Finger Dipped In Ocean

Rasul Allah (sal Allahu alaihi wasallam) said: “By Allah, this world in comparison to the hereafter is nothing but as though one of you dipped his finger in the sea. So ponder how much (of sea water), the finger returns with.” [Mishkaat]

The duration of the Day of Judgment is equal to 50,000 years. The sun will be brought overhead so that it is unbearably hot. People will be drenched in their sweat according to the amount of their sins. Some will be ankle deep in it, some will be in it up to their ears. In this condition, people will be standing for hundreds of earth years and not even a minute of that day will have gone by. Those who love Allah (subhana wa ta’ala) in this world will be under the shade of Allah’s Throne on the Day of Judgment – the only shade available that Day.

That is why Luqman Hakeem advised his son: “Serve this world according to the time you are going to spend in it, and work for the akhirah according to the time you are going to spend in it.” After we have been standing in the same spot for thousands of years, our life on earth is going to look like nothing!

Make a ratio of your time on earth compared to your time on the single Day of Judgment. If you live for a hundred years, it is 100: 50,000. The time to spend each day in the pursuit of dunya comes out to be less than 3 minutes! The rest of the day should be spent preparing for the Day of Judgment. If you were to make a ratio between the time to be spent in dunya compared to the time in akhira, it would be 100 years: infinity. Any number compared to infinity becomes zero. Effectively, the significance of the duration on dunya becomes zero. 0 minutes, not even 3 minutes! How is it possible that we spend all our time preparing for the akirah?

Abdul-Malik LeBlanc writes in "The Bible Led Me To Islam": "During my Christian days.... I often wondered how a person was supposed to "pray without ceasing" (1 Thessalonians 5:17)?....But when I was introduced to Islam in 1987, and began to read and learn more about this way of life, I found that Islam provided divine guidance from God and Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) by which a person could pray (be in a state of worship) without ceasing, if it was the will of God. Whether waking up, eating, sleeping, putting on clothes, being in the presence of a woman, looking at a woman, going shopping, going to the bathroom, looking in the mirror, traveling, visiting the sick, sitting in a non-religious meeting, taking a bath, having sexual intercourse with one's wife, yawning, cutting your nails, sneezing, greeting people, talking, hosting guests at home, walking, exercising, fighting, entering my house, praying and many other acts, Islam and the guidance therein of the Quran, and the acts and sayings of Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) provided ways in which I could observe 1 Thessalonians 5:17."

In other words, our dunya can be spent working for the akhirah -- at the same time that we fulfill our duties on earth. This can be achieved by fulfilling our roles and responsibilities according to the guidance of Allah (subhana wa ta'ala). Ask yourself, "Am I spending all my time on earth working for the akhirah?"