Description of Jannah: Reminder of Our Ultimate Goal | Mufti Azeemuddin Ahmed | Wednesday Talks

Introduction: Why We Must Speak About Jannah

Beloved brothers and sisters, dear students, the topic of Jannah, naturally, is such an important topic. It's such a vast topic. That is why Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala, has mentioned this topic of Jannah in so many different places all across the Qur'an. And then He sent His Prophet ﷺ, who came as a commentator and the one who explains the Qur'an. And the Prophet, alayhi salatu wa salam, has given such intricate details of the blessings of Jannah.

And why it's so important for us to learn and listen and hear and discuss about paradise — because the way Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala, has created humans, we naturally are either going to act based on the desire for something that we like, or a fear of something we do not like — what we call a carrot and stick. And this is how Allah has created the nafs. Allah has created the nafs and He knows that the nafs desires certain things and is afraid of certain things. And in order for a person to lead a certain type of lifestyle, Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala, not only has asked us to do certain things and refrain from certain things, but along with that, Allah, azza wa jal, has given us promises and warnings — what we call wa'ad and wa'id. Wa'ad are promises, wa'id are warnings.

And so paradise is something which is such an important part of our existence because it's supposed to shape the way we act, supposed to shape the way we lead our days and nights and the way we interact with one another — due to the desire of what awaits us in akhirah. However, we ask ourselves: when was the last time we attended a talk exclusively on paradise?

Jannah Equals the Pleasure of Allah

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has placed His pleasure in paradise. So this is for someone who may say, "I want to work for Allah, I want to be sincere. Whatever I do, I do it for Allah, and I do not really care about paradise." I have many times been asked this question. That's why I'm saying this from the very get-go. When people say, should I work for Allah or should I work for Jannah? Should I work for the pleasure of Allah or should I work for paradise? This is like the same thing.

How is it the same thing? Because Jannah is the place where Allah's pleasure is manifested. Let me put it in other words. If you please Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, Allah is not going to invite you somewhere and give you a big hug. Allah is above and beyond anything that is similar to any of His creation. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is not going to give us a pat on the back. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is not going to shake hands with us. These are things that are above and beyond Allah azza wa jal. How does Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala then show His love and appreciation for what you and I are doing? It is by granting that individual entrance into paradise.

What is Jannah? Jannah equals Allah's pleasure. What is hellfire? That equals Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala's displeasure.

The Housekeeping Rules of Paradise

When Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala speaks about the various pleasures of Jannah — and when Allah has prepared for the believers, after He speaks about the various palaces and speaks about the food and the drink and those who will be serving — Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala then says that the pleasure of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is the greatest. That's the greatest blessing.

There is a very beautiful hadith that talks about what I like to call the housekeeping rules of paradise. It is when the people enter Jannah. A caller will call out the following things. He'll say:

• Indeed, from today the declaration has been made that you will always remain healthy, never to become sick.
• Indeed you will always remain young, never to become old.
• Indeed you will always enjoy luxuries and you will never have to ever face any type of difficulty.
• And indeed you shall live a life of eternity, and you shall never have to face death.

So always be alive, always be young, always be healthy, and always be enjoying. Is that possible here? None of these are possible here. We don't live forever. We're never going to remain always healthy. We're never going to remain always young. And you can never always be happy. Just think about just today — how many things have happened to you where you were down or blah about something. You read a text message, you read a piece of news. How could you not be sad when you read news? How could you not feel sick in your stomach when you see the oppression that's going on across the globe? So no matter whether it's in your life or someone else's life, when you hear and read things that are painful, naturally your happiness is going to go away. That's part of this dunya.

There's no such thing as a life of eternity here. There's no such thing as always healthy. There's no such thing as always young. And definitely there's no such thing as always happy. That is specific to paradise.

But then, as if these four blessings were not enough, the last fifth one — the housekeeping rule — is:

(Sahih Muslim, Book 40, Hadith 6797)

That indeed, I will make My pleasure with you — My happiness with you — obligatory and always present. فَلَا أَسْخَطُ عَلَيْكُمْ بَعْدَهُ أَبَدًا — I shall never become angry at you again. And for the believers, this will be the greatest blessing.

