We Build up Life but We love the Hereafter

What distinguishes our religion is that it is not based on absolute theological foundation, i.e., it is not a religion that directs man to spirituality away from the corporeal and reality. It is rather a religion that directs the interior of man to a spirituality in which he keeps on being pure, simultaneously with directing man's behavior and deed in a way that makes him set up a basis out of which he is expected the behave righteously.
This combination between spirituality that supports man with purity of the heart, and his practical productive behavior which is an influential positive factor in the corporeal environment surrounding him, exists only in Islam. On other words, this process exists on the level of contemporary induction, because the teachings of our Lord, Exalted He is, to man (from the beginning of sending His teachings to him), was within this framework.
The subject we are concerned with today is to be viewed from the perspective of contemporary induction, for it is not sound to recite the verses that refer to life considering it as playing and amusement, and reflect them on the apparent behavior only. In fact, these verses refer to man's inner love of this life. Moreover, it is wrong to consider religion completely spiritual, and that it disregards reality and man's activity in life.
In this blessed hour and this blessed sermon, I 'd like to draw your attention to two matters:
* The first subject is: Islam wants man to build up Addunia (this life) in a distinguished way. The Exalted Allah takes into consideration this period (Addunia) in which He creates man. Moreover, He does not want man to be inwardly attached to this short period called Addunia.
Accordingly, every verse in the Holy Qur'an that talks about the cancelled value of Addunia addresses man's interior, so is the case when a verse deals with directing the heart to the Hereafter.
I am going to deal with the second phase, i.e., the Exalted Allah's consideration of this period He calls Addunia in which He directs man's interior to the Hereafter, concerning man's behavior and corporeal activity.
Let us choose some of the headings from the instructions of the Qur'an and its verses concerned with Addunia that our Lord, Exalted He is, considers necessary for us to build up according to His Law :

1-Distinguishing some people in Addunia:
The Exalted Allah said:
And who turns away from the religion of Abraham but such as debase their souls with folly? Him We chose and rendered pure in this world: and he will be in the Hereafter in the ranks of the Righteous (Al Baqarah, 130).
The Time of distinguishing, known by Exalted Allah from Pre-Eternity, for the appearance of the chosen is the period of the worldly life. Thus, Addunia becomes the place of distinguishing according to the instructions of The Exalted Allah, and according to what we read in His Book.
When temporal time is the occasion of choosing, man understands that it is an important period during which he has to be prepared for such distinguishing.

2-Worldly Prestige is valued only if it is combined with the Hereafter prestige:
The prestige that is valued in the Holy Qur'an is that which is joined with the prestige of the Hereafter. But when prestige is cut from the Hereafter, i.e., when it makes one humiliated in the Hereafter, and esteemed only in this life, it is unvalued prestige.
Hence, when the Holy Qur'an mentions prestige, it refers to it combined with that of the Hereafter. Only the worldly prestige that is joined with that of the Hereafter in valued in the Holy Qur'an. The Exalted Allah said:
Behold! the angels said: "O Mary! Allah giveth thee glad tidings of a Word from Him: his name will be Christ Jesus, the son of Mary, held in honour in this world and the Hereafter and of {the company of} those nearest to Allah (Al Imram,45).
The Exalted Allah values the prestige of Christ (PBUH) in this world as he was greatly esteemed and valued by many people because this prestige was combined with that of the Hereafter.

3-The value of worldly forfeit: The forfeiting of a valueless object is unimportant, otherwise the Holy Qur'an would have been absurd. If the world had any value, then the mention of its forfeiting in the Holy Qur'an by the Exalted Allah would mean the absurdity of the Holy Qur'an. Definitely, the wise do not accept the statement: 'He forfeits what is valueless', and the Exalted Allah mentions the forfeit of this worldly life saying:
There are among men some who serve Allah, As it were, on the verge: if good befalls them, they are, Therewith, well content; but if a trial comes to them, they turn on their faces: they lose both this world and the Hereafter: that Is loss for all to see (Al Haj, 11).
Notice the combination of the worldly forfeit with that of the Hereafter. On the other hand, the worldly forfeit that is combined with the gain of the Hereafter is praised by the Exalted Allah on many occasions. One occasion is the incident of the Magicians of Pharaoh when they said:
So decree whatever thou desirest to decree: for thou canst only decree {touching} the life of this world (Taha, 72).
In this case, there is gain in the Hereafter accompanied with forfeiting in this world.
But when man loses this life and the second, his forfeit would be grave. Notice how in this verse there is reference to the fact that this life derives its value from the second one. This life will have consideration only when man is able to relate this life with the second.

