For the past 8 days, I have been travelling from KL, to Bintulu, to Miri, to KL, to Singapore, to KL, to Miri, and wAlhamdulillah – back in KL now.
Crazy and disorienting as it has been for me, being in this state for the past week has given a lot of insight and food for thought in understanding this hadith :
The Prophet Muhammad (sallAllahu alayhi wasallam) said:
“Be in this world like a traveler or a wayfarer”
(Sahih Al-Bukhari, Book #76, Hadith #425).
So insha Allah here's some thought share & practical understanding on the hadith, based on my personal, limited experience.
“HOW should we live in this world like a traveler? “
1. Travel light –
Sure, you can bring lots of extra stuff for convenience. But more stuff means less mobility, more maintenance time for packing, and increased likelihood of missing something important while moving place to place.
Likewise, in this world, we can have many possessions and “stuff” – but it means you have to micromanage more things (e.g. taxes, loan repayments), more excuses not to attend important stuff like congregational prayers, and increased likelihood of forgetting an obligation or two, perhaps to our own family members – less time to focus on investing for our Hereafter.
Possessions are halal, but know your limits: don’t overload yourself until they become distractions that divert you from your destination.
2. Stay focused!
With all the busy schedule going, it’s easy to ‘surrender’ and justifiably declare “too busy” as the reason why we are neglecting certain things. But this is wrong. “Busy” doesn’t stop the angels from recording your deeds. Busy-ness doesn’t ‘erase’ your obligations, it merely adds challenges to them, so you’ll have BETTER scores when you actually execute them. Have a clear intention & conscience in your travels = that somehow or another, it is for the sake of seeking the Pleasure of Allah.
Likewise, in this life, we should take life as it is – a JOURNEY – knowing that life is a TEST, only for a brief period of time – and we will reap the FULL REWARDS at the end: Day of Judgment. Having this ultimate vision in mind, it only makes sense that we plan all our actions towards this destination. Or else we’re merely ‘drifting’ this moment, surviving from one day to the next, and neglecting the big picture. We are beings with a purpose, so live like it.
Stay focused : Remembrance of Death puts life into Perspective.
3. Don’t get comfortable
If we’ve been accustomed to business travels, then wAlhamdulillah we are priveleged to stay at nice and comfortable accommodations, transportation and nice meals: and there’s nothing wrong in that. But these are only temporary perks; we don’t settle down in them, we don’t “build a mansion at the R&R” – we use these facilities to facilitate efficiency of our work, and after travel finishes, we leave and we move on.
Likewise, in this world, sure, we can have nice houses, nice cars and nice possessions – as a means to have a comfortable life – but by all means, we consciously know that this isn’t the final abode; we will one day abandon them completely. Just like a ‘hotel in a business trip’, we use these possessions & wealth to make the best of our good deeds – for our REAL destination.
Put it this way: A Mercedes isn’t a ‘showcase of my status in society’ – it’s a comfortable means to go to the masjid.
4. Leave good footprints
The Prophet (sallAllahu alayhi wasallam) said: "The most beloved to me amongst you is the one who has the best character and manners." (Sahih Al-Bukhari, Book 57, Hadith 104)
Because I’ve been constantly on the move, that means I have very limited time in my encounters with the people that I meet. So I make those brief encounters count!
And good akhlaq is something that pays off – not only in the hereafter – but in this world too.
it’s really quite amazing how much a little smile, geniality and warmth can go a long way. It’s genuinely satisfying to receive warm greetings when you come back to a place, even though you met a person only once or twice.
Make small efforts here and there to consciously invest in relationships that have a big positive note; so they leave you anticipating with greater things to come when you next encounter them throughout the journey.
So, if life is a journey, shouldn’t this be the philosophy for all relationships in life? Why waste our time with ego and arguments?
We’re here on borrowed time, and headed towards the same destination anyway – the Hereafter – so why not make the best of it:
use our relationships – no matter how major or minor – to propel us towards success Hereafter.
5. You don’t have time – Increase Productivity NOW!
It’s interesting that, knowing that travelling is an extremely time consuming affair, it subconsciously actually lends a sense of urgency in time & hence actually makes me MORE productive, in a way. During my travels, I would have a greater tendency to read books, memorize Qur’an, listen to lectures, etc. And this is a stark contrast if I were to remain comfortably at home for the past 8 days: I would more likely procrastinate, spend more time on YouTube, distract myself with other unimportant stuff, etc.
The great scholar ibn Qayyim wrote the entire book “Zaad al-Maad” (biography on the Prophet sallAllahu alayhi wasallam) in its entirety, while he was travelling. On a first class cruise ship? Airbus A380? Nope.. on a Camel, of course =)
So scale things up : If we really take life as a finite journey, then we know, we don’t actually have much ‘float’ to delay change, & we only have ONE shot. We should treat life with a greater level of urgency, and ditch away the procrastination.
As with every travel, your energy levels are highest in the beginning – and they slowly drain away throughout the journey. Likewise, Health deteriorates with age. If we don’t maximize our investment for Hereafter at a young age, what makes us think that we can turn 180 degrees around when we are past retirement age?
May Allah make us amongst those who have the willpower to live the life of this world as travelers, and may He make us amongst those who invest in our Hereafter. Ameen.
