By: Sheikh Khâlid Husayn


Praise be to Allah who said: “And for those who fears the time when they will be standing before their Lord, there shall be two gardens (in Paradise).” [Sûrah al-Rahmân: 46]

May Allah bestow His peace and blessings on His prophet who said: “If you knew what I know, you would laugh little and weep much". [Sahîh al-Bukhârî (4621, 6486, 7295) and Sahîh Muslim (2359)] And may Allah be pleased with the Companions who wept upon hearing this hadîth.

It is right for us to have fear of that day that we all have to face. That Day of Resurrection is a day of distress and deep regret. It is that long and ominous Day in which all humanity will stand before their Lord. On that day, fear will make the pregnant woman miscarry. People will be as if they are drunk but they shall not be drunk save that the severity of Allah’s punishment will make them that way. On that day, fear will make the hair on the heads of small children turn gray.

We should seriously start to prepare ourselves for that day, since it is the crossroads on the long journey of our existence. From there, we will head either to Paradise or to the Hellfire. Those who enter paradise will dwell there for all eternity in perpetual happiness and enjoyment, while those who go to Hell will face torture, and the denizens of Hell will find to their distress that they have eternal lives as well.

We must, however, have an optimistic outlook regarding our Lord. His mercy is truly vast for those who believe in Him and worship Him sincerely and it always takes precedence to His wrath. The Prophet (peace be upon him) has told us that Allah is more merciful to us than a devoted mother is to her newborn child. [Sahîh al-Bukhârî (5999) and Sahîh Muslim (2754)]

The fear that we have of the Day of Resurrection should motivate us to be more devoted in worship and more ready to engage in good deeds. We should pray and fast more often and renew our efforts to make pilgrimage. We should be good to our families and show kindness to our parents. There are many different ways to do good.

This same fear should help us to abstain from sinful acts and disobedience to Allah. This fear, then, will actually have a positive effect on us. It is not a negative fear that will make us inactive and despair of Allah’s mercy.


Activities to prepare us for the hereafter

The following activities are very helpful in helping a Muslim prepare for that dreadful day, “a day wherein they will be brought forth and nothing about them will be hidden from Allah.” [Sûrah Ghâfir: 16]

1. We should read the Qur’ân and contemplate its meanings. We should consider its rulings and appreciate the good that it promises us as well as the warnings that it gives us.

2. We should read about the life of the Prophet (peace be upon him). We should study how he conducted himself in obedience to Allah and how he abstained from overindulgence in worldly pleasures.

3. We should likewise read the biographies of the Companions and those who followed after them and look at how they strove to attain success in the Hereafter.

4. We should often contemplate the inevitability of death. We should be aware of the trials that follow in the grave and during the resurrection. We should visualize ourselves standing before Allah, the most scrupulous and just of judges. We should think about the bridge that we will have to cross in order to attain salvation, a bridge from which many will slip and fall to their destruction. We should think about the joy that will be experienced by the people of Paradise and the suffering and sorrow of the denizens of Hell.

We need to always keep in mind that death can come to us at any moment. How do we wish to meet our Lord? Do we wish to do so in a state of grace and obedience or would we like to do so while engaged in sin?

Ibn `Umar relates to us that the prophet (peace be upon him) once put his hand on his shoulder and said to him: “Be in the world as if you are a wayfarer or a stranger passing through.” Because of this, Ibn `Umar would often say: “When night falls, do not look forward to the dawn and when day breaks do not anticipate the night. Take full advantage of your health before you succumb to illness and of your life before death overtakes you.” [Sahîh al-Bukhârî (6416)]

5. We need to seriously study to acquire Islamic knowledge. When we acquire more knowledge of our religion, we become more aware of Allah and more God-fearing. Allah says: “The only people who fear Allah from among His servants are those who possess knowledge.”

6. We should keep company with pious people, especially those who have Islamic knowledge and those who are engaged in calling others to Islam. Likewise, we should avoid the company of sinful and unscrupulous people. Good company helps us to purify our hearts. We also find support in such people for our efforts to do what is right. Conversely, bad company hardens our heart. Immoral people encourage us to do immoral things. Also, when our hearts become hardened, we become far away from Allah and more attached to worldly things.

7. We should always keep in mind that this world is a transient place. Those who enjoy the pleasures of this world will not be able to take those pleasures with them. They have only their deeds to send before them. Allah says: “On the Day when every soul will find itself confronted with all that it has done of good and all that it has done of evil, and every soul will long that there might be a mighty space of distance between it and that evil. Allah bids you beware of Him. And Allah is full of pity for His servants.” [Sûrah Âl `Imrân: 30]

No matter how great this world may seem to us, it is in truth quite insignificant. No matter how enduring it may appear right now, it is as fleeting as a night that must end at another sunrise. Our worldly lives will come to an end at the grave.

