AAKHIRAH AND THE MUSLIMS

"And the life of this world is (but a) mere futility and play. Without doubt, the life of the Aakhirah is true life. If only they knew." (29:64)

"Every soul shall taste death, after which you will all be returned to Us." (29:57)

It can easily be deduced from these two verses of the Holy Qur'an that the goal of a Muslim is undoubtedly Aakhirah. As Allah Ta'ala Himself demonstrates many times in the Qur'an, this world is only temporary, a temptation or even more an amusement and a game.

THE WORLD V/S THE AAKHIRAH

In several Ahaadith, it is said that if the world had any value be it equal to the wing of a mosquito, in the eyes of Allah Ta'ala, He would not have given the kuffaar the food of this world in such abundance. And yet we see that everywhere the kuffaar are materially very rich. They possess material wealth of all kinds. This world which abounds in wealth - that of Europe, the gold mines of Pretoria, the oil of Arabia, the fabulous fortunes of the former Shah of Iran has no value in the eyes of Allah Ta'ala.

On the other hand, the two Rak'ats Sunnah of the Salah of Fajr (morning prayer) are better for the Muslim in the Aakhirah than this world and all that is in it; which shows the great value that the Aakhirah represents in the eyes of Allah Ta'ala. As a result, the comparison between the temporal and the Eternal becomes impossible, leave alone ridiculous. Aakhirah is Eternal and is the supreme goal of the Muslim.

Rasulullah (Sallallaahu A'laihi Wasallam) said in a Hadith: "This world was created for you, but you were created for Aakhirah."

But unfortunately, instead of using this world to attain the bliss of the Hereafter, the Muslim has plunged deeply into it without worrying about life after death.

It is true that each one of us believes in life after death, but how many of us are preparing to confront Aakhirah, how much do we care about deserving it – this life to come that remains the true (Eternal) life of everyone? This monumental negligence can only be explained in one way: it is that the true notion of Aakhirah has not yet entered our hearts.

Any student who wants to succeed at all costs in his final exams and who wants to have the best results in order to cope with life and get a good job easily, certainly puts a lot of effort into his studies. He avoids laziness at all costs and stays away from negligence. However, the Aakhirah - the Day of Judgment - is the greatest of the examinations to which everyone will want to be received with the most merit possible. In view of the capital importance of the Aakhirah in our future existence, are we not therefore bound to make greater efforts than this student to deserve and acquire it?

CAMPING BY THE SEA

If we take pleasure in embellishing our worldly life, in being careless about the Aakhirah, in neglecting it to the point of forgetting it, we are going astray considerably. Let us suppose for a moment that we build our first, only house in the city with great difficulty and expense in order to accommodate our beloved family and ourselves. All of a sudden, abandoning the constructions, we decide to go camping by the sea. There begins crazy and extravagant expenses to provide for all kinds of pleasures. Blinded by our passion and devoting ourselves to amusements and rejoicing while spending tirelessly, we find ourselves after a few days without a penny to continue the constructions: there is no doubt, we have just lost the only opportunity we have been given to acquire a decent and comfortable accommodation! What to think of ourselves? Don't we deserve to be considered like the greatest fools on earth?

This shows us that whoever does everything in his power to enjoy and satisfy himself in this world, neglecting the Aakhirah completely, will leave this ephemeral world as a fool and a big loser.

This world is comparable to the tent that would have been erected on the beach and the pleasures that would have been indulged in while the house in the city represents the Aakhirah. We lingered only a few days in the tent but spent everything for its development due to our misguidance.

We are in this world for a few days only. Why then sink into its turpitudes and lose ourselves in its many deceptive pleasures? Isn't Aakhirah our permanent home? If we do not prepare ourselves here, and waste time, in order to remain there in bliss, we will have only ourselves to blame just like those people who, after having squandered everything in an unfortunate "camping", find themselves without resources to build a home that they will need throughout their lives.

THIS WORLD - OUR FIELD OF WORK

Let's look at a second example. One person is employed as the manager of a sugar factory on the island. One fine day, this gentleman decides to leave his job with all its advantages and go to work as a simple labourer in the sugarcane fields. What should the boss think of such a person?

These sugarcane fields here represent this earthly world with its difficulties while the position of director with its multiple advantages and comforts represent Aakhirah. Will we prefer the hot fields to a cozy, air-conditioned office? Allah Ta'ala in all His infinite goodness has destined us for the Aakhirah (Jannah) but we make a fool of ourselves for this perishable world. By opting for the Aakhirah, Allah Ta'ala will do us the great honour of elevating us to dignity by simultaneously considering our internal and honourable capacities, which He has gratified us Himself. But what do we do? We, the best creatures of this Eternal Patron, prefer the temporary pleasures of this world to the risk of losing our Aakhirah forever. Coming back to the temporal, frankly we will not see anyone so stupid as to abandon his position as Factory Manager and prefer to work in the fields. So where is the justification of wasting one's time for the sake of this perishable world and losing Aakhirah in the process?

THE PURPOSE OF LIFE

The goal of man on earth is to make Ibaadah of Allah Ta'ala:

"I have created Jinn and man only to worship Me." (51:56)

Allah Ta'ala is our Patron and we are all His servants. He loves us, He pours out His favours and His benefits on us, nourishes us, makes us grow. He created everything and everything that He created, besides man, is for the purpose of serving man. Everything in this world belongs to man, but man belongs to Allah. The human body itself contains countless favours of the Creator - the eyes, the ears, the hands, the feet. Why, then, are we not grateful to Allah Ta'ala? If your employer is very generous, loves you and gives you high salaries, makes your job easier, won't you do the work he has entrusted to you in the best possible way in order to please and satisfy him? Or will you be as ungrateful to take advantage of his favours and kindnesses and neglect his work and instead you concentrate on the work of another who will never be able to pay you properly? Will you go so far as to make yourself paid by one but satisfy someone else?

This is most certainly what we are doing to our Creator, the Supreme Being. Instead of worshipping Him (doing His Ibaadah), obeying Him and following His Deen as He has taught, we prefer and find immense pleasure in following the instructions of Shaitaan and the dictates of our "nafs" (desires and passions).

"O you who have Imaan! Enter into Islam (submit to the Shari'ah) completely and do not follow in the footsteps of shaitan for he is certainly your open enemy." (2:208)

"..The soul insistently commands evil.." (12:53)

The Aakhirah is undoubtedly our final destination and will always remain so. Death is only a step to be taken or a gateway to the Hereafter. Knowing this, why do we follow those who believe that the final destination is death? We are heading for a destination that is well defined by our Creator and the kuffaar are going to a different destination which is contrary to the wishes of the Creator. The two paths that we are taking are very different. Otherwise, how can the two groups reach the same destination when they have taken two directions that are diametrically opposite? It seems that because we saw a friend taking a certain bus, we immediately decided to get on the same bus without knowing the destination. The big problem that will arise is when we realize that he had indeed taken the bus to go to Curepipe (the south) while we took the same means of transport to go to Grand Bay (the north). Does it make sense for us to take the path that will take us away from our destination?

THE WORLD - AN EPHEMERAL SHADOW

The duty of the Mu'min is to think and attach himself above all to Allah Ta'ala and to set a straight course for the Aakhirah. If one worries about the Aakhirah and does not focus on this world, worldly affairs will automatically become easy. That's for sure and is proven. We know that when the lights of our heart strike on the Aakhirah, it reflects a shadow. Every shadow is evanescent, ephemeral and devoid of any value. Now, who is the one who will abandon the object itself (Aakhirah) to grasp only the shadow (futility)? We know only too well that no one will ever be able to grasp the shadow. It is only by grabbing the object that we will be able to seize the shadow at the same time. Thus, by succeeding in getting one's hands on the Aakhirah, one automatically and surely appropriates both the Aakhirah and its shadow (Dunya).

HOW TO DEVELOP CONCERN FOR AAKHIRAH

One fine day, a young man decides to become a tailor. He knew almost nothing about the profession and immediately realized that the most effective way to learn the profession properly was to go to a professional tailor to learn from him personally. Only by staying in the company of someone who really has the knowledge of the profession is he sure to learn the techniques of cutting and sewing. Anyone who decides to become a carpenter or joiner / cabinetmaker must follow the same path, stay in the company of an experienced carpenter in his workshop, watch him work, get his hands dirty, hold the tools and familiarize himself with their uses and handling.

In most cases of studying, a favourable environment for education and training is of paramount importance. We can take as an example, a child born in India but raised in England: he will speak English better and more fluently than even an English teacher of Indian origin who has lived in India all the time. The opposite is also true. A British that has grown up in India will have the accent of the Indian language better than that of the English language. The immediate environment of these two people has played the most natural way of influence in the world.

If a person wants to acquire Aakhirah, he must necessarily adopt the same principle of learning and training. He must constantly remain in the practice of Zikrullah (the thought of Allah) wherever he may be, he must seek and remain in the company of those who think of Aakhirah (Zaakireen). An environment where one only speaks of Aakhirah is most appropriate in this circumstance. This would be equivalent to remaining in the company of the 'Ulama (scholars in Islam), the pious while educating oneself and taking the example of the life of the "salf-e-Saaliheen" (pious ancestors).

If we truly believe in Aakhirah and have a genuine desire to obtain it, it is essential to associate and to stay in the company of the "men of Allah". Our behaviour depends a lot on our associates. Don't we say: "he who frequents dogs catches fleas"; and we will say with conviction:

"Whoever associates with the 'men of Allah' cultivates the love of Allah and the concern for Aakhirah."

[English version of "Aakhirah et les musulmans" – Al Haadi – Vol. 1 No. 3]