Living As Strangers: Our True Home Is Jannah

Opening & The Foundational Hadith

أَمَّا بَعْدُ، عَنِ ابْنِ عُمَرَ رَضِيَ اللهُ تَعَالَى عَنْهُمَا قَالَ: قَالَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ:

Allah created Adam (alayhis salam) and from Adam, Allah created Hawā (alayhas salam), his wife. We know Allah tells us in the Qur'ān that both of them were created and they were given Jannah as a place to reside and a place to stay. That was their home. But Allah had decreed that the progeny of Adam — Adam and his progeny — would come to this world.

This World Is Not Our Home

The key thing to remember here is that this world is not the home for us believers. For the children of Adam, this abode, this dunyā, is not home. The home for us, the abode, the place of comfort, the place of rest, is Jannah.

That's where we came from. Despite what scientists may say today — that we evolved from monkeys or apes — no, our home and our parents are Adam and Hawā. Our home is Jannah. That's where we came from. This world here is a temporary abode.

We're here for a short period of time. Whatever time a person lives in this life is very short, if you actually think about it in the grand scheme of things. Even if a person lives to a hundred years, a hundred years is actually very insignificant — considering how long humanity has been here, and how long it will be, Allah knows. Most people today don't even live to a hundred. But even if a person were to live a whole century, that one century is quite insignificant in the grand scheme of things.

So that's why the Prophet ﷺ advised. He said:

Live in this world as a stranger — or someone who passes by, a passerby. Hazrat Thanwi and other scholars say that the aw (أَوْ) here in Arabic is actually بِمَعْنَى بَلْ — meaning: live as a stranger, no rather, be in this world as one who just passes by. Because even a stranger in a land could stay there for days, or perhaps even years, and he's still considered a stranger — it's not his home. But a passerby doesn't stay for very long.

The Hotel Analogy

The example is: we go on vacations in summertime. Maybe some of you are vacationing here in Chicago. Your actual home is somewhere else. Maybe you're from out of state. Maybe you have a hotel here. How long are you going to live in a hotel? It could be a five-star hotel with all the best amenities that any hotel could offer — but at some point you start to say, "I miss home." Maybe the first day is exciting, the second day is exciting. But after some time you start to wonder, "I want to go back home."

You have those extended-stay hotels. A person goes for work, maybe he has to stay there for a month, two months, six months. He never feels completely comfortable there. And he will never make himself comfortable either. He's not going to start buying furniture. He's not going to start buying appliances. Why? He knows that no matter how long he stays here, this is not his home. This is not his permanent residence. He's here for work.

Even when I was renting an apartment, you don't feel the same way as when you have a place of your own that you've bought. I still remember — something would happen in the apartment, the condo — "Make sure the kid doesn't ruin the wall, because we're going to have to talk to the association. They're going to charge us." But if something breaks down, you don't have to worry about it. Just call the association, they'll take care of it. But in your own home, you worry about it. You take care of it. You make sure it's kept well, kept clean. Something breaks down — the washer's not working — I have to take care of it. You take ownership of it. It's your home.

That's the mentality that a believer, a Muslim, must have when it comes to paradise. That is my home. Not this. Yes, I'm here. I could have a home here — there's nothing wrong with that. But my heart has to be connected there. However much time I spend here, it's very temporary.

The Dunyā Is a Home for One Without a Home

In one hadith, Imam Ahmad narrates in his Musnad, the Prophet ﷺ said:

(Musnad Imam Ahmad; also narrated by al-Bayhaqi in Shu'ab al-Iman)

The dunyā is a home for one who doesn't have a home. If you want to consider the dunyā a home, recognize that it's not an actual place of residence. And who gathers the dunyā? Who covets the dunyā? Who is greedy when it comes to the dunyā? مَنْ لَا عَقْلَ لَهُ — one who doesn't have intelligence. Someone who doesn't realize that he is going to be leaving this place.

Someone might say, "But I have a savings account — does that mean I can't have a savings account?" No, no problem. You can have a savings account. You can save. But what is the meaning of وَلَهَا يَجْمَعُ مَنْ لَا عَقْلَ لَهُ? That person is greedy for it. That person covets it — one who has no intelligence, one who doesn't realize, "I'm going to be leaving this place."

