Many of us seem to spend an incredible amount of time and energy chasing the “dream” job (neglecting our akhira, in the process). After all, a bigger paycheck often translates into a better car, a bigger house and a higher worldly social status. Right?
But we are warned about this in The Qur’an:
“Rivalry in worldly increase distracts you (from the remembrance of Allah), till you come to the graves” 1
“Your wealth and your children are but a trial, and Allah has with Him a great reward.” 2
Ever think of the results of your worldly efforts?
“It will be, on the Day they see it, as though they had not remained [in the world] except for an afternoon or a morning thereof.” 3
Lavish homes and fancy vacations are temporary worldly fixes whereas, dedicating time and effort into something that lasts an eternity make more sense, doesn’t it? Don’t get me wrong. There’s nothing wrong in treating ourselves to worldly enjoyment, provided it’s done in moderation and within the halal limits, but not at the cost of neglecting our primary duties of ibadah or forgetting our akhira.
Have you ever stopped for a minute and considered building a house for yourself in Jannah?
“Allah will build house in Jannah for whoever is diligent in observing 12 Sunnah rakat(as follows: 2 before Fajr, 4 rakat before and 2 after Dhur, 2 after the Maghrib, and 2 after Ishaa).” 4
Yet, worries and anxieties are dominating our lives so much so that many of us have missed our sunnah rakats or sometimes even a few obligatory prayers for some worldly reason, (like, having an “important” meeting with your boss). Have we forgotten our meeting with Allah 
? Our appointment with the Angel of Death?
We have the opportunity for high stations of Jannah – to meet the Prophet 
, to meet the blessed companions 
, and most of all to see Allah, The Most High! It sounds amazing, doesn’t it? Yet, many of us choose to not strive for Jannah. We have sadly become distracted and absorbed by this dunya, and lost sight of our purpose – worshiping Allah ; and our main goal – the pleasure of Allah and subsequently Jannah.
“No, you prefer the life of this world, while the hereafter is better and that which remains” 5
Indeed, the akhirah is better for us; we need to use our time in this dunya to work for it.
So why do we prioritize dunya over Jannah?
1. The Cool Factor
Imagine being denied an eternal life of bliss because…
- You neglect your prayers fearing you may not look “cool” among peers
- You choose not to live according to what the Quran says fearing ridicule or poverty, or because, “What will the people say?”
- You do not wear the hijab and jilbab because it is ‘out of fashion’. Or in some societies, solely wear it *for* fashion.
- You spend hours listening to music or staring at magazines filled with haram pictures
When we sit down and logically think about it, what are we doing? Our souls are precious, and can only be equal to the price of Paradise. Therefore, sell them only at that price.
2. The ‘No Time’ Factor.
Our Prophet and the Sahaba were much busier than us, yet they never fell short in their duties to worship and remember Allah. The truth is that we are not busier, but rather we have forgotten our goals and messed up our priorities. The pleasures of this world are nothing compared to those of the Hereafter so why then have we neglected, or even abandoned, our primary duties?
If you find yourself constantly prioritizing dunya over akhirah, it is time to strike a balance:
So you have decided you want to be productive for the Hereafter? Alhamdulillah, making that intention is the first step! If you are still breathing, the doors of repentance are still open and it is not too late to make it to Jannah.
Top 5 Tips:
- List your priorities and arrange them accordingly
- Use an agenda/time planner to organize your days (rather than waking up each day and not knowing what to do during that 24 hour period). I’ve always managed to get an incredible amount of work done, have ample time to invest in my religious duties and still have lots of free time to rewind and refresh whenever I plan my day. This technique never fails!
- Schedule your day around your prayers: Do this as much as you can; make your prayers a priority! So, instead of saying, “After finishing my assignment, I will pray Asr”, say, “I’ll pray Asr and then finish my assignment in the next half an hour”.
