. J "" (cont.)

However, the Hereafter, which is the true bounty and the matter of great importance, He reserves only for His believers and those whom He is pleased with. Allah has said, for example, .,. ,,. J J ... ., ,,,. .,. .... ୴ " ] :U ॡ . : I 'T\/; C 1: ଡ଼ Jǰ ୳ il:.-W\ :U ' : LS" . :. . .fa-J -r erல ள . . . -.r.. 0 . .... / .... ... / .... u "Whoever should desire the immediate [worldly life], We hasten for him from it what We will to whom We intend. Then We have made for him Hell, which he will [enter to] burn, censured and banished. But whoever desires the Hereafter and exerts the effort due to it while he is a believer, it is those whose effort is ever appreciated [by Allah]" (al-Israa 1 81 9). The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) also said, 1 Recorded by al-Tirmidhi and others. According to al-Albaani, it is sahih. See al-Albaani, sahih al-Jaami, vol. 2, p. 937. Commentary on the Forty Hadith of al-Nawawi "The food of humans strikes a parable of this worldly life: From what comes out of humans [as waste], even after they had seasoned it and added salt to it [and made it very tasty], look at what it ends up as."1 In other words, even though humans work very hard to make the food taste excellent, the food finally results in something that is very disgusting and distasteful. The same is true for this world and all of its glitter. It will all end in destruction and waste.2 Muslim recorded that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said, } . , c:J "By Allah, [the bounties and length of] this world with respect to the Hereafter are not but as if one were to put this finger into the ocean and see with what it comes out [compared to what it leaves in the ocean]." The Prophet (peace be upon him) has shown very contrasting pictures of those people who give up this life for the Hereafter (and suffer with patience and control their desires) and those who devour this life and neglect the Hereafter. All of the harm and all of the supposed joy that the people faced in this world will be forgotten because of their new experience in the Hereafter. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) stated, "The person of the [to be] inhabitants of the Hell-fire who received the most bounties of the people of this world will be brought on the Day of Resurrection 1 Recorded by ibn Hibbaan. According to al-Albaani, it is hasan. See al-Albaani, sahih al­ Jaami, vol. I, pp. 437-438. 2 Cf., al-Ramli, pp. 42-3. Hadith #40: "Be in the World Like a Stranger . . . " and dipped once into Hell. It will be said to him, 'O son of Adam, have you ever seen any good at all [in your life]? Did you ever enjoy any blessings at all?' He will answer, 'No, by Allah.' And the person of the [to be] inhabitants of Paradise who faced the greatest hardships of the people of this world will be brought and dipped once into Paradise. It will be said to him, 'O son of Adam, did you ever see any hardship at all [in your life]? Did you ever face any difficulties?' He will say, 'No, by Allah, 0 Lord, I never experienced any hardships at all and I never saw any difficulties at all."' (Recorded by Muslim.) The Prophet (peace be upon him) also said, "By Allah, it is not poverty that I fear for you. But I fear that this world will be spread out for you [and given to you in abundance] as it was spread out for the peoples before you, and then you will compete in it as they competed in it and it will destroy you as it destroyed them." (Recorded by al-Bukhari and Muslim.) Commenting on this hadith, the modem day scholar ibn Uthaimeen explains that poverty or being poor allows one to be closer to following the truth than being rich. Indeed, most of the people wl_!.g followed the Prophet (peace be upon him), especially in the early years, were from among the poor. Throughout history, most of the people who rejected the messengers were the rich and arrogant. He goes on to say, That is what is happening. Look at our situation. When the people were closer to being poor,1 they were more conscious and fearful of Allah. When the wealth increased and became abundant, more and more people starting turning away from the path of Allah and oppression started. Nowadays, people long for the glitter and attractions of this world, of cars, houses, furniture, clothing. And they boast to others about all those things. And they tum away from what is beneficial for them in the Hereafter. The newspapers and magazines only talk about luxurious living and what is related to this world.