As Allah says in the Qur'ān:

What is الَّذِي جَمَعَ مَالًا وَعَدَّدَهُ? It's not talking about someone who is saving up for Hajj, or saving up to buy a home — you can do that. But our focus must change. Our focus is not the dunyā; our focus is always the hereafter. So our mentality has to change. If I'm collecting, if I'm gathering wealth, don't be greedy. Don't covet it. Don't have so much love for it that you forget what is your original purpose in life.

How to Remove the Love of the Dunyā from the Heart

A person makes money — no problem. But that money has a right over you. If you have the niṣāb amount, make sure you're paying zakāt. If you have extra beyond that, make sure you give more, make sure you spend more. In fact, this is one of the ways that you remove ḥubb al-dunyā — love of the world — from your heart: by spending.

It's interesting that in Arabic, the main source of wealth was traditionally considered gold and silver. The word for gold in Arabic is dhahab. And the verb dhahaba itself means "to go." So wealth does not benefit a person until it goes. In itself, it has no utility. I can have a hundred dollars in my pocket, and if I'm hungry, that hundred dollars by itself cannot benefit me. It's not until it's used, not until it's spent, that it benefits a person.

So if a person feels he has too much love for the dunyā, too much connection to it — one of the ways to remove that is by spending. Spend a little bit, spend for whatever good cause. Ṣadaqah. And giving to family members is also considered ṣadaqah. Spending on one's family is also considered ṣadaqah. Giving to one's parents is also considered ṣadaqah. You don't need to say, "I'm giving you ṣadaqah" — but it is a type of ṣadaqah.

In fact, what we learn from the hadith in terms of the word ṣadaqah is very vast. In one narration, it comes that a person smiles — he smiles and it causes his brother to smile — that is also a form of ṣadaqah, because it is khayr, something good. In fact, even in the books of fiqh, sometimes when the chapters of Eid come up — we just had Eid al-Adha a little while ago — some of the books of fiqh mention that when you go out for Eid, make sure to smile. Why? Because it's a form of ṣadaqah. If a person is feeling down, just force yourself to smile. You'll find that all of a sudden you'll feel happy. That's something ajeeb — something remarkable.

True Zuhd: Detachment of the Heart

In the books of Zuhd, some of the mashāyikh of the past wrote specific books on this topic. With Zuhd, we usually translate it as "asceticism" — and most people think that a zāhid is someone who leaves everything of the dunyā, wears simple woolen clothes, has no possessions. But a true zāhid is someone who in his heart has no attachment to the dunyā. His connection and focus is on Allah. And if he does have any connection to the dunyā, the primary basis for it is Allah.

So he loves his family, but he loves his family because he loves Allah. He provides for his family, he has a home — but the primary reason is Allah. He works, he generates income through a business or whatnot — he does it because of Allah. His primary focus is always Allah. And if he's doing any action, he's doing it for the sake of Allah. That person is still a zāhid. He could live in a nice home with the best furnishings — but his heart is connected to Allah. That person is zāhid.

The Example of the Wealthy Ṣaḥābah

Even from the Ṣaḥābah (riḍwānullāhi ta'ālā 'alayhim ajma'īn) — consider Uthmān ibn 'Affān (raḍiyallāhu 'anhu). He was among the wealthiest of the Ṣaḥābah. In the Jaysh al-'Usrah — the army that went to Tabuk — he was the one who sponsored the most among all the Ṣaḥābah. 'Abdurraḥmān ibn 'Awf (raḍiyallāhu 'anhu), from the Ashrā Mubashharīn, was also among the wealthy Ṣaḥābah. He came to Madīnah Munawwarah having nothing — they had to leave everything behind when they migrated.

Similarly, Ṣuhayb al-Rūmī (raḍiyallāhu 'anhu). He came as a slave, was granted freedom, and was given the opportunity to buy and sell — and so he made a great deal of wealth. When he was migrating to Madīnah Munawwarah, they said to him, "There is no way we are letting you go. You took from us, you benefited from us — you think we're just going to let you go?" So he said, "Fine. If you want everything I accumulated and gathered, take it — let me go." And he gave everything up just to migrate to Madīnah Munawwarah.

