Arsalan Majeed

The Quranic Foundation

Dear brothers and sisters, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says in His noble book:

O believers, be mindful of Allah as is His due, and do not die except in a state of submission to Him.

O people, be mindful and conscious of your creator, of your Lord, who created you from one soul, and from this soul He created its mate, and from the pair of them He spread countless men and women far and wide. Be mindful of Allah in whose name you demand your rights and make requests from one another. Beware of severing and cutting off the ties of kinship. Allah is always watchful over you.

O believers, be mindful of Allah, speak truthfully, justly, and with good purpose. He will rectify and bless your works and forgive your sins. Whoever obeys Allah and His messenger has achieved the greatest of all achievements.

The most truthful of speech is the book of Allah, and the best of guidance is the guidance of Muhammad, peace be upon him. The worst of affairs pertaining to the religion are those that are introduced into the religion and have no basis in it. Every such affair is innovation, every innovation is misguidance, and every misguidance leads to the hellfire, which we seek refuge in Allah from.

The Universal Journey

My dear brothers and sisters, I would like to share with you today the events of a journey that every single person in this building will take. Every single person in this building, in fact, everyone in the world, they will take this journey. And that is the journey back to the Creator, to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. This is the journey of going from this temporary world to the eternal life that is to come.

And my message today, dear brothers and sisters, is not a message of doom. It's not a message of gloom, despair, or morbidity. Rather, it is a moment of reflection for all of us in our busy and hectic lives that we live in. Regarding the temporary nature of this world.

And the reason, one of the reasons I'm sharing this message with you today is because recently in our community we had a brother that passed away very suddenly. And he left behind, he was in good health, and subhanAllah, he left behind family of a wife and three children.

And so I want to take this moment, these 20-25 minutes today, to share with you and to reflect on the temporary nature of this world, and how all of us, we should take every opportunity we have to prepare for this journey. Because no one knows when we will be called back to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

Two Key Questions

How Do We Know What Happens After Death?

And so there's two parts to this khutbah that I would like to share with you. The first, I want to answer a question that many people commonly ask. And that is, how do you know what will happen after a person leaves this world? Where does this information come from?

And the answer to this, dear brothers and sisters, is that knowledge of what will happen after a person leaves this world, and journeys to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, is not something that can be obtained through intellect or rationale alone. It's not something that is empirical knowledge, or knowledge that can be obtained through experimental methods.

Rather, this is something that the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم taught us. It is divine knowledge that is acquired only through the text of the Quran, and through the teachings of the Prophet peace be upon him.

And belief in these religious texts, dear brothers and sisters, is based upon two primary beliefs. And a person has to have these beliefs if he's going to accept this knowledge regarding the hereafter.

And the first of these beliefs is belief in Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. This is the core belief, and this is the basis of believing in the unseen realm, or what the scholars say, knowledge of the unseen. Only when a person has belief in Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, then he will move to the next stage, and that is to believe that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala communicates to His creation through messengers that He has sent.

And the messengers that He has sent to the creation is a mercy that He shows toward His creation. Because it is only through these messengers that we know what Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala wants, and it is only through these messengers that we can worship Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in the proper way.

So the first of these beliefs, as I mentioned, is belief in Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala alone. And the second of them is to believe that Allah communicates to us through these messengers. And once a person has both of these core principles, these beliefs, then he is ready to accept knowledge of the unseen, or knowledge relating to what will happen after a person leaves this world.

Why Does Allah Remind Us of the Hereafter?

The second part, dear brothers and sisters, I want to address is, why does Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala continuously remind us of this journey in the Quran? Why are we constantly reminded about the hereafter, about Jannah, about An-Nar, about death, about the grave, and all these things in the Quran and in the text of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم, the sunnah of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم.

Quranic Reminders of Death and Hereafter

And there are many wisdoms and reasons behind this that I want to share with you. For example, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says in the Quran:

He says that every single soul, it shall taste death. In other words, every single soul will take this journey back to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And you will be given the reward of your deeds in full on the Day of Judgment. Allah says in the Quran that whoever is distanced from the hellfire and he is brought close to Jannah and admitted into Paradise, then this is the person who is truly successful. And this dunya, this temporary life that we are living in, is simply a temporary enjoyment.

