Prioritizing the Hereafter Amidst the Swift Passage of Time

Opening — Khutbah al-Ula

السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَةُ اللهِ وَبَرَكَاتُهُ، الْحَمْدُ لِلهِ، وَالصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ عَلَى رَسُولِ اللهِ، سَيِّدِنَا وَمَوْلَانَا مُحَمَّدِ ابْنِ عَبْدِ اللهِ، وَعَلَى آلِهِ وَأَصْحَابِهِ وَمَنْ وَالَاهُ، وَبَعْدُ

Allah, Tabarak wa Ta'ala, says in His glorious Book — after seeking refuge in Allah from the accursed Shaytan, in the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate:

Sadaqallahu l-mawlana l-'Azim.

The Purpose of the Jumu'ah Khutbah

Often when we come for Jumu'ah and the khatib is speaking, the topics that he speaks — depending on his nature — will be various. And individuals prefer that current events, politics, these types of things be discussed as well, though they can and they should be perhaps in a different setting.

In a Jumu'ah khutbah, the time that we have and the minutes that we have are usually so few that whatever is most aham — al-aham fal-aham — should be what's discussed. Al-aham fal-aham. So for that reason, very often in the khutbahs we discuss things that are related to the akhirah, because there is nothing that is more important than the akhirah.

The life of this world is very temporary, is very short. In a blink of an eye it's going away from us. In a blink of an eye it's going away from us.

How Fast Time Is Passing

We started a new Gregorian year — although for us as Muslims our calendar year had already started; we're in the middle of it. In fact, we're approaching Ramadan, and you will start seeing in the next couple of weeks that the Jumu'ah khutbahs are going to be centered around Ramadan. But we're seeing with our own eyes and we're experiencing how fast time is actually going. A year goes by and a person just sits and wonders: how did it go by so fast? Where did it go? A day goes by and the 24 hours within the day — a person can't even remember, what did I do yesterday? What happened? A whole week goes by.

We were here just last Jumu'ah and all of a sudden we're here again this Jumu'ah. One month goes by. And although this is from the signs of the Day of Judgment as well, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ mentioned:

One of the interpretations of يَتَقَارَبُ الزَّمَانُ is that time goes by very, very fast — to such an extent that a year feels like a month, a month feels like a week, a week feels like a day, a day feels like an hour.

That's what we're experiencing. Our kids are growing in front of us. Everything is happening.

The Dunya Keeps Changing — History Teaches Us This

So what becomes most aham for us is concerning ourselves with the hereafter and what we're doing in preparation for that akhirah. As far as politics and whatnot — anyone who's a student of history knows that these things keep on coming and going, coming and going. I was just reading one of the mashayekh — he was talking about during the time in the subcontinent when you had the British there, and he was talking about the fall of the Ottoman Empire and the kind of chaos and the kind of turmoil that it created within the Islamic world and within the Arab world as well. How all across, there were difficulties, and how they had become political prisoners and were sent to the island of Malta and what happened there. And there you have Arab prisoners, you have Turkish prisoners and whatnot.

I was sitting here and I said, subhanAllah — we're talking about some hundred years ago, these events are happening, and today we're witnessing different, different events. Every day there's something new that's happening.

So this is not something new. Anybody who knows even a little bit of history knows that from the time of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, there's been political turmoil and all kinds of difficulties. Anybody who has even a cursory study of the seerah knows the difficulties that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ himself faced at the hands of the Quraysh, and the difficulties that happened afterwards, and the sacrifices that were made. And this is a common theme, common theme, common theme.

You read about Imam al-Ghazali, rahimahullah. You read about Salahuddin al-Ayyubi, rahimahullah, and the turmoil, the difficulties that were there. So this is part of the system of Allah, whether we understand it or not.

The Dunya Departs — The Akhirah Approaches

The question that is most important is: tomorrow I have to pass away. That day is coming very near.

الدُّنْيَا مُرْتَحِلَةٌ ذَاهِبَةٌ، وَالآخِرَةُ مُرْتَحِلَةٌ قَادِمَةٌ — the dunya is departing, going away; and the akhirah is departing, coming forward.

If you were to think of a timeline — in the knowledge of Allah, there is a point when we were born, and there is a point that we're going to die. Though we don't know the point when we're going to die, we know the point that we were born — if you don't know, just look at your birth certificate. But there's no death certificate for us now until we die. But in the ilm of Allah, it's already written: this person is going to die on this day, at this time, at this moment, at this place. It's already written. Deny it as much as you want — it's written.

So if you think of it from a linear point, you have point A and point B. Point A is when you were born. Point B is when you're going to die. That's in the ilm of Allah, not in our ilm. It could be that it's closer for some of us than others, but it's in the ilm of Allah. And you're traversing this linear path.

What's happening with the dunya? The dunya is traveling — but it's traveling away from you. Every day that goes by, the dunya is traveling away from us. And the akhirah? It's approaching. With every day that goes by, my akhirah, my moment is coming closer and closer and closer.

