Part 13
Khyber Jalal
13. Moderation in Dealing with This World and the Hereafter
There’s another thing worth keeping in mind here too: one of the important, foundational sides of balance is that every Muslim has to hold a balance between caring for this world and preparing for the Hereafter. Islam doesn’t condemn this world in a way that would have a person give up work, effort, progress, building things, and benefiting from Allah’s lawful blessings. Nor does it treat this world as so valuable and important that a person forgets the afterlife and eternal life, narrows all their attention and effort down to worldly affairs alone, and lets love of this world pull them away from remembering Allah (SWT) and worshipping Him. Instead, Islam pushes a person to make lawful use of this world alongside preparing for the next.
Allah (SWT) says:
«وَابْتَغِ فِيمَا آتَاكَ اللَّهُ الدَّارَ الْآخِرَةَ وَلَا تَنسَ نَصِيبَكَ مِنَ الدُّنْيَا» القصص: 77
“But seek, through that which Allah has given you, the home of the Hereafter; and [yet], do not forget your share of the world.”
Al-Qasas: 77
This great verse is one of the clearest examples of balance and the middle way in Islam.
Allah (SWT) states in His sacred word, in another verse, that a Muslim carries the responsibility to work toward their own afterlife, but at the same time shouldn’t neglect this world’s lawful blessings, lawful work and earning a living, building a family, education, development, serving society, and life’s other needs.
The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) and his honored companions were the complete example of this balance. They were foremost in worship, remembrance of Allah, and piety, but at the same time took part in trade, agriculture, jihad, learning, and building up society. They showed that true religiosity doesn’t mean abandoning this world, it means making right and lawful use of it in order to earn Allah’s pleasure.
Islam doesn’t agree with monasticism or that kind of extreme withdrawal that turns a person away from their social and family responsibilities, it forbids it. Islam stands against worldliness and drowning in material pleasures too. A Muslim should treat this world as a means toward their higher goals in the Hereafter, not as life’s final aim and true purpose.
When this world sits in a person’s hand, not in their heart, it becomes a blessing, a means of good. But if love of this world comes to rule a person’s heart, and pulls them away from remembering Allah and from carrying out their religious duties, it turns into a source of harm and heedlessness. That’s why Islamic balance asks the Muslim to hold this balance between this world and the next, taking their own part in building up this world, benefiting from its lawful blessings, fulfilling the rights owed to their family and society, and at the same time keeping their true goal fixed on Allah’s pleasure and success in the Hereafter. This is the middle path Islam has laid out for a person’s wellbeing in both this world and the next.
