Islam is the Only Path to Jannah

During the beginning days of Islam in Makkah Mukarramah, there were just a few people who embraced Islam. At that time, the Quraish tribe would trouble Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) and his Sahaabah (radhiyallahu ‘anhum), and would try to stop people from becoming Muslims.

No matter what difficulties Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) went through and how much the Quraish troubled him, he remained firm and continued inviting people towards Islam.

Whenever Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) found an opportunity to invite people to Islam, he would go to them, speak to them about Allah Ta‘ala, explain to them the beauty of Islam and invite them to become Muslims. During the months of haj, people would come to Makkah Mukarramah for haj from all around the world, so Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) would go to the different tribes who were in Mina, Muzdalifah and Arafah and invite them to Islam.

One year, during the days of haj, Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) went to the people in Mina to invite them to Islam. Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) rode on a camel, and behind him, seated on the camel, was Hazrat Zaid bin Haarithah (radhiyallahu ‘anhu), the freed slave of Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam).

Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) spoke to different tribes in Mina and invited them to Islam, but whichever tribe he went to, the people did not show any interest towards his message. This continued, until Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) came to a certain tribe and began to invite them to Islam. The people of this tribe also did not show any interest to what Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) was saying. However, among them was a man by the name of Maysarah bin Masrooq.

Maysarah began to pay attention and showed some interest in the message of Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam). While everyone else was turning away, not paying any attention, he paid attention and came close to Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) to hear what he had to say.

Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) had deep love in his heart for every person – even more than the love which any mother has for her child. That is why Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) wished for every person to accept Islam, so that they be saved from the fire of Jahannum. Now, when Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) saw that Maysarah seemed interested, he felt hope that he might perhaps embrace Islam.

Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) continued inviting Maysarah to Islam, until Maysarah said to him, “How beautiful is this message of Islam that you are giving me!” He turned to his tribe as well and told them that they should all embrace Islam. However, his people were not interested, and also did not want him to accept Islam.

Maysarah said to Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam), “Really, I want to accept Islam, but my tribe are not interested. A person is in need of his tribe. If I follow you and accept Islam, then my people will cut off ties with me, and I will not manage this.” Hearing this, Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) left him and moved on.

Deep down in his heart, Maysarah knew that this religion of Islam, which Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) was inviting towards, was the true religion. It was just due to his tribe opposing him that he did not accept.

As the days of haj passed, and the day came for them to return to their hometown, they passed by the land of Fadak. Maysarah said to his people, “There are Jews who live here, in this land of Fadak. Let us stop, on our way, meet these Jews, and since they have the past scriptures, we will ask them regarding this man who claims that he is the Nabi of Allah Ta‘ala to find out whether there is any mention of him in their past scriptures.”

His people agreed and they stopped in Fadak. They came to the Jewish rabbi and told him how they had met a man in Mina who invited them to Islam, claiming to be the final prophet of Allah Ta‘ala. They asked him whether any mention is made of this person claiming prophethood in their scriptures.

The Jewish rabbi took out their scriptures and began to recite from the Towraah, and in the Towraah, mention was made of the coming of Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) – the final Nabi of Allah Ta‘ala. The physical description of Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) and his message – all was clearly recorded in the Towraah.

It was mentioned in the Towraah that Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) will be the Nabi who will be unable to read and write. He will be sent to the land of Arabia (i.e. Makkah Mukarramah). He will ride the camel, and will suffice on a few pieces of bread as his food. He will neither be very tall nor very short, but rather of average height. His hair will neither be straight nor curly. He will have a little redness in the white of his eyes.

In other words, the entire description of Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) was given which showed that he will be the one divinely appointed by Allah Ta‘ala and sent to the world as the final Nabi.

After giving all the descriptions of Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) mentioned in the Towraah, the Jewish rabbi said, “If the person who invited you to Islam matches this description, then you must know that he is the final Nabi.”

Maysarah said, “Yes! All that you mentioned to us exactly fits the description of Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam)!” The Jewish rabbi said, “If this is the man that you met, then embrace his deen, as it is the true religion. My people, the Jews, will not accept him, as they are too jealous of him.”

What the Jewish rabbi meant when he said that “they are too jealous of him” is that the Jews were jealous because nubuwwah and prophethood had moved from the progeny of Nabi Ishaaq (‘alaihis salaam) to the progeny of Nabi Ismaaeel (‘alaihis salaam)).

The Jewish rabbi said, “We, the Jews, will not accept him. From the Arabs, every person will either follow him or fight against him, so ensure that you are among those who follow him.”

Maysarah immediately said to his people, “Let us return and go to Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) to embrace Islam.” However, his people said, “No, rather, we will meet him next year when we go for haj, and at that time, we will embrace Islam.”

In this way, they delayed embracing Islam. The following year, they did not go for haj, and something or another kept coming up each year due to which they delayed. In this way, many years passed, until the time came when Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) made hijrah from Makkah Mukarramah to Madinah Munawwarah. Thereafter, different battles were fought against the Quraish and other tribes. Then, the time came when Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) was about to leave the world.

At that time, Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) made an announcement to the Sahaabah (radhiyallahu ‘anhum), informing them that he is going to perform haj. All the Sahaabah (radhiyallahu ‘anhum) gathered and joined Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) on this journey.

During this haj, when Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) was in Mina, this very same person – Maysarah – came to Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) in order to embrace Islam. Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) recognized that he was the same person who Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) had met in the beginning of Islam in Mina.

Maysarah said, “O Rasul of Allah! From the day you stopped at our camp in Mina and spoke to us, I continued to wish that I could come to you, accept Islam and follow you. However, something always came up, and in this manner, time continued to pass. As you can see, my embracing Islam has been delayed until now. As for my other tribesmen whom you had spoken to in Mina, they have all passed away. Tell me, O Nabi of Allah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam), where is their place in the Hereafter – in Jannah or Jahannum?

Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) replied, “Any person who does not embrace Islam and accept Muhammed (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) as the final messenger of Allah, and he passes away in this condition, he will pass away as a disbeliever, upon kufr and shirk. His place will be the fire of Jahannum where he will remain forever and ever.” Maysarah exclaimed, “All praise is due to Allah who blessed me with Islam and saved me from the fire of Jahannum.”

From this incident, we see the deep desire in the blessed heart of Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) for every person to be saved from the fire of Jahannum. We also see that the greatest gift and blessing is the gift and blessing of imaan and Islam.

If a person does not have imaan and Islam, then even if he does good deeds and seems to be a good person, he will not be allowed to go to Jannah. Rather, he will have to stay in Jahannum forever and ever.