Narrated `Abdullah: While we were in the company of the Prophet in a tent he said, ''Would it please you to be one fourth of the people of Paradise?" We said, "Yes." He said, "Would It please you to be one-third of the people of Paradise?" We said, "Yes." He said, "Would it please you to be half of the people of Paradise?" We said, "Yes." Thereupon he said, "I hope that you will be one half of the people of Paradise, for none will enter Paradise but a Muslim soul, and you people, in comparison to the people who associate others in worship with Allah, are like a white hair on the skin of a black ox, or a black hair on the skin of a red ox."
Explanation & Benefits
Maulana Dawood Raz
Hadith Commentary:
In another narration, it is stated: like a single black hair on a white ox.
The intended meaning is that, in this world, the number of polytheists and sinners has always been very large, and Allah’s monotheist and believing servants have always been fewer than these polytheists and disbelievers, so there is nothing surprising in this.
It is clearly mentioned in the Noble Qur’an:
﴿وَقَلِيلٌ مِنْ عِبَادِيَ الشَّكُورُ﴾ () (Saba: 13)
Very few of My servants are grateful.
Generally, this is the case, and even among Muslims, the number of those who adhere to monotheism (tawhid) and the Sunnah has always remained small. The number of those who nowadays are called Ahl al-Sunnah wa’l-Jama‘ah can be observed at the gatherings of ‘urs and ta‘ziyah.
You will find polytheists and innovators in abundance.
The people of monotheism, those who are bound to the Shari‘ah, and those who are devoted to the Sunnah are extremely few.
May Allah the Exalted make us practitioners of monotheism and the Sunnah, and true obedient followers of Islam.
Amin.
Source: Sahih Bukhari: Commentary by Maulana Dawood Raz, Page: 6528
Shaykh Abdul Sattar al-Hammad
Hadith Commentary:
(1)
In this world of color and scent, the number of disbelievers and sinners is becoming much greater compared to the people of faith. The true monotheistic servants of Allah have always been very few, as Allah the Exalted has stated:
“Very few of My servants are grateful.” ( Saba: 34/13)
This matter is further clarified in another hadith in which the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said:
“There will be one hundred and twenty rows of the people of Paradise, of which eighty rows will be from my ummah.” (Musnad Ahmad: 5/347)
(2)
The Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) mentioned the number of Muslims in Paradise gradually so that their happiness and joy would continue to increase.
Source: Hidayat al-Qari: Commentary on Sahih Bukhari, Urdu, Page: 6528
Shaykh Maulana Abdul Aziz Alvi
Hadith Commentary: Benefits and Issues:
This hadith establishes that only believers will enter Paradise; no disbeliever will enter Paradise.
Source: Tuhfat al-Muslim: Commentary on Sahih Muslim, Page: 530
Shaykh Maulana Abdul Aziz Alvi
Hadith Commentary: Benefits and Issues:
(1)
From this hadith, it is understood that the number of disbelievers is much greater compared to the Muslims, and in the era of every prophet (alayhis salam), the disbelievers have always been more numerous. If, in the times of the previous prophets (alayhimus salam), the number of disbelievers had been less, then the followers of those prophets would have constituted a greater portion of the inhabitants of Paradise, and we would not have been half of the people of Paradise.
(2)
The Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) informed about the number of Muslims among the people of Paradise gradually; he did not say from the very beginning that "you will be half," so that the joy and happiness of the noble Companions (radi Allahu anhum) would increase, and through the repeated glad tidings, their sense of gratitude for this favor would be strengthened, and its greatness and majesty would become firmly established in their hearts.
From another hadith, which is found in Tirmidhi and Tabarani, it is known that there will be one hundred and twenty (120) rows of the people of Paradise, and among them, the rows of the Ummah of Muhammad (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) will be eighty (80), from which it is understood that Muslims will constitute two-thirds of the inhabitants of Paradise. (Fath al-Mulhim: 1/381)
Source: Tuhfat al-Muslim: Commentary on Sahih Muslim, Page: 529
Maulana Ataullah Sajid
Benefits and Issues:
(1)
The benefit of giving glad tidings gradually, from lesser to greater, is that in this way greater happiness is attained, and the magnitude of the blessing is felt more profoundly.
(2)
The era of the Ummah of Muhammad (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) is also lengthy, and its number of individuals is also greater; therefore, their number among the people of Paradise will also be greater.
Source: Commentary on Sunan Ibn Mājah by Mawlānā ‘Atā’ullāh Sājid, Page: 4283