Did Allah Put You On This List? | The Other Side: Barzakh and Beyond Ep. 13
Are you on the list? Which group are you with? In this world, we chase after names on prestigious lists—job promotions, elite schools, exclusive memberships. But in the hereafter, only two lists matter: One leads to eternal joy, the other to unimaginable regret.
Some will be greeted with celebration, their names written in Illiyeen among the honored souls. Others will be absent from the gatherings of the righteous, their fate sealed in darkness.
The choices you make now determine your place in the next world. The prayers you pray, the good deeds you hold onto, the company you keep—they are all being recorded.
NOTE: All depictions of Barzakh are purely conceptual and only vocals were used in the making of the soundtrack.
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References
- The Prophet ﷺ came out to the Companions with two books in his hands and asked, “Do you know what these two books are?” We replied, “No, Messenger of Allah ﷺ, unless you tell us.” Of the one in his right hand he ﷺ said, “This is a book from the Lord of the Worlds containing the names of those who will go to Paradise, as well as the names of their fathers and tribes. It is complete to the last human being, so there will never be any increase or decrease in their numbers.” Of the one in his left hand he ﷺ then said, “This is a book from the Lord of the Worlds containing the names of those who will go to Hell, as well as the names of their fathers and tribes. It is completed to the last man, so there will never be any increase or decrease in their numbers.” His Companions asked, “O Messenger of Allah ﷺ! What is the good of doing anything if the matter is already decided?” He ﷺ replied, “Follow a right course and keep as near to it as you can, for the last deed of one who is to go to Paradise will be a deed appropriate for those who go to paradise no matter what he may have done before; but the last deed of one who is to go to hell will be a deed appropriate for those who go to Hell no matter what he may have done.” The Prophet ﷺ then made a gesture with his hands throwing the books away and said, “Your Lord has decided everything about mankind; a section will be in paradise and a section in the blaze.” [Jami’ at-Tirmidhi #2141]
- Fatima bint Abdul-Malik, the wife of Umar ibn Abdul-Aziz (ra), said, “A group in Paradise and a group in Hell was the most terrifying part of the Qur’an to Umar. He would read it and panic.” [Ibn Abi ad-Dunya, ar-Riqqah wal-Buka’; Al-Isfahani, Hilyat al-Awliya’]
- Zayd ibn Wahb reported: A man from the hypocrites died, and Hudhayfah did not perform the funeral prayer for him. Umar ibn al-Khattab asked him, “Was he a hypocrite?” Hudhayfah replied, “Yes.” Umar then asked, “By Allah, am I among them?” Hudhayfah said, “No, and I will not disclose this about anyone after you.” [Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah]
- The Prophet ﷺ said: “On Friday, the angels stand at the gate of the masjid and record the names of those who arrive first, then those who follow. The one who comes early is like one who offers a camel in sacrifice, then like one who offers a cow, then a ram, then a chicken, then an egg. When the imam comes out (to deliver the sermon), they fold up their records and listen to the remembrance.” [Sahih al-Bukhari #929; Sahih Muslim #850]
- The Prophet ﷺ said: “Whoever regularly prays at night reciting ten verses will not be recorded among the negligent; and if he recites a hundred verses, he will be recorded among the devout; and if he recites one thousand verses, he will be recorded among those who pile up good deeds.” [Sunan Abi Dawud #1398]
- The Prophet ﷺ said: “Whoever wakes up during the night and wakes his wife, and they pray two rak‘ahs together, they will be recorded among those men and women who remember Allah a lot.” [Sunan Abi Dawud #1451]
- The Prophet ﷺ said: “...Then they bring him to the souls of the believers, who rejoice over his arrival more than any of you would at the return of a long-absent loved one. They ask him, ‘What happened to so-and-so? What happened to so-and-so?’ But others will say, ‘Leave him, for he was just in the distress of the world.’ Then, if he asks, ‘Did they not come to you?’ they reply, ‘He was taken to al-Hawiyah (the Abyss).’” [Sunan an-Nasa’i #1833]
- The Prophet ﷺ said: “A window towards the Fire will be opened for [the righteous soul], and he will look at it, seeing how its parts consume each other. It will be said to him: ‘Look at what Allah has saved you from.’ Then, a window will be opened towards Paradise, and he will look at its beauty and what it contains. It will be said to him: ‘This is your place in it.’ It will be said: ‘You were upon certainty, you died upon it, and, if Allah wills, you will be resurrected upon it.’ As for the wicked man, he will be made to sit in his grave in fear and distress. It will be said to him: ‘In what state were you?’ He will say: ‘I don’t know.’ It will be said: ‘Who is this man who was sent among you?’ He will say: ‘I heard the people saying something, so I said the same.’ Then, a window will be opened for him towards Paradise, and he will see its beauty and what it contains. It will be said to him: ‘Look at what Allah has deprived you of.’ Then, a window will be opened for him towards the Fire, and he will look at it, seeing how its parts consume each other. It will be said to him: ‘This is your place in it. You were upon doubt, you died upon it, and, if Allah wills, you will be resurrected upon it.’ Then he will be punished.” [Sunan Ibn Majah #4268]
- Ibn Umar (ra) said: “I dreamt that two angels took me and went away with me towards the Fire which looked like a well with the inside walls built up, and had two side-walls like those of a well. There I saw some people in it whom I knew. I started saying, ‘I seek Refuge with Allah from the Fire, I seek Refuge with Allah from the Fire.’ Then another angel met the other two and said to me, ‘Do not be afraid.’” [Sahih al-Bukhari #3738; Sahih Muslim #2479]
Transcript
