Today, I was speaking to my 14-year old son Mohamad about this world (as you do!). I wanted him to grasp the truth of the human condition, even if only momentarily, because its not easy for any of us, let alone a child, to fully comprehend our place in the world. It is exceptionally hard to step outside our own frame of mind, that which informs the way we view and interpret the world and all it contains, to look from the outside in, and see the minuteness of us as individuals and the fleeting imprint that will be our life here. It doesn't take long for our passing to be forgotten, and only a little longer for our memory to fade. We leave nothing here but particles of dust- and only a lucky few manage any sort of enduring legacy, and even that is finite and limited.
So I put it to him like this:
This world is like a bad friend. It masquerades as embodied perfection, with its beauty and its invitations to pleasure. It is exciting, intriguing and mysterious - a recipe for keeping you permanently interested. It tempts you into trusting it, into thinking it is loyal and faithful. It woos you into abiding its whims, distracting you from those things that would serve you better in the grand scheme of things. It does not love you and will not remember you when you are gone. It is the epitome of fair-weather friend; you only see its true colours when you are most vulnerable; and often times, it is too late a discovery.
Do not fall prey to it. See it for what it is, a beautiful lie. Be aware, and with God's Grace, you will be able to live with it without losing sight of what really matters. Do not take it as a friend, but acquaint yourself enough with it to leave your mark. Live with it according to the Prophet's hadith, as narrated in Al-Bukhari:
“Be in this world as though you were a stranger or a traveller/wayfarer.”
Ibn ‘Umar used to say:
“When evening comes, do not expect (to live till) morning, and when morning comes, do not expect (to live till) evening. Take from your health (a preparation) for your illness, and from your life for your death.”
And remember the friend that genuinely loves you, the one that will be constant and true and hold not just your memories but your eternal soul. It is your best friend, because it wants what is in your best interest. It is not just externally beautiful, it is the real deal. It asks nothing of you but to see through this world's pretence. It wants you to expose the delusion and to seek it with diligence and sincerity.
It's no easy feat maintaining it at the front and centre of our human minds, because we've yet to see it with our own eyes. We are yet to have the pleasure of beholding its unparalleled beauty. We've read about it, heard about it, even imagined it, but we simply cannot grasp its magnificence until we've earned it. And once we do, it will remember us, welcome us and love us, unwaveringly, forever. And we will finally be home.
