The passing away of the World
Verily this World in its entirety will pass away and so will
that which is within it. Indeed it is an important lesson that has to be
considered. If you look at the Sun you will see it appears at the beginning of the day then it
sinks below the horizon at the end of the day and disappears. Such is the
existence of man in this world he appears and then he disappears.
And if look at the Moon, likewise it appears in the
beginning of the month as a small crescent then it continuously increases in
size and when it is full then it starts to decrease – until it returns
[appearing] like the old date stalk (36:39)
And likewise if we observe the months you will find that a
person looks ahead to the approaching month with a long term view, for example
he says: Now we are in the twelfth month there are eight months remaining until
it is Ramadhaan and how far that is! And suddenly they pass him by very quickly
as if they were a single hour in a day.
And such is the case with the life span – the life span of a
person – you find him viewing death with a view that it is at a distance,
whilst having hopes and ambitions. And all of a sudden, the rope of hope is
severed and everything slips away from him!
You find him carrying someone else on a bier then he covers
him up with dirt (buries him); and he contemplates, when will this be my
condition? When will I reach this state? And all of a sudden he has reached it.
– as though they had not remained [in the world] except for an afternoon or a
morning thereof.
I say this so that I may encourage my self and encourage my
brothers to hasten to take advantage and benefit from the time. And we do not
waste an hour nor a moment except we know we have an account for our time. Have
we drawn close to Allaah with anything? Are we at a standstill? What will be
our condition?
It is upon us to correct the affairs before its too late.
And how close is the Hereafter to this world!
And Abu Bakr, May Allaah be pleased with him, often used to
use the saying of the poet as an parable:
‘Everyone takes pleasure in his family living a life of ease
and comfort whilst death is closer to him than the strap of his sandal is to
his foot.’
O Allaah grant us good in this world and good in the
Hereafter and protect us from the Fire. I ask Allaah for my self and you for a
good ending and he makes our affairs in the future better than those that have
past and He assists us in remembering Him, thanking Him and worshipping Him in
the best of manners.
Shaykh Muhammad bin Saalih Al ‘Uthaymin, Liqaa’ Al Baab Al
Maftooh (2/149)
Translated by Abū Tasneem Mushaf
@Aboo_Tasneem
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Source: https://twitter.com/Aboo_Tasneem/media, 4/19/15, 3:22 AM
