By: Haqq Seeker
Source: MuslimVillage.com
BISMILLĀHIR RAHMĀNIR RAHĪM
Glory to Allāh and Salutations on Rasulullāh Sallallāhu ‘alayhi wasallam.
Q. What is the most certain thing about life?
A. DEATH
Q. What about the most uncertain thing?
A. THE TIME OF DEATH
Therefore:
DEATH or MAUT is something that has two conditions TOTALLY PARADOXICAL or CONTRADICTORY to one another and these are:
Most certain – DEATH
Most uncertain – TIME OF DEATH
Since we are aware that Maut is definite to come but we are not aware when it is going to come, we have to be on guard all the time for its arrival. Being on guard signifies that we have to prepare ourselves for the life after death – to be ready at all times for the arrival of Israeel or Malak-ul-Maut, the ‘Destroyer of Pleasures’ because, there is no way we can escape from the Angel of Death, once he has been commanded by Allāh Ta’ala regarding the exact moment he has to extract the Rooh or the soul from our body.
Being prepared for death all the time also indicates that we cannot postpone doing good deeds for a later moment and neither can we postpone stopping from doing bad deeds till a later moment. The time for preparing for Ākhirat is NOW! This very day, this very hour, this very minute and this very second!
Do we know that at any given time in life we are busy doing any one of the two things: there is no third thing?
1. We are either doing something that is pleasing Allāh Ta’ala
Or
2. We are doing something that is displeasing Him.
There is no third thing!
In other words, at any given time, we are either building our ĀKHIRAT or we are destroying our ĀKHIRAT.
That is why all the time we have to be conscious of what we are doing. Whenever we are performing any action we should always ask ourselves, “With what I am doing right at this moment:
1. Is Allāh Ta’ala pleased with me or is He annoyed with me?
2. Am I getting closer to Allāh Ta’ala or am I going further away from Allāh Ta’ala?
3. Am I building my place in Jannāh or am I preparing my abode in Jahannam?”
Life is very short. Nabi Nooh AlahisSalām lived for more than 950 years but when leaving this world the Malāika asked him about his life on earth. He said he felt that the life he spent on earth was like entering into a room from the front door and leaving it from the back door! That is what he said about a life span of more than 950 years!
So what about our lives of 60-70 years, maximum 100 years? That will be just like stepping into the room and being taken out from it immediately! Remember the AZĀN and the IQĀMAT for our Janāza Salāh have already been called. Only left is for the SALĀH to commence!
In comparison, the life of Ākhirat is infinite – forever and ever, everlasting and never-ending! Imagine, if the day of Qiyāma will be 1,000 years of this life then what would be the everlasting life of Ākhirat? Even after lasting for billions and billions of years yet it will not come to an end!
But Insān is really insane! Or rather he is stupid! The intelligent one is the one who prepares for his Ākhirat before his death – that is the mahfoom of hadith of Nabi Sallallāhu alaihi wasallam. So why should anyone destroy his eternal (forever) life for a very temporary life which can end at any time. The worldly life has no haqeeqat whatsoever – here today, gone tomorrow!
Whatever we have been granted in this world – wealth, position, power, family – they are all temporary – only tests from Allāh Ta’ala. Haqqeeqat is the life of the Ākhirat – everything there is permanent, all the ne’emats are never ending.
The ne’emats that Allāh Ta’ala has kept for us in Jannat are such that no eye has seen, no ear has heard and no mind has ever imagined!
However, the biggest and the final reward in Jannah will be the sight of Allāh Ta’ala. The Jannati will behold Allāh Ta’ala without any veil in between! The divine ecstasy the Jannati would experience at that moment is beyond words. All the other ne’emats of Jannah will pale in comparison. He will then exclaim with intense joy that out of all the ne’emats in Jannah – the last one is the best. So what about the non-haqeeqi things of this world in comparison to this last ne’emat?
The Messenger of Allāh (sallallāhu alaihi wa sallam) said: “Three (things) accompany a dead body: members of his family, his belongings and his deeds. Two of them leave him, and only one remains with him. Indeed, his family members and his belongings leave him but his deeds remain with him.” [Bukhari]
So it is of paramount importance that we prepare for that life and also help our near and dear ones to do the same.
For that is the ONLY purpose of our life in this world. There is no other purpose!
…and Allāh Ta’ala Knows Best