Take a moment… Close your eyes and imagine the best life you could ever wish for… Envision yourself living in your ideal home with its breathtaking views, outstanding architecture and state of the art furniture. The car of your choice has become a reality with its sleek design and custom interior. Every type of food and delicacy is at your fingertips and a team of servants at your beck and call. A life of happiness free from difficulty and sorrow…
Keeping this scene and vision in mind, understand that there is a reality that goes far beyond your wildest imagination – and that is Jannah (paradise)!
However, despite enjoying unimaginable bounties and luxuries, the Jannati will have one regret… Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) mentioned, “The people of Jannah will have no regret except that moment that passed by them (in this world) in which they were not in the remembrance of Allah Ta‘ala.” (Tabraani – Majma‘uz Zawaa-id #16705) Therefore, every second we waste of this valuable commodity will be a regret for us in the Hereafter.
We are living in a time where entertainment, fun and pleasure have become a multi-billion-dollar industry. Entertainment, being addictive in its nature, has become an obsession and has become the focus and the primary goal of people’s lives. Regarding this Allah Ta‘ala says, “So, have you seen him who has taken his desires as his god, and Allah has let him go astray, despite having knowledge, and has sealed his hearing and his heart, and put a cover on his sight? Now who will guide him after Allah? Still, do you not take lesson?” (Surah Jaathiyah v23)
On the other hand, the Islamic perspective on entertainment is very clear – it is not the purpose and goal of our lives. Rather, we have been created for a greater purpose – to worship Allah Ta‘ala and to earn for our Aakhirah. This purpose is spelt out in the Quraan Majeed on numerous occasions. In this regard, Allah Ta‘ala poses a question to mankind, “So did you think that We created you for nothing, and that you will not be brought back to Us?” (Surah Mu-minoon v115) We should therefore not be deceived by the glamour and luxuries of this world; rather, we should keep our eyes on the eternal and unimaginable bounties and pleasures of the Aakhirah.
If we go down the annals of history and look into the lives of the Sahaabah (radhiyallahu ‘anhum) and our pious predecessors, we will find that every moment of theirs was spent fruitfully.
The great Sahaabi, Sayyiduna ‘Abdullah bin ‘Amr bin ‘Aas (radhiyallahu ‘anhuma) used to fast every day and would spend the entire night in the worship of Allah Ta‘ala. Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) then advised him that his spouse, and his body had a right over him and that he should decrease his worship in order to fulfil their rights. (Saheeh Bukhaari #1975)
It is also mentioned regarding the great Imaam of Fiqh (Islamic Jurisprudence), Imaam Abu Haneefah (rahimahullah), that for 40 years he read the ‘Esha Salaah and the Fajr Salaah with the same wudhu i.e. he used to spend the entire night in the worship of Allah Ta‘ala without any sleep. (Siyaru Aa’laamin Nubalaa vol. 6, pg. 399)
‘Ali Jurjaani (rahimahullah), the great scholar and saint, used to swallow saweeq (a kind of mush made of wheat or barley) instead of eating normal bread. When he was asked the reason for adopting this as his staple diet, he explained that when he calculated the time it took to chew bread and the time it took to swallow the saweeq, he came to the conclusion that he could read “subhaanallah” seventy times in the time saved. Thus, he left out eating bread for 40 years. (Mirqaat vol. 9, pg. 49)
Like this, there are countless amazing stories and incidents of the Sahaabah (radhiyallahu ‘anhum) and our pious predecessors that highlight the mindset of these great personalities and their value for time. This is because they had the Aakhirah (Hereafter) in front of them at all times.
In the 18th chapter of the Quraan Majeed, Allah Ta‘ala describes a scene that will take place on the Day of Qiyaamah in which He will pose a question to the disbelievers, “How many years did you remain on earth.” They will reply saying, “We remained on earth for a day or part of a day.” (Surah Mu-minoon v112 & 113) Despite living an entire life in this world, it will appear to them as if they had only lived for a day or a portion of it in this world.
Therefore we need to reflect and introspect; how much of this worldly life – which will only seem like one day or even less on the Day of Qiyaamah – are we wasting on futile activities, and how much of our time are we spending for the purpose of our creation i.e. to worship Allah Ta‘ala, earn His pleasure and build our Jannah. While it is permissible to engage in some sort of recreation within the limits of sharee‘ah, we should not become consumed by it and waste all our time lest, we lose sight of our purpose in life. This becomes even more relevant during the holiday season when people generally have more free time.
As it is said beautifully, “Jannah! Don’t miss it for this world.”