Between sixty and seventy

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
الحمد لله والصلاة والسلام على رسول الله وعلى آله وصحبه

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Abu Hurayrah رضي الله عنه narrated that the Messenger of Allaah صلى الله عليه وسلم said:

أعمار أمتي ما بين الستين إلى السبعين وأقلهم من يجوز ذلك

“The (average) age of my Ummah is between sixty and seventy (years)…”

[At-Tirmidhi, 3550, (who graded it as hasan ghareeb); Ibn Majah, 4236 and others – graded as sheeh by Ibn Hibban (2/96) and al-Hakim (2/427); hasan by an-Nawawi in ‘Al-Manthuraat’, 295; Ibn Hajar in ‘Fath al-Bari’, 11/244 and others; graded as saheeh li-ghayrihi by al-Albani in ‘Silsilat as-Saheehah’, ]

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When one compares the average life-span of this ummah to the previous nations that Allaah sent, and to whom He granted much longer life-spans, one may ask about the wisdom behind such disparity. The ummah of Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم is a special ummah and the best one from from all mankind. Scholars have explained that despite the shortened life-span of this ummah, it has been blessed with opportunities, which previous nations did not have.

From the moment a Muslim awakes until he sleeps at night, his day is full of opportunities to gain multiple amount of reward for the smallest and easiest of actions. Take the following few examples:

– Adhkar of morning and evening.
– Reading a single letter of the Qur’an.
– Salah in jama’ah.
– Designated time periods (e.g. Last third of the night, Jumu’ah, Ramadan, Laylat al-Qadr, Dhul Hijjah etc.)
– Smiling at your brother.
– Giving salaam.
– Shaking hands.

The simple ease with which these actions can be carried out could defy the amount of reward they entail. Thus what this ummah lacks in terms of time spent on earth, Allaah سبحانه و تعالى has compensated them with deeds of huge reward – commensurate to the longer life-spans of past nations… Let this be a lesson for us all, to prioritise our time in learning and choosing the supererogatory actions that the more rewarding and have the greatest impact on oneself – and society at large…

The simple ease with which these actions can be carried out defies the amount of reward they entail. Thus what this ummah lacks in terms of time spent on earth, Allaah سبحانه و تعالى has compensated them with deeds of huge reward – commensurate to the longer life-spans of past nations… Let this be a lesson for us all, to prioritise our time in learning and choosing the most rewarding of deeds that ennoble ourselves and those that impact others. And about the perpetual reward of the one who initiates a good practise, the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم said:

من سَنَّ في الإسلام سنة حسنة فله أجرها وأجر من عمل بها بعده؛ من غير أن ينقص من أجورهم شيء

“Whoever initiates a good practice (sunnah hasanah) in Al-Islam (and is emulated by others), will get the reward of it and the reward of all those who act upon it afterwards, without their reward being diminished in any way…” [Saheeh Muslim, 1017]

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And Tawfeeq is from Allaah alone.