This World is Temporary

This World is Temporary T here was once a man, a Muslim whom people used to call Mullah-ji. He reared buffaloes and sold their milk for a living. Mullah-ji had a friend, a trader, who had a business in iron goods. One day, one of Mullah-ji’s buffaloes died. He mentioned this to his friend. His friend said to him, “Mullah-ji, your business is in things that breathe, and their breath lasts for only a short time and then they are dead. A buffalo is only there as long as it can breathe. Once it stops breathing, that’s the end!” What Mullah-ji’s friend said is true not just for buffaloes but for every human being, too. Like buffalos and other animals, we, too, breathe for a short time and then we are dead! “Many people spend their entire lives earning as much money as they can, only to be taken to task by God in the Hereafter.” With great pain, these words often tumble out of my mouth. When I look at people around me, I see them frantically busy, spending all their time and other resources only to amass money. Their days and nights are spent in this obsessive pursuit. Reflect, in this regard, on what the Quran (102) relates: