The Pursuit of Akhirah

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ

The following is adapted from a swuhbah from Shaykh Muhammad Nazhim Adil al-Haqqani (q.s.), on the 10^th October 2010. 

It is important for us to realise how we divide our time.  Most of us have a six-day work week, and set aside Sundays for rest.  For our worldly matters, we have put in so much thought and planning.  But are we doing the same for our hereafter?  Are we dividing our time to include time for the pursuit of closeness with Allah (s.w.t.)?  Most of us are completely focused on dunya; akhirah is an afterthought.  Those are the characteristics of the heedless. 

On Judgement Day, our deeds will be made visible to all.  The angels will ask the blind, “Why were you happy to earn the limited profits of dunya and yet ignored the limitless profits of the hereafter?”  Such is our heedlessness today.  We do not know how to differentiate between the temporary and permanent life.  We may even die tomorrow, so why are we working so hard for a temporary life and ignoring the permanent one?  Everything in dunya is limited  and will end in death.  So even if we gain in our worldly profits, we lose as long as we do not acquire the real profits of the hereafter. 

We must use all means available to invite people to know the reality of their Creation.  We must harness all forms of media in existence today to spread the message.  People use media for entertainment.  All that for the mere pleasure of our ego.  Many give priority to their egos’ desires over the Divine Commands.  We should not ask for dunya any longer.  It is time to prepare our burial shrouds.  We may be called home at any moment.  And then, we will be he held accountable for our deeds.  We must open our minds and accept this reality.  The Signs of the Last Days are here.  They have been foretold fifteen centuries ago.  Now that we have seen them, why are we not taking heed and teaching those around us?  Allah’s (s.w.t.) Punishment is Stern, so we must beware the coming of Divine Retribution. 

سُوۡرَةُ البُرُوج

إِنَّ بَطۡشَ رَبِّكَ لَشَدِيدٌ (١٢) 

Lo!  The Punishment of your Lord is stern. (Surah al-Buruj:12) 

We must realise that we are on a journey and every journey has a destination.  We have only two possible destinations; one in safety and contentment, and the other in agony and regret.  In the old days, when a train was about to enter a tunnel, the conductors would advise commuters to close all the windows, so that as the train hurtled through the dark tunnel, no dangerous insects or animals that were lurking in the tunnel, would enter the train to cause trouble.  Similarly, at the very least, we must advise people to seek the eternal life, so that they are not touched by misery in this world or the hereafter.