Was it that big of a deal? Your Wudu is Serious | The Other Side: Barzakh and Beyond Ep. 17
It's not a big deal...or was it? What seems insignificant today could weigh the heaviest in the Barzakh. It’s not about the size of the sin, it’s about how it weighs in your heart.
A rushed wudu, a careless word, a moment of gossip—these are things people dismiss as minor. But the punishment of the grave begins with neglecting what Allah values. The deeds that save you are the ones you take seriously, no matter how small they seem. Because the small things aren’t so small when you stand before Allah.
NOTE: All depictions of Barzakh are purely conceptual and only vocals were used in the making of the soundtrack.
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References
- Ibn al-Qayyim said, “The second matter by which the heart remains upright is reverence for divine commands and prohibitions. This stems from the reverence one holds for the One who commands and forbids.” [Ibn al-Qayyim, Al-Wabil as-Sayyib]
- Abu Huraira reported: We were walking with the Prophet ﷺ when we passed by two graves. He ﷺ said, “You cannot hear what I hear. These two men are being severely punished in their graves for what they thought a trivial matter.” We said, “What is it, O Prophet of Allah?” The Prophet ﷺ said, “One of them did not take care to keep his garments clean of urine. The other harmed people with his tongue, carrying gossip between them.” [Musnad Ahmad; Sahih Ibn Hibban]
- In another narration Abu Bakrah reported: The Prophet ﷺ passed by two graves and he said, “Verily, they are both being punished, but not for a sin difficult to avoid. As for one, he is punished for the habit of soiling himself with urine. As for the other, he is punished for the habit of backbiting.” [Sunan Ibn Majah #349]
- The Prophet ﷺ said, “The majority of the punishment in the grave is due to carelessness with urine, so avoid soiling yourself with urine.” [Sunan al-Daraqutni]
- Ibn Masud reported: The Prophet ﷺ said, “A servant of Allah was commanded to be lashed one hundred times in his grave. He continued to beg and plead until the punishment was reduced to a single lash. When he was struck with that single lash, his grave was filled with fire. After it subsided, he asked, ‘Why was I lashed?’ It was said to him, ‘Because you prayed without purification and because you passed by an oppressed person and did not help him.’” [At-Tahawi, Sharh Mushkil al-Athar]
Transcript
This transcript was auto-generated using AI and may contain misspellings.It's the smallest things that will weigh heaviest on your soul. What seems like an insignificant action today can crush you in the barzakh. It's not about the size of the sin, but what it says about your disregard for Allah's commands. Every small neglect is recorded, and it will have its weight when you least expect it. The barzakh deals with those things that people pay very little attention to, but that Allah sees as important. The point isn't the smallness of the action, it's what it indicates about the state of your heart in your relationship with Allah. And Imam Ibn Al-Qayyim makes the connection between revering Allah and revering His commands. And he says that venerating the law itself is a means of venerating the lawgiver. And so the proof of your love, the proof of your reverence, and the proof of your loyalty is in how serious you take the commands of Allah. And while to Allah belongs the highest example, just think about a spouse or a friend that can do something so simple that can mean the world to you. Maybe it's just a small gift of appreciation, or just giving you a call to check up on you when you're going through a rough patch. On the other hand, neglecting small things consistently can mean a lot in a negative way. Never catching up with a friend, never caring to see how they're doing. It's never about the phone call, it's just about the fact that it's clear you really don't care about that person. So then how can the one who has no problem spewing filth, or getting filth on them, care
about Al-Quddus, Al-Tayyib, the pure and the good, being Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Abu Hurayrah (رضي الله عنه) says that one day we were walking with the Prophet (ﷺ) and we passed by two graves. And the Prophet (ﷺ) said, you can't hear what I hear. These two men are being severely punished in their graves for what they thought was a trivial matter. So he said, what is it Ya Rasulullah? And the Prophet (ﷺ) said, one of them did not take care to keep his garments clean of urine. The other harmed people with his tongue, carrying gossip between them. In another narration, Abu Bakr (رضي الله عنه) reported that the Prophet (ﷺ) passed by two graves and he said, verily these two are both being punished, but not for a sin difficult to avoid. As for one, he is punished for the habit of soiling himself with urine. As for the other, he is punished for the habit of backbiting. Now what's the connection between backbiting or slandering and keeping your garments pure? Number one, it's the attitude. It's no big deal. I'm just forwarding the message. I'm just sharing. I'm just having fun. That's that carelessness with the tongue. But the similarity of a reckless tongue and a person who's careless with their wudu is that they're both not paying attention to the filth that they're spewing. And the Prophet (ﷺ) said, what many people don't understand, that the majority of the torment in the grave is due to carelessness with urine. So avoid soiling yourself with urine. Now notice that the Prophet (ﷺ) said that the majority of the punishment of the grave is because of tahara, not the most severe of it. There are far more severe sins, but the majority of people that are being punished are being punished for this reason. Again, why? The attitude that many people have towards the little things that Allah commands or the
