The Temporary Life Of This
World
Have you ever thought why does man need to
devote so much time and effort to keeping his body
clean? Why does an unclean body, a foul-smelling
mouth, greasy skin or hair seem so unbecoming? Why
does man sweat and why is the odour accompanying
sweat so disturbing?
Unlike man, plants have extremely pleasant
odours. A rose or a carnation never stinks,
despite the fact that it grows in soil and remains
in an environment of dust and dirt. However, man
can hardly achieve such a permanent fragrance, no
matter how much he cares for his body.
Have you ever thought why man is created with
so many weaknesses? Why God created flowers with
beautiful fragrances but made the human body prone
to produce an unpleasant scent?
The weaknesses of man are not limited to body
odours: he gets tired and hungry, feels weak, gets
injured, becomes nauseated, sick...
All these may seem to be ordinary to man, yet
it has a deceiving aspect. It could well be that a
bad odour never came from the body. Likewise, one
might never suffer from a headache or fall sick.
All these weaknesses of man happen not by
"coincidence" but are created by God on purpose.
God assigned man a particular goal and
intentionally made him weak.
Such a strategy serves two purposes: first, to
make man realise that he is a weak being, a
"servant" of God. Being perfect is an attribute of
God. His servants, on the other hand, are
infinitely frail and thus inherently in need of
their Creator. This is explained in the Qur'an as
follows:
Mankind! you are the poor
in need of God, whereas God is the Rich Beyond
Need, the Praiseworthy. If He wills He can
dispense with you and bring about a new creation.
That is not difficult for God. (Surat al-Fatir:
15-17)
Weaknesses of the human body continuously
remind man of his weaknesses. Man may consider
himself to be a superior and perfect being. Yet,
the fact that he needs to go to the restroom
everyday and what he experiences there make him
recognise his true self.
The second purpose these weaknesses serve is to
remind man of the temporary nature of this life.
That is because these weaknesses are peculiar to
the body in this world. In the Hereafter, the
Companions of the Garden will be endowed with a
perfect body. The poor, imperfect and weak body in
this world is not the actual body of the believer
but a temporary mould he remains in for a certain
period.
That is why, in this world perfect beauty is
never attainable. The most physically attractive,
perfect and beautiful person also goes to
restroom, sweats, has bad breath in the mornings
and now and then suffers from acne. One needs to
involve oneself in endless routines to keep clean
and fresh. Some people have pretty faces but lack
shapely bodies. There are also cases in which just
the contrary is true. Some have beautiful eyes but
a big nose. There are countless such examples. A
person with outwardly perfect looks might be
suffering from a serious disease.
Over and above this, even the most
perfect-looking person ultimately grows old and
dies. In an unexpected traffic accident, his body
might be irremediably injured. It is not only the
human body which is imperfect, flawed and
temporary in this world. All flowers fade, the
most delicious food decays and goes bad. All these
are peculiar to this world. The short life in this
world granted to us as well as this body are
temporary favours bestowed by God. An eternal life
and a perfect creation are possible only in the
Hereafter. As the Qur'an puts it:
Whatever you have been
given is only the enjoyment of the life of the
world. What is with God is better and longer
lasting for those who have faith and trust in
their Lord. (Surat ash-Shura: 36)
In another verse the real essence of the world
is explained as follows:
Know that the life of the
world is merely a game and a diversion,
ostentation and a cause of boasting among
yourselves, and a quest to outdo one another in
wealth and children. It is like the plants which
flourish after rain: this delights the
cultivators, but then they wither and you see them
turning yellow, and then they become broken
stubble. In the Hereafter a terrible punishment
awaits you but also forgiveness from God and His
good pleasure. The life of the world is nothing
but the enjoyment of delusion. (Surat al-Hadid:
20)
In brief, in this world, God, as a sign of His
infinite might and knowledge, creates many
beautiful and wonderful things as well as many
flawed things. Permanence and excellence are
against the laws of this world. Nothing the human
mind can imagine, including advanced technology,
will ever change this law of God. This is so that
people may strive to attain the Hereafter and show
due respect and gratefulness to God. It is also so
that people may realise that the actual place of
these favours is not this temporary world, but the
eternal abode prepared for believers. In the
Qur'an, this is alluded to as follows:
Yet still you prefer the
life of the world when the Hereafter is better and
longer lasting. (Surat al-A'la: 16-17)
Another verse says: "The
abode of the Hereafter-that is truly Life if they
only knew." (Surat al-Ankabut: 64) There is
a very thin border between this world, which is a
temporary abode, and our "actual life", the
Hereafter. Death is the instrument which raises
this curtain. By death, man will break off all his
relations with his body and this world; he will
start his eternal life with his newly created
body.
Since the real life is the one beginning with
death, the real "laws of nature " are those
pertaining to the Hereafter. Flaws, imperfections
and impermanence are the laws of this world, yet
they are not real and unchanging laws. The real
laws are formulated on the principles of
infiniteness, excellence and immortality. In other
words, what is normal is a non-fading flower, a
never-ageing man, a never-decaying fruit. The
actual laws entail the instant realisation of
every wish of man or the removal of pain and
diseases, or even sweating or feeling cold.
However, temporary laws are in effect in this
temporary life, while the actual laws are binding
upon the next life. All the imperfections and
flaws we come across in this world exist through
the deliberate distortion of the actual laws.
The abode of the actual laws, namely the
Hereafter, is not far away, as is assumed. God can
end the life of man at any moment He wills it and
makes him pass to the Hereafter. This transition
will occur in a very short period; in the blink of
an eye. This is similar to waking up from a dream.
A Qur'anic verse describes the brevity of this
world as follows:
He will say, 'How many
years did you tarry on the earth?' They will say,
'We tarried there for a day or part of a day. Ask
those able to count!' He will say, 'You only
tarried there for a little while if you did but
know! Did you suppose that We created you for
amusement and that you would not return to Us?'
(Surat al-Mu'minun: 112-115)
When death comes, dreams come to an end and man
starts his actual life. Man, who remained on earth
for a period as short as "the
blink of an eye" comes into the presence of
God to give an account of his deeds in this world.
If he has kept death in his mind all throughout
his life and lived to attain God's approval, he
will be saved. In the Qur'an, the words of "those who are given their Books in
their right hands" are quoted as follows:
As for him who is given his
Book in his right hand, he will say, 'Here, come
and read my Book! I counted on meeting my
Reckoning.' (Surat al-Haqqah: 19-20)
|
