CHAPTER-39
LIFE IN THIS WORLD
Qur’an’s concept of this world and the Hereafter
Some religions and materialistic philosophies believe in this world only and outrightly reject the idea of the next world. According to them life in this world is the only life which human beings are going to get and that also only once and therefore this life should be comfortably lived and properly enjoyed. They believe death is end of all and everything. After death there would be no life, no resurrection, no accountability of worldly deeds and no reward and punishment. Followers of such creeds generally turn down the concept of God and do not believe in the Hereafter. Their approach to life is purely materialistic. They ignore moral aspect of life and devote their entire time and energy to the attainment of material ends. They adopt all means –fair or foul- to acquire wealth, power and status in this world. For enjoyment of life in this world they generally disregard moral values, noble causes and human virtues. In their view, there is no difference between good and evil, virtue and sin and Haram (action or thing prohibited) and Halal (action or thing permitted). They desire the beauties, pleasures, luxuries and enjoyments of this world and if at all they believe in God they pray to Him to bless them with these things. Since they do not have any faith in the life after death or in the Divine Judgment of good and evil deeds and award of reward and punishment, their whole endeavour is directed to achievement of single goal which is the success in this life. And this success, according to them, is possible through wealth and power which they try to achieve through every possible mean. So God generally fulfils their desire of this world and repays them their deeds herein. The Qur’an says about them:
· ……. But of mankind is he who saith: “Our Lord! Give unto us in this world” and he hath no portion in the Hereafter. (2:200)
· Whoso desireth the life of the world and its pomp, We shall repay them their deeds herein, they will not be wronged. These are they for whom is naught in the Hereafter save the Fire. (All) that they contrive here is vain and (all) that they are wont to do is fruitless. (11:15-16)
· Whoso desireth that (life) which hasteneth away, We hasten for him therein that We will for whom We please. And afterward We have appointed for him hell; he will endure the heat thereof, condemned, rejected. (17:18)
· And they say: There is naught but our life of the world; we die and we live, and naught destroyeth us save time; when they have no knowledge whatsoever of (all) that; they do but guess. And when Our clear revelation are recited unto them, their only argument is that they say: Bring (back) our fathers if ye are truthful. (45:Al-Jathiyah:24-25)
Islam, on the contrary, believes in life of this world as well as in the life of the Hereafter. It, therefore, teaches its followers: “Our Lord! Give unto us in the world that which is good and in the Hereafter that which is good, and guard us from the doom of Fire”- (Al-Qur’an 2:201). Belief in the Hereafter is fundamental article of Islamic faith. A believer and follower of Islam according to the Qur’an, the revealed book of Islam, is he “who believeth in Allah and the Last Day and the Angels and the Scripture and the prophets …..”-(2:177). Followers of Islam thus believe that God is One who alone should be worshipped and Muhammad (PBUH) is the messenger of God and al-Qur’an is the book revealed by God to Muhammad (PBUH). Muslims also believe in other Prophets of God, other revealed books of God, in the Angels of God and also in the Hereafter or life of the next world.
Islam tells us that death is not the end of all and everything. Rather it terminates the life of this world so that the life of the next world could start. After death there would start another life which would be eternal and everlasting. After destruction of everything on doomsday, a new world called next world or Hereafter would come into existence. Mankind would be resurrected and God would judge their deeds which they had done in this world in their lives before death. Those who have done good deeds and have followed Allah’s guidance and His Prophets would be adjudged righteous and would be rewarded with Paradise; whereas those who have done evil deeds and have led sinful lives rejecting Allah’s guidance and His Messengers would be adjudged evil doers and would be punished in Hell.
Comparison of life in this world with life in the Hereafter
Life of a man in this world is very short, say 80 years on average. You would hardly hear of a man of more than 100 years except in case of very few Prophets and personalities of old who have been mentioned in the Old Testament. But life in the next world is eternal and everlasting. There would be no death in the life in the Hereafter. This world is temporary and life in this world is nothing but a sport and a play; and as for the next world, that is real life, an everlasting life. Prophet Noah lived for 950 years and still he said: The world is a hut having two doors; through one the people come in and through the other they go out. Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said: My relation with this world is nothing except like that of a rider who wants rest under a tree, then takes rest and leaves it. The Qur’an tells us that when a man would be asked on the Day of Resurrection how long he lived, he would tell that he lived for a day or less than that. Thus this world is an abode for rest and a provision for a time.
