The Dunya is short lived, it will eventually come to an end, it is not everlasting. Dunya is an illusion. We think the Dunya is real but when reality strikes we see it is nothing.
Certainly we know that our life on earth is not forever and that we are not here for eternity. This world is to end and our life is to soon finish. Death will reach us wherever we are and whomever we may be. Death is inevitable.
As Muslims we all know this but the question is, "Exactly what are we doing to prepare for our death, to prepare for our questioning and accountability?"
None of us are guaranteed that we shall live until old age, nobody is ever too young to die. We must take our time for granted and use it wisely whilst we can, because before we know it will be too late and we shall have Death knocking at our door. We mustn't allow ourselves to have any regrets.
If there is any bad habit we have, any sin that we commit we must stop now for death is around the corner and after we breathe our last we cannot come back and amend our ways. This is impossible and we know it.
Imam Ghazali (Rahimullah) gives a beautiful example, he says:
'A man was walking in the jungle when suddenly, a lion began to chase him, As he ran away he fell into a well and as he fell he grabbed onto a rope. He thought he was safe but below him there was a huge serpent with its jaws wide open waiting for him to fall. Whilst he was holding onto the rope, a black mouse and white mouse began to nibble away at it. The man began to panic and became very scared until he spotted a honeycomb on the side of the well. He dipped his finger into it and then placed it on his tongue. For a second, he forgot about the situation he was in and enjoyed the taste. His worries had become momentarily disappeared but reality soon came crashing back to him... he was going to die.'
Imam Ghazali (Rahimullah) mentions that, the lion represents death that we all run away from. The serpent is the grave which we must all fall into. The rope signifies our life and the black mouse and white mouse are the night d day which nibble away at our existence. Finally, the honeycomb is the Dunya which we are in. It is so fruitful in our eyes that we expect to live forever but as Allah (swt) says in the Quran;
"Every soul has to taste death. It is on the Day of Judgement that you shall be paid your reward in full. So whosoever has been kept away from the Fire and admitted into Paradise has really succeeded. The worldly life is nothing but an illusionary enjoyment." [Surah3;186]
So think about it, What have you done in your life? What is on your CV to present Allah - the Employer of Jannah? What makes you think you have earned yourself a high ranked position?
May Allah give us the ability to remember death always, and prepare for our hereafter and Qiyam in front of Allah on the day of Judgement. May Allah keep us on the straight path and admit us into Jannatul Firdous.
Ameen, thumma Ameen.
