Planning for the Future in the Context of Sūrat al-Ḥashr

Occasion: Transcription of a Fajr khatira delivered on June 20, 2026 Source: A transcription of a video khatira by Dr. Ahmed Abouseif — Watch the original video on YouTube

O Allah, set right for us our religion, our worldly life and our Hereafter, grant us right guidance in our affairs, bless for us what You have provided us, protect us from the punishment of the Fire, and turn away from us the causes of punishment in this world and the Hereafter, by Your mercy, good pleasure and generosity, O Lord of the worlds. Do not leave us to ourselves, nor to anyone of Your creation, pour out upon us of Your goodness, honor us with more of Your giving, do not take away from us after You have granted us, and do not deprive us after You have given us, and make us among Your servants who turned to You, were sincere to You and followed the command of Your Prophet. O Allah, amen, O Lord of the worlds.

The Verse in Its Context

When our Lord, glory be to Him, says to us: ﴿لَا يَسْتَوِي أَصْحَابُ النَّارِ وَأَصْحَابُ الْجَنَّةِ ۚ أَصْحَابُ الْجَنَّةِ هُمُ الْفَائِزُونَ﴾ (“Not equal are the companions of the Fire and the companions of Paradise. The companions of Paradise are the triumphant”), this verse is among the verses that are drawn out of their context and people are addressed with them in general speech. But looking at the context regulates for you the movement of the Qur'anic words. For our Lord, glory be to Him, is speaking to us about people of Paradise and people of the Fire, so what are their attributes? If we considered the verse a conclusion to the sūrah, the matter would not be complete, because there are still verses that come after it which we must understand. There are verses speaking about the Lord of Might, glory be to Him: ﴿هُوَ اللَّهُ الَّذِي لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ ۖ عَالِمُ الْغَيْبِ وَالشَّهَادَةِ ۖ هُوَ الرَّحْمَٰنُ الرَّحِيمُ * هُوَ اللَّهُ الَّذِي لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ الْمَلِكُ الْقُدُّوسُ السَّلَامُ الْمُؤْمِنُ الْمُهَيْمِنُ الْعَزِيزُ الْجَبَّارُ الْمُتَكَبِّرُ ۚ سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ عَمَّا يُشْرِكُونَ * هُوَ اللَّهُ الْخَالِقُ الْبَارِئُ الْمُصَوِّرُ ۖ لَهُ الْأَسْمَاءُ الْحُسْنَىٰ ۚ يُسَبِّحُ لَهُ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ ۖ وَهُوَ الْعَزِيزُ الْحَكِيمُ﴾ (“He is Allah, other than whom there is no god, Knower of the unseen and the witnessed; He is the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful * He is Allah, other than whom there is no god, the Sovereign, the Holy, the Source of Peace, the Granter of Security, the Guardian, the Almighty, the Compeller, the Supreme. Glorified is Allah above what they associate with Him * He is Allah, the Creator, the Inventor, the Fashioner; to Him belong the most beautiful names. Whatever is in the heavens and the earth glorifies Him, and He is the Almighty, the Wise”).^[1]

So what is the link between the inequality of the companions of the Fire and the companions of Paradise and what comes after the verse? It tells us that the companions of Paradise attached themselves to Allah, Blessed and Exalted, alone, in all His names and attributes, and did not deviate from that in anything. So they attached themselves to Allah the Provider, and so practiced nothing of the unlawful. And they attached themselves to Allah the Subtle, and so did not make life hard for themselves or for those around them, seeking the subtlety of the Lord of the worlds, glory be to Him. And they attached themselves to Allah the Bestower, and so did not merely give what was in their hands, but gave themselves to the person of the Lord of the worlds, glory be to Him, and to His religion, exalted in His majesty. So the companions of the Fire and the companions of Paradise are not equal.

