Revive Your Heart: Putting Life in Perspective

fa-mā ūtītum min shay’in fa-matāʿ al-
ḥayāt al-dunyā
. We treasure all of our relationships so long as, they are
something that is building us towards the 
ākhirah
.
So I want to leave you with this picture: 
wa-mā ʿind Allāh khayrun wa-abqā
—what Allah has in His possession is better. What we have right now is also in
Allah’s possession—it’s not like this is not in the possession of Allah. But by
using the word 
mā
here it is as though Allah is saying, ‘I don’t want to tell you
what I have yet’. I have a mystery for you. There is something I have in my
possession and it’s better, it’s better. In other words it hasn’t been given to you

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yet. Now, one would immediately think what Allah has? He must be talking
about 
jannah
. But as a matter of fact because he opened the door by saying 
mā
ʿind Allāh
—not 
wa-l-jannatu
khayrun wa-abqā
. He said, 
mā ʿind Allāh khayrun
wa-abqā
—whatever Allah has. And what Allah has, some of which he gave to
you now, not just in terms of 
dunyā
but He also gave you in terms of that road to
jannah
. That road itself is better. The revelation of Allah is better than
everything else you’ve been given. The word of Allah is better because, if you
and I can live by it, it’ll get us somewhere far better.
So in this 
āyah
there are two comparisons that we constantly have to make, if
we are going to survive this world and not be taken in by the perceptions that are
actually not real—the perceptions of people or the false self-image that we might
develop. What is that reality check?
... But that which is with Allah is better and more enduring for those
who believe ...
(Al-Shūrā 42: 36)
Whatever Allah has is firstly, better and secondly, lasts longer—as far as
those who really have 
īmān
are concerned. So now every experience in life I
compare to something else that Allah has, and what Allah has must be better. It’s
a small reminder; you go into the store to buy yourself some new clothes. The
moment you’re putting those on the cash register, just at that moment, think—
wa-mā ʿind Allāh khayrun wa-abqā li-lladhīn āmanū
—what Allah has, the
clothing Allah will give me is better. Whatever is acceptable with Allah in
jannah
for me is better, for those who believe. We’re about to eat some good
food, you enjoy the food, if you could tell yourself right as you’re eating—
wa-
mā ʿind Allāh khayrun wa-abqā li-lladhīn āmanū
—the 
ākhirah
doesn’t just
become some clichéd thing you bring up; or you only bring up when
somebody’s going through trouble. ‘No, No, 
in shā
’
 Allāh
! Allah will give you
in the 
ākhirah.
’ It becomes a part of your daily life. The 
ākhirah
becomes
something you think about all the time. Because Allah didn’t just describe it as
something that is there in the heavens, He described it as something that is with
Allah. Now what does 
ʿinda
mean? 
ʿInda
suggests closeness, so the acquisition
of 
jannah
, necessarily means closeness to Allah. So what Allah is offering, in

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this 
āyah
also, is closeness to Him—
wa-ʿalā Rabbihim yatawakkalūn—
they
place their trust in Allah. I tell you, if you and I develop this attitude, then
worldly possessions and worldly gain and worldly loss will become easy to deal
with.
Relationships become easy because if you realize, what Allah has is better,
the next time you get into a quarrel—some kind of tension between you and a
friend, you and a family member and your pride gets in the way of fixing those
tensions. We must realize that what Allah has is better, and this world is going to
go before we know it. Before we know it this will mean nothing. There are
people that have ruined relationships for years because their pride gets in the
way of apologizing. They can’t get themselves to say sorry. ‘No, I’m not going
to say sorry; it’s the other one’s fault. Why should I say sorry?’ And they’re
going to take that to their grave. They didn’t have much time here and, by the
way, when we’re standing in front of Allah, the pride’s going to be gone. You
and your brother, that you were angry with, are both standing in front of Allah
and you’re both begging Allah for mercy. Had you forgiven each other you
could have both earned 
jannah
. Just by the act of forgiveness. When you put it in
perspective, is your pride really worth that much? Is your anger really that heavy
that you couldn’t earn yourself what Allah is offering?
When things are put in this perspective, life becomes easy to deal with. We
learn the expression: