Take Advantage Of Your Life Before Your Death - Sheikh Abdul Hadi

Take Advantage of Your Life Before Your Death

In the name of Allah, the most gracious, the most merciful.

Dear brothers and sisters, Allah created us for a great purpose. As Allah says:

I did not create men and jinn except to worship Me.

In this ayah, ibadah has a comprehensive meaning — that all our actions should be according to the teaching of Allah. Regardless of the situation, the time and period. But there are still many brothers who only follow Islamic Shariah in a certain way, or ibadah in a certain way. Wherever suitable, we are trying to follow Islam. And if there is any sacrifice or qurbani or sacrifice required, then we have no link with Islam. That is not acceptable.

This Life Is a Test

This life is a test. As Allah says:

He created life and death to test you. We are therefore in a constant examination. All our efforts should be in accordance with the teaching of the Quran and Sunnah in order to be successful in this test. This life is a test for each individual — for the life after death. When the Day of Judgment comes, everybody will be judged by their actions, by their Creator, Allah. This Day of Qiyamah will be the beginning of the life that will never end.

The Day of Judgment Is Near

Qiyamah, the Day of Judgment, is very near. As the Prophet (peace be upon him) said:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 6503; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2950)

I have been sent to you very close to the Day of Qiyamah. And he raised his two fingers, showing that the distance between those two fingers is similar to the distance between our life and the Day of Judgment and Qiyamah.

And in another hadith, recorded in Musnad Ahmad ibn Hanbal, the Prophet (peace be upon him) said:

(Musnad Ahmad ibn Hanbal)

The distance between now and Qiyamah is like the distance between Salat al-Asr and Maghrib. Obviously, between these two prayers — Asr and Maghrib — there is very limited time.

And Allah says:

Disbelievers see the Day of Judgment as being far off, but we see it as being very near.

As wise people, we should prepare ourselves like a clever student before an exam, or like a businessman before starting the season of trade, or like a farmer before harvest. We must give priority to our Deen, which can benefit us even after death.

Death Is an Absolute Reality

No one knows when the time of death will come. This time has been fixed by Allah in His Ilm al-Ghayb — His knowledge of the unseen. Death is an absolute reality. Everybody, regardless of his religion, believes in death. The difference between a Muslim and a non-Muslim is that we believe that after death, we are going to be asked by Allah. And according to our deeds in this dunya, we are going to receive reward or punishment.

It is therefore important that we see this life as an amanah — a responsibility which has been granted to us. And as such, we must spend our time in this dunya as commanded by the Creator, Allah. We must fulfill all duties in the best way possible.

As Allah says in the last portion of Surah Luqman:

No one knows what is going to happen tomorrow. And no one knows when he is going to die.

A Personal Reminder

Take as an example for myself. Not long ago, in this masjid, just a few days ago, there was an announcement for du'a — because I was in a critical situation in hospital, and many brothers were expecting any news at any moment. But alhamdulillah, by the grace of Allah, I am now here before you. May Allah give the best reward to all those brothers and sisters who made du'a for me and showed their support.

My point is that our health is not in our control. Our life is not in our control. When the appropriate time comes, it will catch us wherever we are. Whatever we are doing, death comes — to the young, the old, the male, the female. Sometimes a healthy person may die in front of an ill person. Death may come to a person while he is engaged in evil, and sometimes while he is doing good things. As a result, there will be a very big difference between these two — who is engaged in evil and who is doing good.

So we must try to make our lives as valuable as possible, engaging ourselves in good deeds and avoiding all evil and un-Islamic activities.

As Allah says in Surah al-Munafiqun:

Spend whatever We have given you before death will catch you. He will say, "Our Lord, delay this for a while so I may give some sadaqah and be among those who are doing righteous good deeds." But he will never be granted this. And Allah already knows what he did and what he is going to do.

Take Advantage of Your Life Before Death

As the Prophet (peace be upon him) said:

(Shu'ab al-Iman, al-Bayhaqi; also reported in Mustadrak al-Hakim)

Take advantage of your life before death, and your health before it becomes sickness.

We have to do some sort of sadaqah jariyah — charity that continues to benefit even after death — like the building of a masjid or a madrasah. This will be an investment for our future, and we will get the benefit of it after death.

