All praise is due to Allah The Exalted, and may Allah raise the rank of our beloved Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him, his kind relatives and companions, and protect his nation from that which he feared for them thereafter;
Dear brothers In Islam, Allah ta^ala said In the Holy Qur’an:
” تِلْكَ الدَّارُ الآخِرَةُ نَجْعَلُهَا لِلَّذِينَ لا يُرِيدُونَ عُلُوًّا فِي الأَرْضِ وَلا فَسَادًا وَالْعَاقِبَةُ لِلْمُتَّقِينَ “
This ayah means: [That is the pleasant final place; we grant it to those who are not arrogant on earth nor want to spread seditions].
Imam ^Aliyy, may Allah raise his rank, said “This world is coming closer to an end, and the hereafter is approaching rapidly. So be among those who work for the hereafter, and don’t be among those who are working for this life. Fulfilling all the obligations is a must in this life, whereas the hereafter is where the person judged. Narrated by Al-Bukhariyy.
Brothers in Islam, ^Umar bin ^Abdul- ^Aziz upon reciting the aforementioned Ayah Use to say: “this world has a short time-span, and the wealthy people in it are indeed desperate for the mercy of Allah. So, do not be deceived by the temptations of this world, when you know that you will die soon.
Deceived are the ones who work for this life while forgetting about the hereafter. They have been lured by the façade of their good health and used the endowments which Allah bestowed upon them in His disobedience, thus dying as sinners.
Remember what will happen to their bodies in the grave, how the worms eat their flesh and bones. In this life, they use to sleep on comfortable beds; they were served, helped by family members, and supported by friends.
So, if you passed by their graves, call on them, tell the rich about what had remain of his wealth, and the poor about what had remain of his poverty. Ask them about what had happened to them in the grave. Didn’t their soft skins and attractive faces decay, didn’t their bodies decompose and their eyeballs melt, didn’t their mouths were filled with blood and pus.”
Dear brothers in Islam, some scholars of Islam said that the aforementioned Ayah reminds us to keep away from the path of Pharaoh and Qarun.
Prophet Moses had a cousin named Qarun. God gave Qarun so much wealth that strong men could not carry the keys of his treasure troves.
Qarun showed off and was not grateful to God, he was so arrogant with the people.
When Allah revealed to Prophet Moses the obligation of paying Zakat Moses told his people what they should do. Musa told Qarun that he has to pay for each one thousand dinars one dinar and for each thousand dirhams one dirham.
The amount which Qarun was obligated to pay was enormous. Qarun was overwhelmed with stinginess that he rejected what Musa ordered.
Qarun gathered some of his followers and told them Musa wants to take away their money. He ordered them to bring a sinful woman and to pay her money to say that Musa wanted to commit adultery with her.
When it was a day of their feast, Qarun said to Prophet Moses, “The Children of Israel are claiming that you committed adultery with that evil woman.”
Moses said, “Call her.” When she came Moses uttered a vow in the name of God and asked her by that vow to say the truth.
The woman repented, she told the people the truth, and that Moses is innocent of these accusations.
Moses made prostration to God and asked God to give him victory over his oppressors. Moses received Revelation from God that the Earth would obey him in whatever he commands.
On the next day, Qarun went out in his usual great parade including thousands of servants and attendants with clothes ornamented with gold and jewels.
People were standing on both sides and some were deceived by him and said, “May Qarun enjoy his blessings. He is very lucky, with his money and high status.”
When some of the pious people heard that, they advised them not to be deceived by the worldly pleasures and wealth.
Prophet Moses came with a steady heart, relying on God, and ordered the Earth to swallow Qarun, his treasures, and his followers.
The earth swallowed them all within that house. When the people saw that, they repented and praised God. They thanked God that they were not made like Qarun and his mean followers.
In the end, we humbly ask Allah to include us among those who follow the teachings of the Prophets and to grace us with piety.Ameen.
