 The Qur'an says you are busy piling up, calculating, developing your careers, your money, your occupation, your wealth, until you visit the graves. Think about it. When was the last time that you went to a funeral? Was it your mother? Was it your father? Was it your grandfather? Was it your uncle? Was it your cousin? Was it your friend? Was it your wife? Was it your husband? Was it the last time that you visited the graves when you went to a funeral and you saw that person whom you loved that was laughing, crying, live, boasting, wealthy, educated, denying, arrogant, whatever they were? What was the demeanor of the people when you walked in that funeral home? When that person was stretched out in their last suit? What was the demeanor? Were the people cracking jokes? Were they dancing? Were they clapping and singing songs? No! Silence! Melancholy! Trauma! Why? Because every person that walked in that room, seeing that person stretched out, the first thing they thought about was not the person, the first thing they thought about was that one day this will be me. So Allah said, Al Haqamu Taqathur, all of us, all of you are engaged in running your mouths, doing your business, multiplying, buying houses, cars, business, whatever you're doing, and when you're told about God, religion, life, morality, you're saying, look, I ain't got no time for that. You got no time for that. I don't want to hear that. I don't even believe in God. Matter of fact, I don't even know if I'm gonna die and if I do, maybe I'm coming back again. As a matter of fact, science is so sophisticated that I think really that they are on the verge of being able to solve the whole thing of death soon. We ain't got to die. If we got enough money, we don't even have to die. See how arrogant people can be until they visit the funeral house. And then after you go to the funeral house, if you got the guts, if you're able to do so, you go to the grave. And now this is another scenario, and you say to yourself, is that it? I mean, 50, 60 years, scraping, struggling, scheming, lying, stealing, fornicating, jumping up and down, begging, working, and this is the end of it? I mean, is this what's gonna happen to me? Are they gonna be dropping me into a hole in the ground? Holding the ground, the same hole that a cat digs after it defecates, just a little deeper, but for the same reason. The cat digs a hole because the cat has dignity, something that human beings don't seem to have. Instinctively, the cat digs a little hole, covers it up. Humans have got to be taught to do that, but it's for the same reason. So you and I, we're going into a hole a little deeper than the one the cat dug. And all the people that's crying, pulling out their hair, screaming, almost acting like they're falling into a thing with you. They want to just jump in there with you. Not really though, you know, it's all a act, because there ain't nobody really gonna jump in there and stay in there. They don't love you that much. And then after all the shoveling, you have to all the shoveling get done and they fill it up. And the box, you can't even see the box no more, the coffin. The coffin that costs $5,000. I don't know what they, what do they burn somebody to $5,000 a coffin for? I mean, I was a funeral director. After they left, I would dig them back up and put them in another box and take that box back. And honestly, I'm telling you, that's what they do. So after all the money and all the drama, and they dig that hole and put you in there and cover you up. And everybody goes back to the place, go back to mama's house or daddy's house or whoever's house. And you know, we cook some chicken or whatever it is and we do a little dancing and drink some scotch and forget all about that person. Then we start, we want the lawyer to come down and talk about, you know, dipping up the spoils. So if that woman who died had a husband, somebody else going to marry him, you know that. And that man who died, you know that woman, in about six months or a year of grieving or whatever it is, she going to come to understand that she needs somebody else to be with, so she's going to marry somebody. So that means if his suit is still in the closet and he can fit them, who on where? So it really means that after all this time and the people walk away from that grave, it's over. What about that person in the grave? What's happening? Because you know and I know that death is almost like sleeping. It's like sleeping. Your body is gone. Your body is dead. Your spirit is gone. But your consciousness is there. Yes, brothers and sisters, you and I are going to know. When the people put us in that box and put us in the grave, we are going to know. Your spirit is gone. You can't shout. You can't call out. You can't say, don't leave me here. But you're going to be hearing and you're going to be seeing because that's a different kind of consciousness. But you can't move. And in that grave, this is when the real trauma is going to begin. Because there's a reason for humans to go inside the grave and to create a one or two. He could have caused us to live and then disappear into the atmosphere. But he didn't. He caused us to go into another womb called the tomb. You start out in the womb of your mother and you wind up in the womb of the earth called the tomb. From the womb to the tomb. This is the whole trip. And this is what you have to think about. That grave is going to be a place of drama and trauma. A place where you're going to be questioned before you resurrect it. And brothers and sisters, do you think that human beings that have the ability to take a piece of earth, dig it up, irrigate it, put down seeds, plant corn, whatever the case might be. The corn comes up. They harvest the corn. Then after that, what happens? They cut it down, dig it up again, put new seeds in there. And what happens after that comes back up again. What happens in the winter? All leaves fall off the trees and the earth goes dead. And what happens in the springtime? The water comes, generates the earth again, germinates all over again. New grass, new leaves, new flowers, new fruits. So Allah says, and a sign for them is the dead earth. After that, we give it life. And then you eat the fruits from that. So Allah says, the one who gave you life in the beginning, is he not able to give you life all over again in order to judge you? Yes, certainly. You may want to deny it because you don't want to be judged. A person who goes down into their grave, after the soul has gone and they are in their grave, imagine what will be the condition of an individual there. We believe that there is something known as the Qabr. The grave being made narrow. How is it going to be made narrow? Allah knows. But we believe it. It's going to happen because it's there. The Prophet ﷺ explained it to us. That, you know, tightening or the narrowing of that grave, what will happen? And how the person will be tested so much? And how they will be questioned in that grave? It's the truth. The angels will come and they will see the individual. How it will happen? Allah knows best. But the questions are going to be asked by the angels. Who is your Rabb? Who is your Nabi? What is your deen? And so on. And it's no good for us to say, well, I know the answers. Every day in the morning, I used to say it 20 times. That's not good enough. If you are following, you will be able to answer. And if you are not following, you won't be able to answer. So here is the mu'min, the one who was believing. He will answer just like that. And he will be given a good resting place. You know, a little perhaps breeze of heaven will be released for that person because of the goodness that the person engaged in his or her life. And the other person, the evil person who engaged in bad and did not turn back to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, he will say or she will say, you know what? Who is your Rabb? Who is your Nabi? What is your deen? And so on. Oh, yeah, I heard people saying something and I used to say something as well. That's what sometimes we are guilty of. You know how? We heard people reading the Quran. We just read it. That's all. We just said the same thing. Without even thinking what's the meaning of it? What is it? What is this work? How can I live my entire life without knowing what my maker said? What a fool. Allahu Akbar. I need to know it because when I die, that sheikh who told me it's haram to look at the meaning of the Quran. He's not going to be there with me to say, oh Allah, I was the one who told this champion not to read the meaning. What do you think? It was you, your brain, your mind. Allah gave you. You are responsible. You are answerable. Start understanding Allah's plan by reading his book. That's the only book that is valid in existence. Subhanallah. It will lead you to the Sunnah of Muhammad, Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam. But if you don't have that book, you don't know what it's all about. What do you expect? How are you going to prepare for the Akhira? My brothers and sisters, it's an important message. The preparation for the life after death is the most important thing that I need to prepare for. You know, we will all invest our wealth because we want MashaAllah high-rise building and a little apartment. We will go out and get loans. InshaAllah, hope there are halal, inshaAllah. But from wherever we get some loans and we want to pay back over time because I need to own the house. Do you know what's happening? And I have seen this in a lot of cases of people who've passed away. They took out loans. They wanted big apartments or homes for their families and themselves. Before they could pay back the loan, they were already in need of a palace in the hereafter because they died. So what happens to that loan? Allah SWT says Who is there who is going to give to Allah SWT so that that loan would be multiplied so many fold? SubhanAllah, are you ready to do for Allah? Spend your time for Allah? Spend your energy for Allah? Abstain