little things that Allah forbids. And it all stems from not really taking Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala's command seriously. And it's also about the virtue of purification. Allah loves those who purify themselves and there's the purification of the tongue and then there's the purification of the body. And Imam al-Suyuti (رحمه الله) quotes a powerful reflection regarding these two actions being singled out as the main things that are taken into account in the barzakh. So he says that some people have mentioned the wisdom behind specifying urine and spreading gossip with the punishment of the grave. He says the grave is the first station of the hereafter. It's a preview of what a person is going to face on the day of judgment, of punishment or reward. And the sins that will be punished on the day of judgment are of two categories. The first category is the haqq of Allah, the right of Allah. And the second category is the haqq of his servants, the right of his servants. The first thing that will be judged on the day of judgment from the rights of Allah will be the salah, will be the prayer. And the first thing from the rights of the people will be blood, will be murder. And he says as for the barzakh, then the precursors and means to these two are taken into account first. So the precursor to prayer is tahara from ritual and physical impurities. And the precursor to murder is spreading gossip and dishonoring people. So when it comes to tahara, wudu on the day of judgment shines like light. But then there is punishment for najasa being the impurities in the grave. Wudu removes our sins here. And then using your tongue in prayer rather than hurting the people increases your rank as your sins continue to fall off of you in this dunya. In many ways, being in a state of purity is the key to the prayer. And in that sense, your ability to speak with Allah in salah. And salah is the foundation of your relationship with Him. And the way that you speak about others in their absence is the foundation of your relationship
with them because that's where true friends really shine. And if both are corrupted, then your entire deen is corrupted. Now one extremely important point that I can't emphasize enough, this hadith is not meant to cause you distress over your tahara to a point that you're so afraid of an unseen drop of urine that might have fallen on your clothes or a speck of your skin that was missed in wudu. The Prophet (ﷺ) taught us to be diligent but reasonable. So unless you're sure that you broke your wudu with something tangible, the Prophet (ﷺ) said, assume that you have it. None of these ahadith about the punishment of the grave are meant to torture you here. They're speaking to people who are intentionally careless with their wudu. It's that person that uses the restroom and doesn't even bother to try to relieve themselves in a way that doesn't get najasa on them. Or that person that does the 10 second wudu to whom the Prophet (ﷺ) would have said, what about your elbows? What about your ankles? And someone might say, well this is all trivial. Why does it matter? Which brings us to a major factor here. If you're careless about your wudu, then that means you're careless about your salah. And when we think about the tongue, if you're careless with your backbiting, you're careless with slander which is even more severe. The Prophet (ﷺ) said that there was a man who was commanded to be flogged in his grave with a hundred lashings. So he continued to beg and plead until it was reduced to one lash. And then his grave became momentarily filled with fire and then the fire was taken away. So he asks, he says, can I know why I was being flogged? And it will be said to him, you performed your prayer without wudu and when you passed by an oppressed person, you failed to help him. Most of the time, the person oppressed that you see is not being physically beaten but their character is being maligned.
So you stand up in prayer with purity and you stand up for your brother or sister when their reputation is being stained. And if you're not concerned about the honor of your brother and sister, why would you care about the sanctity of their wealth or anything else that they own? Innaha kalimatun huwa qa'iluha wa min wara'ihim barzakhun ila yawmi yub'athun.
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