All praises and thanks are due to Allāh, the one who placed in His obedience honour for the lowly slave, and in His disobedience distance from Him as well as humiliation. I testify that there is no god except Allāh alone, without a partner – the King, the Generous, the Majestic. And I testify that our master Muḥammad – the seal of Messenger-ship, the guide – is His Slave and Messenger. May blessings and peace be upon him and upon his family and companions throughout the mornings and evenings.
To proceed:
O slaves of Allāh! I first and foremost advise you to fear Allāh, the Honourable, the Ultimate King, the Master of the day on which every single human being will be questioned as to how he spent the short time he had on this earth. I urge you to prepare your baggage for this day, for there are no second chances after this day.
Honourable believers! Allāh states in His book:
"Are you satisfied with the life of this world rather than the Hereafter? But what is the enjoyment of worldly life compared to the Hereafter except a [very] little." (Qur’ān 9:38)
Do you really prefer this temporary life, with the little that it has to offer, over the next? Do you really want to spend your time here enjoying this temporary prison world at the expense of the never-ending delights the Hereafter has to offer?
No, my brothers and sisters! Indeed, this life was made to be a preparation ground for the more real and everlasting life of the next world. And time is running out to make use of it. Time is running out. So make use of it wisely. Remember that you can die at literally any time. Would you like it if you died while you were disobeying your Lord? Think about this every time you intend on doing something.
But how do we make use of the limited time we have in the most effective manner? Allāh gives us the answer in Sūrat al-‘Aṣr, a sūrah that is one of the shortest but also one of the most profound in meaning. Allāh starts the sūrah off with:
"[I swear] by time." (Qur’ān 103:1)
Allāh uses the word al-‘aṣr. This has many connotations, too many to be mentioned here. But one of them is the idea that time is running out. When it's ‘aṣr time, isn't it close to the end of the day? The Arabic word for juice is ‘aṣīr. Juice that is being squeezed out. Likewise, time is being squeezed out of your hands. Then Allāh says:
"Verily, the human being indeed is in a state of loss." (Qur’ān 103:2)
Every single human being. Drowning in a state of loss. For sure. But then Allāh places exceptions. He says:
"Except for those who have believed and performed good deeds and advised each other to the truth and advised each other to ṣabr." (Qur’ān 103:3)
The first thing you do to save yourself from drowning in loss is to believe. Once you plant the tree of belief, the fruits will start blossoming. The fruit of belief is good actions. However, it's not enough to just be good. Others are drowning in loss too. You need to save them. So you advise them to the truth. But then after a while you start finding all this difficult, or that those you're advising to the truth are finding keeping on the truth difficult, or that those you're trying to advise aren't even listening. So you advise them to ṣabr. To patience, to perseverance, to commitment, to constancy. These four are just the bare minimum you are required to do to save yourself from drowning in loss. If you're not doing them then you'll be in serious trouble later on.
So I remind you again, O slaves of Allāh, that this life is short. This life is temporary. The ākhirah is better and everlasting. It's waiting for you. Though time's running out to achieve the best of what it has to offer. Don't waste your time here in this world. Remember, you can die at literally any second. You will die at literally any second. Make use of your time. Especially since you have the school holidays coming up. Don't waste it. Don't just let it pass by. Use it in a beneficial and productive way. Never put yourself into a situation where you wouldn't want the Angel of Death to take your soul at that very moment. The Muslim is a wise person. Use your time wisely. Time is running out, and every single one of us is definitely in loss. Except those of us who have believed, perform good deeds, advise each other to the truth and advise each other to ṣabr.
To proceed:
O slaves of Allāh! I first and foremost advise you to fear Allāh, the Honourable, the Ultimate King, the Master of the day on which every single human being will be questioned as to how he spent the short time he had on this earth. I urge you to prepare your baggage for this day, for there are no second chances after this day.
Honourable believers! Allāh states in His book:
أَرَضِيتُم بِٱلْحَيَوٰةِ ٱلدُّنْيَا مِنَ ٱلْءَاخِرَةِ ۚ فَمَا مَتَٰعُ ٱلْحَيَوٰةِ ٱلدُّنْيَا فِى ٱلْءَاخِرَةِ إِلَّا قَلِيلٌ
Do you really prefer this temporary life, with the little that it has to offer, over the next? Do you really want to spend your time here enjoying this temporary prison world at the expense of the never-ending delights the Hereafter has to offer?
No, my brothers and sisters! Indeed, this life was made to be a preparation ground for the more real and everlasting life of the next world. And time is running out to make use of it. Time is running out. So make use of it wisely. Remember that you can die at literally any time. Would you like it if you died while you were disobeying your Lord? Think about this every time you intend on doing something.
But how do we make use of the limited time we have in the most effective manner? Allāh gives us the answer in Sūrat al-‘Aṣr, a sūrah that is one of the shortest but also one of the most profound in meaning. Allāh starts the sūrah off with:
وَٱلْعَصْرِ
Allāh uses the word al-‘aṣr. This has many connotations, too many to be mentioned here. But one of them is the idea that time is running out. When it's ‘aṣr time, isn't it close to the end of the day? The Arabic word for juice is ‘aṣīr. Juice that is being squeezed out. Likewise, time is being squeezed out of your hands. Then Allāh says:
إِنَّ ٱلْإِنسَٰنَ لَفِى خُسْرٍ
Every single human being. Drowning in a state of loss. For sure. But then Allāh places exceptions. He says:
إِلَّا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ وَعَمِلُوا۟ ٱلصَّٰلِحَٰتِ وَتَوَاصَوْا۟ بِٱلْحَقِّ وَتَوَاصَوْا۟ بِٱلصَّبْرِ
The first thing you do to save yourself from drowning in loss is to believe. Once you plant the tree of belief, the fruits will start blossoming. The fruit of belief is good actions. However, it's not enough to just be good. Others are drowning in loss too. You need to save them. So you advise them to the truth. But then after a while you start finding all this difficult, or that those you're advising to the truth are finding keeping on the truth difficult, or that those you're trying to advise aren't even listening. So you advise them to ṣabr. To patience, to perseverance, to commitment, to constancy. These four are just the bare minimum you are required to do to save yourself from drowning in loss. If you're not doing them then you'll be in serious trouble later on.
So I remind you again, O slaves of Allāh, that this life is short. This life is temporary. The ākhirah is better and everlasting. It's waiting for you. Though time's running out to achieve the best of what it has to offer. Don't waste your time here in this world. Remember, you can die at literally any second. You will die at literally any second. Make use of your time. Especially since you have the school holidays coming up. Don't waste it. Don't just let it pass by. Use it in a beneficial and productive way. Never put yourself into a situation where you wouldn't want the Angel of Death to take your soul at that very moment. The Muslim is a wise person. Use your time wisely. Time is running out, and every single one of us is definitely in loss. Except those of us who have believed, perform good deeds, advise each other to the truth and advise each other to ṣabr.
