Those Who Will Be Shaded on the Day of Judgment

Every Muslim knows that the Day of Judgment will be a very difficult day, a day filled with great distress for many people. One of the greatest blessings that Allah will bestow upon His believing servants is that on the great Day when mankind will be suffering distress and hardship, when the sun will be brought near to mankind, and all the people will sweat according to their sins; that on this Day, some of the believers, Allah will single them out to shade them with His shade, and He will protect them from the sun and from sweating and from distress.

​‘Uqbah ibn ‘Aamir said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (may Allah exalt his praise and send peace upon him) say: “The sun will be brought near to the earth and the people will sweat. For some people, the sweat will come up to their heels; for some it will come halfway up their shins; for some it will come up to their knees; for some it will come up to their backsides; for some it will come up to their hips; for some it will come up to their shoulders; for some it will come up to their necks; for some it will come up to the middle of their mouths; and some of them will be completely covered by their sweat.” (Musnad Ahmad)

Knowing this, the wise believer prepares for that day, and there are few ways better than giving charity. Let's learn how:

Marthad ibn Abdullah reported: The Prophet (may Allah exalt his praise and send peace upon him) said, “The shade of the believer on the Day of Resurrection is their charity.” (Musnad Ahmad)

And

‘Uqbah ibn ‘Amir reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah exalt his praise and send peace upon him) said, “Verily, charity will extinguish the heat of the graves for their people. Only the believer can seek shade on the Day of Resurrection in the shade of their charity.” (Shu’ab al-Imān lil-Bayhaqī - hasan according to al-Albaani)

And

‘Uqbah ibn ‘Amir reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah exalt his praise and send peace upon him) said, “Everyone will be in the shade of their charity until judgment is carried out between the people.” (Sahih Ibn Hibban: Sahih according to Al-Arna’ut)

Furthermore, these reports are also supported by the following famous hadith about the seven groups of people shaded by Allah on the Day of Judgment: 

It was authentically reported from Abu Hurairah that the Prophet (may Allah exalt his praise and send peace upon him) said: “There are seven whom Allah will shade with His shade, on the day when there will be no shade except His: the just ruler; a young man who grows up worshipping his Lord; a man whose heart is attached to the mosque; two men who love one another for the sake of Allah and meet and part on that basis; a man who is called by a woman of status and beauty and replies, ‘I fear Allah’; a man who gives in charity and conceals it to such an extent that his left hand does not know what his right hand gives; and a man who remembers Allah when he is alone, and his eyes well up with tears.” (Agreed upon; Bukhaari, Muslim, and others)

The great Islamic scholar, Ibn Hajar, wrote the following commentary on this hadith regarding the shade of Allah in his epic book, Fath al-Baari:

“with His shade”. The fact that the shade is connected to Allah is an expression of honour. It was said that this refers to His honour and protection, just as it may be said (in Arabic) that a person is in the shade of the king.

“the just ruler” means anyone who is appointed to a position of authority over the affairs of others, and he fulfils his duties justly.

The best definition of “just” is: one who obeys the commands of Allah and puts everything in its proper place without going to the extreme, either of overdoing it, or of negligence. The just ruler is mentioned first because his benefits are so far-reaching.

“a young man”. Young men are mentioned in particular because they are more likely to act upon their desires owing to their strong hormones. The fact that a young man adheres to worship despite that, is indicative of the strength of his taqwaa (piety).

“worshipping his Lord”. In the hadeeth of Salman, it says that he “spent his youth and his energy in worshipping Allah.”

“attached to the mosque”. The apparent meaning is attachment in the sense of hanging, as if his heart is likened to something that hangs in the mosque – like a lamp, for example – indicating that his heart is so strongly attached to the mosque that even when he leaves the mosque, his heart is still there. Or it could mean attachment in the sense of a deep love.

“love one another” means, they shared a kind of love whereby each loved the other in a genuine sense, not just to show off, and not for the sake of some benefit or need.

“and [they] meet and part on that basis” means, this is an ongoing love based on religion, which they do not cut off for any worldly reason, whether they meet in reality or not, until death comes between them.

“a man who is called by a woman of status and beauty”. The meaning of “of status” is, of high birth or a high position; this may refer to lineage or to wealth. The woman here is described as having all the qualities which people usually seek, power and wealth, along with beauty. It is very rare to find all three in any person. The apparent meaning is that she called him to commit immorality.

“and says ‘I fear Allah’”. The apparent meaning is that he says this out loud, either to rebuke her for her immorality and/or to refuse her call. It may also be that he says it in his heart.

“to such an extent that his left hand does not know what his right hand gives”. What is meant by this is that he conceals his charitable giving, and goes to such an extreme that his left hand, even though it is so close to his right hand and is always with it, that even if we imagined that it could understand, it would not know what the right hand is doing because of this utter secrecy. This is a metaphor. (It has also been said that this refers to a person putting their hand into their pocket or wallet and giving from it without looking - and Allah knows best)

“and a man who remembers Allah” – either in his heart, or by mentioning Him out loud.

“when he is alone” – because this is furthest away from showing off. and indicative of sincerity to Allah What is meant here is that there are no distractions, so he pays attention to nothing except Allah.

“his eyes well up (lit. flood)” means, they fill with tears; this is another metaphor.

Although men are mentioned in this hadeeth, women are also included in what is described here. Although what is meant by a “just leader” is the position of imaam, women may also be included in this, if they have children and treat them justly. The idea of being attached to the mosque does not necessarily apply to women, because a woman’s prayer in her home is better than her prayer in the mosque, though it is well known how many women are deeply attached to the masajid of al-Haram in Makkah and the Prophet's Mosque in Madinah. Apart from that, women have a share in all of these things; if a man may be called by a woman, then it can be imagined that a woman could be called by a handsome king, for example, and she refuses because she fears Allah, even though she may have the desire to agree to his call.

We ask Allah to shade us with His shade on the Day when there will be no shade except His - ameen.