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Hadrat Sayyiduna ‘Umar – may Allah be pleased with him – narrates:

 

Once, we were sitting in the blessed company of the Holy Prophet – may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him – when suddenly a person appeared. He was wearing extremely white clothing and his hair was black. He had no signs of travel on him such as sand and dust which appeared on him. None of us even knew who he was.

 

He then sat in front of the Holy Prophet – may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him – knee to knee and placed his two hands on the blessed thighs of the Holy Prophet – may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him. He then asked, “O Muhammad – may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him! Explain to me the state (or condition) of Islam?”

 

The Holy Prophet – may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him – declared, “Islam is to testify that there is no deity of worship but Allah and testify on the Prophethood of Muhammad – may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him. To be punctual in Salaah, to give Zakaah, to keep fast in Ramadaan and if you have the means for the road, then to perform the Hajj.”

The person who appeared then replied, “You have spoken the truth.” We were surprised that he is asking the question and also testifying to its truth.

 

After that, the person asked, “Explain to me the state of Imaan.”

 

The Holy Prophet – may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him – replied, “Imaan is to have certainty on Allah, on His Angels, on His Revealed Books, on His Messengers and on the Day of Judgement and on His Divine Decree that whatever comes, whether good or bad is from Him.”

 

Again the person replied, “You have spoke the truth.”

 

He then asked, “What is the reality of Ihsaan?”

 

The Holy Prophet – may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him – replied, “The essence of Ihsaan is that you worship Allah Almighty as if you are watching Him and if this is not the case, (then at least) have this certainty that He is Watching you.”

 

The person then asked about the Day of Judgement.

 

The Holy Prophet – may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him – replied, “Pertaining to the Day of Judgement, the one being questioned does not know more than the one who is questioning.”

 

The person then asked, “Reveal to me the signs of Qiyamah.”

 

The Holy Prophet – may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him –replied, “Among the signs of Qiyamah is that the slave will give birth to her master and you will see (those who were once) barefoot and merely poor shepherds who will enter huge mansions.”

 

After this, the person departed.

 

Hadrat Sayyiduna ‘Umar – may Allah be pleased with him – mentions that he stayed a while and the Holy Prophet – may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him – asked him, “O ‘Umar! Do you know (or recognize) the person who was asking the questions?”

 

He replied, “Allah and His Prophet know better.”

 

The Holy Prophet – may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him – declared, “Indeed, he was Jibra’eel who came to teach you your religion.” (Sahih Muslim, Sahih Bukhari, Abu Daud)

 

Note: There is no doubt that the Holy Prophet – may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him –certainly knows when the Day of Judgement will occur. After all, how can you ask someone about something he does not know and still ask him about the signs which will occur near that day? Another important lesson which we learn is that Jibra’eel Ameen is indeed a symbol of the unseen but his identity was known to the Holy Prophet – may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him – and he clearly revealed this to the blessed Ashaab.

 

We also come to understand the state of the Arabs in the future. When the modern Arabia is seen, we have no idea whether we are looking at Arabia or Europe. The majority of Arabs have mansions which they own all over the world besides in Arabia. Yet, these were the people who were one time poor shepherds and did not even have clothes of their back.