In another verse, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala describes the exact moment when the soul will take this journey back to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. He says:

He says when one leg is joined with the other leg, one shin with the other shin. In other words, when the person is shrouded. On that day or at that moment, the person will be driven to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. In other words, that journey to Allah, that encounter and that meeting with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala that all of us have been promised, it will begin at that exact moment. And this is something that we should ponder and reflect on, how vividly Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala describes this exact moment.

Prophetic Wisdom on Death

When we look at the sunnah of the Prophet peace be upon him, we have a hadith that many of us have read and we know very well:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 6416)

And that is the Prophet peace be upon him said to Ibn Umar, the son of Umar radiallahu anhu, he said one day to him: "Be in this world as if you are a stranger or a traveler." And Ibn Umar said: if you survive till the evening, do not expect to be alive in the morning. And if you survive till the morning, do not expect to be alive in the evening. And take from your health for your sickness and from your life for your death.

What is Ibn Umar radiallahu anhu saying in this hadith? Essentially what he is saying to us is that, take every opportunity you have to do good deeds and prepare for that meeting with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Don't delay in repenting to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala from any sin you have committed. Don't delay putting off good deeds and say, oh I have many years to live and I'll do it in the future. Rather, do the good deeds that you are able to do right now. And if you think about committing a sin, in fact that should be something that should be delayed.

And so Ibn Umar radiallahu anhu is telling us, hasten in doing good deeds. Prepare for that meeting with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

Wisdom Behind Mentioning the Hereafter

And now that brings us to the question is, why has Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala mentioned the hereafter? And why has the Prophet peace be upon him mentioned the hereafter so much? And firstly we should say that, the purpose of these references is not to instill despair in us. It's not to create a sense of morbidity. It's not to create a sense of gloom or doom.

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says regarding enjoyments in this dunya: Who has forbidden the good things that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has permitted for His slaves or for His worshippers in this world. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says in the Quran that these enjoyments you have in this world, they are for you to enjoy. You are allowed to enjoy them as long as they are obtained in a halal and permissible manner.

But at the same time when we have this message, we also have the message of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is that, while you are enjoying, remember your journey and your encounter with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

Wisdom #1: This World is Temporary

So some of the wisdoms behind these reminders is, number one, is to remind us that this dunya, this world is simply a temporary home. It is not a permanent home for each and every one of us. Rather, it is something that we will move on and we will leave when we go to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

The Prophet peace be upon him said in a hadith that is very powerful if you think about it. The Prophet peace be upon him said that if one of you goes to an ocean, the shore, the beach, if one of you takes your finger and he dips it inside of the ocean and then he takes his finger out, and then he compares the few drops that cling to his finger and fall from his finger compared to the vast ocean he sees in front of him, then this comparison is like the enjoyments of this dunya which are the few drops that cling to your finger and fall down compared to the enjoyment of the akhira or the blessings of the eternity of the akhira.

And if anyone of you have actually tried this and gone to the beach and dipped your finger inside of the ocean and seen the few drops that cling to your finger and fall down versus the ocean that you see in front of you, it's a very powerful reminder.

(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2323)

Wisdom #2: Instilling Accountability

Another wisdom behind mentioning the hereafter frequently in the Quran is to instill in us a sense of accountability for our actions. Our actions are not going unnoticed in this world. Rather each and every one of us will be held accountable for our actions.

Allah says in the Quran that whoever does the smallest amount of good deed in this world, he will see it in the hereafter. He will see it when he meets Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And whoever does the smallest amount of evil, then he will also see that when he meets Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

And this is one of the most powerful belief in the hereafter, dear brothers and sisters, one of the most powerful ways of instilling a sense of accountability in a human being. Because when he believes that he will stand in front of Allah:

Allah says in the Quran that on that day when you will stand in front of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and you will be held accountable for your actions, when a person believes that, then he holds himself to a higher standard. He simply does not hold himself to the laws of society which we are supposed to follow and we have to follow. But there is a higher sense of morality inside of him, because he knows that he will be held accountable for his actions in front of Allah.

