There’s a hadith that really puts things into perspective. The Prophet ﷺ said that on the Day of Judgment, a person who had the most luxurious, blessed life in this dunya will be brought and dipped into Jahannam for just a moment. Then Allah will ask him:
"O son of Adam, have you ever seen any goodness? Have you ever experienced any pleasure?"
And the man will say, "No, by Allah, I have never seen any good."
Imagine that. A man who had everything—money, status, power, the best of this dunya. But after one moment in Jahannam, he forgets it all. Everything he chased, everything he enjoyed, all of it erased like it never happened.
And then, the opposite happens. A man who had the worst life—poverty, sickness, hardship, constant struggles—he’s dipped into Jannah for a moment. And Allah asks:
"O son of Adam, have you ever seen any hardship? Have you ever faced any difficulty?"
And he will say, "No, by Allah, I have never seen any hardship."
All the pain, all the suffering, gone in an instant. One second in Jannah makes him forget every difficulty he ever had.
Now think about your own life. All the memories you have—how do they feel? Distant? Almost like a dream? You’ve probably had amazing moments, times where you laughed, times where you were at peace, times where you felt on top of the world. But now, those moments feel far away. You barely even remember them. Even your hardest days, the ones you thought you’d never get through, have faded. It’s all like a mirage—something that was there for a moment and then disappeared.
And that’s exactly how life will feel when you die. A distant, blurry memory. The only thing that will matter then is what’s ahead of you—the recompense, the scales, the hisaab (accountability) before Allah. You’ll see sins you forgot about, sins you didn’t even know you committed. Some will be things you were never even aware of. Yet they’ll be there, written, waiting to be judged.
The dunya feels big now because it’s all we see. But in reality, it’s nothing. The Prophet ﷺ said, “If this dunya was worth even the wing of a fly in the sight of Allah, He would not have given a sip of water to the disbeliever.” That tells you exactly how insignificant this world is in Allah’s eyes. But how do we live? As if it’s the only thing that matters.
The car, the house, the money, the career—it all ends. The only thing that stays is what you did for your akhirah. The Salaf understood this deeply. Some of them were kings and rulers, yet they feared Allah more than anyone. Others were poor and lived on barely anything, but they were the happiest because their hearts were attached to the akhirah, not the dunya.
So what are you chasing? The dunya, which disappears in an instant? Or the akhirah, which is forever? The choice is yours, but just remember—one dip in Jahannam, and everything you worked for here will feel like it never even existed.
Don’t let regret consume you on that Day. The worst regret is not missing out on dunya, but missing out on Jannah because you were too distracted by this temporary world. Allah defines true success for us:
"So whoever is saved from the Fire and admitted into Paradise has truly succeeded. And the life of this world is nothing but the enjoyment of delusion." (Qur’an 3:185)
That’s real success. Not money, not status, not how much you own. Just escaping Jahannam and entering Jannah. Work for that now before it's too late.
"O son of Adam, have you ever seen any goodness? Have you ever experienced any pleasure?"
And the man will say, "No, by Allah, I have never seen any good."
Imagine that. A man who had everything—money, status, power, the best of this dunya. But after one moment in Jahannam, he forgets it all. Everything he chased, everything he enjoyed, all of it erased like it never happened.
And then, the opposite happens. A man who had the worst life—poverty, sickness, hardship, constant struggles—he’s dipped into Jannah for a moment. And Allah asks:
"O son of Adam, have you ever seen any hardship? Have you ever faced any difficulty?"
And he will say, "No, by Allah, I have never seen any hardship."
All the pain, all the suffering, gone in an instant. One second in Jannah makes him forget every difficulty he ever had.
Now think about your own life. All the memories you have—how do they feel? Distant? Almost like a dream? You’ve probably had amazing moments, times where you laughed, times where you were at peace, times where you felt on top of the world. But now, those moments feel far away. You barely even remember them. Even your hardest days, the ones you thought you’d never get through, have faded. It’s all like a mirage—something that was there for a moment and then disappeared.
And that’s exactly how life will feel when you die. A distant, blurry memory. The only thing that will matter then is what’s ahead of you—the recompense, the scales, the hisaab (accountability) before Allah. You’ll see sins you forgot about, sins you didn’t even know you committed. Some will be things you were never even aware of. Yet they’ll be there, written, waiting to be judged.
The dunya feels big now because it’s all we see. But in reality, it’s nothing. The Prophet ﷺ said, “If this dunya was worth even the wing of a fly in the sight of Allah, He would not have given a sip of water to the disbeliever.” That tells you exactly how insignificant this world is in Allah’s eyes. But how do we live? As if it’s the only thing that matters.
The car, the house, the money, the career—it all ends. The only thing that stays is what you did for your akhirah. The Salaf understood this deeply. Some of them were kings and rulers, yet they feared Allah more than anyone. Others were poor and lived on barely anything, but they were the happiest because their hearts were attached to the akhirah, not the dunya.
So what are you chasing? The dunya, which disappears in an instant? Or the akhirah, which is forever? The choice is yours, but just remember—one dip in Jahannam, and everything you worked for here will feel like it never even existed.
Don’t let regret consume you on that Day. The worst regret is not missing out on dunya, but missing out on Jannah because you were too distracted by this temporary world. Allah defines true success for us:
"So whoever is saved from the Fire and admitted into Paradise has truly succeeded. And the life of this world is nothing but the enjoyment of delusion." (Qur’an 3:185)
That’s real success. Not money, not status, not how much you own. Just escaping Jahannam and entering Jannah. Work for that now before it's too late.
