By the name of Allah, All-Mighty, All-Merciful, Most Beneficent and Most Munificent.
Grandshaykh Abdullahق used to speak about a hadith that opens the doors of hope to every seeker.
One day the Prophet ﷺ was giving a sermon when a Bedouin came to the entrance of the mosque and called out in a loud voice, “Oh Prophet of Allah ﷺ, when is the Last Day coming?”
There was no reply.
He called again, and again, yet the Prophet ﷺ remained silent.
He was waiting for Allah ﷻ to send the answer, for only Allah knows the hour of the Last Day.
Then the Angel Jibril (AS) came to the Prophet ﷺ and said, “Ask him what he has prepared for that Day.”
The Prophet ﷺ asked the man, and he replied with a heart overflowing in sincerity.
“O Muhammad ﷺ, I love you and I love your Lord! Nothing else. Only this.”
Jibril (AS) then said to the Prophet ﷺ, “Tell him that he will be with you and with his Lord, like two fingers held together. Whoever loves another shall be with the one he loves on the Last Day.”
On hearing this, Sayyidina Abu Bakr as-Siddiqر stepped forward and with deep humility asked, “Oh Prophet ﷺ, are actions not a necessary condition? Is love alone enough?”
The Prophet ﷺ answered, “No, ya Abu Bakr. Actions are not the condition. What matters is love. Everyone will be with the one he loves.”
If a person is overcome by his nafs and his actions are weak, yet he loves the people of goodness and does not love bad people nor his own bad actions, then that love will benefit him.
When Abu Bakr as-Siddiqر heard this answer, he immediately prayed two rakaats in gratitude to Allah ﷻ and said, “Oh Prophet ﷺ, I have never heard news as beautiful as this until today!”
Such was his humbleness. No one can reach the station of Abu Bakr as-Sidddiqر, yet look at how he speaks with trembling awe before his beloved Prophet ﷺ.
Abu Bakr as-Siddiqر continued, “Until now my heart was tied in knots that I could not loosen. Your blessed hadith has untied every knot. Now my heart is in complete peace. In this life, I cannot bear even a moment without your presence. I used to fear that if actions were the condition for being with you in Paradise, how could I ever reach you? Where are my actions compared with yours, O beloved Prophet ﷺ?”
And where are our actions compared with the actions of Abu Bakr as-Siddiqر?
This is why the Prophet ﷺ gave such sweet words to his community. In Islam, nothing rises higher than love.
May Allah ﷻ fill our hearts with love for the Prophet ﷺ and the Siddiqر.
May Allah ﷻ let us be gathered with those whom we love. Ameen.
Al-Fatiha.