Central Khutbah: “True Giants Draw Their Inspiration from the Hereafter”

Man, in this worldly life, never ceases to sow: he sows through his words, he sows through his choices, he sows through his perseverance or his negligence, and he sows in the silence of his intentions even before they appear in his actions. That is why the Qur’an, when it speaks of harth—the field, the harvest, and cultivation—seems to tell us that life is not a random journey, but a work of the land: plowing, watering, enduring, and waiting for the harvest.

The difference between people does not lie in the fact that they make efforts—all people make efforts—but in what they expend themselves for: what consumes their hearts, their time, and their energy. True greatness is not found merely in those who have accomplished much, but in those who have understood where the true harvest lies. They carried the earthly path as a field of labor, and the Hereafter as a goal that gives meaning, weight, and direction to everything.

Allah, the Most High, says:

“Whoever desires the reward of the Hereafter, We will increase it for him; and whoever desires the reward of this world, We grant it to him, but he will have no share in the Hereafter.”
(Ash-Shūrā, 20)

Commenting on this verse, the famous exegete Fakhr ad-Dīn ar-Rāzī—may Allah have mercy on him—said:

“This verse indicates that the blessings of the Hereafter, just like those of this world, are only attained through effort. In both cases, one must cultivate, work the land, and sow, which entails exerting effort and enduring hardship during sowing, irrigation, harvesting, and then sorting and separating the grain from the chaff.”
(Mafātīḥ al-ghayb, commentary on Ash-Shūrā 20, vol. 13, p. 427)

Since Allah has referred to both the blessings of the Hereafter and those of this world as harth—a cultivation, a field, a harvest—we understand that neither is attained except through hardship and trial, for without effort there is no fruit. Then Allah, the Most High, clearly shows that the destiny of the Hereafter is increase, perfection, and eternity, while the destiny of this world is decrease, transience, and disappearance.

It is as if He were saying: since both worlds require the effort of cultivation, sowing, harvesting, and purifying the yield, it is more worthy to invest these hardships in that which grows and remains eternally than in that which diminishes and eventually vanishes.

Ar-Rāzī adds:

“In this case, the Hereafter symbolizes deferred payment, whereas the worldly life symbolizes immediate payment. Although immediate payment is generally more valued by people than deferred payment, Allah, the Most High, has clearly shown that with regard to the Hereafter and this world, the situation is reversed. For even though the Hereafter represents deferred payment, it is more complete and everlasting, while this world, although it represents immediate payment, is fleeting and insignificant. This shows that the reality of the Hereafter bears no resemblance to that of this world, and that in this world there exists of the Hereafter only its name, as reported from Ibn ʿAbbās, may Allah be pleased with him.”
(Mafātīḥ al-ghayb, ibid.)

Some Muslim scholars, commenting on ar-Rāzī’s explanation, added that according to the Sharīʿah itself—and not merely according to human standards—immediate payment is preferable to deferred payment when both are equal in value. Thus, if two buyers offer the same price for a commodity, one paying cash and the other on credit, the seller will naturally choose the one who pays cash, all else being equal. But if the buyer who pays later sufficiently increases the price, the seller will then prefer the deferred sale, giving priority to a significantly higher amount received later over a smaller immediate sum.

Yet, when it comes to this world and the Hereafter, most people prefer this world—though fleeting and of little value—over the Hereafter, even though it is better and everlasting, as Allah says:

“Indeed, you love the present life, and you neglect the Hereafter.”
(Al-Qiyāmah, 20–21)

and:

“But you prefer the worldly life, while the Hereafter is better and more enduring.”
(Al-Aʿlā, 16–17)

Whoever Truly Recognizes, Chooses the Hereafter

Only sincere believers—those who have understood the reality of this world and the Hereafter—give priority to the Hereafter, because its gain is incomparably better in quantity and quality, in value and duration. This is particularly evident in a person’s steadfastness and firmness.

Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah said:

“Steadfastness in knowledge and faith at times of trials and doubts is among the greatest blessings. There are people who believe as long as they are safe and healthy, but abandon faith when they are tested by temptations and tribulations. The believer must therefore know that his firmness in faith during times of trial is among the greatest blessings of Allah.”
(Jāmiʿ al-masāʾil, 1/399)

In the same vein, Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyyah said:

“Whoever has truly known Allah, His right, and what befits His majesty in worship, regards his good deeds as insignificant in his own eyes. For he knows that it is not these deeds that save him from Allah’s punishment, and that what befits Allah’s greatness is far beyond that. The more his good deeds increase, the smaller they appear to him. But if his deeds appear great and important to him, this indicates that there is a veil between him and Allah, and that he has not truly been aware of Allah or of what befits Him.”
(Madārij as-sālikīn, 1/276)

