In the name of Allāh, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful; All the praise and Thanks is due to Allāh, the Lord of al-`Ālameen. There is none worthy of worship except Allāh, and that Muhammad, Sallallāhu `alayhi wasallam is His Messenger.
Allah says in the Quran Surah 6:32 -
وَ مَا الۡحَيٰوةُ الدُّنۡيَاۤ اِلَّا لَعِبٌ وَّلَهۡوٌ ؕ وَلَـلدَّارُ الۡاٰخِرَةُ خَيۡرٌ لِّـلَّذِيۡنَ يَتَّقُوۡنَؕ اَفَلَا تَعۡقِلُوۡنَ
“And the worldly life is not but amusement and diversion but the home of Hereafter is best for those who fear Allah. Will you not then reason?” [Surah 6:32]
The concept of resurrection, reward and retribution in the life to come is central to the Islamic faith. Indeed, it ranks second only to the concept of Rab (Godhead) as the foundation upon which the structure of Islam as a faith, law, system and code of conduct is built. Allah tells the believers in the Qur’ān that -
He has perfected their religion for them and
completed with it the grace
He has bestowed on them and
has chosen it for them as a faith
It is then, a complete and coherent way of life in which the ideological concept is in perfect harmony with the moral values it upholds, as well as the laws and regulations it proclaims. All these are based on the same basic foundation: the Islamic concept of Allah and the life hereafter.
According to Islam, life is not the short period of time which an individual lives, nor is it the limited period which represents the lifespan of a nation. Indeed, it is not even the longer period of time which represents the duration of human existence in this world.
Life, in the Islamic view, has a much longer time span, much wider horizons and a much deeper and varied context than the period of time which is assigned to it by those who overlook the next world and do not believe in it.
According to Islam, life stretches out to include this present life of ours and the life to come, which is of a duration unknown to anyone but Allah. Compared to it, human life on earth is no longer than an hour in a day’s work. It also stretches out in space to include this earth on which we live and added to it a paradise which is as vast as the heavens and the earth, as well as a hell which can accommodate the majority of people across all the generations that have existed and will exist on earth.
According to Allah’s measure: “The life of this world is nothing but a sport and a passing delight. Surely the life in the hereafter is by far the better for those who are God-fearing. Will you not, then, use your reason?” (Ayat 32) This is the final value of each of the two lives. It could not be otherwise, when we compare an hour in a day’s work on this small planet with eternity in Allah’s vast dominion. What value other than a pastime could be attached to an hour’s work in this life when it is compared to the seriousness of the great world beyond. This evaluation is absolute in nature, but it does not create any tendency to neglect this life or approach it in an isolationist or negative way.
It was narrated from Thawban that the Prophet (ﷺ) said:
“I certainly know people of my nation who will come on the Day of Resurrection with good deeds like the mountains of Tihamah, but Allah will make them like scattered dust.”
Thawban said: “O Messenger of Allah, describe them to us and tell us more, so that we will not become of them unknowingly.”
He said: “They are your brothers and from your race, worshipping at night as you do, but they will be people who, when they are alone, transgress the sacred limits of Allah.” Grade: Hasan
حَدَّثَنَا عِيسَى بْنُ يُونُسَ الرَّمْلِيُّ، حَدَّثَنَا عُقْبَةُ بْنُ عَلْقَمَةَ بْنِ حُدَيْجٍ الْمَعَافِرِيُّ، عَنْ أَرْطَاةَ بْنِ الْمُنْذِرِ، عَنْ أَبِي عَامِرٍ الأَلْهَانِيِّ، عَنْ ثَوْبَانَ، عَنِ النَّبِيِّ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ أَنَّهُ قَالَ : " لأَعْلَمَنَّ أَقْوَامًا مِنْ أُمَّتِي يَأْتُونَ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ بِحَسَنَاتٍ أَمْثَالِ جِبَالِ تِهَامَةَ بِيضًا فَيَجْعَلُهَا اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ هَبَاءً مَنْثُورًا " . قَالَ ثَوْبَانُ : يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صِفْهُمْ لَنَا جَلِّهِمْ لَنَا أَنْ لاَ نَكُونَ مِنْهُمْ وَنَحْنُ لاَ نَعْلَمُ . قَالَ : " أَمَا إِنَّهُمْ إِخْوَانُكُمْ وَمِنْ جِلْدَتِكُمْ وَيَأْخُذُونَ مِنَ اللَّيْلِ كَمَا تَأْخُذُونَ وَلَكِنَّهُمْ أَقْوَامٌ إِذَا خَلَوْا بِمَحَارِمِ اللَّهِ انْتَهَكُوهَا " .
