Building a House in Heaven

Building a House in Heaven (Part -1)

Building a House in Heaven

On Living in this world, from the economical perspective, a house or place to settle in is a primary need of men. A house functions as a place to shelter from the sun and the rain, the wind, even from the threat of the beast. House is also a place to start a family, moreover a symbol of prestige and prosperity of its owner, or as a picture of the cultural progresses of men, who were once residing in caves, but now they reside in luxurious houses with modern architecture.

Bearing in mind the importance of a house for mankind, then some branches of human activities connected to house have emerged, such as store that sells building materials, contractors, house developers, housing loan, architecture, even the interior design. Fertile paddy field and lea, forests, and beaches are turned into houses. But even all these can’t fulfill all need for housing, or fulfill the need for housing with a credit system or building a house on a land which doesn’t belong to that builder.

This competition of men to own a private house sometimes neglects their own humanity, due to materialism principle.

How many man tried and struggled and suffered to build a house in this world, thus they spent abundant of their wealth, vengeance, mind, and time. But the houses that they’ve built so luxuriously, are still unsafe from the chance of being destroyed, burnt, and damaged.

Supposed that house stands still, then the owner will certainly perish one day. Sometimes people build their house with the cost of pains, sweats, and anxiety. Even worse, sometimes they have to bear humiliation in finding some loan and asking for suspension of their debt payment, and more time to pay it. In the end, they know that the house will certainly leave them, or they are the ones that’ll leave it.

Reality of Men

Generally, there are three kinds of worldly lust that are already within us that we should be aware of and we should control, namely the lust for women, children, and wealth. Allah explained in His holy book, which can be translated as,

“People are naturally tempted by the lure of women, children, treasures of gold and silver, horses of mark, cattle and plantations. These are the enjoyments in the life of this world; but with Allah lies a goodly abode to return to.”(QS. Ali Imran/The Family of Imran: 14)

We could infer from this verse that if those three lusts have become our goal in life, thus we forget about Allah’s reward in the Hereafter, then remember, that is the time when we’re already fall under their power. It might begin as a mere delight pleasure as a normal men. But as time goes by, it can change into a pure orientation of life, then unconsciously, it will turn into a god that we worship and obey.

Today, we see not a small number of men who make women, children, and wealth as their god.

For these people, they care not about the lawful or unlawful. What important to them is achieving what they want, from women, children, and wealth. Women, children, and wealth have turned them away from remembering Allah. Women, children, and wealth have turned them away from the way of life that Allah has created for them. Without realizing it, they have rebelled against Allah, His messenger, and the teaching of Islam that Allah had revealed to them, and His messenger had taught them, to save them from the odds in this world and later in the Hereafter.

To save our temporary life from becoming the slave of lusts and worldly pleasures, in the next verse, Allah offered us a life and reward in the Hereafter that is far better and greater than anything that we might obtain in this world, as in His verse:

“Say: “Shall I tell you of things better than these? For the God-fearing there are, with their Lord, Gardens beneath which rivers flow; there they will abide for ever, will have spouses of stainless purity as companions, and will enjoy the good pleasure of Allah.” Allah thoroughly observes His servants.”(QS. Ali Imran/The Family of Imran: 15)

This is Allah’s offer to us all. Are we still blind thus we can’t differ between the small, short-lived pleasures of the world and the great pleasures of the Hereafter and Paradise? Are our hearts still hardened, hard as rocks, thus we can’t be sure of the how true this offer from Allah is? Are our ears still deafened, thus we can’t hear this offer from Allah? Are our mind still narrow and cramped, thus we can’t understand this magnificent offer and promise from Allah?

An undeniable fact that we see everyday is that every man must, one day, die. At the time the death come, there will be no use of our wealth, wife, offspring, friend, kith and kin, position, power, career, anything that we possess in this world. We are going to abandon them all. Our luxurious house will be useless.

We will be carried to a ‘house’ deep inside the earth, which measures only 3 x 1.5 m2. We’ll not be able to enjoy our wealth. At the time of our death, we’ll only have several pieces of shroud that cover our body. There are no use of our high rank or position, since we’ll be too stiff and unable to move, or talk, and our office and home will be confined in a narrow place named grave, inside the earth.

Our beloved wife, children, and family will not be able to do anything at the time our body are covered with earth, and slowly vanish from their sight. They will be forced to leave us alone inside the grave after the funeral ended. None of our wife, children, family, friend, men, etc will stand faithfully beside us after we are buried.

All these are facts that everything that exists and we own in this world will only stay with us as long as we live. The death will break all our ties with them. Thus, a smart man is a man who can look clearly the truth of that fact and use some tricks to evade it, that will benefit him after his death, nor before it. The Messenger of Allah -peace and prayer of Allah be upon him- said,

الْكَيِّسُ مَنْ دَانَ نَفْسَهُ وَعَمِلَ لِمَا بَعْدَ الْمَوْتِ وَالْعَاجِزُ مَنْ أَتْبَعَ نَفْسَهُ هَوَاهَا وَتَمَنَّى عَلَى اللَّهِ

“A clever man is a man that is able to evaluate himself and perform deeds (using all his potentials) for his afterlife interest. Whereas a weak man is a man who follows his lusts and hoping from Allah.” (Narrated by At Tirmidhi, hadith no. 2383, and classed valid by al Albani in his work, “silsilah ahadis Shahihah”).

One of the proof that we are not tricked by the lust and worldly pleasure is that we are not complacent with our life in this world. At the same time, we can focus our life in this world to achieve a better life in the Hereafter. We can optimize all of our potentials, particularly our soul, body, wife, children, wealth and time, to build an eternal house in Paradise; not a house in this temporary, mortal world. Because a palace and a house in Paradise are way too different with a palace and house in this world.

To be continued….

Article of www.WhatisQuran.com

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