And don't think Madīnah Munawwarah — at least for the Muhājirūn — was a place where they thought they were going to make lots of money. They did not migrate for the sake of business or worldly motives. It was nothing but for the sake of Allah. When the Prophet ﷺ heard about the sacrifice of Ṣuhayb (raḍiyallāhu 'anhu), he said:

(Mustadrak al-Ḥākim, Vol. 3, Hadith 5868; also narrated by Ibn Hishām in al-Sīrah al-Nabawiyyah)

"Ṣuhayb has truly profited! Ṣuhayb has truly profited!" Why? Because what the Prophet ﷺ taught the Ṣaḥābah was to focus on the hereafter. Any loss in this dunyā is not true loss. The true loss is the person who will go on the Day of Judgment and will have nothing to show — no actions to show to Allah. That is loss.

The True Muflis (Bankrupt Person)

As the Prophet ﷺ explained in another narration — he asked the Ṣaḥābah:

(Sahih Muslim, Book 45, Hadith 59 — also narrated by Imam al-Tirmidhī)

"Who do you think is a muflis?" They said, "O Messenger of Allah, a bankrupt person is one who has no money." He said, "No — the muflis of my ummah is one who comes on the Day of Judgment having done ṣalāh, having fasted, having done all these good deeds. But when he comes on the Day of Judgment, he will have nothing. Why? Because he insulted this person, he consumed this person's wealth, he struck this person — and on the Day of Judgment, they will come and demand their rights.

Apple Pay is not going to work on the Day of Judgment. Credit cards are not going to work on the Day of Judgment. The currency of the Day of Judgment will be good deeds — the أَعْمَال. So his good deeds will be given to every person whose right he abused. And when his good deeds are depleted and gone, there are still people in line demanding their rights. So their evil deeds will now be put on him. And where he was standing at the gates of Jannah — now the doors of Jannah are not in front of him. The doors of Jahannam are."

And Jahannam is not a place to live, as Allah says:

He will not die there, nor will he truly live. Because what kind of living is it — surrounded by fire, surrounded by the punishment of Allah?

Refocusing Our Priorities

So in the little time that we have, we have to refocus, reprioritize — what is actually important? I'm here for a very short time. The reason why we focus so much on these topics — maybe somebody says there are a lot of other things we need to be talking about in our time and age — but the reason is: if our priority isn't this, then we're not going to be able to fix anything else.

May Allah grant us tawfīq, grant us understanding, allow us to realize the temporary nature of this world, and recognize the infinite nature of the hereafter. May Allah grant us that understanding and allow us to work towards it. Amīn.

Alḥamdulillāhi rabbil 'ālamīn.

Second Khuṭbah

All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds. Peace and blessings be upon the most honored of Prophets and Messengers, and upon his family and all his companions. My dear friends, fear Allah as He should be feared, and do not die except as Muslims.

My dear friends, know that Allah has said in His Glorious Book — after I seek refuge with Allah from the accursed Satan, in the name of Allah, the Merciful, the Compassionate:

"Every soul shall taste death, but you shall be paid your dues on the Day of Resurrection. So whosoever is removed from the Fire and admitted into Paradise — he has indeed triumphed. And the life of this world is but the enjoyment of delusion."

And Allah has said:

"What is with you will pass away, and what is with Allah will remain." So, my dear friends, leave what will perish for what remains.

I say this, and I ask Allah to forgive me and you and all Muslims. So ask His forgiveness. Indeed, He is the Most Forgiving, the Most Merciful.

All praise is due to Allah. We praise Him, we ask His help, we ask His forgiveness, we believe in Him and we put our trust in Him. We seek refuge in Allah from the evil of our souls and from the evil of our deeds. Whomsoever Allah guides, none can misguide him; and whomsoever 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 Protector is Muhammad, His servant and Messenger.

After this, Allah said in His Glorious Book — after I seek refuge with Allah from the accursed Satan, in the name of Allah, the Merciful, the Compassionate:

"Indeed, Allah and His angels send blessings upon the Prophet. O you who have believed, send blessings upon him and give him peace."

O Allah, support Islam and the Muslims. O Allah, support Islam and the Muslims. O Allah, support those who support the religion of Muhammad ﷺ and make us of them. And forsake those who forsake 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 good, and giving to those who are near, 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. Call upon Him, and He will respond to you. And the remembrance of Allah is the greatest, and Allah knows what you do.

Du'ā Requests

There are a couple of du'ā requests. Please make du'ā for the father of Hārūn Ajmerī who has a bypass surgery today — may Allah grant him shifā'. And brother Ibrāhīm Muḥyuddīn's uncle is in the ICU back in India — please make du'ā for his shifā' as well.

And continue to make du'ā for the Muslims in Palestine.