Reference: Vol. 5, Book 37, Hadith 4245; Book 37, Hadith 4386The hadith also means the tendency of some people to preoccupy with the “worldly matters” that are temporary but detach their hearts and minds to the ‘aspect of al-akhirah’ which is the permanent abode due to no piety and without the fear of Allāh as Allāh Almighty terms them as “the Fujjar”: the wicked, disbelievers, sinners and evildoers. They will be in the blazing Fire (Hell). The Prophet (saw) warned us against striving only for this world. Again, this does not mean that we neglect our worldly affairs under the pretext that we are devoting our life to the Hereafter. What the Prophet (saw) meant is that we should not forget the Hereafter.
‘Abdur-Rahman bin Aban bin ‘Uthman bin ‘Affan narrated that his father said: “Zaid bin Thabit departed from Marwan at mid-day. I said: ‘He has not sent him out at this time of the day except for something he asked.’ So I asked him, and he said: ‘He asked me about some things we heard from the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say:
“Whoever is focused only on this world, Allah will confound his affairs and make him fear poverty constantly, and he will not get anything of this world except that which has been decreed for him. Whoever is focused on the Hereafter, Allah will settle his affairs for him and make him feel content with his lost, and his provision and worldly gains will undoubtedly come to him.” Grade: Sahih
حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ بَشَّارٍ، حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ جَعْفَرٍ، حَدَّثَنَا شُعْبَةُ، عَنْ عُمَرَ بْنِ سُلَيْمَانَ، قَالَ سَمِعْتُ عَبْدَ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنَ أَبَانَ بْنِ عُثْمَانَ بْنِ عَفَّانَ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ، قَالَ خَرَجَ زَيْدُ بْنُ ثَابِتٍ مِنْ عِنْدِ مَرْوَانَ بِنِصْفِ النَّهَارِ فَقُلْتُ مَا بَعَثَ إِلَيْهِ هَذِهِ السَّاعَةَ إِلاَّ لِشَىْءٍ سَأَلَ عَنْهُ . فَسَأَلْتُهُ فَقَالَ سَأَلَنَا عَنْ أَشْيَاءَ سَمِعْنَاهَا مِنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ سَمِعْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ يَقُولُ " مَنْ كَانَتِ الدُّنْيَا هَمَّهُ فَرَّقَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ أَمْرَهُ وَجَعَلَ فَقْرَهُ بَيْنَ عَيْنَيْهِ وَلَمْ يَأْتِهِ مِنَ الدُّنْيَا إِلاَّ مَا كُتِبَ لَهُ وَمَنْ كَانَتِ الآخِرَةُ نِيَّتَهُ جَمَعَ اللَّهُ لَهُ أَمْرَهُ وَجَعَلَ غِنَاهُ فِي قَلْبِهِ وَأَتَتْهُ الدُّنْيَا وَهِيَ رَاغِمَةٌ " .
Reference : Vol. 5, Book 37, Hadith 4105; Book 37, Hadith 4244
The proper evaluation of the two lives according to Allah’s measure -
gave us the benefit of not being enslaved by the pleasures of this life
let us master this life
make use of this life for Allah’s cause, to ensure that His authority remains supreme
give worldly pleasures no chance to enslave us
Thus, We will be able to fulfill our task of building a proper and sound structure for human life. Do not aim to enjoy more of the pleasures of this world but instead aimed to win in the hereafter. With this driving aim, we excel over the rest of mankind in this life and ensure to excel in the hereafter. Indeed, this was what the prophets did as a live examples for us to follow the same. Those who deny the hereafter, simply because it is imperceptible, are only ignorant people who claim to have sound knowledge. Human knowledge today has no longer any certainty other than the certainty of what lies beyond our world and what is imperceptible.
Rest Allah knows best.
Source: Quran, Sunnah, In The Shade of the Quran.