As Allah says:

Everybody shall taste death. And only on the Day of Resurrection shall you be paid your wages in full. Whoever is removed away from the Fire and admitted to Paradise — indeed, he is successful. And the life of this world is nothing but the enjoyment of deception.

Two Conditions for Accepted Deeds

This success cannot be achieved with our desires or ambitions alone. It can only be achieved with two conditions: strong iman and amal-e-saleh — righteous good deeds according to the teaching of the Quran and Sunnah. Otherwise we will not get the best result.

Unfortunately, many Muslims do not understand what true amal-e-saleh is. There are two basic conditions that make our deeds accepted by Allah:

The first condition is sincerity — ikhlas. And the second is that the practice should be according to the teaching of the Quran and Sunnah of the noble Prophet (peace be upon him and his family). Our practice, our deeds will not be accepted if they are not according to the teaching of the Quran and Sunnah. Without following Allah's command, we cannot make something with our own desire to be successful or to be righteous.

Before doing anything, we have to apply this principle: whatever we want to do, is this according to the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace be upon him) or not? As Allah says in the last portion of Surah al-Kahf:

He who wants to meet Allah, he should practice righteous good deeds and should not commit any type of shirk.

The Power of Du'a

Also, do not depend on yourself alone. Make du'a for more ability and tawfiq from Allah. Those who ask Allah, Allah likes them. And those who do not ask Allah, Allah does not like them. As Allah says:

Call me and I will respond to you. And those who are arrogant and do not ask Me, they will enter Hellfire — Jahannam — with humiliation. Because they are thinking that we don't need to ask Allah.

And Allah says:

Du'a is a form of ibadah and a weapon for a true believer. And du'a requires our sincerity as well. Whatever we want to ask Allah, we can ask from Allah — and ask humbly. Du'a also requires our ikhlas. Learn du'a, and teach the masnun du'as — the supplications recommended by the noble Prophet (peace be upon him and his family). There are many supplications mentioned in the Quran. Du'a is a very, very strong weapon for a Muslim.

Use Your Time Wisely

My brothers and sisters, we don't know when our time will end. So before that time comes, we have to take advantage of this life. My standing, my sitting, my business, my employment, my dealings, my morals — all the dealings of life. I have to try that all of it is according to Allah's will and His command. That is worship. And life and death — what is this? This is the test. Death and life were created so that it is tested who does better and good deeds.

And when our time will end, no one knows. That is why we should try to use whatever time we have been given in a better way — according to Allah's will and the way of Rasul-e-Akram (peace be upon him) — so that it has maximum benefit. Otherwise, nothing will be obtained except regret, regret, and regret.

When the appointed time of death comes, no wish, no request, no appeal of a person will be heard. A person will want to get some time to repent. He will want some time so that he does charity and good deeds. But he will not be given any time to repent. That is why the life he has been given, a person should consider it as a blessing — a boon. And he should not assume that his life is very long. This is the habit of non-Muslims. As it was said — those people who do not believe in Allah, they think that death will come very far off. "We are still young. We are still healthy. We will not die now." This is the habit of non-Muslims.

But what is a Muslim? He thinks that he can be called at any time. For this, he will try to invest more in the Hereafter than in the world. But it is a strange thing that everything has Priority Number One: the world, the world. Whereas the Hereafter is forever — it is going to be forever — and yet you do not try for it.

And these false hopes — "my life is very long" — what do you know? What news is going to come tomorrow? Read the last verse of Surah Luqman, in which it was said: no one knows what news is going to come tomorrow, and no one knows when his death and appointed time is going to be fulfilled.

That is why a person should consider the opportunity that he has been given as a blessing. I will give an example from my own life. A few days ago, in this mosque and in many other mosques, it was announced to pray for me because of the situation I was going through at that time. But alhamdulillah, with Allah's grace, I am standing in front of you now. I am thankful to all the brothers and sisters who have prayed and who have expressed their sympathy. May Allah give them the best reward in this world and the Hereafter. And may Allah give healing to our other sick brothers and sisters.