from sin for the sake of Allah? You will find its reward multiplied. When you need your palace in the hereafter, it will be there. You will already be given glad tidings of it from the moment the angels come to take your soul away. You've been given glad tidings because you now know, SubhanAllah, you have an idea. The angels that have come are angels that I've seen. One narration makes mention and it's muttafak alay. That the angels, the person who's dying will see the angels and just the angels SubhanAllah, they up to the horizon wherever the person can see, they will just see this angel. SubhanAllah, and the angel will come in white, white. May Allah SWT make that day easy for us. Ask Allah to grant us goodness. People have died and people who did not believe that there was a hereafter are already in the hereafter. What fools? SubhanAllah. People who did not believe in the hereafter are already in the hereafter. They've gone. Where are we going? Prepare for the grave. People will come, they'll bury you, they'll carry you. Like I always say, they will come a day when the phones will be ringing. The messages will be flying. People will be tweeting and WhatsApping and people will be putting posters and statuses and so on regarding your death. The day is coming. The day is definitely coming. People will phone. How many times have you received a phone call and a message? Someone you knew, close to you. They say, Inna Lillah, the person's gone. Inna Lillahi wa inna ilayi raja ron. How? What happened? Sometimes we are shocked, shocked. Well, you know what? The biggest shock will be if you were just taken without preparation. That's the biggest shock. May Allah help us. Because when I go, I'm all alone. If you look at your children carefully and your parents and your brothers carefully, they belong to Allah before they were even connected to you. But Allah used you to bring them into existence in order to fulfill the bigger plan that He has. That's what it is. But otherwise, Allah owns your child and you do not. Do you know that? Because you have to look after that gift of Allah as a test from Allah in order to earn paradise through that gift of Allah. I have a temporary, I have a child temporarily known as my child here in this world. Inshallah, if I use that temporary opportunity to prepare for heaven, I will be getting jannah solely because of my sacrifice. Same applies with marriage. You're married to someone, it's temporary. But you can eternalize it in certain ways if Allah wills. Subhanallah. For now, Subhanallah, I need to use this gift of Allah that I have by treating her or him in such a way that I earn jannah. I prepare for my afterlife. It's a sacrifice. It's not easy. And we tell people and now we need to tell them more and more because materialism is taking over. And we tell people, you know what? Marriage is a big sacrifice. A huge sacrifice. Without sacrifice, you won't achieve anything. Subhanallah. May Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala help us to sacrifice in a way that He is pleased with us. So let's prepare for the day we are put down when our families will return. And what is left? The hadith speaks of how when a person is, you know, in the form of a janaza, in the form of a dead person being carried, who follows this person? Family? Wealth? Deeds? Following this person. They bury and some things go back and some things stay. The family goes back. Before you know it, your wife is married again. Subhanallah. Allahu Akbar. It reminds me and I must pause for a moment on the lighter note. It reminds me of a person who was really upset in his marriage and so on. They were not happy. And so something happened and the relationship began to improve and they were working on it and what have you. So the man asks his wife, if I die, will you marry again? That's a question. Imagine, you know, people make their promises as much as they want, but you do not know the circumstances of your spouse. Say, for example, you died and your spouse is struggling so much and they need some form of help. No one's coming to help them. They wouldn't be wrong to marry again. In fact, it's encouraged to marry again. Subhanallah. But at the same time, listen to what the spouse says. The woman says, when the husband says, will you marry again? So she says, no, no. So what will you do? I'll just stay with my sister. Okay. Wow. Good answer. And a little while later she asks, what about you? Will you marry again? He says, no. So what will you do? I'll also just stay with your sister. May Allah Subhanahu Wa'Ta'Ala grant us ease. May Allah Subhanahu Wa'Ta'Ala bless us. May Allah Subhanahu Wa'Ta'Ala forgive us. We're ready to make a plan for when our spouse is dying, but we haven't made a plan for when we die. Have you thought of what I'm saying? We make a plan. We already know if she dies. Hey, I've got another two, three lined up. Mashallah. And we don't know, brother, you're dying before her. Subhanallah. May Allah Subhanahu Wa'Ta'Ala help us to prepare. May