Article Surah 92 · Ayah 13
And in Our control is the Hereafter and the worldly life (92:13)
And in Our control is the Hereafter and the worldly life (92:13)
Allah (swt) owns everything in this life and the next, moulding and changing situations however He (swt) pleases. One may ask for good in this life or the next but Allah (swt) told the Muslims to ask for good in both, ‘Our Master, give us good in this life, and good in the next life, and save us from the fire’ (Al Baqarah 2:201). This is in contrast to some Christian groups who shunned this life and concentrated only on the hereafter by living in monasteries and the like. Allah (swt) owns not only the reward of the next life but this life too so we should ask Him for both. The sequencing of this verse is of particular interest. The hereafter is mentioned first and then the dunya which is consistent with the style of this surah where the conclusion is frequently given before the root.
Notice in Surah Al Qasas the sequence is reversed and the hereafter is mentioned second, ‘He is God; there is no god but Him; all praise belongs to Him in this world and the next; His is the Judgement; and to Him you shall be returned’ (Al Qasas 28:70). The reason for the difference in the order is due to the fact that in Al Qasas the passages are about the favours of Allah (swt) and we appreciate His favours in the dunya which is why the praise belongs to him firstly in this life and then the next. In this surah though we are being taught not to get trapped into the allure of the dunya and so the akhira takes precedence. In An Najm Allah (swt) uses the same sequence as this verse but with a difference. An-Najm lacks the extra letter laam which has been added here. This additional laam serves to add emphasis, emphasising that the next life and this one truly belongs to him. The need to emphasis it in this surah is because this surah has been talking about ownership and of the type of person who falsely thinks he owns things.
The person who is cheap and does not give charity and who considers himself free of need owns nothing in reality. It is Allah (swt) to whom belongs true ownership both in the hereafter and in this life. Accepting this will make all of one’s spending for Allah (swt) easy. It is not easy spending money for Allah’s sake if you consider it yours but when you understand that it was never yours to begin with it becomes easy. Allah (swt) used the word oola (that which came earlier) to refer to the dunya and there are very few instances where Allah (swt) uses this word. The word dunya comes from adna which means inferior and hence dunya technically is the inferior worldly life. Understand that this verse is about the ownership of Allah (swt) and as Al Oola is what came before it includes more than dunya which is something inferior and lesser and so the choice of word befits the ownership of Allah (swt) and is better suited to His (swt) magnitude. So, to Allah (swt) belongs everything that came before and everything that will come after (akhirah).
Allah owns both this world and the next and guides whom He pleases and leaves astray whom He pleases
As we stood in line to ride our next roller coaster, Ahmad and I didn’t realize that someone was listening in on our conversation. We stood there talking about a lot of different things on that hot summer day trying to pass the time of the long wait. I don’t even remember what we were talking about, but it was enough to have the person in front of us in line turn around and ask, “Are you guys Muslim?” Just his pronunciation of the word “Muslim” made my hair stand up. His dirty tank top, ripped up jeans, scruffy face, and long, shaggy hair made us wonder what kind of ignorant statement might come next.
“Yes, we are,” we responded.
He then continued, “I used to play in a rock band. We used to jam in my buddy’s basement. And I remember a couple years ago, I was going through some really tough times in my life. That’s when I noticed that my buddy had a Quran on his shelf. So I walked over and picked it up. I opened it up to any random page, and I put my finger on any random verse.”
What happened next blew us both away. This scruffy looking wannabe rockstar then proceeded to quote a verse from the Quran in English, with no mistakes as if he sat and memorized it. Or at the very least, it penetrated his heart for him to know it word for word after all these years. Allah’s words had clearly had an impact on him. We both recognized the verses from Surat al-Kahf.
“Say, ‘Shall We tell you about the greatest losers in respect to their deeds? Those whose efforts have been wasted in this life and who believe nevertheless that they are doing good.’”
He continued, “And that verse just hit me! I thought, man, what am I doing with my life? What am I really doing?” He then continued his story, “Then some time passed, and I went about my life. And about a year later, I started going through some really tough times again. So I went back to my buddy’s house and grabbed the Quran off his shelf again. I opened it to any random page and put my finger down on any random verse,” he said as he gestured opening a book and pointing into it. “Same exact verse man!! Same exact verse!” He then looked up towards the sky and pointed his finger up and said, “I hear ya man. I hear ya.” Ahmad and I started laughing at his unexpected story.