This transcript was auto-generated using AI and may contain misspellings.Did you make the team? Are you on the list? Just like you would come home and your family would eagerly await the outcome of the job interview or the exam or an important deal, your family in the barzakh anticipate what the fate of the souls of the living is. Everyone wants to know who made it. And the categorizations between who is righteous and who is wicked which get so blurred in this world are now crystal clear. So now you find out, did you make it? In the barzakh you have two primary lists and then you have multiple degrees and levels that are to those lists. But first you ask, are you on the list itself? The Prophet (ﷺ) came out to the Sahaba one day and he had two books in his hands. And he said, do you know what these two books are? And the Sahaba said, no Ya Rasulullah unless you tell us. He said of the one that was in his right hand, this is a book from the Lord of the worlds containing the names of those who will go to Jannah as well as the names of their fathers and their tribes. And he said it's complete to the last human being so there will never be any increase or decrease in their numbers. And he said as for the one in my left, this is a book from the Lord of the worlds containing the names of all of those who will go to hell as well as the names of their fathers and their tribes. It's completed to the last man so there will never be any increase or decrease in their numbers. And the Sahaba are looking at the Prophet (ﷺ) and they said, Ya Rasulullah, is there any reason to do good then if the matter
is already decreed? And the Prophet (ﷺ) said, follow a right course and keep as near to it as you can. For the last deed of one who is going to go to Paradise will be a deed appropriate for those who go to Paradise no matter what he may have done before. But the last deed of one who is going to go to hell will be a deed appropriate for those who go to hell no matter what he may have done. Then the Prophet (ﷺ) made a gesture with his hands throwing the books away and he said, your Lord has decided everything about mankind. A section will be in Paradise and a section will be in the blaze. Fatima bint Abdul Malik who was the wife of Umar bin Abdul Aziz (رحمه الله), she said the verse, a group in Paradise and a group in hell was the most terrifying part of the Qur'an to Umar. SubhanAllah, he didn't just inherit leadership and greatness from his grandfather. He also inherited this exemplary fear of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala that other people around him couldn't understand. Remember when Umar bin al-Khattab (رضي الله عنه) would go to Hudhaifa bin al-Yaman (رضي الله عنه) who had the list of the hypocrites from the Prophet (ﷺ) and he would say, ya Hudhaifa, am I on there? So how do you prep for that moment? What can you do to ensure that your last deed causes you to make the cut or that your last deed is one that Allah loves? Well make sure that you have good deeds that you never let go of, so much so that you are known specifically to be of those who do that deed. So I want you to think of all of the ahadith where the Prophet (ﷺ) mentions Allah writing down categories. Where do you fall? You have the angels that are standing at the doors of the masjid on Jumu'ah with their roll books and they're writing down the names of all of those who come to the salah every
week until the imam says salamu alaykum and then they close their books. Are you one of those who consistently walk into the masjid a few minutes late? Or do the angels always record your name at the top? What about the first row of the masjid, ashab al-saff al-awwal, the people of the first row? Are you part of that exclusive group to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala? The Prophet (ﷺ) said whoever wakes up with ten ayat at night, lam yuktab minal ghafilin, he will not be written from the heedless. And if he reads a hundred ayat, kutiba minal qanitin, then he's written from the devout. And if he reads a thousand ayat, then he's written from the muqantareen, those who pile up good deeds. Are you consistent enough in any one of those that it could be your last act? Or do you maybe see your consistency in a simple act that you do with your family? Like when the Prophet (ﷺ) said, when a husband and wife wake each other up to pray at night, they are written from adh-dhakireen Allaha kathiran wa adh-dhakirati, those who remember Allah frequently from the men and from the women. Or maybe you're amongst the generous. Imam Siraj wa Hajj, (حفظه الله), has this beautiful example that he always would mention in regards to charity. He'd say, tomorrow, the rule books will go out with the names of all of those who gave charity and I don't want a zero next to my name. And the lists go on and on. Identify yourself in those lists. Which category are you in? Now the list of those who are saved in the barzakh is made apparent at different points for different people. And the first narration I want you to pay attention to is what the Prophet (ﷺ) said about our father Adam. He said, (ﷺ), that on the night of al-Isra wal-Mi'raj, the skies were open for me. And as soon as we arrived to the lowest heaven, I looked up and I saw Adam (عليه السلام). And he said, and he is exactly like the day Allah created him, lam yataghayyir minhu shay', nothing
changed from him. And he said, he's sitting in the middle and a soul passes by him to the right. If it's a good smell and a good soul, he laughs. And he says, write down his name in the highest heavens among the blessed souls. And if it's a filthy soul and a filthy smell, it passes through his left and he cries. And he said, let his name be written in the lowest dungeons amongst the imprisoned souls. And I want you to think SubhanAllah about Ghazza again. How many arwah have passed through the 'Illiyyin that made us cry, but made him laugh. And as for the rest of us, when do we laugh or cry together or over one another? Prophet (ﷺ) said that when a person dies and people rush to ask him for news, similar to how people are keen to know the news of travelers upon their arrivals, they go to him and they say, what did so-and-so do? What did so-and-so do? And then that person replies with surprise and says, wait, didn't they come to you? What is that hadith referring to? Someone died between you and that loved one. So I want you to think if your mom died 10 years ago and your brother died five years ago, and now you died. The expectation was that the one in between joined the souls of their loved ones. But then there's a realization on the part of both the one who just died and the one who has been dead, that the person that was mentioned was not received by the righteous souls. And so there's only one other outcome, which is that he's busy in his punishment and he's entered into the legions of doom instead. So they both say, inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'oon. We belong to Allah and
