Sins that lead to torments of Hell fire

Those who will receive eternal torment in Hellfire are categorized into two groups : the disbelievers and the hypocrites. Allah(ta'ala) says in the Qur'an : But those who reject our ayat and treat them with arrogance, they are the dwellers of Hell fire, they will abide therein forever.(Al A'raf-36). The second category that will endure the same fate are the hypocrites and Allah(ta'ala) says about them : Indeed, the hypocrites will be in the lowest depths of the fire- and never will you find for them a helper.(An Nisa-145). The situation of the hypocrites is considered far much worse than non believers and are ranked the lowest in Hellfire since they were closer to truth but rejected it through deception and lies. The two above categories are those who will endure eternal punishment in Hellfire, a time that has no end. But there are those who will taste the torment of Hellfire either forever, or for a certain period or length of time, and they are those who believed in the Message, the prophets and everything that was revealed, but still committed sins that are mentioned as grave in both the Qur'an and the Hadith. We will talk about a few of those here :
1. Deviant sects - The Messenger of Allah(s.a.w) said : 'the Jews have divided into seventy one sects, and the Christians have divided into seventy two sects, and this Ummah(Muslims) are going to divide into seventy three sects, and everyone of them is in Hellfire except one.'  The sects mentioned in the hadith does not refer to different schools of thought, but the sects that separated on the fixed principles of Sharia. Those who created foundations of faith that are contrary to Islam and it's teachings. An example is Qadiyan sect who believe in a new prophet while it's a consensus in Islam that Prophet Muhammad(s.a.w) is the seal of the prophethood.
2. Unjust judge - In Al Tirmidhi narration the Messenger of Allah(s.a.w) said : ' There are three types of judges, two of them are in Hellfire and one is in Paradise. The two in Hellfire are the judge who rules while he knows his ruling is wrong but he does it for a worldly benefit. And the other judge is one who is ruling without any knowledge and causing harm in society due to his ignorance. And the last judge who goes to Paradise is the one who has knowledge and applies his rulings in a just and righteous manner.'
3. Arrogance - The Messenger of Allah(s.a.w) said : 'The one who has a single grain of arrogance(pride) in his heart will not enter Paradise.' 
4. Murder - This is one of the most heinous sins and Allah(ta'ala) mentions it in the Qur'an : If a man kills a believer intentionally, his recompense is Hell, to abide therein forever. And the wrath and the curse of Allah are upon him and a dreadful penalty is prepared for him.(An Nisa-93)
5. Ribaa(interest-Usury) There are many ayat that talk about grave consequences of consuming or dealing with ribaa in the Qur'an and also the Messenger of Allah(s.a.w) warned the Sahabahs about the seven greatest sins, and Ribaa was among them.
These are but a few of the sins we should guard ourselves from and inshaAllah we will talk more on this subject in the coming weeks. 

Moment of death and it's trials

  Life of a believer is more like a plant, as much as it requires water for it's sustenance, so does a believer but from Qur'an and Sunnah. Reading Qur'an frequently and the sunnah softens the heart and gravitates one towards piety and the fear of Allah.  When Umm Habiba(r.a) the wife of Messenger of Allah(s.a.w) made the following dua:  ' Ya Allah, give me pleasure by giving a long life to my husband Rasulullah(s.a.w), and to my father Abu Sufyan(r.a), and to my brother Muawiyya(r.a). The Messenger of Allah(s.a.w) told her : ' You are supplicating towards Allah in regard to fixed terms, counted days and ordained provisions which are already divided?' If you had asked Allah ta'ala to save you from Hell fire, and the punishment of the grave, that would have been better for you'. The hadith mentioned here emphasizes the importance of supplicating for future good in the hereafter than the existing one which is fixed and bound to pass away. However long one might live, death will finally come to him eventually, and it is only Allah ta'ala who lives forever and He mentions that in suratul Qassas 88 :  Everything that exists will perish except His own Face. To Him belongs the command, and to Him you will be brought back. The transition that a dying person undergoes from the present world he is about to depart, to that which he is about to enter- Akheera(hereafter) is a difficult one. The trials that accompany this final hour is mighty and for that reason we seek Allah's help everyday during our salat by saying : Allahumma inna naudhu bika min fitnatil mahyaa wal mamat ( Ya Allah, we seek refuge in you from the trials of life and death) . The ineffable feeling of crossing the boundary between this world and the next cannot be described in words, nor imagined in the mind, but can be understood only through divine revelation and inspiration. During saakhra - a semi conscious state when one drifts on and off in the last moments, Allah ta'ala revealed to us the stages that one undergoes before death and the awareness of the dying person at that time in the following verses :  No! When the soul has reached the collar bones, And it is said, Who will cure him?' And the dying one will be certain it is the time of parting, And one leg will be joined with another, That Day the drive will be towards your lord :75: 26-30. Now that we know the inevitable route we will be taking sooner or later in our lives, why don't we seek safety with Allah before it is too late to do so? My brothers and sisters in Islam, lets go back to the straight path and remember the promises of Allah to his believing servants and the promise of Allah ta'ala is true and concrete.

Time is not on our side

Time in Islam is a crucial reminder of our mortal existence in this world. Prophet Muhamad(s.a.w) told his companions: 'Be in this world as if you are a traveler.' And he went further on this and gave an analogy of life in this world as - A person who is traveling through a desert and then sees a tree, he takes a brief rest under it's shade before resuming his journey. This is the world, we only take a brief rest on it on our way to a very long journey to Akheera( hereafter). We cannot stop time from passing by and with each passing day, it takes away a part of us and our existence - our youth, our beauty, strength and in some cases, our minds too. We do not belong here and we need to remind each other of this fact in order to be both conscious of our actions and also as part of faith. In the fourth hadith of Qudsi narration, Allah(s.w) boasts of his dominion on the subject of time : -Sons of Adam inveigh against ( the vicissitudes of) time, and i am Time, in My hand is the night and the day-. When the Bedouins used to come to the Messenger of Allah(s.a.w) and inquire about the hour( judgement day) He, the Messenger of Allah(s.a.w) used to look at them and point to the youngest among them and say: ' When he lives up to extreme old age, then your day of judgement would already have started.' Here the Messenger of Allah(s.a.w) clearly refers to death as the beginning of one's judgement day. If life is as short as a brief rest under a shade of a tree, then why do we waste this brief moment enjoying the pleasures of the tree shade instead of amassing enough supplies to build a permanent and better shade in the journey ahead? Iman(faith) plays a big role on how we behave and live our lives and if we do not establish a firm foundation of Iman, then the whole structure of one's endeavour is placed in Jeopardy. The only way to establish such a foundation is through knowledge which in turn nourishes the heart towards fear of Allah(s.w). If all Muslims today would wake up in the morning and suddenly become conscious of these facts before them, then it is correct to point out that oppression, injustice and poverty will be none existent throughout the Muslim world. Our brief time under the tree shade is fixed and we cannot hasten away from it nor linger under it more than the time prescribed. Lets make good use of the options available under it - repentance and good deeds since this option wont be available once we depart from it.