Meaning the only thing that is not preventing him are the laws of society, which we have to follow anyway. Rather, another thing that is preventing him from doing wrong things is his inner sense of morality and inner sense of accountability in front of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

The Prophet peace be upon him asked one of his companions one day: أَتَدْرُونَ مَنِ الْمُفْلِسُ - "Do you know the person who is bankrupt?" And so the companions, they gave the answer that many of us we would give. He said the person who is bankrupt is the person who doesn't have any wealth with him, he doesn't have any money.

So the Prophet peace be upon him said that rather the person who is truly bankrupt is the person who what? He didn't hold himself accountable in the dunya. And so he will be held accountable in the akhira. And this is not the wording of the hadith, the wording of the hadith is that the person who is bankrupt is the person who harmed physically or verbally another person in this dunya, in this world. He hit this one, he cursed that one, or he went to a greater level of physical harm to someone else.

And so what will happen on the day of judgment? Allah will take his good deeds and he will give it to the people that he harmed. And if he still has sins remaining, then he will take their bad deeds and place it in his scale of bad deeds. In other words, the Prophet peace be upon him is telling us that this person didn't hold himself accountable in the dunya. And therefore he was held accountable through his good deeds and bad deeds in the akhira.

And this is why Umar radiallahu anhu, he said: حَاسِبُوا أَنْفُسَكُمْ قَبْلَ أَن تُحَاسَبُوا - He said, hold yourselves accountable, meaning look at your actions, weigh them, measure them, and act in the best manner, act as if Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala would want you to act, before you are held accountable in the hereafter.

Wisdom #3: Difficulties Are Temporary

Another wisdom behind mentioning the journey to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and the hereafter constantly in the Quran and Sunnah is to remind us that the difficulties that we experience in this life are temporary. All of us, dear brothers and sisters, we go through difficulties, we go through difficult times, whether they be financial, health, whatever it is, family related, mental, all of these things. But the belief in the akhira, it serves as a coping mechanism for all of us.

It allows us to have this sense of relief. It consoles us and tells us that eventually these difficulties will end. And if I am patient and I hope in reward from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, then Allah will reward me for my patience through these difficulties in this world.

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says in the Quran that truly we have created mankind in difficulty, in toil. That the difficulties of the dunya and the difficulties of the akhira, the hereafter, they afflict the human being. Even the prophets and the messengers, look at their lives.

Abu Sa'id al-Khudri radiallahu anhu, he visited the Prophet, peace be upon him, one day. The Prophet, peace be upon him, was afflicted by a fever. And he was lying down in his house and he had a blanket over him. Abu Sa'id al-Khudri, when he visited the Prophet, peace be upon him, he placed his hand on top of the blanket. And he could feel the heat from the fever from the Prophet, peace be upon him, his body pulsating through the blanket and warming his hand.

And so he said that, how difficult it is for you, O Prophet of Allah. How difficult your fever, your illness is. And the Prophet, peace be upon him, said, yes. The higher the level of person, the higher a person's iman is in the dunya, the more difficulties he will be exposed to. And this is not something that a person might think that this is negative. No, rather this is something Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala wants to raise the rank of a human being in the akhira. He wants to raise the rank of the believer in the akhira.

The Prophet, peace be upon him, said in another hadith that Allah continues to afflict the slave with certain difficulties in this dunya. Because he knows that this slave is weak in his worship. So Allah afflicts him with these difficulties in the dunya, and at the same time Allah inspires him with patience. And why does he do this? So that his rank in the akhira can be raised.

So when a person is continuously reminded about the akhira, this serves as a sense of relief, it consoles him. And it connects him to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

Wisdom #4: Motivation for Good Deeds

Among the benefits of constantly reminding us about the akhira is that it is meant to motivate us to do good deeds.

