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Hadith Saying "Earth Is A Prison For Believers & Paradise For Non-Believers"?
There is a hadith that says this earth is a prison for believers and paradise for non believers.
https://sunnah.com/muslim:2956
https://sunnah.com/tirmidhi:2324
https://sunnah.com/ibnmajah:4113
Now, how should we understand this hadith? Some people who criticize Javed Ahmad Ghamidi sahab use this hadith in their defence, since most of the opinions of Ghamidi sahab isn’t as rigid & hardcore as the traditional ulema they say this hadith proves Ghamidi Sahab wrong and the strict ulema right because Ghamidi Sahab’s fatwas make life on earth too easy for Muslims when this life was supposed to be restrictive like prisoners and only disbelievers are supposed to live an easy life & enjoy this dunya according to this hadith.
So how should we understand this hadith? Has Javed Ahmad Ghamidi sahab discussed about this hadith?
sunnah.com
Hadith of the Prophet Muhammad (saws) in English and Arabic
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Hadith Saying "Earth Is A Prison For Believers & Paradise For Non-Believers"?
updated 3 weeks, 6 days ago
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Replies
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Use of words “Prison” and “Paradise” are not used in literal sense. They are used to convey the reality of perspectives with which both a ‘Momin’ and a ‘Disbeliever’ live this life. For a Believer, although the concept of Paradise attracts the heart but there are hardships in its way, such as prayer, fasting, Hajj and Zakat, and the struggle to stay away from evil in all kinds of situations and adhere to morals. If a person wants to move towards it, then he has to bear these hardships like a prisoner. On the other hand, the disbeliever feels no such compulsion to adhere to any such restrictions imposed by religion, instead his attitude is indicative of a person who is already living in a Paradise, without any fear of accountability.
There is another hadith Sahih Muslim:2822 (sunnah.com reference) which touches a similar topic but in a different wording and Ghamidi Sahab has taught this Hadith, please refer to the video below:
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I watched the video. Ghamidi Sahab said hardship means praying, fasting, giving zakah, staying away from evil and he also mentioned his interaction with some atheists where he found that their issue was regarding women, gambling and alcohol. But in a similar way the more strict ulema also declare music, drawing animals, shaking hands with opposite gender, befriending opposite gender, not wearing burqa etc haram which are permissible according to Ghamidi Sahab, so they accuse Ghamidi Sahab of making this life easy. How should one respond to them argument when they say their understanding of Islam is correct because it enables way more hardship as they believe so many things to be haram while Ghamidi Sahab makes Islam easier to follow by declaring these things halal?
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The criteria of Haram Halal is not based on the principle of Hardship, rather it is based on the principle of Tazkiya. And to achieve this tazkiya, one has to stay within bounds of Sharia as given in Quran and Hadith. What is Halal and what is Haram is based on understanding of the text, not on the level of hardship. If the text demands hardship from Muslim, a Muslim should surrender and if the text demands otherwise, then a Muslim should also surrender. The Ahadith discussed above are not talking about Hardship in life in absolute sense, rather they are comparing hardships a Muslim has to face in comprison to a person who doesn’t believe in God at all, and he has absolute freedom to do anything, without giving due regard to the text of God and without any fear of accountability.
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