This world is a tilth and the Hereafter is harvest. It means that in this world you would sow your tilth of actions and in the next world you would harvest its fruit. This world is a place for doing virtuous or sinful deeds and the next world is the place where one would get reward or fruit of such deeds. If one has performed evil deeds one would get punishment in Hell but if one has done good deeds one would get reward in the form of Paradise. In spite of being a temporary abode, this world has its own attractions for the short sighted people as its rewards, though very short lived, and its enjoyments, though very temporary, are immediately and easily available. Satan (devil) promises rewards of this world and so there are numerous people who are deceived by him and follow him to have the immediate rewards and pleasures. Therefore, the love of this world is the root cause of all sins. The Qur’an tells us clearly about the things of this world which divert the attention of the people from virtuous acts and remembrance of Allah. It says: Beautified for mankind is love of the joys (that come) from women and offspring, and stored-up heaps of gold and silver, and horses branded (with their mark), and cattle and land. That is comfort of the life of the world. Allah! With him is a more excellent abode. (3:14)
This world and the Hereafter have been compared by the Qur’an in scores of its verses. Following are some of these verses which highlight the nature of life of this world and its temporary enjoyments and attractions. However, like a true book of guidance, the Qur’an recommends its followers to prefer life of the hereafter to worldly life as it is eternal and moreover the reward of Paradise which would be given to the virtuous would be much better than the pleasures of the worldly life. The Qur’an compares the worldly life with the life in the Hereafter in its following verses:
· Say (O Muhammad): The comfort of this world is scant; the Hereafter will be better for him who wardeth off (evil). (4:An-Nisa:77)
· Naught is the life of the world save a pastime and a sport. Better far is the abode of the Hereafter for those who keep their duty (to Allah). Have ye then no sense? (6:Al-An’am:32)
· O ye who believe! What aileth you that when it is said unto you: Go forth in the way of Allah, ye are bowed down to the ground with heaviness. Take ye pleasure in the life of the world rather than in the Hereafter? The comfort of the life of the world is but little in the Hereafter. (9:At-Taubah:38)
· The similitude of the life of the world is only as water which We send down from the sky, then the earth’s growth of that which men and cattle eat mingleth with it till, when the earth hath taken on her ornaments and is embellished, and her people deem that they are masters of her, Our commandment cometh by night or by day and We make it as reaped corn as if it had not flourished yesterday. Thus do We expound the revelations for people who reflect. (10:Yunus:24)
· Allah enlargeth livelihood for whom He will, and straiteneth (it for whom He will); and they rejoice in the life of the world, whereas the life of the world is but brief comfort as compared with the hereafter. (13:Ar-ra’d:26)
· He will say: How long tarried ye in the earth, counting by years? They will say: We tarried but a day or part of a day. Ask of those who keep count! He will say: Ye tarried but a little if ye only knew. (23:Al-Mu’minun:112-114)
· This life of the world is but a pastime and game. Lo! the home of the Hereafter – that is Life, if they but knew, (29:Al-Ankabut:64)
· O my people! Lo! this life of the world is but a passing comfort, and lo! the Hereafter, that is the enduring home. (40:Al-Mu’min:39)
· And they say: There is naught but our life of the world; we die and we live, and naught destroyeth us save time, when they have no knowledge whatsoever of (all) that; they do but guess. (45:Al-Jathiyah:24)
· Know that the life of the world is only play, and idle talk, and pageantry, and boasting among you, and rivalry in respect of wealth and children; as the likeness of vegetation after rain, whereof the growth is pleasing to the husbandman, but afterward it drieth up and thou seest it turning yellow, then it becometh straw. And in the Hereafter there is grievous punishment, and (also) forgiveness from Allah and His good pleasure, whereas the life of the world is but matter of illusion. (57:Al-Hadid:20)
