According to Abdullah bin Mas’ud (ra), Prophet Muhammad (saw) said: “On the Day of Resurrection the feet of the son of Adam will not move away till he is questioned about five matters.” (Tirmidhi) and received their answers, because man was not certainly created for play but for serving Allah Alone. The five matters are:

1. On what he spent his life,

2. In doing what he made his youth pass away,

3. Where he acquired his property,

4. On what he spent it, and

5. What he did regarding what he knew.

In the final judgement-field, three Courts shall be established of which the first one will decide the cases of polytheism and tauheed, where those guilty of associating partnership with the unseen Allah will receive no pardon. Allah (swt) said: “Allah pardon not that partner should be ascribed unto Him. He pardons all save that to whom He wills.” (An-Nisa: 116)

The second Court shall judge those who violated other people’s rights (haqqul ‘ibad) and oppressed them, and will be retaliated by way of payment of virtues or receiving their sins because no money would neither be available for exchange nor serve the purpose.

The third Court will judge those who violated the rights of Allah (Haqqullah), Who may forgive those whom He wills or punish whom He wills. Thus those prosecuted in the second and third Courts shall have to render an account of their entire life and of every breath they passed that was unquestionably invaluable to them. One will be asked to answer why was he created and in what pursuits did he spend his life. Allah Himself admonishes to take this seriously, when He said: “Did you then think that We had created you in jest and that you would not be brought back to Us (for account).” (Al-Mu’minoon: 115)

What is more, Allah (swt) has Himself explained the sublime purpose of man’s creation on earth: “I created the Jinn and humankind only that they might worship Me.”(Adh-Dhariyat: 56). However, although Allah created us to serve Him Alone, He did not make it obligatory for us to devote all the time to His service only, but mad every action done in His pleasure as an act of prayer for Him, such as the time spent in eating and sleeping with the intention to gaining strength to serve Allah.

If we calculate, we will find spending in actual prayers not even two hours from the 24 hours of our daily life and the rest in recreation and in playful things, and in so called necessities of life that bear no relation to the real purpose of our life. Allah (swt) said: “O you, who have believed, fear Allah. And let every soul look to what it has put forth for tomorrow – and fear Allah. Indeed, Allah is acquainted what you do.” (Al-Hashr: 18)

The prime period of one’s life, his youth, is a kind of madness where women are the snares of Shaitan. Intoxicated by the passions of youth one is therefore easily caught in these snares without thinking how on the Judgement Day he will be questioned about the most active part of his life, perhaps more rigorously, as to how did he pass it away or exhausted it. 

It was certainly not given to exhaust in playful things and in committing acts of disobedience like wasteful and wanton living and cruelty to the helpless or in amassing wealth without considering its legality and spending it the same way? Allah certainly expected very high of him that should have been pleasing to Him, such as in prayers and redressing grievances of the oppressed and in assisting the weak and the humbled.

All will have to appear before a Court where no one will dare plead another one’s cases. The exhaustion of our youth must therefore be purposive, when Allah has engaged His entire creation, to name a few, the sun and the moon and millions of stars of unimaginable sizes and employed an infinite number of angels to our service and created corns and fruits, animals and fishes and what not in this earth to nourish our bodies and for our comforts and living!

(To be continued)

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