Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh. (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

Assalamu alaikum wa Rahmatmullahi wa Barakatuhu,

Please could you explain/ elaborate for me the following hadith you recently mailed? I do not understand the last part that "The life of this world is...harvested by those who have no sense of reason."

This was the entire hadith:

The sayings of our beloved Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him)  

The son of Adam says, `My money, my money!' Yet, what is your money except that which you eat and use up, wear and tear, and spend in charity and thus keep (in your record). Other than that, it will go away and will be left for the people (the inheritors).)  

In addition, Imam Ahmad reported that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: The life of this world is the residence of those who have no residence, the wealth of those who have no wealth, and it is harvested by those who have no sense of reason.

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

Answer:

Meaning of hadith harvest world

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Your Question: …..Please could you explain/ elaborate for me the following hadith you recently mailed? I do not understand the last part that "The life of this world is...harvested by those who have no sense of reason."

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 17 Surah Israa verses 18-21:

18 If any do wish (only) for the transitory things (of this life) We readily grant them--such things as We Will to such persons as We Will: in the end have We provided Hell for them: they will burn therein disgraced and rejected.

19 Those who do wish for the (things of) the Hereafter and strive therefore with all due striving and have Faith, they are the ones whose striving is acceptable (to Allah).

20 Of the bounties of thy Lord We bestow freely on all these as well as those: the bounties of thy Lord are not closed (to anyone).

21 See how We have bestowed more on some than on others; but verily the Hereafter is more in rank and gradation and more in excellence.

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chatper 2 Surah Baqarah verses 200-202:

200 There are men who say: "Our Lord! Give us (Thy bounties) in this world!" but they will have no portion in the hereafter.

201 And there are men who say: "Our Lord! Give us good in this world and good in the Hereafter and defend us from the torment on the fire!"

202 To these will be allotted what they have earned and Allah is quick in account.

The last part of the quoted hadith "….The life of this world is...harvested by those who have no sense of reason." is only an extension of the above quoted guidance of the Glorious Quran….if one had truly utilized one’s faculty and sense of reason, one would have realized the mission for his creation…that is, the life of this short and transitory world is more than a period of test and trial, and that the real life is the life of the Hereafter. Such a person would then inevitably strive to do deeds which would enable him to succeed in the life Hereafter.

But one who does not utilize his bestowed faculties of reason assumes the life of this short and transitory world to be everything….and inevitably such a person would strive and spend his entire energies on gathering as much as he possibly can of the passing good of this world, giving absolutely no weight or thought to his real and everlasting life of the Hereafter.

If one truly understood the mission of creation, one would strive to ‘sow’ as many good ‘seeds’ as he possibly could in this world, absolutely content in the belief and faith that he will surely ‘harvest’ what he had ‘sowed’ in this worldly life in the Hereafter.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

Burhan