asking about thanking Allah (Glory be to Him) for His Blessings and Favors.

If the questioning shall be on the Day of Recompense about the blessing of the body: Food and drink, how will be the case with the blessings which Allah granted to His Servants in order to be the nutrition of their souls and hearts, which is the revelation which Allah revealed from above the Seven Heavens to His Messenger to be a useful knowledge, a precise book, and a valuable religion?!

Allah (Glory be to Him) says: "And thus We have sent to you (O Muhammad peace be upon him) Rûh (a Revelation, and a Mercy) of Our Command. You knew not what is the Book, nor what is Faith? But We have made it (this Qur'ân) a light wherewith We guide whosoever of Our slaves We will. And verily, you (O Muhammad peace be upon him) are indeed guiding (mankind) to a Straight Path (i.e. Allâh's religion of Islâmic Monotheism)."

As-Sa`dy (may Allah bestow mercy on his soul) said about the meaning of Rûh in the previous Ayah: "It is the Glorious Qur'an which Allah named "soul" because by soul the body revives, likewise the Qur'an which revives the hearts and the souls. Moreover, the worldly and religious matters shall be good because of the abundant goodness and deep knowledge of the Qur'an which is a mere bounty from Allah to His Messenger and His Believing servants without their interference."

The blessing of revelation, either the Qur'an or the Sunnah, is one of the great blessings which a Muslim should exert efforts to thank Allah for. Allah (Glory be to Him) says: "Is he who was dead (without Faith by ignorance and disbelief) and We gave him life (by knowledge and Faith) and set for him a light (of Belief) whereby he can walk amongst men ? like him who is in the darkness (of disbelief, polytheism and hypocrisy) from which he can never come out?"

Allah also says: "Is he who walks prone (without seeing) on his face, more rightly guided, or he who (sees and) walks upright on a Straight Way (i.e. Islâmic Monotheism)?"

Allah says: "Verily, We showed him the way, whether he be grateful or ungrateful."

Knowledgeable people said: The thanking of the common is for food, drink, clothes, and the power of their bodies, but the thanking of knowledgeable people is for monotheism, faith, and the nutrition of the hearts.

Therefore, Muhammad ibn Ka`b (may Allah be merciful with his soul) used to interpret the Ayah saying: "The blessing is Muhammad (peace be upon him). Allah (Glory be to Him) says: "Indeed, Allâh conferred a great favour on the believers when He sent among them a Messenger (Muhammad peace be upon him) from among themselves, reciting to them His Verses (the Qur'ân), and purifying them (from sins by their following him), and instructing them (in) the Book (the Qur'ân) and Al-Hikmah [the wisdom and the Sunnah of the Prophet peace be upon him (i.e., his legal ways, statements, acts of worship)].""

One of the greatest bounties of Allah upon His Servants is that He sent down a detailed book that error cannot reach to illustrate everything without any ambiguity, difference, or contradiction. It is a cure for the hearts and the bodies, guidance and mercy for humans and Jinn. Allah undertook to preserve it when He says: "Verily, We, it is We Who have sent down the Dhikr (i.e., the Qur'ân) and surely, We will guard it (from corruption)."

So, no distortion can reach it and it cannot be altered or changed until Allah inherits the earth and all that thereon.

Afterwards, Allah completed the blessing on His Servants by perfecting the religion and protected it from omission or addition. Allah (Glory be to Him) says: "This day, those who disbelieved have given up all hope of your religion, so fear them not, but fear Me. This day, I have perfected your religion for you, completed My Favor upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion." [i.e., easy without hardship].

Al Hasan Al Basry (may Alalh bestow mercy on his soul) said: The blessing is guiding legislations and making the Qur'an easy to remember. Allah (Glory be to Him) says: "He has chosen you (to convey His Message of Islâmic Monotheism to mankind by inviting them to His religion of Islâm), and has not laid upon you in religion any hardship: it is the religion of your father Ibrâhîm (Abraham) (Islâmic Monotheism). It is He (Allâh) Who has named you Muslims."

He also says: "Allâh does not want to place you in difficulty, but He wants to purify you, and to complete His Favor to you that you may be thankful."

* Do Muslims thank Allah for these great religious blessings?

No, except for a few people whom Allah guided to thank Him. Many people meet the blessing of the Qur'an with desertion, so they do not ponder over its Ayahs and do not take it as a methodology to lawfulize its lawful matters, do not prohibit its prohibited matters, do not abide by its limits, and did not consider a source of legislation.

They faced the blessing of protecting the Qur'an against any distortion with difference and disagreement to the extent that their disagreement has become more than the disagreement of previous nations which they had undertaken to preserve their own legislations but did not.

They faced the blessing of the perfect religion with innovation, as if they say: The religion which Muhammad came with is not sufficient and the final goal cannot be attained by his legislation, so we need more additions— out of their whims and desires.

Moreover, they faced the blessing of the easiness of Islam with deep penetration and exaggeration in religion without right to the extent that the fruit of their distortion has become permissible ways in worshipping Allah and drawing nearer to Allah (Glory be to Him) and the Prophet (peace be upon him) freed himself of these distortions and from the doers, where he said: "So, he who does not follow my tradition in religion, is not from me (not one of my followers)."

They replaced the easy Shari`ah which establishes the rulings of Allah with perverted codes that are based on destruction and calling the people to disbelief. Therefore, the Prophet (peace be upon him) described their doers with his saying: "They are the dogs of Hell-Fire."

We seek refuge in Allah from failure, as we ask Him to guide us for thanking Him and to make us from the few people about whom He says: "But few of My slaves are grateful."

Hence, it seems that Allah's Saying: "Then on that Day you shall be asked about the delights (you indulged in, in this world)" combined great books of knowledge in only five words. In this Ayah, Allah proved His lordship (Glory be to Him). The lord is the one who rears His Creation with His Blessings, as it proves sending the Messengers because questioning cannot be done except after the establishment of the proof, proving the resurrection, proving the reckoning and retribution, and drawing the attention to the obligation of thanking the Giver for His worldly and religious blessings.

O Allah, make us from those who recite Your Book as should, provide us the understanding of the Qur'an and acting according to it. Peace be upon the Prophet (peace be upon him), his family, and Companions. And praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds.