Investing For The Hereafter - Sheikh Abu Abdillah Yunus Ibn Mahmoud

Investing For The Hereafter

In a hadith found in Sahih Muslim on the authority of Anas ibn Malik, radiallahu ta'ala anhu, who reported that the Prophet ﷺ said:

(Sahih Muslim, Book 53, Hadith 7)

When the person who has passed away, when they go — meaning towards their grave, into the next life — then three things follow them: their family, their wealth, and their amal, their actions. Two of them return, and one of them remains. As for the two that return — their family and their wealth. And as for the one that remains with the individual, and that which counts the most, is their actions.

The Personification of Deeds in the Grave

The same applies when a person enters into the grave. After they are asked the questions — and I'm sure everyone knows about the questions which are asked — when a person enters into the grave, a person who passed the test, then there are a number of good things that happen to them. From them is that a man arrives. A man comes, حَسَنُ الثِّيَابِ — who has the finest type of clothing, and the most handsome of faces. طَيِّبُ الرِّيحِ — a very pleasant fragrance coming from this individual. So then the person who passed away will say, مَنْ أَنْتَ — who are you? For you seem to be a person whose face seems to be a face which only brings with it glad tidings, good news.

So he will say, that glad tidings — this is the day that you were promised. I am your righteous deeds. Then after the person hears this, he will say: رَبِّ أَقِمِ السَّاعَةَ — My Lord, establish the Hour! My Lord, establish the Hour! Meaning he wants Yawm al-Qiyamah to come as soon as possible.

And as for the opposite person — the person who didn't work too hard in this life, or maybe they were complacent — then for this individual there are a number of torments and punishments. But from them is a person who will come with an ugly face, the worst type of clothing. مُنْتِنُ الرِّيحِ — with the worst type of smell that comes from this individual. And then the deceased will say, who are you? For you seem to be a person who is only going to bring with them bad news. And he will say, I am your bad deeds, I am your bad deeds. And this person — the deceased — after seeing him, what will he say? He will say, oh my Lord, do not establish the Hour, oh my Lord, do not establish the Hour.

And when a person goes on, even when it comes to — for example — when the sun comes on Yawm al-Qiyamah, very close to the creation, and then the creation will sweat. Some up to their ankles, others up to their knees, others up to their pelvic bone, and others higher than that, up to their mouth. What will it be based on? Based on their actions.

Ramadan Is Around the Corner — What Have You Prepared?

Saying all of this, and we find Ramadan is coming very close, Ramadan is only around the corner now. And just ponder upon the next few statements — that from the last Ramadan to this Ramadan, how many people that you knew are no longer with you anymore? Are no longer with us anymore? And then there's a big chance that one of us might not make it, even though there's only two weeks away. Even though there's only two weeks away. So the question that we all need to ask ourselves is: what have you prepared for that inevitable journey? What have you invested for that unavoidable journey?

The Example of Imam al-Qurtubi

Imam al-Qurtubi, rahimahu Allahu ta'ala, when he authored his tafsir, Al-Jami' li-Ahkam al-Qur'an, which is 25 volumes — it's a masterpiece, one of the best tafsirs which has ever been written — and he wrote it over 700 years ago. He mentions in his introduction, when he authored the book, he said:

"I authored this book as a reminder for myself, and a hidden treasure — I want to store this treasure, a hidden treasure, for the day that I am placed in my grave. And as a righteous action, after my death."

Look at this — this person has foresight. He was a visionary. He is worried, whilst he is still alive, about what he can do to invest in his next life. So after mentioning this mind-blowing statement, we need to ask ourselves: are you a visionary? Just like some of us want to build empires in this world — how about worrying about your next life? What have you invested in your next life? Because that is what is going to count the most.

Do Not Belittle Small Deeds

This is why, as mentioned in the authentic narration in the Sunan of al-Tirmidhi, on the authority of Aisha, radiallahu ta'ala anha. She said that during the time of the Prophet ﷺ, a sheep was slaughtered. Then all of the sheep was given into charity except for the shoulders. So the Prophet ﷺ asked Aisha, his wife, what had been given into charity. And she said, everything except for the shoulders. So what did the Prophet ﷺ say? He said, everything is there except for the shoulders — meaning everything has been invested except for the shoulders. That is what he is referring to. Everything has been invested except for the shoulders.

And when we are mentioning things like this, something which is very pertinent, something which is of great significance and very important to mention, is that regardless of how small the deed is — regardless — even if, for example, you come out from Jumu'ah today and you give 50 pence, something small like that. Do not belittle it. Even if you had coppers, even if you had a few pence in your pocket and you gave it into charity — it is going to help you. It is going to help you big time in the next life.

And that is why the Prophet ﷺ, there was a person who had been buried recently, and the Prophet ﷺ was next to this individual's grave. In an authentic narration collected by Ibn Majah and also al-Tabarani and others, the Prophet ﷺ said to his companions:

(Sunan Ibn Majah; also narrated by al-Tabarani)

Two short raka'as — which are optional, not even obligatory. And then what did he mention? He said, that you all belittle them — but they are more beloved to this individual, to add to his scale of good deeds, than the rest of that which your world has to offer. That is when it counts most. But it is too late, as you know. After that, it is too late. So this is one of the things that, whilst you are alive, you must make sure you try to invest to the best of your ability.

