Journey of Life

[Muslim]

It is actually quite ironic, but i just have to mention this before I get on with the body of this post.

My security check picture says: life's too short

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Interesting coincidence, hmm?

Let me start with something light- although the topic certainly calls for a lot to be addressed.



Onto, this wonderful talk then:



And..

Okay, I'm going to continue this in a new post

[Muslim]

Its me again.

The Muslim

So where were we?

Know well that the worldly life is but a play and an amusement, and a show of beauty, and exchange of boastful claims between you, and a competition of increase in riches and children.

Lets Discuss

Or Umm.. Listen to The Scholars

Maariful Quran tells us...

Since the basic cause for one's deprivation of the bounties of the Hereafter and his being seized by the divine punishment is his involvement in the temporary pleasures of this worldly life that tempt him to forget the life to come, the verse under comment describes the reality of the worldly life and its being unreliable. The verse depicts the involvements of a human being that he cheerfully enjoys from the inception of his life up to its end. The verse summarizes these involvements in the same order in which they occur.

From the inception to the end of his life, man leads his life in the following order: la'ib [play], lahw [amusement], zlnah [show of beauty], tafakhur exchange of boastful claims] and takathur [competition of increase in riches and children].

1 LAIB

The word la'ib (play) refers to a play that has no purpose at all, like the movements of little children.

2 LAHW

The lahw [amusement or pastime] is a game or sport meant initially for amusement and enjoyment, but it may serve also some other subsidiary purpose like physical exercise. It includes all the sports of the bigger children such as playing with a ball or swimming or target-shooting. Prophetic Traditions have termed swimming and target-shooting as good sports. The early stage of one's life is spent in play and amusement.

3 ZEENAH

Then comes a stage in his youth when man wants to adorn his body and dress and to show their beauty, which is described in the verse as 'zeenah'.

4 TAFAKHUR

Then comes a stage in which man is tempted to prove his superiority over his mates and to make boastful claims.

5 TAKATHUR

In old age, a keen competition and rivalry sets in to amass wealth and multiply children.

Thought we'd remind ourselves of Surah Takathur at this point:

The mutual rivalry for piling up of worldly things diverts you,
Until you visit the graves
Nay! You shall come to know!
Again, Nay! You shall come to know!
Nay! If you knew with a sure knowledge (the end result of piling up, you would not have occupied yourselves in worldly things)
Verily, You shall see the blazing Fire (Hell)!
And again, you shall see it with certainty of sight!
Then, on that Day, you shall be asked about the delight (you indulged in, in this world)!

The Absurdity of It All!

When man goes through a particular phase of life, he feels satisfied with it. But when that phase is over, he realizes its absurdity and hollowness and takes to the next phase of life.

For example, a child is most fascinated with his phase of life and regards the stage of la'ib (play) the goal of his life. Should someone snatch one of his toys, he feels as much aggrieved as a big man is grieved by his valuable wealth and property being usurped.

However, when he grows a little bigger, he realizes the things he deemed to be the goal of his life were nothing but some useless and absurd activities. The same thing happens in one's youth when he is attracted by adorned beauties. In old age, man gathers wealth and multiplies children. Power, prestige, pride and position are his capital goods and investments to wield dominance in life. The Quran reminds him that this phase too will pass away. The next stage is barzakh [grave] followed by the Day of Resurrection.

Man needs to think about those stages or phases of life because they are really eternal without an end. Allah has described the fleeting enjoyment of this world in such an order that the appropriate parable given in the next verse follows naturally.



.. And we shall follow it tomorrow insha Allah

[Muslim]

Ok so its tomorrow now, or umm.. today .

So on with the parable. I hope you were curious .

ٱعۡلَمُوٓاْ أَنَّمَا ٱلۡحَيَوٰةُ ٱلدُّنۡيَا لَعِبٌ۬ وَلَهۡوٌ۬ وَزِينَةٌ۬ وَتَفَاخُرُۢ بَيۡنَكُمۡ وَتَكَاثُرٌ۬ فِى ٱلۡأَمۡوَٲلِ وَٱلۡأَوۡلَـٰدِ‌ۖ كَمَثَلِ غَيۡثٍ أَعۡجَبَ ٱلۡكُفَّارَ نَبَاتُهُ ۥ ثُمَّ يَہِيجُ فَتَرَٮٰهُ مُصۡفَرًّ۬ا ثُمَّ يَكُونُ حُطَـٰمً۬ا‌ۖ وَفِى ٱلۡأَخِرَةِ عَذَابٌ۬ شَدِيدٌ۬ وَمَغۡفِرَةٌ۬ مِّنَ ٱللَّهِ وَرِضۡوَٲنٌ۬‌ۚ وَمَا ٱلۡحَيَوٰةُ ٱلدُّنۡيَآ إِلَّا مَتَـٰعُ ٱلۡغُرُور

..As continued from above.

(All this is) like a rain, the vegetation of which attracts the farmers, then it withers, and you see it turning yellow, then it becomes straw. And in the Hereafter there is a severe punishment (for the disbelievers), and forgiveness from Allah and (Allah's) pleasure (for the believers and the righteous). And the worldly life is nothing but a material of delusion.

*opens Maariful Quran*

كَمَثَلِ غَيۡثٍ أَعۡجَبَ ٱلۡكُفَّارَ نَبَاتُهُ

The word ghaith means 'rain'. The word kuffar, being the plural of kafir, is generally used as opposed to mu'minin [believers], in the sense of non-believers, but its literal sense carries the meaning of 'farmers' also. Some scholars have taken the word here in this literal sense, explicating that the farmers are happy to see the vegetation that grows in the aftermath of rain. Other commentators have taken the word kuffar in its popular sense of non-believers, explaining the verse to mean that the non-believers are attracted by the greenery. This explanation may be criticized on the ground that being happy with the greenery is not confined to non-believers, but also the believers admire the lush vegetation when it abounds in vigorous growth. The commentators have appraised the criticism thus:

There is a world of difference between the happiness and admiration of a believer and that of a non-believer.

A believer's pleasure is directed towards Allah. He believes that everything is the outcome of Allah's power, wisdom and mercy. He does not make it the goal of his life; he gives up the cherished and precious things of this mortal world in consideration for the higher, eternal things of the life yet to come in the Hereafter. That is the goal of his life he worries about.

Therefore, any believer who fulfills the requirements of his faith is not attracted, even by the biggest wealth in this world as a kafir does. That is why the attraction by the vegetation is attributed to a non-believer.

In short, the parable means that in the wake of rain vegetation of all sorts grows, and it pleases the farmers, especially the non-believers. But the vegetation soon turns yellow in colour, after being fresh and green. After that, the green fades away and become scattered particles of dust.

So how's all this talk of green and dust related to our journey of life, you ask?

The above is the example of mankind in this life. They are young and strong in the beginning. In this stage of life, they look youthful and handsome. Gradually, old age overcomes them which does away with all their beauty and freshness until they die and become dust. This parable indicates the end of this life, while in contrast, the Hereafter is surely coming, the significance of which is given in the following words:

And in the Hereafter there is a severe punishment (for the disbelievers), and forgiveness from Allah and (Allah's) pleasure (for the believers and the righteous).

[Ummati]