Experts in the Dunya — But What About the Akhirah?

When it comes to the dunya, we are very intelligent. You need to buy a house — you know exactly who to talk to, you know what you need to do financially. I know my circle of individuals I can speak to. I know how I'm going to take care of my finances. I know, monthly, this is my bill for this and for this and for this. If I'm thinking about career, I already know there are various institutions and organizations that are there to help. Career building, career finder, and whatnot. If you're in school, you have academic advisors to help you: What do you want to do? You don't know what you want to do? No problem — why don't you start off with this? How are your grades? What do you need? And so on.

When it comes to our dunya, we are experts. No doubt. You have a business — you know exactly what you need. At the end of the year, what do we do? We do our taxes. Everything is laid out. This is how much I spent. This was my spending cost. This was my profit. This is my profit margin, etc. Something comes in its way — tariffs are there — okay, I need to rethink a system of how I can make profit. We are experts when it comes to this. Investing — we already know: this is where I need to go, this is what I need to do, this is how much return this brings in. I have advisors, different articles I can look at, different individuals and resources I can go to.

Do we think of our akhirah in the same way — when the akhirah is supposed to be eternal, permanent? If this is how much effort we're making for our dunya, can you imagine the amount of effort that we need to be making for the hereafter?

Do we sit down and think: did I pray all my salah today? What's my margin regarding that? Did I do my dhikr? Did I do tilawatul Qur'an? Do we have a spreadsheet for that? I'm not even kidding — it may sound like a joke to some people: what are you talking about, having a spreadsheet for my ibadah? Yes. If we're going to use it for our dunya, why not use it for our akhirah? Have a spreadsheet. Ask yourself: did I pray all five of my prayers today? Yes — okay, good. Did I do my tilawatul Qur'an? No, I didn't.

And then even more importantly — how do I get to Allah Ta'ala? How do I ensure that whatever work I'm doing in this life will produce the results that I want in the hereafter?

Nobody goes into any worldly investment blindly — that person you call a fool. You didn't look into what you're investing in? You just buy a house randomly? No. You look into it: what's the market, what area am I buying in, how much is the down payment, what's my monthly cost — can I even afford it or not? You go through the whole procedure.

Did we ever sit down and think: for the akhirah, what am I putting down? What's my down payment for the akhirah? What's my profit? What am I building in the akhirah? Where am I headed — am I even headed to Jannah or am I headed to Jahannam? What's going to happen to me on the Day of Judgment? Do I have a secure future? Do I have insurance? We talk about life insurance, we talk about this insurance and that insurance — we have all of those types of stuff. Do we have some type of insurance for the hereafter? Some guarantee that can say, yeah, you're safe, don't worry about it, you're getting Jannah without any hisab?

Can any one of us say that? Have any one of us put that degree of effort, that degree of sacrifice, to be able to say that?

Tiring Ourselves for the Dunya — Neglecting the Akhirah

We work morning and evening — I'm not trying to criticize that. We have to. I work too. Morning and evening. We have to get a paycheck. We have to work. We have to provide. That's part of the dunya. But how many of us actually then sit down and take an account of what we have done for the hereafter? We tire ourselves out. We exhaust ourselves. Completely exhaust ourselves. And what are we getting at the end of the day? Tomorrow, when I die, which house in this world is going to be there for me? Which system and structure have I prepared for that life?

We talk about retirement: I have to ensure that my retirement is comfortable. I'm not going to be working when I retire, so what am I going to be doing? Where's my income going to come from? How am I going to pay my finances? What about that retirement? I'm not saying don't have a retirement account — have it, have it for this world, no problem. The whole thing that I'm trying to say is our focus and our priorities have become completely, purely — or if not purely, then at least most of it — just related to securing our dunya, when the reality is we're about to lose the dunya anyways.

The dunya is slipping away from our hands. It's going. It's going so fast. It's going at such a speed we can't even catch up — you don't even know what's happening. And the thing that could be acquired, the very purpose of our existence, that thing we're comfortable about.

"Oh, Allah is Ghafoor and Rahim. Oh, Allah will forgive me." You say that about the government when the government asks you for your taxes? "The government is good, it's okay, if I don't pay my taxes, the government's not going to care." Allah forbid you get audited — what are you going to do then? Fines upon fines. "Oh, it's okay if I don't pay my mortgage — they're ghafoor and rahim, they're nice people, I know the banker at the bank, he's very kind." What is he going to do — maybe give you a month's leeway on your mortgage? And yet when it comes to our akhirah, this is our mentality. Allah have mercy on us. This is our mentality when it comes to the akhirah: "No, no, it's okay. Inshallah, when I pass away, everything will be taken care of for me."

No. If we are putting that much effort, that type of sacrifice for the dunya, we need to really readjust our priorities. We need to really readjust.