And that's when Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will remove the veils:

There will be faces that will be all lit up, and they will be enjoying the countenance of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And that's when Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says that we have blessings, and then we have something extra. And what is that extra? That extra is the pleasure and the honor of being able to see Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

So from the very get-go, this is what I wanted to address — to remove this misconception about Jannah. That we should not speak about Jannah or desire Jannah or think about Jannah because we're here working for Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. This is a misunderstanding of the whole concept. This might even be a deception by Shaytan, for us to not create desire.

Creating Genuine Desire for Paradise

My dear students, whatever you speak about — most of us have not been to the islands of Hawaii, or to Mauritius or Maldives or whatnot. But you've seen pictures of it. You've heard about it. And people always desire it. "Oh, I wish one day I could go there." What happens when you speak about things you have never been to, places you have never been to, things you cannot afford to buy? It creates within a person a desire: I want to work hard to be able to go there. I want to be able to save up money to purchase that.

That's natural. But when it comes to Jannah, let's ask ourselves: what is the genuine desire in me for paradise? How excited am I to enter Jannah, to meet Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, to meet my Prophet ﷺ? That desire may not be where it needs to be. And that's when we find ourselves so lazy in doing good deeds, find it so hard to do what we're supposed to be doing. Just get up for Isha, get up for Fajr, recite your Quran, do your dhikr, be kind to your mom and dad, be kind to your relatives and your neighbors, guard your gaze, lower your gaze, don't listen to what is haram. Simple things become so difficult.

And why is that? Because we don't see the reward. "Why should I? Everyone else is enjoying life. Why should I deprive myself?" You should deprive yourself because what awaits you is something far better than whatever you can imagine right now. But if we don't hear about these things, if we don't speak about these things, then it's out of sight and out of mind. And so the conviction and the yaqeen on that also become very weak.

So these discussions are so important — not on a once-in-a-semester basis, but on a regular basis — to be speaking about the unseen world, and specifically speaking about paradise and hell, to create within us the desire for paradise, and the fear from the punishment of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala that is manifested in hellfire.

I hope and I ask Allah azza wa jal that He creates this genuine love for paradise within all of our hearts, the conviction of paradise within our hearts, a desire to do such deeds that will earn us paradise. And may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala give us death on such deeds that will make us worthy of entering Jannah through Allah's grace.

Competing Towards Jannah

The second thing we'll see is that the Qur'an asks us to compete with one another towards Jannah. Run with one another, compete with one another to gain Allah's forgiveness and paradise. Those who have a spirit of competition should compete with one another when it comes to trying to earn beautiful palaces and places in paradise. That is something where we're supposed to not only desire for ourselves, but we're supposed to look at what others are doing and say: if someone is doing more than I, and we are in the same type of environment, why am I being second? Let me try to go ahead. This is the spirit of competition that Allah wants us to have when it comes to working towards paradise.

The First to Enter Jannah

So who is the first person to enter Jannah? Obviously it is going to be the Prophet ﷺ. He said: "I will come on the Day of Judgment to the door of Paradise. I will ask for the door to be opened. The one in charge of Paradise — the angel in charge — his name is Ridwan. He will say, 'Who are you?' Because he is in a place where he cannot see Rasulullah ﷺ. He says, 'I am Muhammad.' He will respond: 'I have been ordered not to open this door for anyone before you. You shall be the first one to enter.'"

Then the Prophet ﷺ mentions how this ummah will be the first ummah. From all the Prophets, no Prophet will be able to enter Paradise before the Prophet ﷺ. And from all the nations of all the Prophets, no nation will be able to enter before the Prophet's ﷺ ummah.