We spoke to him for a little bit longer and before we knew it, it was time to get on the ride. After we said our goodbyes, never to see this man again, Ahmad and I were amused with the whole situation and this man’s story. We joked about how crazy we thought our whole conversation was.
It wasn’t until later when I thought about our conversation that I felt that there was a lesson to be learned from the rockstar that Allah sent us that hot summer day. I had to ask myself, when was the last time I turned to the Quran when I was going through tough times – taking the opportunity to hear what Allah has to say to me? I thought to myself, don’t I have as much right to the Quran as he does? It reminded me of a couplet I heard once before:
“Say, ‘Shall We tell you about the greatest losers in respect to their deeds? Those
whose efforts have been wasted in this life and who believe nevertheless that they are doing good.’”
The Dunya and Akhirah - both owned by Allah
Allāh says:
وَمَا الْحَيَاةُ الدُّنْيَا إِلَّا مَتَاعُ الْغُرُورِ
whereas the life of this world is only a deceiving enjoyment [Ankabut: 20]
In many places of the Qur’an, Allāh combines between the life of dunya and deception.
This is because the life of this dunya and all of its pleasures are, in reality, a deception. The one, who longs for worldly pleasures and eternal life, is indeed deceived.
When Allāh talks about the kaafireen, the munafiqeen and those who were destroyed, he generally describes them as those who are wishful in thinking and those that hope for (and believe in) a long life.
Every pleasure in dunya is limited and restricted to three categories:
Restricted to time – If one looks at his whole life, it is divided into five stages; each having its own pleasures that cannot be found in the other stages of his life. The stage of childhood, for example, has specific pleasures which
one cannot experience as a teenager; or the stage of married life has specific pleasures which cannot be experienced as a child or as a teenager. During the middle ages of life, one will experience specific pleasures such as getting his children married and having grandchildren, which is not possible to experience before this stage. Finally one comes the stage of old age, where he has the pleasures of being looked after by his children and grandchildren, he has the pleasures of looking at his offspring, his children, grandchildren and great grandchildren, etc. These are all specific pleasures restricted to time.
Restricted to other beings and things – Some of these beings and things will always be with a person, but if they leave, it is not because of time; rather it is because of the essence of the beings and things. Thus, if the essence leaves a person, the pleasure will also depart with it. Therefore, such pleasures are restricted to the essence of the being or thing. For example, before marriage, the beings that make a person happy are his family, friends, teachers etc. This is not restricted to time as these people can be with you all of your life. But if they depart, then this happiness goes away. So after marriage, if your family depart from you, you will feel sadness and sorrow because the essence of your family has gone.
Restricted to the Qadr of Allāh Jalla-wa-’Ala – The pleasures emanating from the Qadr of Allāh is restricted to either increase or decrease. Take for example eemaan. Eemaan in Allāh is a means of happiness, as long as a person possesses the fundamentals of eemaan, he will be happy (but at a foundational level). Because eemaan is subject to fluctuate; it can decrease through disobedience and increase through obedience of Jalla-wa-’Ala.
Ibn al-Qayyim said: “Verily the dunya is coming to an end, and the akhirah is coming to a beginning and they both have children. So be children of the akhirah and do not be children of the dunya. For verily today there is action with no account and tomorrow there is account with no action.” Related by Ibn al-Qayyim in ad-Da’ wad-Dawa Fasl 15
“How good is the life of this world for a believer, because he uses it to prepare his provisions for Paradise. And how evil is it for a disbeliever who uses it to prepare his provisions for Hell.” [Hasan al Basri]
Whoever seeks this world , Allah gives it to him and whoever seeks the Hereafter, Allah gives that to him as He own both -
Many of us seem to spend an incredible amount of time and energy chasing the “dream” job (neglecting our akhira, in the process). After all, a bigger paycheck often translates into a better car, a bigger house and a higher worldly social status. Right?
But we are warned about this in The Qur’an:
“Rivalry in worldly increase distracts you (from the remembrance of Allah), till you come to the graves”
“Your wealth and your children are but a trial, and Allah has with Him a great reward.”
Ever think of the results of your worldly efforts?
“It will be, on the Day they see it, as though they had not remained [in the world] except for an afternoon or a morning thereof.”