Through this, I want to tell you — who knows what news is going to come tomorrow? We do not know how long the health that we are proud of will remain with us. The life on the basis of which we have such great hopes — no one knows what tomorrow will bring. Therefore, the wise man is the one who works hard for the Hereafter. The wise man is the one who controls his soul and prepares for tomorrow. And the foolish man is the one who does not act — who only has expectations: "If Allah wills, He will forgive. If Allah wills, He will do something." Allah can do everything. But He has commanded us what to do and what not to do. Do not challenge the power of Allah. The Creator who has appointed our responsibilities — are we understanding those responsibilities? Are we treating them as they should be treated?

For this, consider the time you have as a blessing, so that tomorrow you do not regret. As it was said — the appointed time of death will come. Prepare yourself before it comes. When a man sees the angels of death, he will say, "O Allah, if I am given a little more time — why? I want to give charity. I want to be among the pious. I want to repent." Will this request of his be accepted? Will he get the opportunity to repent? Will he get the opportunity to give charity? No. Never will this opportunity be given. The time that has come — there can be no delay in it. At that time, the angels of death will catch him, and in the same state he will be taken to Allah.

That is why it was said — consider your health as a blessing before disease, and use it for good purposes. Use your life for better purposes before death. Do some charity. Do some work whose effects remain — for example, build a mosque. Allah knows what people have cooperated and helped. We may know a few people, but there will be some people whose names we do not know. But Allah, the Knower of the unseen, knows who has supported. As long as a person prostrates in this mosque or any mosque in the world, he will be rewarded equally by the Creator.

If we do something that is useful even after death — charity — we should try for it in life itself. Because the real success is the success of the Hereafter. The real reward will be there. And what is the greatest success? The greatest success will be that which is saved from the torment of Hell. The world will pass — the rich, the poor, the high officials, the blind, the ignorant. But on the Day of Resurrection, the greatest success will be that which is saved from Hellfire and admitted to Paradise.

And do not just rely on your actions — also pray to Allah for more success. Because the devil can cause distress in the hearts. The devil can remove us from the right track. O Allah, after our guidance, do not let the devil misguide us from the right track. For this, we should ask Allah for help.

And Allah likes prayer very much. Prayer is actually a manifestation of our helplessness and weakness in front of Allah's greatness and might. "O Allah, You are the one who gives. You are great. I am helpless. I am weak." With this confession, a person prays to Allah. And Allah likes this prayer of a person which is prayed with such seriousness and humility. And those who do not pray — Allah counts them among the arrogant, and Allah does not like such people. Such arrogant people will be humiliated in Hell — those who do not pray to Allah, those who are not helpless before Him, those who do not humble themselves in front of Allah, those who do not bow down before Allah.

For this, we should ask Allah for help. He is the one who listens to everyone. He is the one who knows everyone's words. You may pray in a broken language, but who knows how much sincerity is in whose language. Who knows how much blessing is in whose language. Sometimes Allah likes the prayer of a common man — because there, good sentences are not what is seen; rather, sincerity is seen. Who is praying with what emotion. Who is praying to Allah with what pain. Therefore, we should always try to ask Allah. And to pray to Allah, we should try to deserve it, so that our prayer can be accepted by Allah.

May Allah enable us to act. May Allah enable us to prepare for the Hereafter. May Allah enable us to make our lives better. And our last claim is:

Second Khutbah

Amma ba'd. Dear noble brothers, take advantage of your health before sickness and your life before death. For indeed, life is a test and a trial. As Allah the Almighty said:

And He said:

And He said:

And likewise He said:

And as He said:

O Muslim brother — and spend of what We have provided you before death comes to one of you and he says:

And also from the du'a, as Allah said:

And He said:

Indeed, Allah and His angels send blessings upon the Prophet. O you who believe, send blessings upon him and salute him with a worthy salutation.

O servants of Allah, may Allah have mercy on you. Indeed, Allah commands justice, good conduct, and giving to relatives, and He forbids immorality, bad conduct, and transgression. He admonishes you that perhaps you will be reminded. So remember Allah the Almighty — He will remember you. Call upon Him — He will respond to you. And the remembrance of Allah is the greatest, the highest, and the most exalted.