Maulana Wahiduddin Khan | Speaking Tree Website | January 09, 2017

The Prophet is reported to have said, "A man will not be let go on the Day of Judgment until he has been asked concerning four matters." (Tirmidhi) One of the things about which he will be questioned is: 'His youth and how he spent it.'

Apparently, this hadith refers to how one has spent one's youth. But if you reflect deeper on the matter, you will realize that it refers to how one has used the special quality that God has blessed one with.

Every person, man or woman, is born into the world with a unique quality. God wants every person to discover this quality and to put it into full use in accordance with the creation plan. If you do not do this, you cannot save yourself from God's admonishment in the Hereafter. In the Hereafter, everyone will be dealt with on the basis of how he or she used his or her God-given qualities while on earth.

The first duty of every person who takes birth in this world is to discover himself. He should understand what his role in this world is. And then, in accordance with God's guidance, he must fulfil this role, with full seriousness. If you do this, you will be admitted into eternal heaven after death. If you don't do this, you will be unsuccessful, both in this world and in the Hereafter.

A successful person recognises the gifts that God has blessed him with and uses them as God wants him to. On the other hand, someone who fails to recognise these gifts is, in God's eyes, blind and deaf and of no value.