7 tips from Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) to save yourself from the Hellfire

Ask any Muslim what they fear most and the answer will be the fire of hell.

But the great thing is that Allah and His beloved Messenger Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) have informed us exactly how to save ourselves from the blazing fire by Allah’s mercy and will.

Here are 7 tips from our Prophet (peace be upon him) to save yourself from Hellfire in sha Allah.

1) Performing 4 rak’aat before Dhuhr salah and 4 after it

Umm Habibah, the wife of the Prophet (peace be upon him), heard Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) saying:

“Whoever maintains four Rak’aat before Dhuhr and four after it, Allah makes him prohibited for the Fire.”

[Sunan At-Tirmidhi 428, Sahih]

According to the scholars, the 4 rak’aat should be performed by 2 prayers of 2 rak’aat.

2) Fasting

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said :

“Whoever fasts a day in the way of Allah, then Allah will move his face away from the Hellfire by a distance of seventy years.”

[Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim]

Try to fast some Mondays and Thursdays outside Ramadan in order to get further away from Hellfire. Also the three white days (13th, 14th and 15th of each Islamic month), and many other recommended voluntary fasting days.

3) Making dua which will make Paradise and Hellfire supplicate for the believers

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said:

“Whoever asks Allah for Paradise three times, Paradise will say: O Allah, admit him into Paradise. Whoever seeks protection from Hellfire three times, Hellfire will say: O Allah, save him from the Hellfire.”

[Sunan At-Tirmidhi 2572, Sahih]

The dua is as follows:

Allahumma inni as’aluka al-jannah, Allahumma ajirni min al-nar

Try to say these duas regularly in sha Allah.

4) Whoever has faith, prays and fasts will enter Paradise whether he fights in Jihad or not

Abu Huraira (may Allah have mercy upon him) reported: The Prophet (peace be upon him) said:

“Whoever believes in Allah and His Messenger, establishes prayer, and fasts the month of Ramadan will have a right upon Allah that he will be entered into Paradise whether he strives in the cause of Allah or remains in the land in which he was born.”

[Sahih Bukhari 2790]

That’s three pillars of Islam being believed in and being put into practice.

5) Having a good behaviour

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said:

“Shall I not tell you for whom the Hellfire is forbidden? It is every person accessible, polite, and mild.”

[Sunan At-Tirmidhi 2488, Hasan]

It means he is accessible to people, he is against harshness, easy-going in his character and generous in his personality.

6) Giving charity

According to Ady Ibn Hatim (may Allah be pleased with him), the Prophet (peace be upon him) said:

“Guard yourself from the Hellfire even with half of a date in charity. If he cannot find it, then with a kind word.”

[Sahih Bukhari 1417 and Sahih Muslim 1016]

7) Crying out of fear of Allah

It was narrated that Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said:

“A man who weeps for fear of Allah will not enter Hell until the milk goes back into the udder, and dust produced (when fighting) for the sake of Allah and the smoke of Hell will never coexist.”

[Jami’ at-Tirmidhi 1633]

The last part of the hadith is a metaphor for it being impossible, as in the verse where Allah says (interpretation of the meaning): “and they will not enter Paradise until the camel goes through the eye of the needle” [7:40].

These are just seven of many other ways of saving ourselves from the hellfire. The most important actions are to correctly believe in the Oneness of Allah and status of the Prophet (peace be upon him) followed by the five times salah.

May Allāh Azzawajal protect us and our loved ones from His wrath, forgive our wrongs and have mercy upon us all.