A Person's True Value

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ

The following is adapted from a swuhbah by Shaykh Muhammad Nazhim Adil al-Haqqani (q.s.) on the 07^th March 2010. 

When we recite the Basmallah, we must have faith in the Names of Allah (s.w.t.) contained within, and if at any time we desire Divine Help, we should recite it and we will be Granted what we seek.  For one who recites it constantly, the treasures of dunya and akhirah will be Open to him, the treasures of the heavens and the earth will be Placed before him.  Each time we recite the Basmallah, we are knocking on the Divine Door.  None can draw near without that recitation.  With that recitation, a connection is made, and a response from the guardian angel is Given to us: “Why are you here?  What do you seek?”  Some people ask for frivolous things, gifts of no value - they ask for dunya.  The guardian angel then says, “Why do you ask for such worthless things?  You should ask for something that has value in the Sight of Allah and His Messenger!” 

The Prophet (s.a.w.) then instructs the angel, “Give him something of what he wants; he is one who is heedless.”  Just like children who go to a shopkeeper seeking some sweets, and the shopkeeper tosses the child a sweet or two, these are people devoid of understanding.  They come to the Divine Presence, seeking worthless trash, when before them lies the treasures of dunya and akhirah, of the earth and the heavens. 

The value of a person in the Divine Presence is determined by what he desires; by what he asks from Allah (s.w.t.).  Each person is Measured on a Divine Scale, and at the bottom of this scale, are those who desire and seek fervently of this worldly pleasures and comforts.  Such a person is either ignorant, heedless, or has a psychological problem.  Higher up on that scale, are those who seek the gifts of akhirah.  And who is at the top of this Divine Scale?  It is the one who says, “Laa maqswud illa Allah,” “We seek only Allah.”  These servants do not desire dunya.  They do not even desire akhirah.  They only desire His Divine Pleasure.  These are people with the greatest value in Divine Judgement.  They are at the highest point on the Divine Scale. 

So many people seek the best of life in this dunya.  They seek big houses, expensive cars and branded goods.  What is the point of asking Allah (s.w.t.) for a palace on earth?  If such a palace was built to raise an Islamic Sultanate, that is acceptable, but if it is for our ego, it has no value in Allah’s (s.w.t.) Sight. Any action done to please the ego, Displeases Allah (s.w.t.), and is Rejected.  So we must strive against our ego to please Allah (s.w.t.).  One who reaches the Divine Door, and seeks dunya, the angel says, “Take the dunya that you seek, and leave.  You have reached the Divine Door, and you ask for such things?  Have you no mind?  Take and go; you are a slave to Shaythan.” 

This is an important lesson for us all.  We must know our adab when we ask from Allah (s.w.t.), the Most Generous.  We must know what to ask for.  We must understand the true worthlessness of dunya because too many are chasing dunya with all their might, clinging to it, reluctant to part with it.  For example, the zakat rate is one dinar out of forty dananir, yet so many are reluctant to give.  We should give that one dinar to cleanse our egos, and the remaining thirty-nine dananir should be spent seeking Allah’s (s.w.t.) Pleasure.  What is with us will disappear, but what is with Allah (s.w.t.) will remain for Eternity.  When someone asks from us, we should give.  We must never fear that the Lord of the ‘Arsh will leave us poor. 

If people gave freely of what Allah (s.w.t.) has Bestowed on them, there would be no hunger, no poverty and no homelessness on earth.  Do we not fear the Day when we will stand before Allah (s.w.t.), and He will Question us about the riches that He Bestowed upon us?  What is the point of having 100 billion dollars in the bank?  Do we not remember the story of Qarun in the Qur’an?  He was Given so much wealth and treasure, yet he was stingy and proud.  He incurred Allah’s (s.w.t.) Wrath, and Allah (s.w.t.) Caused him to be swallowed by the earth.  Each day, an angel descends upon his grave, and says to him, “Oh Qarun, you should be ashamed of yourself; you were Given so much by Allah, but you never helped those in need.  You never followed the path of Musa (a.s.).” 

An infant is born into this world, with his hands clenched.  This is because every person wants to gather, as much of this dunya as he possibly can, in his short stint here.  But we all die with our hands open, palms empty, bringing nothing from this dunya.  That is why, just before he died, Alexandra the Great instructed his generals to carry his coffin with his hands placed outside the coffin so that all his citizens could see his open, empty palms, carrying nothing from this worldly life, into the afterlife. 

We must remember that we bring nothing from this life to the next world, except what we spend for His pleasure.  In today’s world, a person’s value is always measured by how much wealth he has.  In the Divine Judgement, it is not so.  Our value is what we seek from Allah (s.w.t.).  We seek the journey that yields His Pleasure.