7. THE HEREAFTER WILL BE GREATER IN DEGREES AND GREATER IN PREFERENCE
We were created in order to live with the Creator by knowing Him, conversing with Him and seeing Him in eternal existence.
This life is like a school in which we are taught to write with good manners in preparation for the next step up.
Some students are weak minded, they spend a lot of time at school and never learn writing or manners.
This is the example of one who does not know the purpose of his existence.
Other students add to their weak mindedness and lack of understanding, hurting other students, and stealing their food. So neither did they learn, nor did they refrain from harming others.
This is the example of evil and harmful people.
Other students learn how to write but have bad handwriting. They only learn enough to manage their needs. This is the example of a person who performs the obligatory duties, but misses out on complementary virtues.
Other students perfect writing, but do not learn mathematics. They memorise good manners but do not practice themselves. Such a person would be good to work as a scribe for the Sultan, because of his evil heart and lack of manners.
Other students seek the highest status. They are best among their peers, and take the teachers’ place when absent. He elevates himself above them by his nascent pride and manners. His nature continues to push him towards excellence because he realises that the school is not the objective in and of itself, but it is only a means to gaining good manners, and a step toward complete manhood.
He is just like a fully developed believer who outruns his peers when they race, and shows off his good handwriting:
“Here, read my book” [al-Haqqah (69): 19]
This life is similar to the above example. Some people are destroyed for being far from the truth, and they are the nonbelievers. Others err and have some belief—they will be punished but will end up in a good situation if Allah wills.
Others are in a good state but are deficient, yet others are perfect when compared to those beneath them, but deficient when compared to those above them.
So people of comprehension! Know that this life is only a bridge to the eternal home, and it is a journey to the final destination, and nearness to the Sultan (i.e. Allah). Therefore prepare for sitting with Him, talking to Him, and practice good manners in order to become suitable to be in His presence.
Do not let laziness occupy you from preparing your horses for the race. And be mindful of the Day of the race, for the more a person is cautious in this life, the closer to Allah he will be in the Hereafter.
And their final destination will be according to their statuses. A person who is responsible for bringing fuel is not of the same status as he who is a guard. And a guard is not of the same status as a minister. Two gardens of gold, and two gardens of silver, and above them is the Firdaus. Those at the bottom levels of Paradise see those of the higher levels like they see small shinning planets.
A Seeker must comprehend the sweetness of surrendering to the Trustworthy, and must remember the praise he will earn when winning the race. And he must be careful of any deficiency or fault that will result in his bad mentioning. So let a person be mindful and stay far from desires, for the days are short. Poor believers enter Paradise five hundred years before wealthy ones.
I encourage you to work hard, for the mountain has appeared, and the valley is showing, either by means of knowledge that guides to the right path, or by grey hair that is the sign of departure. It is departure that people of seriousness seek.
Al-Junavd was reciting while his soul was exiting his body. So he was asked: ‘You are reciting at this time?’ So he responded: ‘I am hurrying before the the closing of my record of deeds.’
If [Allah] wants you for something, He will prepare you for it.
(Source: al-Hafiz Abu’l-Faraj ibn al-jawzl [d. 597AH] “CAPTURED THOUGHTS being” a translation of his masterpiece ‘Sayd al-K hatir)
Comments
John Doe
23/3/2019Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat.
John Doe
23/3/2019Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat.
John Doe
23/3/2019Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat.