The inevitable reality

Assalaamu Alaikum! 

How have you been?

I hope you’d accept my apology for not sending you a letter during the past month. Just few days before the newsletter was due, a loved one passed away. Although I was handling it quite well that day, the following days came with lots of emotions I had to deal with. I had not been able to focus on writing, which is why you are receiving this one late.

The past year has reminded every single one of us of the true nature of this world. The deaths we have heard of and watched on our screens is enough to wake up anyone who has forgotten that we are not here to stay forever.

Everything has an expiration date

Imagine your response to finding a nice apartment to move into. Or after years of waiting you have bought or built a house of your own. Won’t you start thinking about how to decorate it? No matter how beautiful it is, we only get to live in that house a few decades. If we plan so much for a place we will be leaving that soon, how should our attitude be when it comes to our eternal home?

Death is not a common topic of conversation among people. But its one of the biggest, if not the biggest realities of life. Talking about death doesn’t have to be morbid. As we believe that its when we enter the next stage of our existence, its something we should prepare ourselves for too.

“Everything has an expiration date” this phrase has stuck to my mind since I heard it more than a decade ago. There’s so much truth and weight in that simple phrase. Hearing it from a former rapper who left everything at the peak of his career for Islam once he realized the fleeting nature of this world was one of those lifechanging moments for me. Everything we own has an expiration date. We have an expiration date. We are just too deep into the delusion of dunya to realise that. Despite being surrounded by constant reminders we often forget the brevity of this life.

The actual belongings

Of the things we love in this world, one of the things that come on the top of the list would be accumulating things. The truth is, its not possible to live in this world without possessions either. I am not judging anyone who likes buying things because they love it (As someone who keeps buying books and stationeries, I am talking about myself too). Just as our personalities differ, the things we like to collect differs too. The important thing is to always keep in mind that at the end of our lives, we leave everything we’ve accumulated and enter into our graves with our actual belongings; our deeds.

Just as we love to collect books, clothes, home decor or anything else, we should also strive to collect good deeds for our afterlife. Let the sun not set on a day that you’ve failed to add even a few more good deeds to your collection.

The real companions

As we try to remember death often and collect good deeds, its important to stay away from things that harm us spiritually as much as you can. I have found that the thing that makes the most difference is who your companions are. Who you surround yourself with and who you speak to most frequently becomes your environment. The people you are around has a profound impact on your life here and the hereafter.

Does your social gatherings lack the mention of Allah’s name? Do you have people who send you beneficial reminders or just memes? What kind of reels do they share with you? Does any of your conversations mention topics such as death or hereafter? What are you inclined to do and most importantly, what do you do when you are with them? Are you collectively struggling to be winners in the hereafter or would your friendship end when one of you leaves this world? Take a few moments to reflect on these questions and ask yourself whether you are in good company or not.

A quote I want to share with you

“You are nothing but a number of days, and whenever a day passes away, a part of you passes away”– Hasan Al-Basri

Jazakallah khair for reading. I would love to hear your thoughts on this. If you found this beneficial, please do share with your loved ones.

Until next time,

Samar