01/03/2026
You wake up each day carrying the weight of something you feel you must achieve — a grade, a title, a reputation, a certain appearance, a future you hope to control. You compare yourself quietly. You panic when someone seems ahead and sigh in relief when you are not falling behind. It’s easy to believe this is everything.
But this Ramadhan comes to reset our hearts.
Then the Prophet ﷺ shows us the reality of life:
Musa ibn ‘Abd al-Rahman al-Kindi narrated to us, Zayd ibn Hubab narrated to us, Al-Mas’udi informed me, Amr ibn Murrah narrated to us, from Ibrahim, from Alqama, from Abdullah, who said:
نَامَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم عَلَى حَصِيرٍ فَقَامَ وَقَدْ أَثَّرَ فِي جَنْبِهِ فَقُلْنَا يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ لَوِ اتَّخَذْنَا لَكَ وِطَاءً . فَقَالَ " مَا لِي وَمَا لِلدُّنْيَا مَا أَنَا فِي الدُّنْيَا إِلاَّ كَرَاكِبٍ اسْتَظَلَّ تَحْتَ شَجَرَةٍ ثُمَّ رَاحَ وَتَرَكَهَا " . قَالَ وَفِي الْبَابِ عَنْ عُمَرَ وَابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ . قَالَ أَبُو عِيسَى هَذَا حَدِيثٌ حَسَنٌ صَحِيحٌ .
The Messenger of Allāh ﷺ was sleeping upon a mat, then he stood, and the mat had left marks on his side. We said:
'𝐎 𝐌𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐀𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐡! 𝐖𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝: '𝐎 𝐌𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐀𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐡! 𝐖𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐚 𝐛𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮.'
He replied:
'𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨 𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐨 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝! 𝐈 𝐚𝐦 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐚 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐞, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐭.”
Reflection: Everything in the Dunya is temporary. Praise, embarrassment, beauty, struggles — all pass. The Dunya was never meant to fully satisfy, because it was never meant to last.
𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗽 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴. 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸, 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 — 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲. 𝗛𝗼𝗹𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗹𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂. 𝗘𝗻𝗷𝗼𝘆 𝗯𝗲𝗮𝘂𝘁𝘆 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗹.
One day, all the noise will fade. What will remain is how you oriented your heart: did you remember Allāh ﷻ while navigating a world built to distract you? Did you let temporary shine pull you from permanent light?
This life sparkles, but it is not ultimate. Live in it, but choose what endures — what returns to you in the Akhirah. That is the success that does not fade.
May this Ramadhan, bi’idhnillāh, soften our hearts and remind us where we truly belong. Allāhumma Āmīn.
Reference: Jamiʿ at-Tirmidhi 2377 — ḥasan ṣaḥīḥ