· But ye prefer the life of the world Although the Hereafter is better and more lasting. (87:Al’A’ala:16-17)
World is a place of temporary enjoyment
In the following verses the Qur’an emphasizes the fact that life in this world is very short while the life in the Hereafter is better and more lasting. It also brings home the fact that world is a place of temporary enjoyment and the Hereafter is the enduring home. The Qur’an says:
· Beautified for mankind is love of the joy (that come) from women and offspring, and stored-up heaps of gold and silver, and horses branded (with their mark), and cattle and land. That is comfort of the life of the world. Allah! With Him is a more excellent abode. (3:Al-Imran:14)
· He will say: How long tarried ye in the earth, counting by years? They will say: We tarried but a day or part of a day. Ask of those who keep count! He will say: Ye tarried but a little if ye only knew. (23:Al-Mu’minun:112-114)
· O my people! Lo! this life of the world is but a passing comfort, and lo! the Hereafter, that is the enduring home. (40:Al-Mu’min:39)
· But ye prefer the life of the world Although the Hereafter is better and more lasting. (87:Al-A’ala:16-17)
Blessing of Wealth and Children does not depend on One’s good deeds
In the following verses the Qur’an tells us that the blessing of wealth and children does not depend on one’s good or bad deeds. God provides worldly goods and blessings to whom He wishes without reference to his good or bad deeds. God distributes His favours in this world among the believers and non-believers, pious and the sinners at His sweet will overlooking their deeds. This shows His mercy and Benevolence. However, in the Hereafter the people would be rewarded or punished according to their good or bad deeds.
· And when Abraham prayed: My Lord! Make this a region of security and bestow upon its people fruits, such of them as believe in Allah and the Last Day, He answered: As for him who disbelieveth, I shall leave him in contentment for a while, then I shall compel him to the doom of fire – a hapless journey’s end! (2:Al-Baqarah:126)
· And strain not thine eyes toward that which We cause some wedded pairs among them to enjoy, the flower of the life of the world, that We may try them thereby. The provision of thy Lord is better and more lasting. (20:Ta Ha:131)
· Think they that in the wealth and sons wherewith We provide them. We hasten unto them with good things? Nay, but they perceive not. (23:Al-Mu’minun:55-56)
· And they say: We are more (than you) in wealth and children, we are not the punished! Say (O Muhammad): Lo! my Lord enlargeth the provision for whom He will and narroweth it (for whom He will). But most of mankind know not. And it is not your wealth nor your children that will bring you near unto Us, but he who believeth and doth good (he draweth near). As for such, their will be twofold reward for what they did, and they will dwell secure in lofty halls. (34:Saba:35:37)
· And were it not that mankind would have become one community, We might well have appointed, for those who disbelieve in the Beneficent, roofs of silver for their houses and stairs (of silver) whereby to mount, And for their houses doors (of silver) and couches of silver whereon to recline, And ornaments of gold. Yet all that would have been but a provision of the life of the world. And the Hereafter with your Lord would have been for those who keep from evil. (43:Az-Zukhruf:33-35)
Wealth and Children cannot save from God’s punishment
The Qur’an also tells us that the worldly wealth and the children would not save the sinners from their punishment in the Hereafter. So the argument of the wealthy persons-who do evil deeds, ridicule the religion and adopt foul means to accumulate wealth – that they are the favourites of Allah as they have been preferred in wealth and children over the pious, is false. Following are the verses of the Qur’an which highlight that the wealthy sinners would not be able to save themselves from punishment by the ransom of their wealth and children.
