Work Now, Rest Later

Bismillah hir Rahman nir Raheem..
As-salaamu 'alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu,

Alhamdulillah there are times in everyone's life when they are tested. Insha'Allah we're all struggling for the nearness of Allah subhaanahu wa ta 'aala and to attain His Pleasure. This is really the only thing we want, and thus the only thing worth striving for. However the very nature of this struggle is that it is indeed a struggle. Even things in this world don't come to us on a silver platter... what makes us think we can attain the highest and most lofty goal -that of Allah 'azza wa jal's Proximity- without enduring some hardship?

"This world is a prison for the believers." Don't ever forget that. You're not here to settle down, to get comfortable and find your place. That's not why you're here. Rasul Allah salAllahu 'alayhi wa sallam once said, "this world is a bridge -cross over it, don't build on it!" We should always keep this in mind and live our entire life with this knowledge in the front -not the back- of our minds. Whatever hardship we endure in the name of Islam, in the name of implementing the shari'ah and sunnah in our lives, is nothing... it really is nothing compared to the hardship we may have to endure if we neglect these duties in this life and have to pay for them in the Next.

Every believer is guaranteed Jannah, so alhamdulillah... that's a guarantee... from Allah... enscribed in gold in the tablets of eternity. But what route you decide to take to Jannah, that's up to you.

You can be among those that go directly and stand beneath the 'Arsh of Allah subhaanahu wa ta 'aala in the company of His Beloved Messenger salAllahu 'alayhi wasallam and immediately begin to bask in the Nur of Allah's Mercy.

Or you could be among those who stand and wait under the shade of your tahajjud salaahs, and Allah subhanaahu wa ta 'aala, so pleased with this one, unworthy yet consistent act, will grant you admittance into Jannah.

Or you could be among those who stand, wait, sweat, cry, suffer... and are then dragged before Allah 'azza wa jal by two angels who will then display your deeds before your Beloved... each bad thing you said about your brother in humanity... each extra glance you took at a non-mahram... each haraam or doubtful substance you placed in your body... each fard, waajib or sunnah mu'akkadah you neglected to embody during your split-second lifetime... one by one, each thing will be displayed before your Lord, until you are 100% sure that your destination is Hell... then He subhaanahu wa ta 'aala wa 'azza wa jal will glance at that one tear you shed upon hearing a hadith, smile upon you and out of His Infinite Kindness and Mercy place you in the gardens of Jannah.

Or you could be among those who believed in laa ilaaha ilAllah Muhammad RasoolAllah but lived a life entirely contrary to this weighty and beautiful declaration, and are thus thrown into the Pit of Hell to suffer, burn, starve, cry, scream... to have your skin burned off time and time again, until a new skin is created so that it, too, can burn... to be dying of thirst and fed only the puss and blood of the sinners who are melting in that Hole... to ultimately know -regardless of the physical torture you are enduring- that you despicable thing earned the Wrath of the Most Kind, Merciful and Generous One so much so that He didn't even want to glance upon your face, and threw you into the Pit of Anguish and Suffering... this knowledge being far more unbearable than even the worst physical punishment. Then that sweet and gentle man who you used to hear about will search you out, seeing in your heart the once-inscribed statement of laa ilaaha ilAllah Muhammad Rasool Allah he will throw himself before your Lord and plead that you are removed... which will be granted, and you will be washed and placed in Jannah.

So it's up to you, really, to decide which path you'd rather take. Endure a little hardship in this life and insha'Allah you will be spared in the Next. Know that no matter how hard it gets, no matter how difficult the test looks, no matter how impossible you think it is, it is nothing compared to what you may have to endure in the Next Life if you don't stand up to it. And subhaanAllah, it's not all doom and gloom... indeed it's far from it. Yes, the wrath you may receive on this earth for sticking to the teachings of the Qur'an and sunnah is far less than the wrath you may receive in the Next Life for neglecting them... however the reward also follows a similar pattern. In this life you will taste the sweetness of imaan, the sweetness of Love, the sweetness of yearning for Allah, the sweetness of tears shed for His sake. In the Next Life... we can't even begin to imagine the sweetness you will receive for that moment beforehand when you cringed -that moment called life.

May Allah subhaanahu wa ta 'aala grant us the tawfiq to be among those who purify themselves in this life so we can avoid the purification process that occurs after death... may He make us among those who stick to the teachings of the Qur'an and sunnah, who embody the shari'ah and the sunnah of Allah's Beloved salAllahu 'alayhi wasallam no matter what test we are faced with for doing so... may He grant us the tawifq and the himmat to endure whatever small test we face in this life for struggling in His Way... may He make our struggle a means through which we earn His Pleasure... a cause for His smiling upon us and drawing us nearer to Him in this life, and granting us His Proximity in the Next...
wa akhiru da'waana anilhamdulillahi Rabbil 'aalameen.