and forgiveness from Allah and His good pleasure (al-Hadid 20).

So which of the two do you desire? If you seek the Hereafter, know that it holds severe punishment for whoever prefers the world over it, and that it holds forgiveness and divine pleasure for whoever prefers the Hereafter over the world.

When a discerning person recites the Quran and reflects upon it, he realizes the true worth of this life: it is nothing in itself, merely a field in which to sow for the Hereafter. Therefore look carefully—what have you planted in it for your life to come? If you have sown goodness, then rejoice in a harvest that will delight you; but if the matter is the opposite, you have lost both this world and the next. We ask Allah to grant us and you safety and well-being.

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As for the hadith reports, they are too numerous to enumerate, so we will mention only a few to indicate the rest.

1/457 – ʿAmr ibn ʿAwf al-Ansari (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ sent Abu ʿUbaydah ibn al-Jarrah (may Allah be pleased with him) to Bahrain to collect its jizya. He returned with some money from Bahrain, and when the Ansar heard of his arrival they attended the dawn prayer with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. When the Prophet ﷺ had finished the prayer and was about to leave, they stood in his path. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ smiled when he saw them and said, “I imagine you have heard that Abu ʿUbaydah has returned with something from Bahrain?” They said, “Indeed, O Messenger of Allah.” He said, “Rejoice and hope for what will please you. By Allah, it is not poverty that I fear for you; rather, I fear that the world will be spread out before you as it was spread out before those who came before you, that you will compete for it as they competed for it, and that it will destroy you as it destroyed them.” Agreed upon.