to him we shall return. dhahaba ilal hawiyah. It must be that he was taken to hellfire. How painful would it be for you to be the one they're talking about in this narration? And SubhanAllah, on a side note, they're so accustomed to saying inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'oon when tragedy hits them, that they're still using that vocabulary in the barzakh. And so the gatherings of the righteous go on without you and people move on even quicker from you in the barzakh. Question you ask yourself, are you missing from the gatherings of the righteous today? If so, how do you expect to be in them tomorrow? If you're not in the masjid, in the circles of knowledge and remembrance, in the places where people volunteer and do good work, in the spaces of justice and enjoining good and forbidding evil, why would you suddenly feel like you're going to end up in those circles in the barzakh? So the believers are now reuniting as they were together in this life. The emphasis is on reuniting with the promise of Allah that they all believed in and used to work towards. Does this all sound familiar to the Day of Judgment? That's the point. This moment is a preview to receiving the book in your right hand instead of your left and then going to the gathering of the believers and celebrating with them. The moment you will go and meet your family in the barzakh is then pure joy because of two things. Number one, you miss them for years and years in this dunya and you finally get to meet them again but also because you both now see that you've been saved from the punishment of the grave and you've made it to the next station of the akhirah. And the thing about these people is that as certain as they were in Allah, they weren't so certain of themselves and that's what kept them working so hard until the very last moment. And in those final moments the consequences of the people of yaqeen, the people of certainty and the people
of doubt will be made clear. Remember that window you have in your grave to the other place that you're not going to? It's the window of yaqeen versus the window of shak, the window of doubt. Listen to how the Prophet (ﷺ) describes the lead up to that. He says, a window will be opened for him towards the fire and he will look at it seeing how its parts consume each other and it will be said to him, look at what Allah has saved you from. Then a window will be opened towards Paradise and he will look at its beauty and what it contains and it will be said to him, this is your place instead. And then it will be said to him, you were upon yaqeen, you were upon certainty, you died upon it and if Allah wills, you will be resurrected upon it. As for the wicked man, he will be made to sit in his grave in fear and distress and it will be said to him, in what state were you? He will say, I don't know. It will be said, who is this man who was sent among you? He'll say, I don't know, I heard people saying something so I just said the same thing they said. Then a window will be opened for him towards Paradise and he will see its beauty and what it contains and it will be said to him, look at what Allah has deprived you from. Then another window is opened for him towards the fire and he will look at it and he will see how its parts consume each other and it will be said to him, this is your place instead. You were upon doubt, you died upon doubt and if Allah wills, you're going to be resurrected upon doubt and then that person is going to be punished. You know, I want you to think about what missing out meant in this dunya compared to what it means in the barzakh. The equivalent to look what Allah saved you from in the barzakh is when someone calls you away from Allah in this dunya and says, look what you're missing out on and in the barzakh, nothing would make you happier than having not listened to those calls and for
having instead listened to the caller who calls you to good deeds that will now be your greatest companions as the companions of this world start to fade. Think about what Ibn Umar (رضي الله عنهما) saw in his dream. He said, one night I was taken by two angels to the gates of hellfire, wa idha fiha nasun qad 'araftuhum and I saw people that I knew and they knew me. So I started to cry out as I was looking at them, a'udhu billahi min an-nar, a'udhu billahi min an-nar, a'udhu billahi min an-nar I seek refuge in Allah from the fire, I seek refuge in Allah from the fire, I seek refuge in Allah from the fire until the angels took me to Paradise instead. So you need to think about that window in your grave to the other destination and if you're in a chamber of fire looking at the garden you could have had, who are the obvious people you expect to see there that you wished you would have imitated more with your deeds and if vice versa that you can't for sure say who's in hell, who would you expect to be amongst those who have called you to the deeds of hellfire. In the barzakh you have your memories with you and you have your regrets, a window to all that could have been that if you're in punishment you have a long time to stare at. But in this world it's not the window to the other destination but it's the window of opportunity that is shutting faster than you think calling you to take heed and repent before it's too late.
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