- Schedule a realistic and practical time
Like for example: I will read Qur’an between 4.30 PM- 5.00 PM everyday (you can increase this amount as you progress) rather than vaguely telling yourself “I’ll read Quran today”. Setting up practical time slots will help you assess where you’re wasting time, in turn, helping you be more productive insha’Allah. - Use the night hours: The blessed tahajjud is magical in ways you can never imagine!“Indeed, the hours of the night are more effective for concurrence [of heart and tongue] and more suitable for words. Indeed, for you by day is prolonged occupation. And remember the name of your Lord and devote yourself to Him with [complete] devotion” 6
Try to ensure that you give everything its right – your deen, your health and body, your sleep, your family, your work, so on and so forth.
So What are you Waiting for?
If you’re still breathing, then alhamdulillah it’s not too late! Begin now – review how to correctly pray and establish your daily prayers, make a daily habit of reading The Qur’an and then acting upon it, learn sunnah actions and lessons from the life of the Prophet . Have eman and work righteous actions, and take small consistent steps to improve – you will enjoy super productivity in this world and joy in the next insha’Allah!
Remember Jannah isn’t for 1 week or 100 years, it’s for eternity and comes with unlimited pleasure. Strive now!
“Other faces that day will be happy; pleased on account of the effort they had put in earlier (in the dunya)”. 7
Please share your tips and suggestions on how we can me the make the best use of our time in dunya to strive for akhira in the comments sections inshaAllah. We would LOVE to hear back from you 🙂
71 replies on “What Are You Striving for: Dunya or Akhirah?”
May Almighty Allah have mercy and guide us all to righteousness! Ameen!
Ameen
So true, May Allah S/T give us hedayah and remove our greed of this materiel world. Ameen.
Ameen
Mashallah jazaku Allahu Kheir
Very good …
Wa iyyaki Fatima 🙂
Very motivating, i’m a victim of the i have no time excuse and even when i do plan my day its always like you said “vague”. I shall take your advice, in Sha Allah it will become very simple and easy to manage time. Jazaky Allah khairan.
Wa iyyaki Sadia, yeah, managing time with a list of to-dos is always helpful in keeping track of what we’ve accomplished and what we haven’t. 🙂
Masha Allah, Good Reminder brother, may Allah Guide us on right path, Jasakallahu hair.
Wa iyyak Irfan. Ameen
Alhamdulillah ….i have no words..which one got messege here
I’ve tried many times to set a timetable but I fail each time to follow it through. I tend to set a really high standard for myself to follow and my timetable ends up being filled with more time for religion and barely any time for dunya. Then it becomes impossible for me to follow practically so I end up discarding my timetable and doing nothing religious that day apart from the obligatory worship. I am still trying to find out how to balance my life between deen and dunya.
its okey to struggle sis..keep fighting and Allah will make it easy for you…pray more tahajjud as dua made on that time are most precious
Intention is extremely important. Everyone has to earn money for living but why not to pray Allah to give you livelihood which is halal by all means n by doing it u earn special rewards n pleasure of soul. Pleasure of soul is only with caring for Pleasure of Allah. Allah has lot to give us.
This was a helpful reminder, it is so easy to lose balance.
Who is it that would loan Allah a goodly loan so He may multiply it for him many times over? And it is Allah who withholds and grants abundance, and to Him you will be returned -al Baqarah:245
Ooh Allah, The Creator of heaven and earth give us better guidance and make us among the Submitters. Ameen
The first option in life is to seek arkhirah then all else will follow; that’s the priority for me.
The article is very beneficial and a reminder of aakhirah. I have learnt a lot especially how to make priorities in life particularly religious activities. May Allah eward the author and her in knowledge.
Ameen. Jazakallah khair for your kind words Hamis
We don’t really know our aim of living but yet procrastinating time on unless activities. May Allah forgives us
Ameen.
Alhamdulillah a very good reminder. JazakAllah Bro for the reminder. May Allah reward you for this work.
As you told to repent Alhamdulillah. There is a Hadith of Prophet Muhammad saws.
Sahih Bukhari (Invocations – 4)
Narrated Abu Huraira, I heard Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) saying.” By Allah! I ask for forgiveness from Allah and turn to Him in repentance more than seventy times a day.”
