think about the hereafter and that's the
point I would like us to focus on
now as Muslims we all know that this
life is a
transition the greater life the eternal
life is the life to
come this life is only a
test so therefore if that is the case
then the life to come should be where
our focus
lies. That is common sense. That is
reason. That is
logic. But we have to look into our
lives and see where the focus is. Is it
really on the hereafter? Is it really on
the life to come? Or are we lost in the
dunya? lost in this material
world where our greatest concerns is
about this material world.
Well, the prophet, may God's peace and
blessings be upon
him, taught us in a hadith found in
Sunni
Maja, the principle
inunciated by that well-known
motivational speaker Steven Kovi in his
book, Seven Habits of Highly Effective
people he mentioned among them habit or
principle of first things
first and that's what I'd like us to
reflect on right now first things
first prophet Muhammad sallallahu alaihi
wasallam said
whoever makes this material world his
goal. Allah will scatter his affairs.
Allah will scatter his
affairs and he will place poverty
between his
eyes and he will not get from this world
except what Allah has written for
him. Whoever makes this world his gold.
How do we know when somebody has made
this world his gold? When the only thing
he talks about is this world. When you
sit down and talk with him, he only
talks about his car. his house, his
children, his money, his
vacation. That's all he talks
about. That means this world is his
goal. He might say, "Yes, there's a and
yes, we are supposed to, you know, come
before God and we will be judged and
there's heaven and hell." But that's not
what he talks about.
So if the only thing he talks about
is the things of this life that is the
extent of his
conversation then we say this life has
become his
goal. So Allah said that he will scatter
his affairs
meaning he has made this life his goal.
So he's only focused on money. How I can
get money? how I can make money, how I
can save money, you know, how I can
spend money. That is his
focus. But what happens is that though
that is his focus, he's not able to deal
with it systematically and consistently.
What you find he's running here, he's
running there, he's running over here,
he's running over there.
He's no
rest. His affairs are scattered.
And Allah will put poverty between his
eyes. So even though he's gathering
money, he's increasing bank account is
increasing etc. But there will be
poverty between his eyes. Meaning he's
fe he fears loss of his
wealth. Anybody who he sees who smiles
at him, he thinks oh he must want
something from me.
What is he
after? He cannot treat a smile as a
friendly gesture. No, the person's got
something in the back of his mind. He's
planning. He's plotting to get some of
my money. See, that's how he's
thinking. So, he's suspicious of
everybody around him. Poverty is between
his eyes. It may be so much so that when
the stock market crashes, we read about
it in
America, a stock broker, he's he has a
fortune of $8 million. Stock market
crashes, he loses $5
million. That hits him so hard, the loss
is so great, he jumps out of the window.
He still has three million left.
Hey, you what you could do with three.
No, but for him that loss is so
devastating, he takes his
life. And we see it among the rich and
famous. How many of them take their
lives? They seem to have everything that
we're supposed to have or that people
want and desire, but yet they're killing
themselves, committing suicide. Their
lives are in
shambles because we cannot
achieve
happiness, peace of heart through the
dunya. We can't.
It is a
false story and image which is promoted
through the media, through the
newspapers, the magazines, the
television promotes this beautiful
picture which is only a facade. It's
fake. What is behind it is
corruption,
unhappiness,
wretchedness because people have made
this world their
goal. And even after all of that, after
running around here, there and
everywhere trying to gather whatever we
can of this
world, we will only get what God Allah
subhanana wa ta'ala has already written
for us. No more. What God already wrote
before he created us is going to be our
lot. We will not get any more than that.
So then what is the alternative? Prophet
Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wasallam
said,
Whoever makes the hereafter his
intention, Allah will bring his affair
together.
How do we know when
somebody's nia or his intention is
the you will see how he conducts his
life, he or she conducts his life. They
are not tied up with all of the
trappings of this
life. They are not focused on gaining
and getting and going and taking
and living a high life, an enjoyable
life. No, they take from this world what
is necessary. They live simple
lives and when you talk to them about
the things of this world, they talk
about it as if it is something
temporary. Yes, we have this, but Allah
could take it away anytime. We have it
for a time. And so, I'm going to try to
use this in a way that's pleasing to
Allah. Allah has blessed me with a car.
Then I will use that car part of the
time to spread his
word to distribute information about
Allah and about Islam to the
society. I will use it to help the
needy. I'll use it sometime for things
other than just
myself. And so I will deal with all of
the various properties that I have.
I will look at for ways and means that I
can use it to earn blessings for myself.
Not just to consume
it. We shouldn't be consumers. Yes, we
consume, but we shouldn't be consumers.
Meaning that's the sum total of our
lives. No, we should utilize