The Seeker of Hereafter

The stage before death is for preparation. The stage after death is to reap the reward of one’s actions. If man saves himself from desire that diverts him from the straight path, eternal success awaits him in the Hereafter.

Quoting the words of a traditionist, Al-Baihaqi, as recorded in a Hadith, Hazrat Jabir narrates that, the Prophet of Islam once observed, “What I fear most in my people (ummah) is their desires, ambitions and wishes, for desire comes in the way of truth and ardent wishes make man oblivious of the Hereafter. This world is a fleeting world. And the Hereafter is certain to come. There are people who are seekers of both this world and the Hereafter. Save yourself if you can from being a seeker of the world, for you are in a world today where there are actions, but no reckoning. And tomorrow you will be in the world of the Hereafter, where there will be reckoning but no actions.” (Shu’abul Iman, Hadith No. 10132)

We learn from this tradition of the Prophet that there are two stages of human life–the stage before death and the stage after death. The stage before death is for preparation. Preparation in the stage before death must envisage consequences, the stage after death is that in which man will reap reward of his actions. The greatest knowledge and the greatest wisdom lie in being able to grasp this reality about human life. The basic thing about preparation for the Hereafter is that man should save himself from desire which diverts him from the straight path. In relation to this, there are two kinds of men–the seeker of the world and the seeker of the Hereafter. Foolish is the one who is the seeker of this world, while the wise one is who is the seeker of the Hereafter. Eternal failure awaits the seeker of the world, while eternal success awaits the seeker of the Hereafter.