And then from the ummah, who will be the first one? The best and the most upright and the most close to Allah after His Nabi ﷺ. It comes in the hadith:

(Sunan Abi Dawud, Hadith 4652)

Jibreel came to me. He took my hand. He showed me the door of Jannah from which my ummah shall enter. This is obviously in the story of Mi'raj, in the Ascension to the Heavens. Abu Bakr said, "Ya Rasulullah, I wish I was with you so I could have seen that scene. I wish I was with you to have witnessed the door of Jannah that the ummah is going to enter from." The Prophet ﷺ told him: "As for you, O Abu Bakr, you are the first one from my ummah who shall be entering Paradise."

Then the Prophet ﷺ said — the hadith narrated by Bukhari and Muslim:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 876; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 855)

"Our ummah is the last, yet we will be the first." Meaning, we are the first ones who will be entering Jannah, even though the previous nations have been given the book before us and of course arrived in this world before us. But we will be the ones who will be in the front line. So imagine someone who is VIP who comes late at the airport — comes at the end — but because he is a first class passenger, he is not going to be standing at the back of the line. He is going to have a separate line. And this is what Allah will honor this ummah with, due to the blessing of the Prophet ﷺ.

The Poor Will Enter Before the Wealthy

Then after that, who will be entering? It's the poor people. The poor people from this ummah. The Prophet ﷺ said:

(Sunan Ibn Majah, Hadith 4122)

He said that the poor of this ummah will be entering Paradise prior to the wealthy of this ummah by half a day, and that is 500 years. So there are so many perks to being part of this ummah — including if a person does not have material things, including if a person struggles in this world. Still, being part of the ummah of Rasulullah ﷺ will bring you so much benefit.

Today, a person will obviously look down on people who have less, but on that day, people who have more will be enviously looking at people who have less, because they will see that these people who have less are going far ahead of them in Paradise due to the difficulty they went through in this world.

You know, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will not amass both difficulties — difficulty here and difficulty over there — upon a believer. Just like it comes in hadith, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will not bring together two fears upon a believer: fear of Allah in this world and fear of Allah on the Day of Judgment. If you fear Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in this world, you will not have to be afraid of Him insha'Allah tomorrow. And a person who felt fearless from Him — the one who felt everything will be fine, so he let his life go however he wanted in this world — then he definitely won't be able to enjoy that peace tomorrow. If you're not afraid of Him today, you will have to be afraid of Him tomorrow.

So the fuqara — the poor — they suffered. In this world, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is not going to make them suffer again. You see the brothers and sisters of ours in Gaza and all over Palestine, and not just there — in many other parts of the world, including Kashmir, including Syria, including Yemen, including Iraq, including Pakistan, including Sudan, and so many other parts of the world — where our brothers and sisters went through unbelievable levels of difficulty and death and mayhem. You cannot think that our Jannah and their Jannah are going to be the same. That's unfair. And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is the most just and fair.

If you get tested with much difficulty here, then you will be getting huge rewards in the hereafter. Now, some of us may be thinking: but I'm here, and I want to get a huge reward. What am I supposed to do? Should I just go live on the street? No. What you have to do is: shukr. Shukr is what will allow you to enjoy the greatest blessings, even though you have a lot of things to enjoy here. You don't have to feel guilty about it and say, "As long as I have this, that means I'm not going to have a great paradise." You can do shukr, and that will definitely give you a whole lot of blessings in the hereafter.

Those Who Praise Allah in Ease and Difficulty

Then the next category in the life of Jannah is those who praise Allah in times of ease and times of difficulty. The Prophet ﷺ said:

(Mustadrak al-Hakim, narrated from various sources)

The first people who will be called out on the Day of Judgment towards Jannah will be those who praise Allah in times of ease and times of difficulty. So to praise Allah and to resort to Him in times of difficulty is something normal. But to praise Him and to thank Him when things are going well — that's where the hard part comes. Because as soon as Allah gives us success in our career, success in our studies, success in anything, how often it is that we begin to attribute that success towards ourselves and forget Allah.

The Description of the First Group to Enter Jannah

Now, the description of the people who will be going to Paradise first. The Prophet ﷺ said:

The first group of people that will be entering Jannah — their faces will be like the face of a full-lit moon, the 14th-night moon. They will not even spit in Jannah. They will not have any mucus and they will never have to use a restroom. Even their combs and their bowls will be from gold and silver. What they burn — the incense, the beautiful fragrance — that will be from the highest quality. And when they sweat, that sweat will be smelling like musk, which is a great and beautiful fragrance.

