Brightness Of Islam: Ihsanica Media | The Pinnacle of Beauty by Taaj al-Shari'ah, Shaykh Muhammad Akhtar Rida Khan

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All praise belongs to Allah, the Lord of the worlds. May prayers and salutations be upon the master of the two worlds, our liege lord Muhammad, and upon his pure family, noble Companions, and all who follow his exemplary way.

— THE PINNACLE OF BEAUTY —
On the Lightening of Abu Lahab's Punishment each Monday
by Taaj al-Shari'ah Shaykh Muhammad Akhtar Rida al-Qadiri

Publisher's Foreword: When handling complex issues in the sacred sciences of Islam, a student or scholar must possess two essential features: a passionate love for Allah and His Messenger - may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him -, and a analytical mind capable of penetrating to the root of matters and drawing from a wide array of disciplines. One without the other will lead inevitably to erroneous and dangerous conclusions. Strong religious emotions, when not tempered by scholastic aptitude, will usually lead to folly, since a lover's feelings alone cannot determine the ruling of Allah and His Messenger - may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him - in a given issue. And scholastic aptitude, when not rendered soft by love and devotion, and made malleable by sincerity, will lead to dry and lifeless rulings that alienate the common Muslim and provide fodder for Pharisaical hair-splitting Ahl al-Rusoom (those obsessed with the outward of the law at the expense of the inward). Gathering between the two is perfection.

This small but detailed work by Taaj al-Shari'ah, Shaykh Muhammad Akhtar Rida Khan, scion of the great reviver (Mujaddid) Imam Ahmad Rida Khan, addresses the famous narration of Thuwayba, a slave whom Abu Lahab freed out of joy for the Prophet's birth - may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him - , and the narrations that detail the lightening of punishment that Abu Lahab received on account of that, and tackles an assortment of objections made to these narrations, which in essence limit the Prophet's mercy and intercession. The central thesis of this treatise is that the Prophet's - may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him - power of intercession encompasses non-believers; but not in the sense of general amnesty from Hell, rather because of the lightening of the punishment of lengthy standing to be suffered on the Last Day.

Other areas of discussion in this work include: the use of dreams as legal proofs, whether non-believers receive recompense for their good deeds in the Hereafter, whether nonbelievers can receive benefit in their graves, the forms of intercession held by the Prophet - may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him -, the reconciliation of proof texts that seemingly contradict one another, and how mursal (hanging) hadith reports are acceptable for use according to the principles of the Hanafi school.

"If this disbeliever who was condemned
And whose hands were bound forever in the Fire
Mentioned that every Monday
His punishment is lightened due to his joy in Ahmad
What say you of the servant
Whose entire life is joyful with Ahmad"

- Imam Shams al-Din Muhammad b. Nasir,