“And Let Every Soul Look to What It Has Sent Ahead for Tomorrow”

But there is a dimension before that, which is His saying: ﴿يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَلْتَنظُرْ نَفْسٌ مَّا قَدَّمَتْ لِغَدٍ﴾ (“O you who believe, fear Allah, and let every soul look to what it has sent ahead for tomorrow”). This dimension itself has gone missing from the understandings of the people of Islam in many of their circumstances. For the matter of planning for the future no longer exists except among a very few, and where it does exist, it concerns only financial, material affairs, and does not turn away from that. Everyone who plans for the future in our worldly life today plans for this world, and this is not forbidden, but on the condition that it be tied to religion and be bound by the system of faith in the names and attributes of Allah that come afterward. It is as though the verse is a link in a chain: what is before it? ﴿وَلْتَنظُرْ نَفْسٌ مَّا قَدَّمَتْ لِغَدٍ﴾ (“and let every soul look to what it has sent ahead for tomorrow”). And this looking must proceed within the framework of faith: ﴿يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَلْتَنظُرْ نَفْسٌ﴾ (“O you who believe, fear Allah, and let every soul look”). So looking to tomorrow should not be connected to matter alone, or to this world only, but must be connected to the worldly life that qualifies one for a better tomorrow, not for me alone, but for me and for the Muslims who come after me.

Strategic Thinking and Its Root in the Qur'an

We have heard a term they call “strategic thinking.” And what is it? That you look at what is in your hands in a short term, and look at what follows that in a long term, so it is said to you: I have a short-term plan, a long-term plan and a distant plan, one year and five years and beyond. So someone says: these disbelievers, where did they get this talk from? And perhaps they matched what ought to be with what they were inspired with by natural disposition, and so understood it, yet its basis is in the Noble Qur'an. Do you not see the words of the Lord of the worlds: ﴿يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا خُذُوا حِذْرَكُمْ﴾ (“O you who believe, take your precautions”)? What is taking precautions? Taking caution while carrying out the plans. Not that you sit at home and lock the doors on yourself and do not move. No, for the verse says: ﴿خُذُوا حِذْرَكُمْ فَانفِرُوا ثُبَاتٍ أَوِ انفِرُوا جَمِيعًا﴾ (“Take your precautions, and march forth in detachments or march forth all together”). So if I understand this, I realize that Islam has commanded me only to constant movement, and this movement includes two matters: looking into what is coming of the future and plunging oneself into its details, and at the same time taking precaution in following the steps; a complete methodology.

Come, let us see: the Lord of the worlds says: ﴿وَلَا تَكُونُوا كَالَّذِينَ نَسُوا اللَّهَ فَأَنسَاهُمْ أَنفُسَهُمْ﴾ (“And do not be like those who forgot Allah, so He made them forget themselves”). How did He make them forget themselves? He made them forget themselves because they went too far in planning for the worldly tomorrow without contemplating the Hereafter and grasping the outcomes of deeds there, so they became absorbed in this world. So you see a man immersed in his life from his dawn to his night prayer without the remembrance of Allah coming to his tongue, or without reflecting on the Hereafter in any way, or without its being part of the planning that I have one percent for our Lord, five for my family, and three for these needy people in such-and-such. This merging of the work of this world with the work of the Hereafter is what is intended in the verses.

The Dimension of Context: Sūrat al-Ḥashr

And in another important dimension (I apologize if I take a little long) is: where did these verses occur, and in which sūrah? In Sūrat al-Ḥashr. So what does this mean for us? ﴿هُوَ الَّذِي أَخْرَجَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا مِنْ أَهْلِ الْكِتَابِ مِن دِيَارِهِمْ لِأَوَّلِ الْحَشْرِ ۚ مَا ظَنَنتُمْ أَن يَخْرُجُوا ۖ وَظَنُّوا أَنَّهُم مَّانِعَتُهُمْ حُصُونُهُم مِّنَ اللَّهِ فَأَتَاهُمُ اللَّهُ مِنْ حَيْثُ لَمْ يَحْتَسِبُوا﴾ (“It is He who expelled those who disbelieved among the People of the Book from their homes at the first gathering. You did not think they would leave, and they thought that their fortresses would protect them from Allah; but Allah came upon them from where they had not expected”). These people followed the means, building fortresses and barriers, taking shelter behind the equipment and materiel they had. So he, on the other side, makes all these preparations and readies himself and strengthens his position, while you do not even manage to look to tomorrow. And the close of the sūrah comes in harmony with its beginning. Then, I believe in Allah that the methods that the Lord of the worlds, glory be to Him, subjected to invade those people in their own homes lie beyond the framework of human action. Well then, where are your own actions? Where is your preparation?