Moving on towards the end of the hadith: لَا اخْتِلَافَ بَيْنَهُمْ — there will be no difference of opinion within them. Because you can have the best palace and the best books and the best food — one argument ruins it all. I know individuals who, SubhanAllah, have massive fights on their honeymoon and come back wanting a divorce. They spent thousands of dollars on a vacation only to come back and go for divorce proceedings. So Jannah will be a place where there's no difference.

Allah says:

And when you enter Jannah, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will remove all sorts of ill feelings from the heart. No ill feelings and hatred for one another. عَلَىٰ سُرُرٍ مُّتَقَابِلِينَ — they'll be sitting on sofas, on very nice chairs, facing one another. Because we face one another and talk. You don't want to have your back to one another. You want to sit there and speak about the dunya and speak about how you made it out here and how we're reflecting.

لَا اخْتِلَافَ — no differences. قُلُوبُهُمْ عَلَى قَلْبٍ وَاحِدٍ — the hearts of all the humans of Jannah will be as though one heart. يُسَبِّحُونَ اللَّهَ بُكْرَةً وَعَشِيًّا — they will be praising and thanking Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala morning and evening.

Those Who Enter Jannah Without Any Reckoning

Then there will be certain individuals whom Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will allow to enter Jannah without even any reckoning. For example, the Prophet ﷺ said:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 5705; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 218)

Seventy thousand people will enter Paradise from my ummah without any reckoning. These are the people who will have such absolute reliance upon Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala that they will not feel the need to use many of the means of this world that others may use. You are allowed to use means, naturally, with your eyes fixed on Allah, not on means. But there are some people who will be at this level of tawakkul and reliance that they will not even be using the means in the main spots and places where people usually rely on means. They will not be taking omens — any good or bad omens. Their eyes will be focused only on Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. So that is one group of people that will enter Jannah without any reckoning.

The Last Person to Enter Jannah

The last person who is going to enter Jannah — the Prophet ﷺ said:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 6571; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 186)

"Indeed, I know the last person who is going to be able to crawl out of Hellfire and the last person to crawl into Paradise." When he is brought before Allah, Allah will tell the angels: "Ask him about the small sins. And hide the big sins — don't even bring them up." So he will be asked: "You did such-and-such sin on such-and-such day. Such-and-such sin on such-and-such day." He cannot deny it. The manifestation of the sins are right there. The Book of Deeds is being presented. Then Allah will tell him:

For every single sin we just mentioned, Allah is going to forgive you and give you a good deed in its place. Because he has already been in hellfire for so long, coming out as the last person on the way to Jannah. Of course, he is a believer — that's why he is given this opportunity.

So then, when he sees that for every single minor sin he's being given a good deed in place, what happens? Initially he was happy that the major sins are not being brought forth. But now when he sees for every single sin he is gaining a hasanah, he'll be hoping that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala brings out all the other major sins so that for every major sin he can have a major hasanah — a major good deed. This is the greed of a human being that never finishes. And then the Prophet ﷺ laughed — which he rarely did to such a degree that his teeth became apparent — at this greed of this man. He's not happy just to get out of hellfire. He will say, "Ya Allah, no, no, there's a bunch of other sins I don't see over here."

In another narration, the last person to enter Jannah will be the one who is crawling over the bridge — the Sirat — and the fire will scald him from below. Eventually he'll cross over the bridge. He will look towards the hellfire and say: "Alhamdulillah — all praise belongs to Allah who saved me from you, O Jahannam." From a distance he will see a tree.

He will say: "Ya Allah, please allow me to get closer to this tree." Allah will allow him to come close to this tree. And then Allah will tell this person: "O son of Adam, would it be acceptable to you if I were to give you a paradise equivalent to the world times ten? Would you accept a deal I am going to give you now?" So then the man will look and say: "Ya Allah, are you seriously making fun of me? Are you mocking me? You're the Lord of the worlds!" He will think it's a big joke.