He also said:

“Prayer has an astonishing effect in repelling the harms of this world, preserving the health and strength of the body and the heart, and warding off evil. You will not find two men afflicted with the same illness, trial, or calamity except that the share of the one who performs prayer is less severe, and the outcome for him is better and safer.”
(Zād al-Maʿād, 1/204)

The Hereafter: The Source of Inspiration for the Early Generations

He was the greatest scholar and the most respected man in Egypt in his time. In addition to his knowledge, he was known for his immense generosity. Every day, he gave charity to three hundred poor people. He prepared sweets for his students and slipped gold coins into them. He was always smiling, soft-hearted, fed children with his own hands, and devoted himself to serving the needy.

No one asked him for anything without receiving it, and no one came to him with a need without him helping to fulfill it. His annual income reached eighty thousand gold dinars, yet he was never liable for zakāt, because he distributed so much money throughout the year that he never retained the minimum taxable amount (niṣāb).

When the house of the scholar ʿAbdullāh ibn Lahīʿah, his contemporary, burned down, he sent him one thousand dinars. When he departed for pilgrimage, Imām Mālik gave him a container of fresh dates, and he returned it filled with gold coins. Imām ash-Shāfiʿī said about him:

“He mastered jurisprudence better than Imām Mālik, but his students did not preserve or spread his legal school.”
(Siyar aʿlām an-nubalāʾ, 7/213)

He also successfully conducted the honey trade. One day, a woman came with a cup and asked for honey for her husband. He said to her:

“Go to Abū Qusaymah and tell him to give you a skin of honey.”

When Abū Qusaymah gave her a skin of honey, he said:

“She asked according to her need, and we gave according to our means.”

This was al-Layth ibn Saʿd, born in Egypt in 94 AH and who died in 175 AH at the age of eighty-one.

Khālid ibn ʿAbd as-Salām as-Ṣadafī reported:

“I attended the funeral of al-Layth ibn Saʿd with my father, and I had never seen a funeral so large. I saw people weeping for his death and offering condolences to one another. I said to my father, ‘Father, it seems as if a member of their family has died.’ He replied, ‘My son, it is rare that you see someone like al-Layth ibn Saʿd.’”

When Man Begins to Live, Death Arrives

In his work Wafayāt al-aʿyān, Ibn Khallikān mentions the case of the Mālikī scholar and judge ʿAbd al-Wahhāb al-Mālikī, who was forced to leave Baghdad due to extreme poverty. As he left his hometown, he said:

“Baghdad is the abode of the wealthy,
and for the ruined, a dwelling of misery.
I was neglected there by people,
like a copy of the Qur’an in the house of a disbeliever.”

After a life of poverty in Baghdad, he went to Egypt, where he became a judge and attained material ease. But he did not enjoy it for long: he fell ill and died shortly thereafter. It is reported that before passing away, he said:

“Lā ilāha illā Allāh—when we began to live, we died.”

That is, at the moment when we began to taste the pleasures of this world, death overtook us.

Transience Ruins Plans

Worldly life is strange and unpredictable. How many people exhaust their entire lives accumulating wealth to ensure a comfortable old age! And when they finally achieve it—when the time for rest and enjoyment arrives—illnesses and trials strike, preventing them even from eating a piece of bread in peace, or death suddenly overtakes them.

How many have built a house according to their tastes, yet were never destined to live in it even for a single day. When they wanted to live, they died.

Life Is Like Leaves

Our life in this world resembles a tree covered with leaves: with every leaf that falls, the tree draws closer to its end. The truly happy are those who spend their lives in obedience to Allah and in good deeds. The truly miserable are those who live far from Allah and His guidance—a heavy and suffocating life.

As long as we are still on this shore, waiting for the boat that will take us to the other side, let us make use of the blessings of health, knowledge, wealth, and status in obedience to Allah, not in sin. Let us perform deeds that will delight us when we see them on the Day of Judgment, not those that will grieve us, cover us with shame, and render us eternally miserable.

How many people whom the earth has long covered are still alive among us through the knowledge they left behind, the wealth they dedicated as ongoing charity, the roads, mosques, schools, and fountains they built, or through the sons and daughters they raised who continued on the luminous path of piety, goodness, and service to people.

And how many others are alive among us but, through ignorance, misguidance, negligence, and a life devoted to play, amusement, and sin, are useless to themselves and others—and are thus more dead than those who rest in their graves.

(Central khutbah by the religious leader Hafiz Hilmija Redžić on January 2, 2026, at the “Centre Islamique Gazi Isa-beg” in Esch-sur-Alzette)