Death ends life’s bitterness for believers

Summary of Maulana Shaykh Nazim’s Daily Suhbah

8th March 2010, Monday

Death ends life’s bitterness for believers

A’uzubillah himinsh shaitan nirrajeem

Bismillahir Rahman-nir Raheem

Assalamu’alaikum wrh wbkt

• Maulana reminds us all that we have not been created for this worldly life (dunia), but we have been created for servanthood. Allah bestows honour on Man and Jinn, by allowing them to worship Him. By reading A’uzubillah himinasy syaitan nirrajeem and Bismillah hirrahman nirraheem, we are seizing a heavenly sword that allows us to fight negative vibes and negative influences, that swarm us under shaitan’s instructions, preventing us from worship, hence causing us to lose our honour – for honour comes from worship.

• The honour that Allah has prepared for Man, is the highest amongst all creation, hence we must leave heedlessness, and awaken to the reality of our existence. “Oh people, wake up, you were not created for this world.” That, Maulana says, is the message of every Prophet that Allah has sent to Man. They came as warners to shake Man, to awaken Man from his slumber and drunkenness.

• This life passes very quickly, if we aren’t awake soon enough, it is soon over. In this fleeting life, we are given a taste of pleasure and happiness, and this is supposed to whet our appetite for everlasting pleasure and happiness in the hereafter. What is given to us in dunia is merely an (temporary) appetiser, the (eternal) main course is served in the afterlife. This is such a great grant, because animals are going to be turned to dust, but Man will live for eternity to enjoy this main course.

• Allah is Most Generous. After giving us a taste of pleasure in dunia, it is not His intention to deprive us of it at all. Instead, He wishes to give more and more of that blessing to us, but this dunia is not the place for such a gift, it is in the hereafter that such never-ending pleasure has been kept for us. He wants us to strive for the hereafter, for after having tasted the pleasures of this world, you must realise the source of that eternal pleasure and seek it out with all your might.

• Man must be thankful for this. At one time, we didn’t exist, and we were brought into existence by Our Lord, to taste such pleasures. Not all creatures have tasted such pleasure, many creatures never experience the pleasure that Man tastes. And Man is also granted the option, to have superior and eternal pleasures, in the hereafter, should he choose to strive for them. We must be grateful for every experience of pleasure that Allah bestows – be it a beautiful sight, a gentle breeze, a sip of cold water on a hot day, a smile from a loved one, a reassuring pat from a friend, or the intense connection felt during worship. Say Syukrulillah, Syukran Ya Allah, Alhamdulillah ya Rabbi.

• The pleasure of the hereafter is especially blissful, because it is a pure pleasure, unlike the pleasure we experience in this world, which is mixed with sadness and bitterness. Maulana says, in this worldly life, we are struck by arrows of pain and sorrow, of hurt and suffering, and these arrows are continuous throughout our lives. No sooner have we removed one arrow, when the next one strikes. Some arrows are poisoned arrows, says Maulana, in which the pain of what others have done to us, resides in our hearts till our last breath! So, with this background of bitterness and sadness, the pleasure of dunia is muted and less enjoyable, but the pleasure in the hereafter, will be pure, unadulterated happiness. Life in dunia is bittersweet, life in akherat is pure sweetness!

• So often, we are hit by these poisoned arrows, and we cry out, “Why?” Allah made this life bitter, so that we will learn to appreciate the sweetness of the next life. Allah Almighty is saying to His servants, “I am coming and taking you to new territories of My endless oceans that I am going to grant to you, and you may understand real sweetness of that life, through this life’s sufferings.” This is a very important lesson, says Maulana.

• Maulana gives a graphic description of death for us to ponder about. A human being’s life becomes narrower and narrower, until he comes to the last breaths, the Sakaratul Maut, the Agony of Death. At that point, the last breath is very difficult, the reality of death brings a cloud of intense sadness over the dying person, it is so heavy for him at that moment, it is very difficult. In the last few moments, when the Angels are shaking the body to extract the Soul, it is the most difficult moment of a person’s life. Maulana says that, you will not understand the meaning of eternity now, but at that last moment when your soul is leaving your physical being, you will finally understand what it really means. At that moment, your worldly life is going to end, but a moment after death, a new world emerges, and that moment will last endlessly for you. That is eternity.

• Once you pass through this narrow door of death, for believers, a new opening emerges, it is an opening filled with pleasures, filled with happiness, filled with light – oceans of eternal fulfillment and satisfaction. But for an unbeliever who had rejected the eternal life, he is plunged into a ever-narrowing chasm, into eternal darkness, a darkness that grows more and more constricting, and becomes darker and darker, for all of eternity. It is an ocean of suffering and sadness. Maulana says, that is a very sorrowful end, a very fearful end, for any human being.

• For that reason, Allah sent His Prophets and Saints to call out to us, “Come and believe, come and follow, come with us and accept our real guidance, we are taking you to realms of enlightenment of the Lord of Heavens, where what is granted to you will never diminish/lessen.” Those who aren’t seeking the eternal life, those drunk with this life’s temporary pleasures, or those whose hearts are set on attaining dunia as their main goal of existence – they are destined for the dark territories. Follow the Prophets and reach the realm of enlightenment, and remain there for eternity, for eternity, for eternity! Ask for the eternal life, oh people!

• Allah is Most Rich, Al-Ghani. He did not create just one earth, so many such earths have been created, each with its own unique creatures that were not found on other ‘earths’. And the creatures of all these separate worlds were all in praise of Allah. These earths have met their Qiyamat, which is why we say Maliki yaumiddeeen, as the people of these other earths have been judged, and they are either basking in the ecstasy of eternal enlightenment, or regretting in the suffering of eternal rejection. Billions upon billions of humans have faced Judgement, ours is next, so choose your ending.

• We must understand that our Lord is not Poor, He is not like us, and we must understand our Lord’s existence, His Names, His Attributes – all are oceans of knowledge, Azaliyyun abadiyyun sarmadiyyun, from pre-eternity to eternity, neither of which we truly understand. Maulana invites us to prepare ourselves for heavenly levels, and he tell us not to insist on remaining at the lowest rung in life, that of animals. Animals are only concerned about eating, drinking and reproducing. If we do not ponder and learn about Allah’s true greatness, then we become just like animals, there is no honour in that. Every one of Allah’s infinite creations shows us more and more about His greatness, according to our abilities to understand. Follow Holy ones, for they will guide you and carry you higher and higher in heavenly stations, and each level opens a new frontier of happiness and pleasure. Remember, we were not created for this dunia, we were created for Servanthood!

Fatihah.