Who Laughs Last Wins

Bismi Llāhi r-Raḥmāni r-Raḥīm

إِنَّ الَّذِينَ أَجْرَمُوا كَانُوا مِنَ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا يَضْحَكُونَ (29) وَإِذَا مَرُّوا بِهِمْ يَتَغَامَزُونَ

(Qur’ān 83:29-30)

“Inna Al-Ladhīna ‘Ajramū Kānū Mina Al-Ladhīna ‘Āmanū Yađĥakūna (29) Wa ‘Idhā Marrū Bihim Yataghāmazūna”

“Verily! (During the worldly life) those who committed crimes used to laugh at those who believed (29) And whenever they passed by them, used to wink one to another (in mockery).” Ṣadaqa Llāhu l-‘Aẓīm.

Allāh ‘Azza wa-Jalla says that, in dunyā, both now and then, during the time of our Prophet ﷺ, and even before, in every time, evil people always stay away from righteous people. If they see them, if they pass by them, they wink and point to each other.

They say, “Look at these people. They are astray, they are not doing good.” In dunyā, evil people constantly look down on righteous people, seeing them as useless, laughing at them, mocking them.

But Allāh ‘Azza wa-Jalla says in the Hereafter, the righteous ones will laugh at them. They will sit in Paradise, in beautiful places, and laugh. They say, who laughs last wins.

The outcome, the end, must be good for a person so that their life is not wasted. Life passes quickly; it doesn’t stop, it passes. If you focus on this or that and forget yourself, you are in loss and have gained nothing.

Your life is precious. Life is valuable. And it will have been wasted. Not only wasted, but passed with sins. There is still time. While you’re alive, while you’re still breathing, repenting and entering the way of Allāh ﷻ is the greatest gain for you. There’s nothing greater than that.

The gains of this world are nothing. This gain, the gain of the hereafter, is eternal. Even if you gain a little in dunyā, you never know when you’ll lose it.

Therefore, a believer should be careful. Don’t change your way or be led astray by the words of this and that.

As we said, they try to lead you astray, making you think, “Oh God! These people are mocking me. Would my way be better if it were like theirs?” If this happens, you will have lost everything.

This time is a very bad time. There’s everything to lead people astray. There’s every means. Sinning is much easier than before, and the ego is much more likely to make them sin. In olden times, even when people sinned, they would hide themselves.

Now they boast and take pride in every filth they commit, every sin they commit. But that’s not gain; it’s loss. Loss upon loss. To end that harm, we must repent and seek forgiveness and stay away from that way, that place, and those friends.

May Allāh ﷻ help us. May He ﷻ guide people, in shā’a Llāh.

Wa min Allah at-Tawfiq.

Al-Fatiha.

• Mawlana Sheikh Muhammad Adil ar-Rabbaniق

17 September 2025/ 25 Rabih Al-Awwal 1447

Fajr Prayer – Akbaba Dergah, Istanbul