[Quran, 56:10-16] And the foremost shall still be the foremost.7 They will be those nearest (to God). They shall abide in the Gardens of bliss. Most of them will be froth among the former people and a few from among those of latter day.8 They will he reclining on jeweled couches facing each other.
7Sabiqin (the Foremost) implies the people who excelled others in virtue and love of the truth and in good works and responded to the call of Allah and His Messenger before others. They were also in the forefront in their response to the call for Jihad, for expending their wealth for the sake of the needy and for public services, or for inviting others to virtue and truth, in short, for spreading the good and wiping out evil and making sacrifices and exerting themselves whenever there was need for it. On this very basis, in the Hereafter too, they will be placed in the forefront.
Thus, mankind, so to say, will be ranged in Allah's Court like this: On the right hand, there will be the righteous, on the left the wicked, and in the forefront (nearest in Divine Presence) the Sabiqin (the Foremost in Faith and good deeds). According to a Hadith reported by ,Hadrat `A'ishah the Holy Prophet (upon whom be Allah's peace) asked the people: "Do you know who, on the Day of Resurrection, will he the first to be accommodated under the Divine Shade ?" The people said Allah and His Messenger only had the best knowledge. Thereupon the Holy Prophet replied: "Those who were such that when the Truth was presented before them, they accepted it forthwith; when a right was asked of them, they discharged it gracefully; and their decision in respect of others was the same as in respect of their own selves." (Musnad Ahmad).
8The commentators have differed as to who are implied by the former And the latter people '`
One group of them has expressed the view that the "former people" were the communities that passed away since the time of the Prophet Adam (peace be upon him) till the time of the Prophet Muhammad (upon whom be Allah's peace and blessings), and the ¦people of the latter day" those who will have lived in the world since the advent of the Holy Prophet till the Day of Resurrection. Accordingly the verse would mean: "The number of the Sabqin (the Foremost in Faith and good deeds) among the people who passed away during the thousands of years before the advent of the Prophet Muhammad (upon whom be Allah's peace and blessings) would be greater, and the number of those who would attain to the rank of the Sabiqin among those people who have been born since the advent of the Holy Prophet, or will be born till the Day of Resurrection, will be less. "
The second group says that the former and the latter in this verse imply the former and the latter people of the Holy Prophet's own Ummah itself. That is, in his Ummah the people belonging to the earliest period were the former among whom the number of the Sabiqin will be greater, and the people of the later periods are the latter among whom the number of the Sabiqin will be smaller.
The third group holds the view that this- implies the former and the latter people of every Prophet's own Ummah. That is, there will be numerous Sabiqin among the earliest followers of every Prophet, but among his later followers their number will decrease. The words of the verse bear all the three meanings, and possibly all three ate implied, for there is no contradiction between them. Besides, they give another meaning also and that too is cornet: every early period of a Prophet's following the proportion of the Sabiqin in human population would be greater and in the later period less, for the number of the workers of good and right does not increase at the rate of increase of the human populations. They may be more numerous as against the Sabiqin of the earliest period. but on the whole their number as against the world population goes on becoming less and less.
When the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was asked whether the verse in the Quran, "And those who give whatever they (have to) give while their hearts are trembling," (23:60) referred to people who committed sins, he replied: "No…they are those who fast, pray and give charity while fearing that (these deeds) may not be accepted (by God). They are those who compete with one another in good deeds." Al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 1427
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Here is a good example of the Sahaabahs' competition with one another in the field of meritorious deeds. In the days of the Battle of Badr, Sa'd ibn Khaythamah draw lots with his father as to whom of both will participate in the battle. Sa'd's lot emerged and his father told him: 'My son, give me preference over yourself today.'Sa'd answered: 'If it is other things beside Paradise I would have done that.'So Sa'd went to the Battle of Badr and was martyred. His father later took part in the Battle of Uhud and also got martyred.
The noble and commendable competitions that occurred between Aboo Bakr and 'Umar is also well-known though 'Umar never succeeded in outstripping Aboo Bakr. To cite an example, the Messenger of Allaah saws once called upon his companions to give charity.
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| 'Umar saw that as an oppurtunity to outstrip Abu Bakr and he said: 'Today, I am going to surpass Aboo Bakr.' He said: 'So I came with half of my property. The Messenger of Allaah r asked: 'What have you left for your family?' I answered: 'As much as this.' Then Aboo Bakr came with all that he has and the Messenger of Allaah r said: 'What have you left for your family?' He replied: 'I left for them Allaah and his Messenger.' It is then that I said: 'I shall never compete with him on anything again." (At-Tirmidhee). |
It is quite wonderful that Abu Bakr R.A. participated competitively in all aspects of good deeds; be it spending in the cause of Allaah, worship and propagation of Islaam.
