“What is the life of this world but amusement and play? But verily the Home in the Hereafter- that is
life indeed, if they but knew.” (Qur’an, 29:64)
When describing this life, Allah uses the Arabic word for ‘life’:. But, when describing the
next life, Allah here uses the highly exaggerated term for life,. The next life is the Real life.
The Realer life. The Real version. And then Allah ends the ayah by saying “If they but knew”. If we
could see the Real thing, we could get over our deep love for the lesser, fake model.
In another ayah, God says:
“But you prefer the worldly life, while the Hereafter is better and more enduring.” (Qur’an, 87:16-17)
The Real version is better in quality ( ) and better in quantity ( ). No matter how great what we
love in this life is, it will always have some deficiency, in both quality (imperfections) and quantity
(temporary).
This is not to say that we cannot have or even love things of this life. As believers, we are told to ask
for good in this life and the next. But it is like the toy car and the real car. While we could have or
even enjoy the toy car, we realize the difference. We understand fully that there is a lesser model
(dunya: coming from the root word ‘daniya’, meaning ‘lower’) and there is the Real model
(hereafter).
But how does that realization help us in this life? It helps because it makes the ‘struggle’ to follow the
halal, and refrain from the haram easier. The more we can see the Real thing, the easier it becomes to
give up the ‘unreal’—when necessary. That does not mean we have to give up the ‘unreal’
completely, or all the time. Rather it makes our relationship with the lesser model (dunya) one in
which if and when we are asked to give something up for the sake of what i s Real, it is no longer
difficult. If we are asked to refrain from a prohibition that we want, it becomes easier. If we are
asked to be firm in a commandment that we don’t want, it becomes easier. We become the matured
child who likes to have the toy, but if ever asked to choose between the toy and the Real thing, see a
‘no-brainer’. For example, many of the Prophet’s companions had wealth. But when the time
came, they could easily give half or all of it for Allah’s sake.
This focus also transforms what we petition for help or approval. If we’re in desperate need of
something, we will appeal to the servant—only when we don’t see or know the King. But if we’re on
our way to meet that King and we run into His servant, we may greet the servant, be kind to the
servant, even love the servant. Yet we will not waste time trying to impress the servant, when there is