مَّن كَانَ يُرِيدُ الْعَاجِلَةَ عَجَّلْنَا لَهُ فِيهَا مَا نَشَاءُ لِمَن نُّرِيدُ ثُمَّ جَعَلْنَا لَهُ جَهَنَّمَ يَصْلَاهَا مَذْمُومًا مَّدْحُورًا
Whoever should desire the immediate – We hasten for him from it what We will to whom We intend. Then We have made for him Hell, which he will [enter to] burn, censured and banished. (Surah al Isra:18)
الْعَاجِلَةَ (The Immediate) – refers to the Dunya we live in, because it comes and goes quickly. So what we are told in this ayah is that man is hasty. He wants things quickly, instant gratification and an immediate response to his ever changing situation. And sometimes he is given what he wants by Allah hastening it for him.
But even then, it is not necessary that man gets everything he desires. This Dunya is not guaranteed. But what is guaranteed is the punishment in the Hereafter for the one who worships this Dunya i.e for the one who thinks this “Dunya is everything”
Then there are others who are quite the opposite. Those who work for something that is even greater than this Dunya and wait patiently for what Allah has promised them.
وَمَنْ أَرَادَ الْآخِرَةَ وَسَعَىٰ لَهَا سَعْيَهَا وَهُوَ مُؤْمِنٌ فَأُولَٰئِكَ كَانَ سَعْيُهُم مَّشْكُورًا
But whoever desires the Hereafter and exerts the effort due to it while he is a believer – it is those whose effort is ever appreciated [by Allah ]. (Surah al Isra:19)
The one who desires the Hereafter, who longs and yearns for it, then such a person will work hard for it and put in the effort that is required of him, all while being a believer, i.e. having Iman. So he doesn’t relax or waste his time, because he has his eyes on the Hereafter. His focus is Jannah.
So essentially there are two ways of living in this world. By either being Dunya oriented – so all our striving, our effort and our living is just for this Dunya. Or by being Akhirah oriented i.e. living in this world, but striving for the Herafter. The choice is ours.
Abu Dharr said, “The Prophet (ﷺ) was once holding me by the hand when he said, ‘O Abu Dharr! If I possessed gold and silver equal to Mount Uhud to spend in the path of Allah, I would not like to die with even a Qiraat still in my possession.’ I said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, you mean a Qintaar (a large amount equal to 4000 dinars)?’ The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, ‘O Abu Dharr! You are referring to a large sum while I am referring to a small amount. I desire the Akhirah while you desire this world. It is a Qiraat that I mean.’ He then repeated this to me three times.” [Tabaraani]
“Verily today there is action with no account, and tomorrow there’s account with no action”
Ibn al Qayyim
Du’a
اَللّٰهُمَّ إِنِّىْ أَسْئَلُكَ مِنَ الْخَيْرِ كُلِّهِ عَاجِلِهِ وَ آجِلِهِ مَا عَلِمْتُ مِنْهُ وَ مَا لَمْ أَعْلَمْ وَ أَعُوْذُبِكَ مِنْ شَرِّ كُلِّهِ عَاجِلِهِ وَ آجِلِهِ مَا عَلِمْتُ مِنْهُ وَ مَا لَمْ أَعْلَمْ
O Allah! Indeed I ask You of every kind of good, the hastened one (of the world) and the delayed one (of the hereafter) from that which I know and that I do not know; and I seek refuge in You from every kind of evil the hastened one (of the world) and the delayed one (of the hereafter) from that which I know and that I do not know. (Ibn Majah)