Allah help us to prepare. Really. This is something that we need to think about. So I was saying your deeds are the only things that remain with you. Otherwise, your wealth goes back. Your children are fighting over it. They stop talking to each other over it. They have broken the family into 20 pieces over your wealth. Ask those whom this has happened to. They will confirm. Yes, it's correct. And what has happened? That wealth, had you not left it, perhaps your family might have been closer bonded than now that you had a lot of wealth. I know of people who've had nothing. And after the death, the family is so close, Mashallah. And I know of people who've had so much that when the person passes away, someone is trying to rob this one and the other one is denying that one and this one is claiming his share of inheritance and the other one comes and say that was mine and I worked with dad and I did this and it was me and debates go on. Yes, there are exceptions to that. There are people who've died, Mashallah, wealthy and even their children, Mashallah, have been happy thereafter. But the message here is what you've amassed in terms of wealth and what you have had in terms of relatives. You've had 20, 30, 50 children. Trust me, they will go back. Before you know it, they will forget you. Look, we are seated here. How many of you know your seventh forefather? I don't know why they called him forefathers. One day when I was young, I used to think the reason why they called him forefathers is you can only remember up to four of them. After that, you can't remember. That's a forefather. You remember your forefathers and say, yes, all four of them. May Allah, Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala, help us. But one wonders, it's a fact. You will not remember your forefather. How many of us know seven generations back? But they were important people. You are from their lineage and you don't even know about them. Why? You are their family. You, they went, they left you behind gone. The wealth that they had, well, too late. Subhanallah. You might have a piece of land somewhere in one of the rural areas of some place you come from. That was your ancestral land. Big deal. No one wants you there today. May Allah, Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala, grant us goodness, really. So what happens is the thing that comes with you, your deeds, your deeds come in the form of people sometimes. The hadith has different descriptions. The deeds come in the form of a protection for you. That's your deed. That's your deed. What did you do? This man, this is his zaka. This is his salah. Beautiful salah. We don't want a quality that is useless. Subhanallah. You know, there was a time when we used to think that the quality of items made in China is not good. But that's wrong. It depends how much you are ready to pay for an item. Ask those who have done business. There was a time when I didn't know any better. I was corrected by someone who is Chinese here in this crowd. Subhanallah. You corrected me. They sent me an email to say, hey, hey, hey, what you said was insulting. It was wrong. You cannot say Chinese products are bad and they are not. And I guarantee you that it depends on how much you pay. And also on Allah's acceptance. You know, sometimes you buy a vehicle, very expensive one, but it happens to be slightly faulty. Well, that you paid for a lovely car, the fault that was just a test for you between you and Allah, Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. No one planned it for you to have that particular item. It was Allah's plan. The same applies. You see how much you're ready to pay. That's the type of goods you get. So if you want to buy a light and the light is one dirham, then perhaps it will last for a day, two days, and then it will go, you know. I don't know if you recall the story I told you about a man who only paid one cent for the fans that he had. So he bought a whole box of these fans and he tested one, his wife tested one. And as she held, you know, the fan that opens up, as he held the first fan, it broke. Or his wife held it and it broke. The wife held the second one, it broke. Third one, it broke. So the wife calls him and says, hey, relax. You bought this thing here and these are breaking. They are defects, rejects. We have a wedding coming up. We wanted to distribute these things to all the guests. How did you do this? So he took the boxes and he went back to the man on the side of the road selling these boxes and he says, hey, these things are not working. He says, what do you mean they are not working? They are breaking. The man says, how much did you pay? He says, I paid a cent each. I bought the whole box, you know, so many boxes, four boxes. I paid a cent each. So the man says, oh, there are other ones that come for a dirham and another one that comes for ten dirhams. It depends how much you pay. Did you read the instructions, the ones you paid, the cent ones? Did you look at what it says inside there? He