Your grave, your bank account

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"What will you do in the grave for thousands of years?"

Dr. Mustafa Mahmood writes:

"I’ll tell you a method that has worked very well for me and has helped me focus more on my connection with Allah.

The grave is frightening, except for the righteous.

I thought about it, and now that I'm 54, I'm weary of the world and its things. So, when I go into the grave and remain alone for hundreds, thousands of years, what will I do?

Have you ever imagined that?

So I started following this approach:

Look, I’ll die, and I’ll have a dark, empty grave.

That grave will need provisions, so I began visualizing every act of seeking forgiveness as something I’m sending to my grave, so it can be there to wait for me as a companion in my loneliness.

By Allah, I’m not joking.

I have started fully decorating my grave.

In one corner, I’m filling it with thousands of praises of Allah.

Near my head, there will be the Quran that I read daily, providing a comforting pillow.

With each prayer, I imagine that I’m storing it in my grave.

Everyone will leave me, returning to their homes, and I’ll be left alone, perhaps for thousands of years. My children will likely forget me within a few years.

So, I will need companions, lights, and scenes of paradise in my grave.

I envision praises, remembrance of Allah, the Quran, prayers, and charity as my friends there, laughing and talking with me.

I have made sending peace and blessings upon the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) an essential practice, which will also join our gatherings there, like cool water and beautiful garments.

I want the life in my grave to be even more beautiful than this worldly life, Insha’Allah.

Isn’t it better to decorate my grave with the best things instead of leaving it filled with the stench of backbiting, envy, and other worldly sins, along with decayed furniture and a hard, rocky bed?

I worked tirelessly all my life to make my home here, but this home will eventually belong to my heirs; all my efforts won’t be for me but for others. So I decided it’s enough—I need to build my own home where only I’ll be, spending a long time there.

If all my deeds were only for worldly needs and nothing for my grave, then my grave would be filled with nothing but punishment, permanent darkness, and a harsh reckoning. How will I live alone in such a place?

My advice to you from today:

Make your grave your bank account. Deposit as much as you can, and go for the long-term policy.

Take good care of your worship. By Allah, when you are in the grave, you’ll thank me even from there.

Care for your grave more than you care for this world’s home.

Right now, you are among your family, wearing clothes, eating, drinking, sleeping comfortably among them, and having all your needs met, yet you complain and feel dissatisfied.

So imagine when you’ll be underground for hundreds or thousands of years—who will be with you then?

Your favorite politicians, athletes, actors, and businessmen? They don’t even know you exist, nor do they care about you here; yet, you foolishly waste your time on them.

Those children for whom you waste millions on lavish weddings—believe me, that waste will become a burden for you, and they’ll deny that their parents created difficulties for themselves and for them.

Therefore, take care of yourself.

Cherish each act of praise and every deed, and ask it to go ahead to the grave and wait for you. Let it make your grave fragrant, like a beautiful garden, with airy rooms, luxurious furniture, and compassionate friends.

We will meet there, and that home will be my best companion and the finest dwelling.

O Allah, grant us a good end.

O Allah, make our Hereafter better and protect us from the punishment of the grave.

O Allah, grant us the ability to remember You, to thank You, and to worship You beautifully so that You bestow Your pleasure upon us and place us in Jannat al-Firdous, where we may be in the company of Your Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), upon whom there are  countless blessings and peace.

So, start building your home."

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