Hereafter

Are you prepared for the Hereafter (Akhira)?

“Every soul shall taste death” [Qur’an 29:57]

If there’s one thing all of mankind can agree upon it is that death is certain. We all roam this earth with a pre-determined expiry date of which the date and time is unknown to us. When our time has elapsed; death is something we simply cannot escape.

Although death does not differentiate between young and old, we often find ourselves thinking about death more frequently as we grow older. Perhaps it’s the soul’s natural inclination to remind us that we are living on borrowed time, and so it sends us reminders to check-in and evaluate ourselves.

 “By time, Indeed, mankind is surely in loss. Except those who believe and do righteous deeds (correct actions) and enjoin each other to the truth and enjoin each other to patience.” [Qur’an 103:1-3]

Have you ever heard the words “carpe diem” or “seize the day”? I’m sure many of you have heard it before, but perhaps not so familiar with the rest of the phrase: “… quam minimum credula posteru” which translates to “… put very little trust in tomorrow (the future)”.

Indeed mankind holds onto this notion of seizing the day in light of enjoying this Dunya, and we forget to focus on what we have to do ‘here’ and ‘now’ to ensure our success in the Akhira.

We disregard the fact that tomorrow is not guaranteed and continue to be distracted by Dunya, and thus delay things because “hey, we still got tomorrow” or “I’ll get there when I’m ready”.

We seem to think that we have control over our time and consequently make plans according to our concept of time.

However, the Prophet SAW stressed the importance of utilising time proficiently; advising Muslims to invest in it when the conditions are most favourable: “Grab five things before five others: your youth before your decrepitude, your health before your illness, your wealth before your poverty, your leisure before your work, and your life before your death” (Al –Hakim, Al-Mustadrak,44, 4/341)

What if we were to find out that Malakul Maut(Angle of death) was due to collect our soul this evening at 10pm? What course of action would we embark upon? Would we feel panic? Would we think about everything we put on the way side for ‘tomorrow’ and feel regret and anxiety? Or would we feel at peace and ready?

Hadith:

“On the Day of Resurrection the feet of the son of Adam (man) will not move away till he is questioned about four matters: how he spent his lifetime, how he spent his youth; from where he acquired his wealth and how he spent it, and what he did with his knowledge” (Sunah al-Tirmidhi, 2417)

Hence, we need to take stock of ourselves and amend our lifestyle accordingly so that it is congruent to that which has been ordained by our Creator. We need to drop the “tomorrow” and start today.

Let us start with the intention to fulfil that which is incumbent upon us and build upon that In Sha Allah. May Allah grant us istiqamah as we journey through this Dunya, Ameen ya Rabbal Alameen.

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