4-Affirmation of the existence of goodness in this life:
The Exalted Allah said:
And there are men who say: 'Our Lord! Give us good in this world and good in the Hereafter, and defend us from the torment of the fire' (Al Baqarah, 201).
The Exalted Allah asserts that goodness exists in this life as well as in the second one. This fact makes the wise realize that the believer should look for goodness in this life too.
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5-The Exalted Allah demands the believer obligatorily to build up the world. The Exalted Allah said:
It is He Who hath produced you from the earth and settled you therein (Hud, 61).
The believer's relinquishing of the role assigned to him to perform the corporeal building is ignorant of Islam,
وعندما يُحيّد المسلم نفسه ويقول: لا علاقة لي بإنشاء الحضارة، ولا علاقة لي ببناء النهضة... فإنه عند ذلك يكون جاهلاً بالإسلام، لأن الله سبحانه وتعالى طلب من الإنسان أن يُعمِّر الأرض، ومن المؤمن بشكل أخصّ، لأن المؤمن ينفعل قلبه لخطاب الله تعالى في القرآن.
When the Muslim neutralizes himself and says: 'I have nothing to do with building up renaissance…', he will be ignorant of Islam, because the Exalted Allah asks man to build up the world, and asks the believer, in particular, to do that because the latter's heart reacts with the address of the Exalted Allah in the Qur'an.
6- اعتبار دور المال في إقامة المجتمع والحضارة: وذلك بقوله سبحانه: {وَلا تُؤْتُوا السُّفَهَاءَ أَمْوَالَكُمْ الَّتِي جَعَلَ اللَّهُ لَكُمْ قِيَامًا} [النساء: 5] فصرّح سبحانه وتعالى في القرآن بدور المال في قيام الحضارة، وذلك حينما يُوظَّف هذا المال لإقامة الحضارة ولإقامة مجتمع متحضِّر، وهذا يجعل المؤمن فاهمًا لدور المال وتوظيفه، ويمنعه أن يكون مُبذِّرًا (أي فوضويًّا) في إنفاق ذلك المال، فضلاً عن أن يكون مسرفًا أي منفقًا لذلك المال في الحرام.
6-The role of wealth in establishing society and renaissance should be taken into consideration. This is stated in the Exalted Allah's words:
To those weak of understanding make not over your property, which Allah hath made a means of support for you (An Nisa', 5).
As is mentioned, the Exalted Allah refers to the important role in establishing renaissance when wealth is invested in setting up renaissance and a civilized society. This makes the believer understand the role of wealth and its investment, and abstain from being wasteful (i.e., spending wealth chaotically), in addition to extravagance, (i.e., spending wealth on the unlawful).
7-Mouthed by one of the Messengers of Allah, we notice that he asked the Exalted Allah to remove wealth from the hands of the corrupted. Relating what Moses (PBUH) said, the Exalted Allah said:
Moses prayed: Our Lord thou hast indeed bestowed on Pharaoh and his chiefs splendor and wealth in the life of the present, and so, our Lord, they mislead {men} from thy path. Deface. Our Lord, the features of their wealth and send hardness to their hearts, so they will not believe until they see the grievous penalty (Yunus, 88).‏
Accordingly, as the Exalted Allah indicates the role of wealth in establishing society and renaissance, he also states the corrupting role of wealth in the above mentioned verse when it is invested in harm and corruption.
What is going on in our present time?
How much money is spent on films that make morality dissolute?
How much money is spent on space channels that distribute adultery and cancel the culture of virtue?
How much money is spent with the purpose of reversing concepts by making truth seem false and false seem true?
Accordingly, when the Muslims neutralize themselves concerning this issue, they would have misunderstood the instructions of Allah.
*On the other hand, let us move to the other side of the issue, i.e., the interior of man. The outside role of man should be understood from the above mentioned, but the danger lies in the love of this life that settles in the heart.
There is a beautiful example that says: 'Life is like water that should not get into the ship. So is the case with man's heart in this life. His heart should be like the ship that might sink if water gets into it.
Man deals with Addunia, building up civilization in it, establishing renaissance, spreading science and moving in the circle of productive activity…, but in his interior, he should not allow the corporeal to be the center of his interest.
In this concern, there are many important issues mentioned in the Holy Qur'an:
The heart's desire of enjoying Addunia is the cause of perdition. The Exalted Allah said:
If any do wish for the transitory things {of this life}, We readily grant them such things as We will, to such persons as We will: in the end have We provided Hell for them: they will burn therein, disgraced and rejected.
Those who do wish for the {things of} the Hereafter, and strive therefore with all due striving, and have Faith, they are the ones whose striving is acceptable {to Allah} (Al Isra', 18-19).
The Exalted Allah refers to an interior issue, i.e., only the 'will', not 'striving'. He said:
-"If any do wish for the transitory things", i.e., Addunia " We readily grant them such things as We will", i.e., he will receive what is prescribed for him from Pre-Eternity. " in the end have We provided Hell for them", because Addunia is his final goal. The Exalted Allah indicates that when the desire of attaining worldly pleasure is settled in the heart it will be the cause of a bad ending because, as a result, man will be in everlasting Hell.
"Those who do wish for the {things of} the Hereafter, and strive therefore with all due striving", for desiring the Hereafter should be accompanied with striving to attain it. Striving for the Hereafter, as is mentioned above, is to worship Allah by means of the known prescribed rituals, in addition to building up the earth.
Man can worship Allah by two means: one type is a worship with which the corporeal has no relationship, such as prayer and fasting, and another type is worshipping Allah by means of building up civilization as is mentioned formerly. If seeking the Hereafter is attained by means of faith only, the Exalted Allah wouldn't have said: "and strive therefore with all due striving". He, Exalted He is, wants to indicate that 'striving' means activity that should be purposeful and well employed.
2-Prohibition of loving Addunia. This is clear in the following verse: "Nay, (ye men!) But ye love the fleeting life, And leave alone the Hereafter". Your calamity is that you love this life and neglect the Hereafter, in which there are faces that look at their Lord and His Splendor, for the bliss of Paradise and all that it includes is but a little in comparison with seeing the Countenance of our Dignified Lord.


