(154) It is related by Shaddad that he heard the Apostle of God say:
“The likeness of this world as compared to the Hereafter is that
someone of you took out his finger after dipping it into a river and
then say how much water it had brought with itself.”
-Muslim
Commentary.-It shows that the existing world is an insignificant before
the world to come as the water on the finger is as compared to the river
in which it is dipped. This is only a way of saying or else the present
world does not bear even as much resemblance to the Hereafter. The world
and all that is in it is finite and ephemeral while the Hereafter is
infinite and eternal and it is an accepted principle of mathematics
that the finite and the ephemeral has nothing in common with the infinite
and the everlasting. Such being the case, one who strives to the utmost
for his worldly aims and interests but makes no preparation for life
after death is a loser through and through.
(155) Jabir related to us that the Apostle of God once passed by a dead
and ear-crept young goat whose carcass was lying on the road. He inquired
from those who were with him at that time, “Will anyone of you
like to buy this dead kid for a dirham?” “We will not buy
it at any price,” they replied. The Prophet, thereupon, said,
“I swear in the name of God that in His sight this world is as
hateful and worthless as the dead kid is in your sight.”
-Muslim
Commentary.-The unbounded passion God had granted to the Prophet for
the guidance and upliftment of mankind can be imagined from the above
report. The Prophet is going on the road when he comes across the dead
body of a kid, and, instead of turning his gaze away from it in revulsion
and passing on quickly, he makes use of the incident to impart a valuable
moral teaching to the Companions and tells them that the world is was
valueless in the judgement of the Lord as the carcass of the young goat
was in their judgement. They should, therefore, not make it the object
of their desires and exertions but strive sincerely for the Hereafter.
(156) It is related by Sahl bin S’aad that the Apostle of God
said: “Had this world been to Allah equivalent to the value of
the wing of a gnat, He would not have given a sip of water therefrom
to the Infidel.”
-Tirmidhi
and Ibn-i-Maja
Commentary.-Whatever the Infidels, the Unbelievers and the deniers of
God and the Apostle are getting from the world [and it is a great deal,
no doubt] is simply due to the fact that this world is altogether vain
and valueless in the sight of God. Were it not so, He would not have
given even a draught of water to the rebels and transgressors. Thus,
in the Hereafter, which is of real worth and importance in the judgement
of the Lord, not as much as a drop of fresh water will be given to them.