Than we must think how much we should make Tauba.
Then about striving for Jannah. Be successful person in Akhirah. Indeed we must do our Ibadaah. We sometime just sit idly or else do some work at that time we can…..
سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ وَبِحَمْدِهِ وسُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ الْعَظِيمِ
Subhaanal-laahi wa bihamdihi, Subhaanal-laahil-‘Adheem.
The Prophet (SAW) said: “Two words are light on the tongue, weigh heavily in the balance, and are loved by the Most Merciful One is: “Glorified is Allah and praised is He, Glorified is Allah the Most Great”.
Al-Bukhari 7/168, Muslim 4/2072.
What a beautiful line so indeed so light in mouth but heavy in weight. By this Dua we can just weight our balance and be one among the successful. InShaAllah.
I am from Bangladesh and also a student of IOU. I am going through a lot of hardship. I had finished my B.Sc and applying for M.Sc in Norway. First of all I am determined not to accept their offer (Although the offer is very nice). But later I have changed my decision. But as it is not a Muslim land the fitnah is more prevalent. So I am little bit nervous. Sometimes I think I have given so much importance this dunya than akhirah. I love to attend jamah in my five daily prayer. But I think there is only a mosque in that area. It’s very difficult for me to believe that I am unable to attend jamah. I ask myself am I strong enough to tackle this temptation? Please pray for me so that I am not deviated from the straight path.
very motivational article for muslims….
insha allah we will give more importance to deen than duniya
MashaAllah,Heart softening,May Alah reward you for this timely reminder.(please keep me in your duas too).jazakallah
Ameen. Jazakallah khair for your dua Arshad.
Asalam alaikum, we pray for the best in life but forgetting to strive for here after, as Muslims we should try to live a productive live….jazakallahu kaira sister for this article
Wa alaikum salam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu Ayuba. Wa iyyak. May Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala accept it.
ManshaAllah is a reminder to those of us who are not well to do yet ,we pray and wait for Allah’s abundance of Islamic wealth and Insha-Allah Islam will be protected, we pray that the little that we are doing may Allah watch over it.
Thank you for sharing .
Innalillahi Wa’inna Ilaihi Raji’uuuuuuun!!!!!!!! I’m know awake from my long sleep. Insha Allah I will do my best to correct my mistake. May Allah bless you Abundantly.
Ameen. Jazakallah khair for your dua Muhammad.
May Allah b please wit d writer. We often forget our purpose and deluded by vanity. We care more of what people ill say neglecting what we stand to face in d hereafter. Infact, our energy, good health and atimes wealth guarantee us longlife because we are deluded. Allah says, u thinking the time is far, but we see it to be near or close. When we see it d way d companions sees it, perhaps we can b better. May Allah forgive us all and strengthen our faith on His path. Ameeeeeen
Ameen.
SubhanAllah, thats how I was thinking today….but after this blog inshallah I’m gonna change my priorities in this life for the sake of Allah and the day of judgment.
May Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala help you in bringing about changes in your life Neran. Ameen
Alhamdulillah, may Allah almighty forgives us our sins and guide us through the best paths
there is no much effort but in shaa Allah we shall put more effort to do more
it is a very nice blog which remind me my journey of this world.Because of my job I am not able to offer salah on time.I feel like that I am giving priority this world over here after.
I hate my self that because of this worldly environment and around non Muslim people I left My salah.
plz brothers and sisters pray for me and all the Muslims and for humanity.
that Allah help me and all to come out from this hasitation.Ameen
May Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala help you in establishing your prayers Sohrab. Ameen
Assalamu alaikum..