said, no. Well, there's a way of using them. You want to pay one cent, you must know how to use it. So the man says, well, how? This is a fan. It's normal. The whole world knows you opened the thing and Mashallah gives you a nice design and then you use it, you know, with your hand. He says, no, no, no, no. Those are the ones for dirham. The one for one cent is a different way. So what's the way? He says, come, I show you. Okay, hold it in your hand. He holds it in his hand. He opens the thing and it's, you know, the fan comes out, beautiful picture. He says, now put it in front of your face. You put it in front. Now move your head. Say, the man says, what do you mean? He says, but that's, if you want to pay nothing, you got to know how to use it. You want the ones that you move, you must pay a bit more. Do you know what? With our deeds sometimes, sometimes our deeds are not the sincerity, the quality is not good enough. May Allah forgive us. So take a look at Surah al-Mulk. Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala says, We know we read Surah al-Mulk so often. People know it off by heart. Listen to that second verse. Allah says, it is He who has created death and life for a certain reason. What's the reason? In order to test who has better deeds from amongst you, He didn't say who has more deeds. Because what's the point of doing more deeds when the quality is like that one sent fan? What's the point? I'd rather do less deeds with the quality that when I need the fan and the cooling, I will be cool, Subhanallah. So this is why I remember, your farad is your farad. You cannot compromise that. Your obligation, you cannot compromise. But that which is excess and more than that, the quality is more important than the quantity. If you have read the Quran properly and thoroughly and covered it within a span of a month, and you did it correctly, beautifully, trying to understand its meaning and so on, it is far more valuable than whipping through it and telling people, I complete one Quran every third day or every day and so on. If you want to read Rak'at of Salah and offer voluntary Salah, it is far better for your preparation for the afterlife if you were to offer less with quality than offering more with quantity and no quality. If you can do both, Alhamdulillah, quality and quantity, that is a success. But if you cannot do the quantity of it, remember it's the quality that counts. These are the deeds. This is preparation for the afterlife because when we get to our graves, that Salah that we did last minute, you know, it happens every day. Hey, it's awesome. What time is sunset? Okay, sunset is at 5.31, for example. So we say, okay, it's still 5, 5 o'clock. I still got a bit of time and we're still finishing a game, watching a movie, doing some brother, stop everything. The time of the time started at 3 something, 3.35, whatever the time was, you need to put aside everything and read your Salah. We always say, tell your work. Don't say, don't say, oh Salah, I have work. Say, oh work, I have Salah. Quit it. The women folk sometimes, they're cooking for you because sometimes we come roaring home like a lion. I'm hungry. Have you heard that? I'm hungry. What is there to eat? Hey, poor woman is reading Salatul Asr and we're shouting. Relax, take it easy. Go and make yourself an egg, inshallah. That egg is more blessed than you screaming in this way while she's trying to earn her Jannah. My sister, don't compromise your Salah for cooking. Don't compromise your Salah for something else. No, stop everything. Your Salah is your grave. You know why? Your life might stop at that moment. That Salah will come and save you. You will get into the afterlife before you know. People say, but you know my children, they are this, they are that. Read the Sunnah, ask the Ulama, find out how to fulfill your Salah. If your children are troubling you a little bit here and there, you fulfill your Salah. Subhanallah. Make sure that you've done it. There is no excuse. May Allah grant us ease. Now I'm just thinking, there might be some people thinking, okay, I'm intentionally going to make a nice long Salah, you know, without having cooked. And then I will say, didn't you hear the talk last night? Didn't you hear, I was busy with my Salah. Didn't you hear the talk last night? So remember to strike the balance. You know, we are not saying, don't abuse things in order to do something that you, you want to or not to do something that you have to. Don't abuse things. May Allah Subhanahu Wa'Ta'Ala help us. So the preparation is such that every one of us, common logic will tell us, I need to prepare. Common sense. But sometimes Allah says, No, you love the, that which is in front of you now. That which is current. You love it. And you are forgetting that which is coming. And this happens to all of us. What's in front of us? We want it. And what is coming? We forget. Allah says strike the balance. Use the current in order to prepare for that which is coming. May Allah make it easy for us.