Work Hard For The Rest Of Your Life

The Life Expectancy of males in Pakistan is 64 and a half years. Assuming that is how long I would live, I have already spent more than 1/3rd of my life. How much time in these years have I spent working and worrying for the life that’s NEVER GOING TO END? And how much have I worked for the few more scores of my life left in more than 22 years I have been breathing?

We are told by our parents and relatives “Beta, bas matric he sab kuch hai. Iskay marks sari zindagi sath chalnay hain. Achay college main chalay gaye tou agay asanian hongi (Son, Matric is everything. These marks will be with you all your life. You would have ease ahead if you get into a good college).”

When you get in a good college this statement changes to “Beta, bas FSc main achay marks le lo. Entry test k liye achi achi tayyari karlo. Aik baar achi university chalay gaye tou kuch ban k he niklo ge (Son, just take good marks in FSc. Prepare well for the entry test. Once you get into a good university you’ll come out as something at least).”

After you’re in a good university they tell you to work hard since your job depends on GPA. Be presentable in the interview. Don’t keep your pants above your ankles it won’t look good. Do anything you can but just get a job. You won’t get married without it of course.

Once you have a job it’s still not over. You have to keep working hard and harder. This is the age. You’re young and can work hard. This is the age. Do something for your wife and kids. Make the rest of your life easy for you.

Rest of my life? That’s a joke right? Because I’m 40 and my body has started to become weak now. I get tired easily. I can’t do the things that I “dreamed” of doing. What was the ease that I was looking for? Where is the “whole life ahead of me” that I was promised I would be able to enjoy?

Oh but wait, I’ve made a lot of money. I have a good name among people. They respect me because of my status – my worldly status. Now I can use this status to trap other youngsters into this game. I’ll do that because I lived my life this way and now this world is all I see. I’ve been institutionalized. It all makes sense to me. This is all that matters. Dying is easy now, since I’ve achieved my purpose in life. This is how our lives are supposed to go. This is how our lives do go….

It’s sad. It really is. This is what happens to most of us. This is what is happening to most of us.

I graduate in 2 months, if Allah wills. I’ve gone through all of this and still going through it. There are times when you just stop and think what are you doing? How many books have you read, yet not read the Quran with understanding? How you’ve stayed up all nights to prepare for your exam tomorrow, yet not stayed up even part of a night to prepare for the exam in the hereafter. How you’ve felt your nerves stretch for the fear of your result, yet you feel ease about the only result that would really matter. You get headaches thinking about what you would say in the interview, yet you do not get headaches thinking how you would answer the Lord of the Worlds.

It almost drives you crazy sometimes. Just look at the sky, and imagine these stars falling over you. Put your hand on the fire and imagine yourself burning, your whole body, for about 10 minutes? You can’t even imagine to bear the pain. Gives you the chills.

Or feel the gentle breeze touching your skin, the peace and calm you feel inside by it. Then imagine Jannah, the rewards Allah has promised. It leaves you immovable for a while.

We’re all in this mess. And I won’t tell you how to “escape” from this, for we all have different problems and you’ll have to find your way out of yours. Just remember if you’re sincere about your Akhirah and you rely on Allah then HE WILL get you through this. You’ll find a way out of it if you truly rely on Allah.

That is what the messengers did when they were threatened by their people.

“And why should we not rely upon Allah while He has guided us to our [good] ways. And we will surely be patient against whatever harm you should cause us. And upon Allah let those who would rely [indeed] rely.”
[14:12]

There are a million things one can keep writing, but the crux of it all is this: WE NEED TO GET SERIOUS ABOUT OUR LIVES. We need to stop worrying so much about our worldly life and start worrying more about our AFTERLIFE! The Quran is full of examples. We might read the translation but we seldom think upon it. I know I don’t. Because when you start contemplating upon the words of Allah then you start seeing how wrong you are living your life they way you’re living. We are lying to ourselves, all of us to some extent, and we need to stop that. We need to wake up before it’s too late and when there’s nothing left but regret. This is a reminder to myself first and foremost…
And Allah is the source of all strength. May He grant us enough to wake up to the reality of this world and do more for our hereafter than we do for this world. All good is from Allah and only the mistakes are mine.