, this means that nothing comes after it. Whoever believes that the grave is the final resting place and that there is no abode beyond it is a disbeliever. The final abode is either Paradise or Hell.
Third: bodily states. In the body, a person passes from one stage to another. Listen to the words of Allah Most High:
“It is Allah Who created you in weakness, then gave you strength after weakness, then gave you weakness and gray hair after strength. He creates whatever He wills, and He is the All-Knowing, the All-Powerful.” [al-Rūm: 54]
At the beginning of his creation, a person is a tiny infant whose hands and feet you can gather together in one of your hands and whom you can carry in that same hand, so weak is he. He then continues to grow stronger, little by little, until he becomes a strong, robust young man. Once he has reached full strength, he begins to decline and returns to weakness. Some scholars have likened the body’s condition to that of the moon: it first appears as a slender, faint crescent, then grows little by little until its light becomes full, after which it gradually wanes until it disappears. We ask Allah to grant us and you a good end.
Fourth: the state of the hearts—and what can make you comprehend the states of the hearts! The states of the hearts can be a blessing or an affliction. All the hearts of the children of Adam are between two fingers of the Most Merciful, and He turns them however He wills (1). If He wills, He causes a heart to deviate, and if He wills, He guides it. When the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, related this hadith, he said, “O Allah, Turner of the hearts, make my heart firm upon Your religion” (2).
Hearts pass through remarkable states. At times the heart becomes attached to this world; at other times, to some particular worldly thing. Sometimes it becomes attached to wealth, and wealth becomes its greatest concern. Sometimes it becomes attached to women, and women become its greatest concern. Sometimes it becomes attached to palaces and homes, and these become its greatest concern. Sometimes it becomes attached to means of transportation and cars, and these become its greatest concern. At other times, it is with Allah—