Application: Raising a Child for Paradise

And so that we come down to the ground of reality and the talk is useful: looking to tomorrow in raising a righteous child for Paradise, and not merely fit for worldly living. Pay attention: all of us, except those Allah has mercy upon, want to make sure of our children's fitness to live a dignified life, right? All of us want our children to be people of ceremonies, advancement, levels, money, a stable income and so on, and all of us are keen on that. But the question remains: who is keen to raise his child to be among the people of Paradise? I raise my child to be among the people of Paradise, there is no haggling in that for me: ﴿وَلْتَنظُرْ نَفْسٌ مَّا قَدَّمَتْ لِغَدٍ﴾ (“and let every soul look to what it has sent ahead for tomorrow”).

What Is in the Hand Is Guaranteed

My beloved ones, the one who presents something must own it, right? When I present something to you, that means I own it, it is in my hand. ﴿وَلْتَنظُرْ نَفْسٌ مَّا قَدَّمَتْ لِغَدٍ﴾ (“and let every soul look to what it has sent ahead for tomorrow”): it is as though what is in my hand is guaranteed. And the things that will be in your hand are guaranteed. What do you need in this world? You need money, you need a wife; these are things guaranteed for you, do not doubt this. All people, when they marry, think that he will have children, except those whom Allah has exempted and tested. All people enter the project of marriage psychologically and physically qualified, knowing that they will exercise all the required gifts and will have children. So this world and its giving, by Allah's command, is guaranteed to all creation. And we have left what is required behind this world and become preoccupied with what is already guaranteed to us. Imagine: I say to you, please, you have dinner here, you will go in and eat; and you became preoccupied with the details without being preoccupied with how to give thanks for this food that was prepared for you.

Fear Allah

Our Lord, glory be to Him, says: ﴿يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ﴾ (“O you who believe, fear Allah”). When “fear Allah” comes in this form, there is a very great matter that the Lord of the worlds is commanding. How do we know that? You know it by comparing the command with its like and what resembles it, so you see: ﴿يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ حَقَّ تُقَاتِهِ وَلَا تَمُوتُنَّ إِلَّا وَأَنتُم مُّسْلِمُونَ﴾ (“O you who believe, fear Allah as He should be feared, and do not die except as Muslims”). You see the language is a little severe, severe. So when He says to me: “O you who believe, fear Allah,” the indication of that is that a very grave matter is coming after it.

Conclusion

In conclusion: what have you prepared for tomorrow? And what do you, between yourself and Allah, leave to those who come after you in this worldly life? And I do not mean mere money, but I mean an institution, I mean a project, I mean a work plan, I mean a strategy for the one who comes after me to follow. What have I prepared for my child: a worldly life or the Hereafter?

I ask Allah, the Most High, the Almighty, to give us insight into what lies before us, and to preserve for us the well-being of faith, complete and undiminished.

--- ^[1]: Editor's documentation: The verses [al-Ḥashr: 22–24], and the verse cited at the opening of the khatira [al-Ḥashr: 20], then [al-Ḥashr: 18] (“and let every soul look”), and [al-Ḥashr: 19] (“and do not be like those who forgot Allah”), and [al-Ḥashr: 2] (“It is He who expelled”). And the verse “take your precautions” is in [al-Nisāʾ: 71], and “fear Allah as He should be feared” in [Āl ʿImrān: 102]. The speaker's recitation of the verses of the names was unsteady in the transcript, so they were set according to the well-known orthography of the muṣḥaf.