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “The life of this world compared to the Hereafter is as if one of you were to put his finger in the ocean and take it out again then compare the water that remains on his finger to the water that remains in the ocean.” [Sahîh Muslim (2858)]

8. Lastly, we must spend more time in sincere supplication to our Lord. We should ask Him to make the Hereafter dearer to us and to make us less fond of the world. We should beseech Him to grant us Paradise with all of its delights and to spare us His wrath. Truly, Allah hears and answers our prayers.

Source: Islamtoday.com

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Alahumma infa`ni bima `allamtani wa `allamni ma yanfa`uni!

OH ALLAH! Make useful for me what You taught me and teach me knowledge that will be useful to me!

(Aameen)

Preparing for Death

By Khalid Baig

"Suppose you learn today that you have only one more day to live; you'll die tomorrow. How will you spend your last day?"

This interview question was posed long before the age of mass media. The interviewer approached prominent scholars and people known for their virtuous lives with the idea that he would compile their answers in a book. Such a book would provide the readers with inspiration for the most important virtues.

But the most inspiring response came from the person who did not provide a wish list of virtuous deeds. He was the great muhaddith Abdur Rahman ibn abi Na'um and he replied: "There is nothing that I could change in my daily schedule learning that it is my last day. I already spend everyday in my life as if it is going to be my last."

Death is the most certain aspect of life. According to the latest statistics, 6178 people die in the world every hour. These are people of all ages, dying of all causes. Some of these deaths will make headlines. The great majority will die quietly. Yet everyone will enter his grave the same way. Alone. At the time appointed by God. Science and technology can neither prevent nor predict death. It is solely in the hands of the Creator.

"O mankind! If you are in doubt concerning the Resurrection, then lo! We have created you from dust, then from a drop of seed, then from a clot, then from a little lump of flesh shapely and shapeless, that We may make it clear for you. And We cause what We will to remain in the wombs for an appointed time, and afterward We bring you forth as infants, then give you growth that you attain full strength. And among you there is he who dies young, and among you there is he who is brought back to the most abject time of life, so that after knowledge he knows naught!"[Al-Haj 22:5]

We see it happening all the time. Yet it is amazing how we feel that it won't happen to us. At least not anytime soon. We bury our own friends and relatives but think that we'll live forever. Our attitudes about death defy all logic. In a way we recognize it and even plan for it. We take out life insurance policies. We may do estate planning. Businesses and governments have contingency plans to carry out their operations in case of sudden loss of their leaders. But this is recognition of death as an end point of this life. Where we fail is in recognizing it as the beginning of another life that will never end and where we'll reap what we sow here.

A central teaching of Islam is that it is our recognition of and preparation for that eternity that must separate those who are smart from those who are not. As the Prophet, Sall-Allahu alayhi wa sallam said: "Truly smart is the person who controlled his desires and prepared for life after death."

There is a moving story about Bahlool, who, in his innocence seems to be on the opposite end of the scale of worldly-smartness. Khalifa Haroon ur Rashid had given him access to his court probably because his naiveté was a source of entertainment to him. Once the Khalifa gave him a walking stick saying, "It is meant for the most foolish person in the world. If you find a person more deserving of it than yourself, pass it on." Several years later Haroon ur Rashid fell seriously ill and no medical treatment seemed to work. Bahlool visited him and inquired about his condition. The conversation went something like this:

Haroon: "No treatment is working. I see my final journey ahead of me."

Bahlool: "Where are you going?"

Haroon: "I am going to the Other World."

Bahlool: "How long will you stay there? When will you come back?"

Haroon: "No one ever comes back from that world."

Bahlool: "Then you must have made especial preparations for this journey. Did you send an advance group to take care of you once you arrive?

Haroon: "Bahlool, you have to go there alone. And no I did not make any preparations."

Bahlool: "Ameer-ul-Momineen! You used to send troops to make extensive preparations for you for even short trips of only a few days. Now you are going to a place where you'll live forever but you have made no preparations! I think I have found the person more deserving of the stick that you had given me some years ago."

This story speaks to all of us. We may not be kings but we do plan our trips of even a few days very carefully. How about preparing for the journey into eternity? How about making the concern for the Hereafter the cornerstone of our lives here?

Actually, that concern can change our lives here as well. This world is an abode of deception. Here we are not punished the moment we commit a sin. This fools us into thinking that we can get away with it. Remembering death is the antidote for that deception. A person who remembers that he will have to stand before his Creator and be accountable for his actions simply cannot defy God!

In the story of Pharaoh, we learn that when he saw death approaching he declared belief in the God of Moses. Before that he had been fooled by his apparent power. His repentance came too late but it did show how his arrogance and intransigence evaporated when faced with the certainty of death.

It is amazing how a lot of our own "confusions", frivolous arguments, excuses (for why we cannot do this or avoid that), or plane laziness can melt away when we visualize ourselves in our grave! Death settles lot of arguments. Its remembrance can do that too. Before it is too late. He was indeed a very wise person who spent everyday of his life as if it was going to be his last day. But that certainly should be the goal for all of us!