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بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ. الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ، وَالصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ عَلَى أَشْرَفِ الأَنْبِيَاءِ وَالمُرْسَلِينَ، نَبِيِّنَا مُحَمَّدٍ وَعَلَى آلِهِ وَصَحْبِهِ وَسَلَّمَ تَسْلِيمًا كَثِيرًا كَثِيرًا، أَمَّا بَعْدُ.
There is a common confusion where we are taught to view the Dunyā and the Ākhirah as if they are two disconnected, opposing realities. As I mentioned yesterday, we are on a single continuous train journey. That train has one station called Mawt (death), where you transition into the next stage that leads to the Ākhirah. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ never told us to reject, discard, or ignore the Dunyā. Rather, he taught us:
الدُّنْيَا مَزْرَعَةُ الآخِرَةِ
“The Dunyā is the tillage (cultivating field) of the Ākhirah.”
The Ākhirah is the warehouse, the great grain silo. The Dunyā is the field from which you harvest to fill that warehouse. If you abandon the field, the warehouse remains completely empty. There is no question of ignoring the Dunyā; the question is how you use it. If a farmer owns fertile land meant for wheat or rice, but instead neglects it, lets it overgrow with weeds and thorns, and then says, “I am focusing on the silo,” what does that even mean? The Dunyā is an asset that Allah has entrusted to us. How do we use it to build our Ākhirah? The formula is simple: align your entire life with the questions that will be asked on the Day of Judgment.
The Prophet ﷺ informed us that the feet of the servant will not move on the Day of Resurrection until he is questioned about four matters:
1. How did you spend your life and your time?
Every single second is recorded and will be presented before us. Did we honor our time? Did we wake up for Ṣalāt al-Fajr? Did we pray Fajr in the masjid? The scholars noted that if you want to examine whether there is hypocrisy (nifāq) in your heart, look at your Fajr prayer. When a person proclaims Lā ilāha illallāh, Muḥammadur Rasūlullāh, how can they casually abandon Fajr? I am not speaking of someone who is exhausted and unintentionally oversleeps, because we are human beings. I mean someone who never had the sincere intention to wake up and pray.
In America, at our masjid in West Springfield, Massachusetts, brothers regularly drive twenty to twenty-five minutes at seventy miles an hour, through harsh winter snow and ice, just to pray Fajr in congregation. And Alhamdulillah, look at parents who cultivate this consciousness in their young children. At our community in Springfield (MHMIC), our brother Mushtaq’s young son, Faisal, when he was only six or seven years old, prayed Fajr behind me every day. One stormy morning, torrential rain was hammering down. I opened the masjid, called the Adhān, and prayed my Sunnah alone. As I called the Iqāmah, I noticed a small yellow figure standing behind me in the empty hall. It was little Faisal in his yellow raincoat, standing alone with me to pray Fajr in the dark. Likewise, brother Haseeb’s four-year-old daughter comes in full, proper ḥijāb and insists on standing in the prayer line. Raising conscious children is in your hands, and it begins with how you value your time before Allah.
2. How did you spend your youth?
Youth (shabāb) is a unique, irreplaceable season of life. You have vitality, sharp faculties, and energy. How are you investing that strength? The special shade and immense reward promised for staying steadfast upon the straight path during youth cannot be claimed later in old age. If youth is wasted heedlessly, no amount of regret in later years can return those prime days. For those of you who are young, recognize the immense value of this trust and dedicate your vigor to the obedience of Allah.
3. What did you do with your knowledge?
Out of His infinite mercy, Allah will not ask, “Why did you not memorize the entire Qur’an?” or “Why did you not master every branch of sacred knowledge?” But regarding what you did know, what did you do with it? Did you live by it? People often rush eagerly to preach and give da‘wah, but first you must embody that knowledge in your own character and actions. First build your direct, sincere connection with Allah ﷻ. If your personal connection with Allah is fragile, what benefit will your words offer to others?
4. Your wealth: How did you earn it, and how did you spend it?
This is a two-part inquiry: Was your wealth acquired through pure, ḥalāl avenues, and was it spent in lawful, beneficial ways? Notice carefully: in none of these four questions does Allah ask about mere quantity. Allah asks about how, not how much. Allah does not ask, “Why did you not live to be a hundred years old?” (our lifespan is entirely in His decree). Rather, He asks how we spent whatever years He granted us. He does not ask how much money you amassed, but how you earned it and where you directed it.
Today, our society has turned this metric upside down. People judge human beings through vulgar monetary terms, celebrating “high net worth individuals” or talking about athletes being “bought and sold” for exorbitant sums. When shame (ḥayā’) disappears, anything goes. As the Prophet ﷺ said:
إِذَا لَمْ تَسْتَحْيِ فَاصْنَعْ مَا شِئْتَ
“If you have no shame, then do whatever you wish.” [Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 3484]
Once, while walking through the grounds of Chiran Fort in Hyderabad, a companion pointed out a passerby and remarked, “Sir, that man is worth two thousand crores!” I told him, “He is a buffalo! You buy cattle and livestock like that by their price tag.” Allah created the human being in the best stature (Aḥsani Taqwīm), bestowed upon us honor (‘izzah), endowed us with intellect, and granted us the supreme dignity of making sujūd before Him. How can we reduce human value to a price tag?
On the Day of Judgment, every single one of us will stand alone before Allah. When you attend a janāzah, look closely at the grave: not a single admirer, associate, or critic enters the earth with the deceased. None of them will stand beside you when Allah questions you, nor will they say, “O Allah, forgive him, it was our fault.” Why then do we live our lives hostage to the opinions of people? Seek friends who pull you toward Allah, and beware of companions who distance you from Him.
I leave you with a timeless piece of advice (naṣīḥah):
Do not allow the temporary pleasure of a sin to make you forget its enduring consequences, for the pleasure will vanish while the consequences remain. And do not allow the temporary discomfort of a righteous deed to deter you from doing it, for the discomfort will pass while the eternal reward and benefit remain.
Whatever you build unlawfully in this world will remain behind on earth, but your decisions will accompany you directly into your grave.
رَبَّنَا اغْفِرْ لَنَا ذُنُوبَنَا وَكَفِّرْ عَنَّا سَيِّئَاتِنَا وَتَوَفَّنَا مَعَ الأَبْرَارِ. رَبَّنَا ظَلَمْنَا أَنْفُسَنَا وَإِنْ لَمْ تَغْفِرْ لَنَا وَتَرْحَمْنَا لَنَكُونَنَّ مِنَ الْخَاسِرِينَ. لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا أَنْتَ سُبْحَانَكَ إِنَّا كُنَّا مِنَ الظَّالِمِينَ. رَبِّ اغْفِرْ وَارْحَمْ وَأَنْتَ خَيْرُ الرَّاحِمِينَ. وَصَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَى نَبِيِّهِ الْكَرِيمِ وَعَلَى آلِهِ وَصَحْبِهِ أَجْمَعِينَ. بِرَحْمَتِكَ يَا أَرْحَمَ الرَّاحِمِينَ، وَالْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ.