. J "" (cont.)

,, ,,, ,,, P o o Ė ढ़ ୪ J ':Jl µ1 ࣂ ୫ फ़ ୬i ;_?Ji k lm no\ pI.ill\ ilA '_?ࣃ IJpl ,,,. -::: ,,,. | ड़ ':Jl य़ t) ;_?e :J) "Remember the destroyer of pleasuresdeathoften. Verily, no one remembers it during straitened times in his life except that it makes the matter easier upon him. And no one remembers it during times of ease except that it makes the matter tighter upon him."2 In other words, when one feels disappointed by the lack of comforts in this world and then remembers death, he will realize that there is no real comfort or joy in this world for one to be depressed about. Hence, his affair will be made easier by remembering death. And, during times of ease and material comfort, when one remembers death, the matter that brings an end to all of these fleeting comforts, one keeps oneself from getting overly attached to and fond of these worldly items. The person 1 Quoted in ibn Rajah, Jaami, vol. 2, p. 383. 2 Recorded by al-Baihaqi in Shuab al-Imaan, ibn Hibbaan and al-Bazzaar. According to al­ Albaani, it is hasan. See al-Albaani, sahih al-Jaami, vol. I , p. 264. Hadith #40: "Be in the World Like a Stranger . . . " will realize that such things are not necessities but it is faith and good deeds that are needed. These are just some of the benefits of considering oneself among the inhabitants of the graves and of remembering death. ibn Umar would say, "If you survive till the late afternoon . . . " The statement of ibn Umar is directly related to the hadith. One of the ills that afflicts humans and makes them heedless of the Hereafter is thinking­ if not consciously, then through actionsthat this world and life is their real world and life. They begin to act like they are going to live here forever. Rather, they begin to act as though this were their permanent abode and there were no abode other than this one. Their deeds become the deeds of this world rather than for the Hereafter. One of the best ways to overcome this disease is described here in the words of ibn Umar, "If you survive till the late afternoon, do not expect [to be alive in] the morning. If you survive till the morning, do not expect [to be alive in] the late afternoon." One should realize that deaththe end of this journeyis definitely approaching, perhaps very soon. Instead of working for elaborate and long-run hopes in this world, one should remember that at any moment this j oumey may come to an end. It will be of no avail to him to dream of future goals and hopes and to be always working for those goals if, when doing so, he is not also doing those deeds that will avail him in the Hereafter. It makes no sense to always work for hopes and dreams of this world which may never come to pass and to not work for the Hereafter which will definitely come to pass. In another hadith, the Prophet (peace be upon him) displayed in a graphic fashion the reality of this life and the dreams that people have. Anas narrated that the Prophet (peace be upon him) drew for them some lines and, pointing to them, said, "This is man, these are the dreams and this is the appointed time. When he is like that [that is, heading toward his dreams], the closer line comes." (Recorded by al-Bukhari.) There is some difference of opinion as to the exact way in which the Prophet (peace be upon him) drew those lines. Figure 40. 1 displays two of the common understandings of this hadith.1 1 Cf., ibn Hajr, Fath (Daar al-Baaz), vol. 1 1, p. 285. Commentary on the Forty Hadith of al-Nawawi (1) I I I I (2) I I I I I I = Man passing his life (note that among Arabs things pass or progress from right to left, not left to right) I I = The decreed life span for man ಡ---ಢ I = Man's dreams, hopes and aspirations Note: In the second manner in which the hadith is displayed, man does achieve some of his goals and aspirations but not in the first. Figure 40.1 How the Prophet (peace be upon him) displayed the dreams and hopes of man In that simple display, the Prophet (peace be upon him) plainly displayed the stark reality of the dreams and aspirations of this worldly life. The Prophet (peace be upon him) has shown that if one pins his hopes on those dreams, he will indeed be greatly disappointed. When one lives in such a state of remembrance of death, he will not leave the good deeds that he can or should do in the morning until the evening nor will he leave the deeds he can do in the evening until the morning.