Ways of Investing in the Hereafter

1. The Twelve Sunnah Raka'at

From the ways of investing in your next life, as mentioned in the hadith of Umm Habibah in Sahih Muslim — Umm Habibah, the Prophet ﷺ's wife — the Prophet ﷺ said:

(Sahih Muslim, Book 6, Hadith 103; also Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 415)

A person who performs salah every single day and night — optional prayers, twelve optional raka'as every day and night. And they are mentioned in the narration in al-Tirmidhi: two before Fajr, four before Dhuhr, two after Dhuhr, two after Maghrib, and two after Isha. A person who performs this every day, Allah builds a house for this individual in Paradise. A house in Paradise, where a person does not have to worry about getting old, does not have to worry about sickness, does not have to worry about death. And nor do you have to worry about being happy right now and then all it takes is one text message, one phone call, and it spoils the rest of your day.

In Jannah, as mentioned in Sahih Muslim, a caller will call out: "Oh people of Jannah, now you are going to live forever and you will never die again. You are going to be healthy, you will never be sick again. You are going to remain in your youth, and you will never grow old, ever. And you are going to be happy forever, and you will never be sad again." This is the place where they are going to be granted this house.

And the way of the Salaf, the way of the Sahaba and those after them — as Umm Habibah, after she narrates this narration in Sahih Muslim, she says: after I heard this from the Prophet ﷺ, I never left these 12 raka'at again. This is my house, booked for me in Paradise. No one is going to take it off me. It's booked. And she never left them. And then the narrator from Umm Habibah mentioned the same thing — after I heard this hadith from Umm Habibah, I never left it again. And the narrator from him said the same thing. And it goes on to about four of them, one after the other, saying that as soon as they heard this hadith, they never left these 12 raka'at again.

2. Building a Masjid

Another way is if a person builds a masjid. Or if you have been blessed with wealth, use it to invest in your next life. Because that is when it is going to count the most. As the Prophet ﷺ mentions in the hadith in Sahih al-Bukhari, on the authority of Uthman ibn Affan, radiallahu ta'ala anhu:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 450; Sahih Muslim, Book 4, Hadith 533)

A person who builds a house for Allah alone, wanting only the pleasure of Allah — Allah builds for this individual a house in Paradise. This is another way. If a person feels they do not have too much money, then at least have the intention. If you have the intention, there is khair in that as well. Whatever the case, help and do it to the best of your ability.

3. Sponsoring an Orphan or a Poor Person

Another way is as the Prophet ﷺ mentions in the hadith of Abu Hurairah, in Bukhari and Muslim:

The person who sponsors an orphan or a poor person is like a mujahid in the way of Allah. And it also carries on, saying that it is like a person who fasts during the day and a person who stays up in the night prayer — all three of these things — for sponsoring an orphan, for helping the poor. Look at the reward. This is another simple way of investing in your next life.

4. A Secret Good Deed

What really helps though, and really lifts an individual — meaning their status and acceptance — in this dunya before the next, and also in the next, is for a person to have a secret good deed. A secret relationship between them and their Lord, which they do not expose to anyone. Even their wife or husband — no one. At all. It is between them and their Lord.

Like Abdullah ibn Mubarak mentions — as Imam al-Dhahabi, rahimahullah, mentions in Siyar A'lam al-Nubala — when he talks about Abdullah ibn Mubarak, he says: I have never seen any person being raised like Malik, meaning Imam Malik, rahimahullah ta'ala, Malik ibn Anas, Imam Dar al-Hijrah. He says, I have never seen anyone being raised like Malik. He did not have any excessive prayers or siyam — fasting. But he said, except he must have had a sareera, a secret between him and his Lord. And this was the way of a number of the people of the past.

Like Zayn al-Abidin, rahimahullah ta'ala — Zayn al-Abidin, who is Ali ibn Hussain ibn Ali ibn Abi Talib, the Prophet ﷺ's great-grandson. He would live in Medina, and during the night, he had servants, but he let them go sleep, let them rest at night. And he would take out sacks — sacks of food, of provision — and he would go and search for all of the poor people, the widows, the poor people, search for their houses, and leave food outside their door. And when they wake up in the morning, they find the food. And no one knew about this. This carried on for a very long time. No one knew that it was him, except when he passed away.

How did they find out? When they were washing his body, they found dark marks on his back — because he used to carry these sacks by himself. And then they mentioned that the sadaqah given in secret in Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, ended with the death of Zayn al-Abidin. So each one of them, the people of the past, used to try to make sure they had this.

5. Giving Da'wah

Another way of investing in a person's next life is to try to give da'wah, or to participate in any form of da'wah possible. Like the Prophet ﷺ mentioned in Sahih Muslim, that a person who directs others towards good gets the same reward — reward equivalent to the person who executes the action, the person who performs the action. Whether you are giving da'wah to non-Muslims to become Muslim, or to non-practicing Muslims to start practicing their religion, or you are reviving a sunnah — any type of da'wah — there is tons of reward in this.