Learning the Deen and Understanding the Qur'an

Learn, learn the deen. What is it that Allah demands from me? You don't need to become a scholar — what are the basic things that Allah demands from me? Am I praying five times a day? Is my salah even counting? When I pray the salah, am I even performing it correctly? Am I doing tilawatul Qur'an every day? How much of it? Am I understanding what Allah is saying to me, what Allah is asking of me? Or is my tilawatul Qur'an only limited to the month of Ramadan — Ramadan comes, I'll open it and read a little bit? That revelation that came from Allah to the heart of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ — did I make any effort to even understand what Allah is saying to me?

Whoever wants the life of this world and its adornment — نُوَفِّ إِلَيْهِمْ — We will give it to him in full. We will give him all his actions and the result of it. We will give it to him. نُوَفِّ إِلَيْهِمْ أَعْمَالَهُمْ وَهُمْ فِيهَا لَا يُبْخَسُونَ — They will not be cheated, they will not be defrauded. They want the dunya? Take the dunya. You think that the dunya has any value in the sight of Allah? Take the dunya. You can have it.

Whoever wants the hereafter, and he strives for it, he sacrifices for it — We will give it to him. His sacrifice will be appreciated, his effort will be appreciated — We will appreciate it. فَأُولَٰئِكَ كَانَ سَعْيُهُم مَّشْكُورًا.

May Allah Ta'ala grant us tawfiq to be able to understand. And this is a simple thing of just changing our mindset. Just changing our mindset — if our mindset just changes, we will naturally be inclined: I need to learn more about my deen, I need to learn more about Allah. My time is coming up — what am I doing? What does my investment look like for the hereafter?

May Allah Ta'ala grant us tawfiq.

Second Khutbah

All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds. Peace and blessings be upon the Master of Prophets and Messengers, and upon his family and all his companions. And after:

O beloved ones, fear Allah as He should be feared, and do not die except as Muslims. And know that this world is going away, and the hereafter is coming. So be of the children of the hereafter, and do not be of the children of this world.

And Allah says in His glorious Book — after seeking refuge in Allah from the accursed Shaytan, in the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate:

Whoever wants the hereafter and strives for it, and he is a believer — for those, their striving is appreciated.

And whoever wants the life of this world and its adornment — We give them their deeds in it, and they will not be left short in it.

Those whose striving is in the life of this world, and they think that they are doing good deeds.

And the Prophet ﷺ said: "The one who has given himself and worked for what is after death; and the one who has pursued his desire and then wished for Allah."

I say this and I ask Allah for forgiveness — for me and for you and for the rest of the Muslims. So ask Him for forgiveness. Indeed, He is the Forgiving, the Merciful.

Salawat upon the Prophet ﷺ

All praise is due to Allah. We praise Him, and we ask His help, and we ask His forgiveness, and we believe in Him, and we put our trust in Him. And we seek refuge in Allah from the evil of our souls and from the bad of our deeds. Whom Allah guides, none can misguide him. And whom He misguides, none can guide him. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, alone, with no partner. And I bear witness that our master and our leader is Muhammad ﷺ, His servant and Messenger.

And then Allah, Blessed and Exalted, says in His glorious Book — after seeking refuge in Allah from the accursed Shaytan, in the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate:

Indeed, Allah and His angels send blessings upon the Prophet. O you who have believed, send blessings upon him and greet him with a worthy greeting.

Du'a

O Allah, support Islam and Muslims. O Allah, support Islam and Muslims. O Allah, support those who support the religion of Muhammad ﷺ and make us of them. And deprive those who deprive the religion of Muhammad ﷺ, and do not make us of them.

O servants of Allah, may Allah have mercy on you — indeed, Allah commands justice and goodness and giving to relatives, and forbids immorality and evil and transgression. He warns you that you may remember.

Remember Allah, the Most High, the Most Great — He will remember you. And call upon Him — He answers you. And the remembrance of Allah is the greatest. And Allah knows what you do.

Announcements

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We have our weekly programs: On Monday nights we have a podcast-style conversation with Mufti Azim on different topics, with different co-hosts including teachers and staff members. Tuesday tafseer with Mufti Mirhajuddin. On Thursday we have our Shama'il al-Muhammadiyya that will inshallah resume from this week. And then join us for our Saturday team Fajr — we are currently covering the lives of the Companions.

We also have a very special program that we try to conduct once or twice every year — our No-Tech Retreat. This is an opportunity for everyone to take a break — 24 hours or so — from their devices and spend time in the masjid. We will be joined by Sheikh Hashim Ahmed, a very senior scholar who has visited us before. That is on January 24th and 25th, inshallah. You can find the details of other programs on the website.

We have a du'a request for a sister, Zaybun Nisa — she is very ill. May Allah grant her shifa. And of course, we as Muslims feel the pain for all Muslims around the world. We make du'a that Allah aid and assist and help our Muslim brothers and sisters around the world. Those who are sick — may Allah Ta'ala grant them shifa. Those who have passed away — may Allah Ta'ala have mercy and forgive them and grant them Jannatul Firdaus. Ameen.