On the authority of Ibn Umar, may Allah be pleased with both of them, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) took hold of my shoulder and said, ‘Be in the world as if you were a stranger or a traveller along the path.” And ibn Umar would say, “If you survive till late afternoon, do not expect [to be alive in] the morning. If you survive till morning, do not expect [to be alive in] the late afternoon. Take from your health before your sickness and your life before you death.”(Recorded in al-Bukhari)
“Take from your health before your sickness and your life before you death.”
Ibn Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, advises us that we should take advantage of our health to perform good deeds before sickness and old age overcome us with weakness. At that time, we no longer have the strength to perform good deeds. Similarly, we to strive to perform good deeds before our death comes upon us, because we do not know whether we will live to see tomorrow.
This part of the hadith reminds us of the more famous hadith:
“Take advantage of five before [another] five occur: Your life before death, your health before your illness, your free time before your preoccupation, your youth before your old age and your wealth before you poverty.” (Recorded in Al-Haakim)
This is a beautiful reminder of the fact that Allah, all praises and glory be to Him, has given us ample ability and opportunity to perform good deeds, it’s up to us whether we take advantage of them. We are also reminded that the things that we have at our disposal now, will not be with us forever.
Each of these five resources can also be a trial for human beings. Indeed, the trial of bounties can be harder than the trial of hardships. When we have a hardship we turn to Allah, but when we have bounties, we tend to forget who gave them to us. In fact, if you think about it, even the eyes we are using to read this message, are a bounty from Allah. When was the last time you thanked Allah for the gift of sight?
The other challenge, when bounties are bestowed on us, is staying away from forbidden things, because everything is laid out for us. In this case, the believer must work harder to restrain themselves, and only partake in that which is permissible and good. Let us look at each os these trials in detail:
Wealth There is no doubt that wealth is one of the greatest trials facing man. Allah, all praises and glory be to Him, tells us in the Qur’an:
“Know that your wealth and your children are not but a trial for you and that Allah has with Him a great reward” (Surah al-Anfaal:28)
Similarly the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, advised us:
“Verily, for every nation there is a fitnah (trial and temptation). And the fitnah of my nation is wealth.” (Recorded in al-Tirmidhi)
One of the greatest trials of wealth, both earning it and spending it, is that it diverts us from the most important thing in life, the remembrance of Allah, all praises and glory be to Him. Allah tells us:
“O you who believe, let not your wealth and children divert you from the remembrance of Allah. And whoever does that, then they are the losers.” (Surah al-Munaafiqoon:9)
The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, advised us in a hadith recorded in Sahih al-Bukhari, that the ones with the most wealth, will have the least on the Day of Resurrection, except those who say, ‘This is for that, this is for that and this is for that’. In other words, they give their wealth away for good causes. Using wealth in a good way is one of the greatest ways in which we can earn Allah’s pleasure. Allah tells us:
“And spend [in the way of Allah] from what We have provided you before death approaches one of you and he says, ‘My Lord, if only You would delay me for a brief term so I would give charity and be among the righteous.’ But never will Allah delay a soul when its time has come. And Allah is acquainted with what you do.” (Surah al-Munaafiqoon:10-11)
Free Time Free time is amongst one of the important bounties that Allah gives mankind. When we have time that is uninterrupted, we can devote it to study, memorising the Qur’an , helping the poor and needy and other good deeds. If we have time available to us, we have no excuse if we do not use it for the pleasure of Allah. This time will be a proof against us on the Day of Judgement.
Unfortunately, our societies seem to be dedicated to entertainment, enjoyment, pleasure and sensual gratification, rather than spending time contemplating the purpose of our existence and our relationship with our Creator. Television, movies, sports, music, art and alcohol are all temptations to sidetrack us from our true purpose in life. The loss of our free time in these is a devastating loss that we will come to regret on the Day of Judgement.
Health Sickness is a great barrier to performing good deeds, as most good deeds require some type of effort to be exerted. If we become ill, even temporarily, we will not find the means to perform these deeds. By Allah’s infinite mercy, if a person was doing good deeds, then became ill preventing them from doing the deeds, Allah will reward them as if they had been able to perform them. But if a person was not performing good deeds, and then got ill, they will not get any extra reward.
Youth Youth is one of the most important times in a persons’ life, because they have strength, energy, zeal and more free time. Sadly, it is not unusual for people to consider youth a time for fun and enjoyment. However, this is not the correct Islamic approach. According to Islamic law, when a person reaches puberty, they are fully responsible for their deeds. All training of our youth should therefore be complete before this age.
As we mentioned in previous hadith, it was the young Companions to whom the Prophet, peace and blessing of Allah be upon him, gave the most profound advice. If they had reached puberty, the young Companions took part in battles, some even leading armies at the tender age of eighteen.
Life Every Muslim must realise that this life is a trial. Allah has given us this life to see how we will use it. Allah tells us in the Qur’an:
“Blessed is He in whose hands is the dominion, and He is powerful over all things. [He] who created death and life to test you as to which of you is best in deed. And He is the Exalted in Might, the Forgiving.” (Surah al-Mulk:1-2)
Our lives will soon come to an end, and if we spent all our time chasing after our own desires – what will we have to show for our time in this world? The Prophet, peace and blessing of Allah be upon him, advised us:
“Three things follow the deceased [to his grave], two of them return and one remains will him: His family, wealth and deeds follow him while his family and wealth return and only his deeds remain with him.” (Recorded in al-Bukhari)
Only the good deeds that we perform in this life, for the sake of Allah, will be of benefit to us in the Hereafter. So take the time to get your priorities in order before death overcomes you, as it inevitably will.
honey for the heart 