The Prophet ﷺ laughed at this point — and this is what is called a Hadith Musalsal bil-Dahk. The Prophet ﷺ then asked: "Will you not ask why I am laughing?" The Sahabah said: "Ya Rasulullah, why are you laughing?" He said: "I am laughing because Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, in a majestic manner, responds to him." When this man says to Allah, "Are you making a mockery of me?" — Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala responds:

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 186)

"I am not making a mockery of you. Rather I am capable of whatever I will." And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala then grants him that paradise. MashaAllah.

A Note on Hadith Musalsal

This is called Hadith Musalsal bil-Dahk. What are musalsal hadith? These are those hadith which Rasulullah ﷺ did something, and then the narrator after him did something, and then the narrator after him did something, and always it comes to us in this chain. For example, there is the Hadith Musalsal bil-Musafaha — the Prophet ﷺ shook hands with a newcomer and then shared a hadith. And that Sahabi, he later welcomed a student. As soon as he came in, he shook hands with him and shared the hadith. And then that student went, and years later, some new person came, he shook hands and shared the hadith. This is going to be called musalsal bil-musafaha — something that has been continuously passed down through the shaking of hands.

So here you see three generations who are laughing, smiling, and then asking — because my teacher laughed as well, and then I asked him why he was laughing, and my teacher laughed because the Prophet ﷺ laughed. I actually have ijazah in an old collection of hadith called Musalsal — those hadith that have been passed down from the time of the Prophet ﷺ till now in a very specific manner. We studied this and got ijazah from Mufti Muhammad Ali. May Allah extend his life with barakah and give him his 'ilm.

Think about it — we shook hands with that teacher at that same hadith, all the way back to whom? To the Prophet ﷺ. Isn't that amazing? Our deen — where do you find a religion, any type of faith, that is as meticulously protected and preserved the way our beautiful deen is preserved? This should increase you and I in our strength and our conviction in this deen.

The Gates of Jannah

Jannah — how many gates does it have? Jahannam has seven:

And Jannah has eight. The Prophet ﷺ said:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 3257)

Each gate is designated for a particular virtue. For example, the Prophet ﷺ said:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 2841; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 1027)

On the Day of Judgment, people will be called out based on their virtue. Whoever used to be very regular in performing Salah will be called to the door of prayer. Whoever was very regular in his charity will be called to the door of charity. Whoever was very regular in striving and struggling for the Deen will be called to that door. And whoever used to love to fast — extra fasts, love to fast — he will be called from the door of Rayyan.

What does Rayyan mean? Rayyan means someone whose thirst is quenched. That's why this door is called Rayyan — for someone who used to fast a lot. And by fasting three days a month — on the 13th, 14th, and 15th — insha'Allah we'll get the reward of thirty days:

Wherever there is any good deed, Allah will reward him times ten.

The Description of Jannah

What No Eye Has Seen

Abu Hurairah narrated that the Prophet ﷺ said — and this is a Hadith Qudsi, where the words and the meaning come directly from Allah — but unlike the Qur'an, you cannot recite a Hadith Qudsi in Salah. The Qur'an is وَحْيٌ مَتْلُوٌّ — a revelation that is recited. And Hadith Qudsi is وَحْيٌ غَيْرُ مَتْلُوٍّ — revelation that cannot be recited. Allah said:

"I have prepared for My righteous servants that which no eye has ever seen, which no ear has ever heard, and no mind has ever properly conceived." What does this mean? Obviously, no eye has ever seen it. But also — no ear has ever heard it. Meaning, whatever you and I hear is not the actual depiction of Jannah. Our ears cannot handle it. Just like our eyes cannot handle looking at it. Allah told Musa: لَن تَرَانِي — you will not be able to see Me in this world. Our finite eyes cannot see the Infinite Allah. And similarly, since we have finite minds, we cannot fully conceive of Jannah. Whatever you think of it, it is something far better than that.