Lavish homes and fancy vacations are temporary worldly fixes whereas, dedicating time and effort into something that lasts an eternity make more sense, doesn’t it? Don’t get me wrong. There’s nothing wrong in treating ourselves to worldly enjoyment, provided it’s done in moderation and within the halal limits, but not at the cost of neglecting our primary duties of ibadah or forgetting our akhira.
Have you ever stopped for a minute and considered building a house for yourself in Jannah?
“Allah will build house in Jannah for whoever is diligent in observing 12 Sunnah rakat(as follows: 2 before Fajr, 4 rakat before and 2 after Dhur, 2 after the Maghrib, and 2 after Ishaa).”
Yet, worries and anxieties are dominating our lives so much so that many of us have missed our sunnah rakats or sometimes even a few obligatory prayers for some worldly reason, (like, having an “important” meeting with your boss). Have we forgotten our meeting with Allah SWT? Our appointment with the Angel of Death?
We have the opportunity for high stations of Jannah – to meet the Prophet SAWS, to meet the blessed companions RAum, and most of all to see Allah, The Most High! It sounds amazing, doesn’t it? Yet, many of us choose to not strive for Jannah. We have sadly become distracted and absorbed by this dunya, and lost sight of our purpose – worshiping Allah SWT; and our main goal – the pleasure of Allah SWT and subsequently Jannah.
“No, you prefer the life of this world, while the hereafter is better and that which remains”
Indeed, the akhirah is better for us; we need to use our time in this dunya to work for it.
So why do we prioritize dunya over Jannah?
1. The Cool Factor
Imagine being denied an eternal life of bliss because…
You neglect your prayers fearing you may not look “cool” among peers
You choose not to live according to what the Quran says fearing ridicule or poverty, or because, “What will the people say?”
You do not wear the hijab and jilbab because it is ‘out of fashion’. Or in some societies, solely wear it *for* fashion.
You spend hours listening to music or staring at magazines filled with haram pictures
When we sit down and logically think about it, what are we doing? Our souls are precious, and can only be equal to the price of Paradise. Therefore, sell them only at that price.
2. The ‘No Time’ Factor.
Our Prophet SAWS and the SahabaRAum were much busier than us, yet they never fell short in their duties to worship and remember Allah SWT. The truth is that we are not busier, but rather we have forgotten our goals and messed up our priorities. The pleasures of this world are nothing compared to those of the Hereafter so why then have we neglected, or even abandoned, our primary duties?
If you find yourself constantly prioritizing dunya over akhirah, it is time to strike a balance:
So you have decided you want to be productive for the Hereafter? Alhamdulillah, making that intention is the first step! If you are still breathing, the doors of repentance are still open and it is not too late to make it to Jannah.
Top 5 Tips:
List your priorities and arrange them accordingly
Use an agenda/time planner to organize your days (rather than waking up each day and not knowing what to do during that 24 hour period). I’ve always managed to get an incredible amount of work done, have ample time to invest in my religious duties and still have lots of free time to rewind and refresh whenever I plan my day.
This technique never fails!
Schedule your day around your prayers: Do this as much as you can; make your prayers a priority! So, instead of saying, “After finishing my assignment, I will pray Asr”, say, “I’ll pray Asr and then finish my assignment in the next half an hour”.
Schedule a realistic and practical time
Like for example: I will read Qur’an between 4.30 PM- 5.00 PM everyday (you can increase this amount as you progress) rather than vaguely telling yourself “I’ll read Quran today”. Setting up practical time slots will help you assess where you’re wasting time, in turn, helping you be more productive insha’Allah.
Use the night hours: The blessed tahajjud is magical in ways you can never imagine!“Indeed, the hours of the night are more effective for concurrence [of heart and tongue] and more suitable for words. Indeed, for you by day is prolonged occupation. And remember the name of your Lord and devote yourself to Him with [complete] devotion”
Try to ensure that you give everything its right – your deen, your health and body, your sleep, your family, your work, so on and so forth.
So What are you Waiting for?
If you’re still breathing, then alhamdulillah it’s not too late! Begin now – review how to correctly pray and establish your daily prayers, make a daily habit of reading The Qur’an and then acting upon it, learn sunnah actions and lessons from the life of the Prophet SAWS. Have eman and work righteous actions, and take small consistent steps to improve – you will enjoy super productivity in this world and joy in the next insha’Allah!
Remember Jannah isn’t for 1 week or 100 years, it’s for eternity and comes with unlimited pleasure. Strive now!
“Other faces that day will be happy; pleased on account of the effort they had put in earlier (in the dunya)”.