· (On that day) neither the riches nor the progeny of those who disbelieve will aught avail them with Allah. They will be fuel for fire. (3:Al-Imran:10)
· Lo! those who disbelieve, and die in disbelief, the (whole) earth full of gold would not be accepted from such a one if it were offered as a ransom (for his soul). Theirs will be a painful doom and they will have no helpers. (3:Al-Imran:91)
· For those who answered Allah’s call is bliss; and for those who answered not His call, if they had all that is in the earth, and therewith the like thereof, they would proffer it as ransom. Such will have a woeful reckoning, and their habitation will be hell, a dire abode. (13:Ar-Ra,d:18)
· Their wealth and their children will avail them naught against Allah. Such are rightful owners of the Fire; they will abide therein. (58:Mujadilah:17)
· Though they will be given sight of them. The guilty man will long to be able to ransom himself from the punishment of that day at the price of his children. And his spouse and his brother. And his kin that harboured him And all that are in the earth, if then it might deliver him. (70:Al-Ma’arij:11-14)
Wealth and Children are a trial for man
The wealth and children may be an asset or a valuable possession for a this worldly man, but for a pious believer, they are a great liability. According to the Qur’an, these things are a big trial and very difficult test for a man. Following are some of the verses of the Qur’an:
· And know that your possessions and your children are a test, and that with Allah is immense reward. (8:Al-Anfal:28)
· So let not their riches nor their children astonish thee (O Muhammad). Allah thereby intendeth but to punish them in the life of the world and that their souls shall pass away while they are disbelievers. (9:At-Taubah:55)
· O ye who believe! Let not your wealth nor your children distract you from remembrance of Allah. Those who do so, they are the losers. (63:Al-Manafiqun:9)
· Your wealth and your children are only a temptation, whereas Allah! with Him is an immense reward. (64:At-Taghabun:15)
Ahadith of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)
Traditions of Prophet of Islam have further explained the concept of life of this world. They describe the nature of worldly life and enjoin upon the believers to avoid luxurious living and enjoyments in order to earn pleasure of God in the Hereafter. Wealth and worldly goods should be acquired only to the extent of one’s essential needs and that too by lawful means. Similarly wealth should be spent prudently on one’s essential needs and the rest of it should be spent in the path of God for the welfare of the brother Muslims. Following are some of these traditions:
· Mustaored-b-Shaddad reported: I heard the Messenger of Allah say: By Allah, what is this world in comparison with the next world except (like) the parable that some one of you puts his finger in sea, and then let him look what it returns with. (Muslim)
· Sahl-b-Sa’ad reported that the Apostle of Allah said: Had the world been to Allah equivalent to the value of the wing of a gnat, He would not have given a sip of drink therefrom to a polytheist. (Ahmad, Tirmizi, Ibn Majah).
· Osman reported that the Apostle of Allah said: There is no right for the son of Adam except in three things: A House to live in, a cloth to cover therewith his private parts, a slice of bread and water. (Tirmizi)
· Ibn Mas’ud reported that the Apostle of Allah slept on a mat. He awoke and then got impressions on his body. Ibn Mas’ud asked: O Messenger of Allah! would that you order us to prepare (a bed) for you and to work on it! He said: What is my relation with this world? My relation with this world is nothing except like that of a rider who wants rest under a tree and then takes rest and leaves it. (Ahmad, Tirmizi, Ibn Majah)
· Abu Omamah reported from the Prophet who said: The most enviable of my friends to me is certainly a believers who possesses small property, who is meek in prayer, who makes good his divine service and obeys Him secretly, who mixes with men without being pointed out with fingers, whose provision is barely sufficient, who is patient over that and then works with his own hand; (he said) and whose death is hastened, whose weepers are few and whose heritage is scanty. (Ahmad, Tirmizi, Ibn Majah)
· Abu Omamah reported that the Apostle of Allah said: My Lord asked me to make for me the valley of Makkah full of gold. ‘No’ replied I, ‘but I would like to get a meal for a day and to remain hungry for another, so that when I shall be hungry, I shall be humble to Thee and remember Thee: and when I shall be satisfied with food, I shall praise Thee and be grateful to Thee. (Ahmad, Tirmizi)
· Obaidullah-b-Mehsan reported that the Apostle of Allah said: Whoso of you gets up at dawn tranquil in his mind and healthy in his physique, and having food for his day, this world is as it were taken to him with all its treasures. (Tirmizi (Rare)
· Shaddad reported: I heard the Apostle of Allah say: O people, verily this world is a present commodity from which the pious and the sinners take food. Verily the next world is a true covenant where a just and powerful king will be a judge establishing truth therein and destroying what is void. Be inhabitants of the next world and be not inhabitants of this world, for every child follows its mother. (Baihaqi)
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