I pray Allah, that please make me to follow these…and make me to remember in each and every seconds that this life is not stable…
How can i convey this is to my muslim friends? They are ignore sometime
tell them about the glad tidings of jannah..and that if Allah is pleased with you ,you actually get both..and continuing reminding more of often and kindly..FOR REMINDERS BENEFIT A BELIEVER
It touches heart
Alhamdulillah, the most important thing is fot one to realize the motive of coming to this world and act base on thst motive
Jazzaka Allahu kheir for the beautiful reminder. The work of all the brothers and sisters from islamic online university will eventually reach and help the ummah and the not yet muslims with the help of Allah subuhhanahu wa ta’ala. more and more frequently posts on social media our youths and adults spends hours and hours online. Pictures seems to capture peoples attentions
Very enlightening, I have already reposted on my wall so that others too will benefit from the reminder. May Allah (SWA) reward you with Aljannatul Firdaus, Amin. JazakhAllah-khair
THIS WORLD IS TEMPORARY .
You’ve said it all sis.May Allaah increase you and us in knowledge and taqwa. Surely in remembrance of Allaah do hearts find contentment.
May Allah (SWA) reward you Dr.PHILIP .
Alhamdulillah very motivating. I will follow in sha Allah.
Alhamdulillah very motivating. I will follow in shaa Allah.
Jazakallah khair.
masha allah jazakalaahu khayr DR pilal for the good work your are for the religion i love for the sake of allah and i always appreciate for what you have posted in public and normally read always.but iam requesting to help me your phone number if possible so that i can connect you any advice you help for me thank sheikh pilal and iam live in nairobi capita city of kenya
Jazakallah Khair
May Allah guide us
Powerful reminder of our lives purpose in this duniya.
Asalamu Alaykum warhmatulahi wabarakatu, this article really got me, jassakumu Llahu brother, please pray for me as I am guilty of this, I don’t know what I’m striving for at all, all I do is get up for work and ran after duniya, and as result of this I’m always very tired,lazy and moody, that I don’t do nothing else even on my days of, I’m in a very bad place at the moment pls make dua for me. Thanks.
O ya Allah forgive me I prefer hereafter pass this world
I was in pursuit of the dunya for too many years of my life. Alhamdulillah, I am that way no longer.
although we know all what we need to accomplish for our akhira in this dunya, we still need a day to day reminders in this blog. Jazak Allah Khair from reminding us sister Nasmira Firdous. same name with my elder sister. . .
i want to but often i failed please pray for my determination
Jazakumullahu Khairan
People are really deserve the position but not getting at all because you must have quality of how can you will do back bite , doing something bad for others, then always yes sir yes sir may not verbally but by your work, then shouting to one step down position, then if you are eligible for a good incentive you deserve but it will be not with you because your senior will cut from you and he/she will show to the management yes I did less expense. And always talk to the front person very neglect like I am everything and you are stupid and you will feel you don’t have rights to stay here. This is also one kind of quality in the present job market. There are so many. But still we have some very good people that’s the reason we still do our work. And better to have a business then the job. It can be a small investment. May Allah guide us all and me. Ameen
Doc. it is great reminder jazakumullahu hairan.
Satisfaction and happiness lies in the remembrance of Allah ( almighty ) with reciting of Holy Qur-aan and act upon it
ASSALAMULAIKUM WAREHMATULLAH…
VERY NICE…
MAY ALLAH GRANT HIS BLESSINGS UPON YOU…
JAZAKALLAH…
This is absolutely true, is there anyone that does not realize that Dunya (this world) is temporary, if you are a believer you do know that. Akhira seems far away but very close, so, May Allah help us keep this in mind each day and try to make some deposits to our future everlasting life. Ameen
Good advice.guide us for sunnah of hamaray nubi the common man like me want to follow of the sunah of nabi pbuh
[…] http://blog.islamiconlineuniversity.com/what-are-you-striving-for-dunya-or-akhirah/ […]
there would always be an intention but sometimes its very difficult to strive for the akhira when the people and the environment arround you is not on the same direction..Only if u trust Allah, you can overcome the challenges…May Allah bless you, reading this kind of articles reminds and awakens such stagnant hearts.May Allah help us through people like you. Enlighthen us through realistic and according to Sunnahs advices.
[…] “Rivalry in worldly increase distracts you (from the remembrance of Allah), till you come to the graves” 1 […]