The Composition of Jannah

What is the composition of Jannah? The Prophet ﷺ said:

(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2526; Musnad Ahmad)

Every building in Jannah — each brick is made out of silver and gold. The mortar by which you put the rocks on top of each other is musk. The small pebbles are pearls and rubies. The mud of it is saffron. And whoever enters Jannah will always enjoy it and never suffer. A life of eternity and never die. Their clothes will never become old. And their youthful years will never come to an end.

Beloved students, when you hear about these types of things, a person may say, "I don't like gold." Of course — it is haram for men to wear gold. What is a gold house supposed to mean? The idea is — think about it: when you say "gazillion," what is that supposed to mean? When you're trying to explain that something is just beyond what you can imagine, that's what it is. So when you speak to a little child who doesn't know much about the world — two, three, four years old — and you want to tell him about a beautiful place, you're going to explain it to him in terms of sweets, candies, and toys. A grown-up going to a very nice resort isn't thinking about little toys. But how do you explain it to a little kid?

That's how we are. We are like little kids when it comes to the akhirah — we have no idea what it is like. So when Allah speaks to us, He speaks to us in ways that we can try to understand. So a person may say, "Oh, I don't even care about that." Okay. Maybe you don't care about that. We're not trying to make you materialistic. We're trying to say that whatever any human being would desire — what is all the conflict today about? What is all the war about? It all comes down to one thing: power and money. And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is saying: the everlasting wealth and everlasting enjoyment — you are going to be able to get it in paradise.

The Rivers of Jannah

What about the rivers of Jannah? Allah says:

The example of the Jannah that has been promised to the people of taqwa: there are rivers that will never go bad, whose water will never go bad. Rivers of milk whose taste will never change. And rivers of wine which will be enjoyable — because the liquor of this world is disgusting. You have to keep on drinking until you become addicted to it. The smell of it is horrible. But not the khamar of the akhirah. The khamar of the akhirah is something which will taste great even from the very first sip. And Allah says:

You will not get a headache from drinking and you will not get a hangover. You will not speak trashy stuff because it will not affect your mind. And rivers of beautiful, crystal-clear honey. So these are four rivers that Allah speaks about in Jannah, in Surah Muhammad.

The Springs of Jannah

What are the springs of Jannah? One is Kafur. In Surah Al-Insan, Allah says:

Indeed the righteous people will be drinking their cups from a spring that will have a mixture of Kafur in it. The next spring is called Salsabil, also in Surah Al-Insan:

In Surah Al-Mutaffifin, Allah says:

They will be given something to drink from Tasneem — a spring from which only the closest ones to Allah will be given a chance to drink. And it is at this moment Allah says: وَفِي ذَٰلِكَ فَلْيَتَنَافَسِ الْمُتَنَافِسُونَ — all of you who have a spirit of competition, bring it over here. Stop competing with each other in material things. Start competing with each other in good deeds. "Who's fasting? SubhanAllah, he fasted one day — I have to fast too. Someone is giving in sadaqah — I have to outdo that person." That is the type of desire Allah is instilling now.

The Houses and Palaces of Jannah

Then Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala speaks about the houses and the palaces and the tents of Jannah. In Surah At-Tawbah, Allah azza wa jal says:

Beautiful dwellings. In another place Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala mentions Ghurfah — in Surah Al-Furqan — which means a penthouse, those things that are on top. And some of them will also have tents outside of their palaces. Each tent will be like a hollow — so magnificent and vast that this world cannot even serve as a proper place of reward for what they have done. How can this world reward you adequately even once? This world is too small. What's hollow in a tree — the sheer space — is greater than what we can imagine. And whoever enters will always be in bliss.

Conclusion: Keep Your Eyes on the Akhirah

Dear brothers and sisters, this world is just too small and too insignificant to be chasing after. You and I should not be desirous of only this world. Yes, enjoy the halal. But your focus should always be on the akhirah. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala grant us all the highest levels of Jannah, and may He make us from those whose desire for paradise shapes every single day of our lives. Ameen.