One Day Your Whole Life Will Seem Like an Afternoon

Imagine a billionaire who enjoys good health, travels freely, and provides comfortably for his family.

Now imagine someone whose days revolve around illness, pain, and finding enough money for basic needs.

Their lives are very different. Yet the final verse of Surah An-Nazi‘at gives us a perspective that applies to both. When people see the Hour, their time in this world will seem extraordinarily brief:

Ibn Kathir explains that, when people rise from their graves and go to the gathering, their worldly lives will seem very short.

A whole life of comfort. A whole life of struggle. Both will belong to a past that seems like only part of a day.

While we are living through it, an hour of pain can feel long. A happy life can be something we desperately want to hold on to. This verse invites us to see those experiences alongside the Hereafter that follows them.

A worry can occupy every thought. A disappointment can make the future feel hopeless. Good news can absorb us so completely that we barely think beyond enjoying it.

Remembering the Hereafter gives us a reason to pause. What fills our lives today belongs to a temporary chapter. We can care deeply about it while remembering that we will return to Allah.

Health, illness, wealth and poverty are all part of our test. Allah says:

Al-Hadid gives us guidance for that balance. After explaining that events are recorded before they occur, Allah says:

In his tafsir, Ibn Kathir records an observation from ‘Ikrimah: everyone experiences happiness and grief; meet happiness with gratitude and grief with patience.

We can care deeply about what happens and still find reassurance in our relationship with Allah. Our hearts have a place to return to when worry, sadness or excitement begins to take over.

When you are worried, you may find yourself imagining every possible outcome. Perhaps you are waiting for medical results or wondering how to cover next month’s expenses. Take the practical steps available to you. Make room to ask Allah for help as well. Each time the worry returns, you can turn to Him again, remembering that the future you cannot see is known to Him.

When you are sad, bring your pain to Allah. Ask Him for relief, strength, and help to remain close to Him. You can seek support from others while continuing to make du‘a and hold on to your worship, even while the sadness remains.

When you are happy, enjoy the blessing. Celebrate with your family, appreciate your health, or feel pleased about something you worked hard for. Thank Allah, ask Him to bless what He has given, and continue making time for Him. Keep prayer and remembrance part of those good days too.

Allah describes believers whose hearts find comfort in remembering Him:

This is a peace we can seek while a problem is still unresolved. The heart can return to Allah for reassurance as we continue working through what is in front of us.

To view life through the lens of the Quran is to see today’s circumstances in the light of the Hereafter.

Before getting swept up in what is happening, ask:

“In what I am experiencing right now, how can I stay close to Allah?”

The Quran describes the Hereafter as better and more lasting. Against that eternity, even a long worldly life is brief. The Quran, Al-A‘la verse 17.

One day, the life containing all these worries, sorrows and joys will seem like a morning or an afternoon. Remembering that can help us carry a calmer heart through life: enjoying what Allah gives, enduring what is hard, and keeping our connection with Him at the centre.