And it could be, if you are sincere — because sincerity counts a lot when a person is investing in their next life. That is why when Imam Ahmed, rahimahullah, when they were talking about sidq — truthfulness and sincerity — then he said:

With this attribute, with this characteristic, were the people raised and elevated — because of their truthfulness, and they were genuine and sincere.

And that is why Imam Malik, rahimahullah, when he authored his book, the Muwatta — which is still with us today, a book of hadith and athar, statements of the Prophet ﷺ as well as statements of the Sahaba — then some of the scholars, Ibn Abd al-Barr, rahimahu Allahu ta'ala, one of the great scholars of hadith approximately a thousand years ago, mentions that when he was authoring his Muwatta, a number of other people started to author Muwattas too, until there were approximately 40 Muwattas. And then the people asked him, there are so many people who have authored the Muwatta, why are you carrying on? So he said: that which is for Allah will remain. And if a person looks now, they will find that the only Muwatta that remains with us today is the Muwatta of Imam Malik, rahimahullah.

But it is very important that a person is not too concerned about shuhra — fame — where it is all attributed to them. That is not important. That is why Imam al-Shafi'i, when al-Rabi' from his students came to him and he was on his deathbed — he was very ill, and then he passed away from that illness — he said: I wish that the people benefit from my books without any of it being attributed to me. The main thing is people benefiting. Whether people know that you are the person, you are the source, or they do not know — it does not make a difference. Allah knows, and it is recorded and added to your scale of good deeds. That is what counts the most.

6. Investing in Your Children

Another thing that really helps a person invest in their next life is investing in your children. In the sense that if you are a person who was unable to become a hafidh of the Quran, memorize the Quran — push your children to memorize the Quran. If you are a person who did not really study much in Islam, then without a doubt, we are not saying that it is too late. A person should start, a person should try, even right now, even if they are old in age. But they should also make sure that they push their children to their limits, and make sure that they at least memorize the Quran, and they gain Islamic knowledge, so that it helps you in the next life too.

Because this is one of the three things that benefits a person when they pass away, when they go into their grave — وَلَدٌ صَالِحٌ يَدْعُو لَهُ — a righteous child who makes du'a for you. That is if you pushed him towards being righteous. If a person neglects their child and then expects their child, after they die, to just make du'a for them — then it is possible, but it is unlikely.

And a person should not belittle making du'a for the deceased. Because the Prophet ﷺ mentions in an authentic narration in Sunan Ibn Majah and elsewhere:

(Sunan Ibn Majah, Hadith 3660)

A man's grades in Paradise will be elevated, and then they will say, أَنَّى لِي هَذَا — meaning that he is shocked. This individual is shocked that they are raised to such a rank, as if they do not remember doing all of these good deeds. So what will be said to them? It will be said: بِاسْتِغْفَارِ وَلَدِكَ لَكَ — due to your child who sought forgiveness for you. He used to seek forgiveness, he used to say, "O Allah, forgive my father, forgive my mother." He used to make du'a for you.

Never Be Complacent — Always Strive to Increase

So saying all of this, my dear respected brothers and sisters, we need to make sure that from now on, if you are a person who is already investing in your next life, then alhamdulillah — praise Allah. Ask Allah to keep you steadfast, to preserve you. We ask Allah to preserve you. And ask Allah to increase you. Never be complacent. As this is a big musibah — when a person becomes complacent, this is a big tragedy, a big calamity that they have been afflicted with.

And that is why when we look at the people of the past, even though they invested so much in their next life, they were never complacent. They were never content, saying that I have done enough. A person should always try to improve themselves. And that is why some of the scholars, when they mention about Imam Ahmed, rahimahullah ta'ala, they said that some of those who accompanied him for approximately 25 years said that looking at his day, from day to day, every day we find that he is always increasing, always increasing. Imagine that — always increasing. And that is how a person should be, always trying their best to make sure that they are doing well.

That is why when Imam Ahmed, rahimahullah ta'ala — even though he invested a large amount into his next life — when some of his students, like Abu Bakr and others, used to say a lot because he had done a great khidmah, a great service for the Muslims, when he stood firm in the trial, the fitna, the mihna — then he said: I hope that everyone in all of the cities makes du'a for you. So what did Imam Ahmed say?

"O Abu Bakr, if a person knows himself, then whatever the people say concerning him does not really benefit him" — because he knows himself, and she knows herself, better than anyone else. So complacency, like we said, a person should never feel complacent.

Make Du'a to Allah for Guidance and Tawfiq

And we say the last thing that a person needs to do, if they are unsure how to invest in their next life, is to make du'a to Allah — to direct them to ways, and to also grant them the ability and the tawfiq to invest in their next life. Because it could be that maybe they feel that, for example, in terms of spending, they feel that they are poor, or they do not have enough money, or they do not feel that they are too generous, or they do not have enough strength, or something similar to that. So they should make du'a to Allah, and Allah, with His permission, will give you the strength.