, And some faces, that Day, will be sad and dismal, In the thought that some back breaking calamity was about to be inflicted on them (Al Qiyamah. 20-25).
That is, they believe that a great torture that breaks the back will be inflicted on them.
This is the Hereafter that is neglected by the one that fills his heart with the love of Addunia.

3-After this explanation in the Holy Qur'an, there is an indirect instruction for us mouthed by Al Khalil (the most intimate slave) Ibrahim (PBUH) who said:" But when it set", i.e., when the sublime star set while he was looking at it, "he said: I love not those that set (Al An'am, 76).
Notice the instruction that this example refers to in the Exalted Allah's statement: "I love not those that set". This life is setting and transient. The only One who is eternal is The Exalted Allah. Thus, how can I direct my heart to a temporal object?
People die, wealth vanishes and this life expires…, only the Countenance of Your Lord remains, thus how can you love the setting objects? Oh man, what is the matter with you? How can you turn away from the creed of Ibrahim and love the setting?
Life is never everlasting for a mortal,
Nor a mortal is everlasting in it.
4-Oh believer, when you realize that Allah desires the second life, your attachment to Allah should make you desire what Allah desires, because the Exalted Allah said:
But Allah looketh to the Hereafter (Al Anfal, 67).
When Allah desires the second life, how can you care for the present one?
Didn't the Exalted Allah reveal the following verse addressing the wives (ABPWTH) of the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) saying:
O Prophet say to thy Consorts: if it be that ye desire the life of this of this world, and its glitter, then come I will provide for your enjoyment and set free in a handsome manner.
But if ye seek Allah and His Messenger, and the Home of the Hereafter, verily Allah has prepared for the well-doers amongst you a great reward (Al Ahzab, 28-29).
Accordingly, the matter is proportionate: Allah desires the second life, thus His Messenger desires it too, so it is unfitting for the members of the prophet's family to desire the present life and not the second one.
It is unfitting for the believers to desire anything other than the Hereafter after they have seen how Allah and His Messenger desire it.
Desiring the Hereafter is not in contradiction with the desire of witnessing the Countenance of Allah, because the Hereafter is the place of entertainment in which the believers witness the Glorified countenance of Allah.

5-The Exalted Allah does not only desire the Hereafter, He also calls to it. In the previous verse, He desires it, but He also calls us to it. The Exalted Allah said:
But Allah beckons by His Grace to the Garden (of Bliss) and forgiveness, and makes His Signs clear to mankind: that they may receive admonition (Al Baqarah, 122).
Be quick in the race for forgiveness from your Lord, and for a Garden whose width is that (of the whole) of the heavens and of earth, prepared for the righteous (Al Imran, 133).

6-The Exalted Allah values the goodness of the Hereafter. He insinuates that only the judicious can realize this goodness, but the people whose minds are veiled by the material and become absent are unable to realize it. The Exalted Allah said:
But best for the righteous in the home in the Hereafter. Will ye not understand (Al A'raf, 169).
That is, can't you recognize this truth? The Exalted Allah considers the goodness of the Hereafter the most important thing. Then He said: "Will ye not understand?" That is, can't you realize this goodness or the material has made your minds absent?

7- The highly esteemed people are the believers who seek Paradise even if they possess all the world.
The Exalted Allah said:
And Allah sets forth, as an example to those who believe the wife of Pharaoh: behold she said: O my Lord! build for me, in nearness to Thee, a mansion in the Garden, and save me from Pharaoh and his doings, and save me from those that do wrong (At Tahrim, 11).
This is the way the well-balanced believers follows, and this is the way of understanding Islam by which the world should be built. But unfortunately, man loves Addunia.
Allahum…, guide us to You favorably, and make us from those who listen to wisdom and follow the best of it.
I say my words and ask Allah's forgiveness.