Actually, entering the competition for meritorious acts creates in a Muslim a desire to meet up with those who are above him in terms of devotion, Da'wah and Jihaad. Some 'Ulamaa while commenting on the verse "Hasten towards all that is good" (Al-Baqarah 2:1448) said: "Whoever beats others to the righteous deeds in this world will be the foremost on the Last Day and the foremost people are the highest in position."
Allaah says while lauding the foremost:
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| "Verily, they used to hasten on to do good deeds, and they use to call on Us with hope and fear, and used to humble themselves before Us." (Al-Anbiyaa 21:90) |
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[83:18-28] Indeed not!9 Surely the record of the righteous is in the Register of the exalted ones. And do you know what is the Register of the exalted ones? It is a written book, guarded by the angels nearest to Allah. Surely the righteous shall be in bliss; seated on high couches they shall be looking around. In their faces you shall mark the glow of bliss. They shall be given to drink the choicest, sealed wine whose seal shall be musk.10 Those who wish to excel others, let them endeavor to excel in this. That wine shall have the mixture of Tasnim.11 This is a fountain with the waters of which those nearest to Allah shall drink wine.
the Prophet, 
, said: "There should be no envy except in two [cases]: [towards] a person whom Allaah has given [knowledge of] the Quran and he recites it throughout the night and day, and thus a neighbor of his hears him and says, 'I wish I was given like so-and-so, and could do what he is doing.' The second is [towards] a person whom Allaah has given wealth and he spends it for the sake of Allaah. A man says, 'I wish I was given like so-and-so to do what he is doing.'"Commenting on this Hadeeth, Ibn Hajar 
said , "The 'envy' that is mentioned in the Hadeeth refers to Ghibtah [envy that is free from malice]. It is merely figuratively named as such. Ghibtah means desiring someone else's blessings without wishing him to be deprived of them. Keenness for this is called competition, and it is praiseworthy in acts of obedience."
There is a great difference between such praiseworthy competition in matters of the Hereafter and competition in worldly matters or for perishable pleasures. The Prophet, , warned Muslims against this latter type of competition when he said: "Be happy and hope for what gives you delight. By Allaah, it is not poverty that I fear for you; rather, I am afraid that the pleasures of this life will be given to you in abundance as they were given in abundance to those who came before you, and you will begin to vie with one another for the sake of such pleasures as they did, and this will destroy you just as it destroyed them."
Vying with others to attain worldly pleasures is what leads to envy. The Prophet, , was afraid for his Ummah (nation) in this regard when Persia and Rome would be conquered by the Muslims. He said: "You will vie with one another, then you will shun one another and then you will hate one another…"
, was afraid for his Ummah (nation) in this regard when Persia and Rome would be conquered by the Muslims. He said: "You will vie with one another, then you will shun one another and then you will hate one another…"The righteous predecessors comprehended this meaning and they vied with one another in matters of the Hereafter. Such worldly pleasures were worthless in their eyes. Al-Hasan said, "By Allaah, I have witnessed people who consider life more trifling than the dust on which you walk. They did not care whether it gave anything to them or not." He also said, "If someone vies with you in your religion, you must vie with him; and if someone vies with you in this worldly life, then leave it to him."The Prophet, , directed his Ummah to what is better when he said:: "Look at those who are below you and do not look at those who are above you, for this will not make the favors [conferred on you by Allaah] insignificant [in your eyes]."
However, competition in worldly life that aims at scoring great success or to make Muslims self-sufficient by inventing something or by achieving progress in the economic field, so as to free Muslims from their dependence on their enemies, with the intention of seeking the pleasure of Allaah and winning His Paradise, is good and praiseworthy competition as it is in fact related to the Hereafter.
We ask Allaah The Almighty to enable us to do every good and make all of us among the forerunnersPS: Actions may not always bring happiness; but there is no happiness without action, so act we MUST.
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Wishing you and all your loved ones greatest of times ahead!
Aspiring 2 c u happy!
Shakeel Ahmad
B.Tech (IT-BHU), MBA (XLRI), PMP
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Recommended website for PMP exam preparation: http://www.passPM.com/
Remember, growing older is mandatory. Growing up is optional.
We make a Living by what we get, we make a Life by what we give.
If you fill your heart with regrets of yesterday and the worries of tomorrow,
you have no today to be thankful for.
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