Allah says in the Quran: Race, compete with one another toward performing good deeds. When a person thinks about the akhira, about the blessings that Allah has prepared in jannah, then a person is motivated. He wants to do these good deeds even more. He doesn't want to delay in doing these good deeds.

Wisdom #5: Reminding Us of Our Higher Purpose

And finally, the last benefit, dear brothers and sisters, of reminding us about the akhira continuously is that it reminds us of our higher purpose in life. And reminds us that we are not simply here for hedonistic pleasures. We are not simply here to indulge in our pleasures. Rather, our goal and our purpose in life is to connect to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and to continuously remind us that we will one day meet Him. And we have to live for our higher purpose and simply the dunya that we see in front of us.

A Story of Accountability

There's a story of a person who had a servant that used to serve him. And he was a wicked master. And his servant one day wanted to teach him a lesson. It's a simple story but I'd like to share it with you because it serves as a reminder for us.

So one day his servant, he wanted to teach his master a lesson who was wicked, who was not righteous and was not practicing. And so he said to him that, I would like you to plant some seeds. And so the master, he went and he planted seeds. Actually, the master told the servant, I would like you to plant seeds of wheat. So the servant went and he planted seeds of another grain.

And so when the seeds, they came out from the ground and they bore crop, the master was infuriated at that point because he saw that the wrong seeds had been planted. So his servant said to him at this point that, how can you plant seeds of disobedience to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in this dunya and hope for rewards of jannah in the akhira?

And this serves as a reminder to us that every one of us, we need to plant seeds of jannah in this dunya so we can hope for jannah from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

The Prophet peace be upon him said in a hadith that: الْكَيِّسُ مَنْ دَانَ نَفْسَهُ وَعَمِلَ لِمَا بَعْدَ الْمَوْتِ - That the intelligent and wise person in the dunya is the person who holds himself accountable and he plants seeds of jannah and then he hopes for reward from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

Whereas the person who is a aajis, the person who has false hopes, is someone who does acts of disobedience, he does whatever he wants in this dunya, he doesn't listen to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and then he hopes from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala certain things which only the righteous would hope for.

And we ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala that He allows us to plant the seeds of jannah in the dunya and He allows us to harvest the fruit of jannah in the akhira.

The Prophet's Daily Supplication

Dear brothers and sisters, finally I'd like to conclude this khutbah by reminding you of a narration and that narration is that the Prophet peace be upon him would continuously make a dua, a specific supplication to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in each and every prayer and that dua, in this dua, in this supplication he would seek refuge in Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala from four things.

At the end of the prayer, meaning before a person says the salam, and this dua is:

The Prophet peace be upon him would make this dua to remind himself and to tell us to remind ourselves in every single prayer we pray to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And these four things that he would seek refuge in Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala from were: O Allah I seek refuge in you from Jahannam, from hellfire. O Allah I seek refuge in you from the punishment of the grave. O Allah I seek refuge in you from the trials and tribulations and difficulties of this life and of death. And O Allah I seek refuge in you from the evil of the fitna or the tribulation of ad-dajjal.

And notice in this narration of the Prophet peace be upon him, he mentioned specifically عَذَابِ الْقَبْرِ. He mentioned the qabr or the first stage, the grave, which is the first stage in the hereafter.

And when Uthman radiallahu anhu, when he would stand by the grave, he would cry very profusely. And some of his companions, his friends, when they saw Uthman in this state, they said to him, why is it that when paradise and hellfire is mentioned, you don't cry as profusely? You don't get so emotional. But when the qabr, when the grave is mentioned, you become very emotional.

And so Uthman radiallahu anhu, he said that because the grave is the first stage, is the first stage of the aakhirah. It's the beginning of that journey to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. After which comes the yawmul qiyamah and jannah or jahannam. May Allah make us amongst the people of jannah.

And so if this stage is good, then all the stages that come after that will also be good. And if this stage is problematic, then we seek refuge in Allah. The stages after that will also be problematic.

Closing Prayer

May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala allow us to benefit from this moment of reflection and to benefit from this reminder and may make us from the people of jannah. May Allah make us from the people of jannah. May Allah make us from the people of jannah.