Did you know that you have another name—a spiritual identity? We spend our lives building a name for ourselves in hopes for recognition and admiration, but the name that truly matters isn’t the one people call you here. It’s the one you’re known by in the heavens.
The Prophet ﷺ said that every servant has a reputation in the heavens. Some names are earned by deeds, some given by Allah, and some lost to hypocrisy. The world may call you one thing, but what is your name with Allah? Are you remembered among the angels or completely unknown in the realm that truly counts?
NOTE: All depictions of Barzakh are purely conceptual and only vocals were used in the making of the soundtrack.
Download discussion guides for “The Other Side”: https://yqn.io/2e7585
References:
- “I ask You by every Name that You have named Yourself, revealed in Your Book, taught any one of Your creation or kept unto Yourself in the knowledge of the unseen that is with You…” [Musnad Ahmad]
- Our Prophet ﷺ said: “I have several names. I am Muhammad, and I am Ahmad, and I am al-Mahi (the eraser) by means of whom Allah erases disbelief, and I am al-Hashir (the gatherer) at whose feet the people will be gathered, and I am al-’Aaqib (the last) after whom there will be no other.” [Sahih Muslim #2354]
- In one narration he said: “The Prophet of Repentance and the Prophet of Mercy.” [Sahih Muslim #2355]
- Allah says about Yahya the son of Zakariyyah: “I have named him “Yahya” and that name was not given before to anyone but him.” [Surah Maryam, 19:7]
- The Prophet ﷺ said: “There isn’t a servant of Allah except that they have a a name or reputation in the heavens.” [At-Tabarani, Al-Mu’jam al-Awsat]
- Umar ibn Abdul Aziz said: One night, I saw the Prophet ﷺ in a dream in a green meadow, and he said to me: “You’re going to take charge of my ummah‘s affairs, and when that comes, do not spill the blood of the people, for your name among the people is Umar ibn Abdul Aziz, but your name with Allah is Jābir (one who mends together and brings comfort). [Ibn Abi ad-Dunya, Al-Manamat]
- The Prophet ﷺ said, “Let the slave of Dinar and Dirham of Quantify and Khamisa (i.e. money and luxurious clothes) perish for he is pleased if these things are given to him, and if not, he is displeased!” [Sahih Al-Bukhari #2886]
- There was a tyrant who reigned havoc on Medina in the past and his name was Muslim ibn Uqba, but the people called him Mujrim instead of Muslim which means criminal. [Ibn Hazm, Jawami’ As-Seerah]
- The Prophet ﷺ said: a person continues to manifest truth until he’s written with Allah as a Sideeq). [Sahih Muslim #2607]
- Prophet ﷺ said: “Verily, among what you remember Allah by, is His glorification, declaration of His oneness, and His praise, and those adhkar then circle around the Throne, buzzing like bees with the mention of the one who said them. Would one of you not like to constantly be remembered this way?” [Sunan Ibn Majah #3809]
- Allah says: “Remember me and I will remember you.” [Al Baqarah, 2:152].
- The Prophet ﷺ said, “Allah says: ‘I am just as My slave thinks I am, (i.e. I am able to do for him what he thinks I can do for him) and I am with him if He remembers Me. If he remembers Me in himself, I too, remember him in Myself; and if he remembers Me in a group of people, I remember him in a group that is better than they; and if he comes one span nearer to Me, I go one cubit nearer to him; and if he comes one cubit nearer to Me, I go a distance of two outstretched arms nearer to him; and if he comes to Me walking, I go to him running.” [ Sahih al-Bukhari #7405; Sahih Muslim #2675]
- Iblees became jealous of Ayyub (as) for his mention in the heavens because of how righteous he was working on earth. [Ibn al-Jawzi, At-Tabsira]
«التبصرة لابن الجوزي» (1/ 195):
«فَسَمِعَ تَجَاوُبَ الْمَلائِكَةِ بِالصَّلاةِ عَلَى أَيُّوبَ فَحَسَدَهُ فَقَالَ: يَا رَبِّ لَوْ صَدَمْتَ أَيُّوبَ بالبلاء لكفر»
- As Omar (ra) said to a man who returned from a battle and started to list the names of the casualties. The man said after all the known names, “And there are a bunch of people that Ameer ul-Mu’mineen doesn’t know.” Omar (ra) wept and said, “And what does it matter if Ameer ul-Mumineen doesn’t know them so long as Allah knows them.” [Ibn Kathir, Al-Bidayah wan-Nihayah, 10:124]
- It was said to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ: “What do you think of a man who does good deeds and people praise him?” The Prophet ﷺ said, “They are early glad tidings for a believer.” [Sahih Muslim #2642]
- The Prophet ﷺ said about the good soul as it ascends: They will not pass by a group of angels except that the angels will say, “What is that sweet smell?” And the angel carrying you will say so-and-so, the child of so-and-so. And then they will call you by the most beloved of nicknames to you.
On the flip side if it is evil, the Prophet said: They will say, “What is that filthy scent?” And the angel will say so-and-so, the child of so and so. And they will call it by all the worst nicknames. [Musnad Ahmad]
