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" this world than what will help him reach his [desired] destination [of Paradise]." 1 Hence, the believer is not interested in gathering too much of this world because such things make it more difficult for him to continue on his travels and to travel easily. Because this world is so alluring and attractive, it is easy for a Muslim to forget this. When he becomes attracted and attached to the things of this world, he forgets that he is on a journey. Instead of being ready to move closer to his destination when necessary, his store of worldly possessions and strong attachment to them render him unable to move on to the next leg of his trip. He is now no longer gathering provisions for his journey and his final destination but he is now accumulating things to help him stay where he is and become a full-fledged resident of this world. In other words, he has lost sight of the fact that he is supposed to be working and traveling toward a destination. He has become preoccupied with this worldly life, which should have remained only an insignificant stop along his journey and not something that takes up most of his time and efforts. There is another important aspect that any traveler must be aware of: not getting lost or sidetracked along the way. The travels of a believer may be very long before he meets his Lord. Along the way, there are many things that may distract him. There are even enemies along the path. Satan, for example, is ever ready to take the believer away from the path. Therefore, the believer who is on this journey must always be seeking Allah's guidance and His help to keep him moving in the right direction. Any straying from that path could be disastrous; his end may come suddenly and he may never have the chance to return to the straight path. Allah has awakened the believers to that sobering reality and He has guided them to say in every rakah of every prayer, "Guide us to the Straight Path." Similarly, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), by his example of constantly making the following supplication, taught the believers to say, .... o.... Iii:"' JJ 0 "'"" ঢ়৞য়ৠৡৢ}AJl ৣti "O the One who Tums the Hearts, confirm my heart upon your religion."2 Many Muslims are not awake to the fact that they are actually on a journey, heading toward the meeting with their Lord. What is the solution for such Muslims? Al-Fudhail ibn lyaadh said to a man, "How old are you?" He said, "Sixty years old." Al-Fudhail then said, "For sixty years you have been traveling toward your Lord. It seems that you will soon reach your destination." The man said, "We belong to Allah and to Him we will return." Al-Fudhail said, "Do you know what that means? You are saying: I am a slave of Allah 1 Ibn Hajr, Fath (al-Tijaariyyah), vol. 13, pp. 9-1 0. 2 Recorded by al-Tirmidhi and others. According to al-Albaani, it is sahih. See al-Albaani, sahih al-Jaami, vol. 2, p. 1 323. Commentary on the Forty Hadith of al-Nawawi and to Him is the return. The one who knows that he is a slave of Allah and that he shall return to Him knows that he is, in fact, to be detained. The one who knows that he is to be detained knows that he is going to be asked. Therefore, he must prepare answers for that questioning." The man said, "What is the solution?" Al-Fudhail said, "It is simple." The man said, "What is it?" He replied, "Do good for the remainder of your life and you will be forgiven for what you did in the past. However, if you do evil in what remains of your life, you will be held responsible for what you did in the past and in the future."1 So, everyone is on a journey. It is a journey that ends with one's meeting his Lord. When he meets Allah, he will be asked about his journey and how he behaved during it. If he realizes now that he is on such a journey, he should start preparing for the meeting toward which he is heading. And the only preparation is by increasing one's faith, doing good deeds and working for that final destination rather than for any vain intermediate aim. "Count yourself among the inhabitants of the grave." The believer must always be conscious of the fact that he is living in the shade of death. At any moment, death may overtake him. When this realization is clear in the person's mind, he will constantly be preparing for his death. And there is only one way to actually prepare for death: by performing good deeds and abstaining from evil deeds. For such a person, the pleasures of this world will not be foremost on his mind. In another hadith, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) stated, ,.. J o ,,, ,,..