Abu Bakr was the closest to the Prophet (peace be upon him) of all his companions. He was Muhammad’s intimate friend before he began to receive any revelations from God. When the Prophet was ordered to call on people to believe in God’s oneness, Abu bakr was one of the very first people the Prophet addressed. He immediately accepted the divine message, knowing that his friend, Muhammad, who never told a lie to any human being, would not start by lying to God or fabricating any story about him. Thus, Abu Bakr was the first to become a Muslim from outside the Prophet’s own home. He never wavered in his support of the Prophet and his message. He was always ready to give any sacrifice the message needed.
Looking up to the Prophet, Abu Bakr once said to him: “Messenger of God! You have grown gray!”
The Prophet said: “Yes indeed! This is caused by Surah Hood and its sisters.” The Prophet named Surah 56, Al-Waqi’ah, Surah 77, Al-Mursalat, Surah 78, Al-Naba’ and Surah 81, Al-Takweer. All these surahs portray scenes from the Day of Judgment that are bound to fill us with dread. Should we reflect on these scenes we would be in real worry lest we should be made to endure the sort of punishment God has in store for the wicked of people. The Prophet was fully aware of all that the Qur’an contained. He knew it by heart and never lost a single verse of it. Considering how alert his conscience was, the images of the Day of Judgment were bound to send a shiver into his heart.
Proper thinking of the Day of Judgment and its dreaded punishment will fill any heart with awe. Indeed, prophets used to sit on their knees, praying God to spare them and their communities its horrors. As he was most aware of what the Day of Judgment signified, the Prophet always thought about it and felt that the task of steering away from punishment was hard indeed. Hence, when he was asked which verses in Surah Hood made him grow gray, he mentioned the verse that says: “Follow, then, the right course as you are bidden, together with those who, with you, have turned to Him; and let none of you transgress. Surely, He sees all that you do.” (11: 112)
In the first instance, the Prophet’s answer appears to be strange. The verse clearly carries an order that the Prophet should do as he is bidden. This applies to all believers, and indeed all mankind. They all must obey God. But the Prophet understood this command as an order not to steer an inch away from the path that God has marked out for him to follow. This obviously required a most diligent approach that always followed God’s commands, obeying them in letter and spirit. It is an order that keeps both heart and mind at full alert, keeping every single commandment we are given by God in front of our eyes, trying hard to fulfill it, and making sure that we never fail. This is far from easy. Hence, it caused the Prophet to be always on the alert, and made him grow gray.
Indeed the Prophet took this order most seriously, and was conscious of it at all times. Remembering this, we understand the opening statement of the Hadith reported by Aishah, his wife, who says: “I never saw God’s Messenger in full command of his strength laughing heartily so as to see the back of his mouth.” It was his consciousness of the Day of Judgment and its hardship that kept him serious at all times, so that when he laughed his merriment would still be controlled. The rest of the Hadith explains that the Prophet was always mindful that God’s punishment could come at any time. Aishah reports of him: “Whenever he saw clouds or wind, his color would change. I said to him once: ‘Messenger of God! When people see clouds they look delighted hoping that they would bring them rain, but when you see clouds, your face shows worry.’ He said to me: ‘Aishah! How can I be sure that it does not carry punishment? Some people were punished with wind. Others saw the punishment approaching, yet they said that it was rain-bearing clouds.’” (Related by Al-Bukhari, Muslim, Ahmad and Abu Dawood.)
This Hadith speaks of the Prophet’s care for his people, fearing that they might be punished like others were before them. The last part refers to the Aad people, the giants who lived in southern Arabia and rejected the message of the Prophet Hood who tried hard to persuade them to believe in God. They were destroyed by storms that lasted eight days, leaving them all dead. Yet these very people were delighted when they saw the clouds approach, declaring that they would bring them rain. Instead the clouds brought them storms heralding God’s punishment. The Prophet felt uneasy whenever he saw clouds gathering, until rain started and he would then feel God’s mercy.
A similar Hadith is also reported by Aishah: “Whenever the Prophet saw clouds approaching with an air of rain, his color would change. He would go in and out, to and fro. When it rained, he would relax. I mentioned this to him and he said: ‘How could I tell what such clouds would bring?’ He quoted the verse that said of certain people: ‘When they saw it in the shape of a dense cloud approaching their valleys, they exclaimed: ‘This is but a heavy cloud which will bring us rain.’ No, indeed. It is the very thing which you sought to hasten: A wind bearing grievous suffering bound to destroy everything at its Lord’s behest.’” (46: 24-25)
The Prophet’s attitude is the one that behooves every believer to follow, realizing that no one can be sure what God’s will might be in any situation. As we all are liable to sin, we can easily incur God’s punishment, unless we repent and seek God’s forgiveness. The Prophet was keenly aware of this, particularly as he considered the verses that say: “Do the people of these cities feel secure that Our might would not strike them at dead of night when they are asleep? Or do the people of these cities feel secure that Our might would not strike them in broad daylight when they are playing around? Do they feel themselves secure from God’s designs? None feels secure from God’s designs except those who are losers.” (7: 97-99)
The best thing that helps avert God’s punishment is to turn to Him in repentance, particularly at night when one is alone, unseen by anyone other than God. This is confirmed in the following Hadith reported by Umm Salamah, the Prophet’s wife: “One night God’s Messenger woke up worried. He said: ‘Limitless is God in His glory. How much of God’s treasures have been brought down tonight, and how much temptation! Who would wake up the women in these rooms (meaning his wives) so that they would pray? Many a woman who is well dressed in this life finds herself bare in the life to come!” (Related by Al-Bukhari, Malik and Al-Tirmidhi.)
It is sincere devotion that averts God’s punishment and ensures the forgiveness of sin. Hence, the Prophet wanted his wives to wake up and spend part of the night in such devotion. The last sentence in the Hadith refers to the fact that what we enjoy in this life is no guarantee that we will have favor in the life to come, unless we earn it through diligent attendance to what God requires of us.