The Life of the World is in Fact Very Brief

A majority of people are attached to this world as if they will never die, and thus avoid living by the religion and reflecting on death and the hereafter. However, the life of this world, they are so strongly attached to, is very short and transitory. Even those with long lives will certainly come to terms with death one day. This aside, the life of this world is not even as long as it seems to be. God reveals this secret to mankind in many verses of the Qur'an:

He will say, 'How many years did you tarry on the earth?' They will say, 'We tarried there for a day or part of a day. Ask those able to count!' He will say, 'You only tarried there for a little while if you did but know!' 'Did you suppose that We created you for amusement and that you would not return to Us?' (Surat al-Muminun: 112-115)

On the Day the Last Hour arrives, the evildoers will swear they have not even tarried for an hour. That is the extent to which they are deceived. (Surat ar-Rum: 55)

Above are the dialogues among those gathered together to be reckoned. As these dialogues also suggest, after death people realise that they, in fact, stayed in the world only for a short while. That is, the period, which seems to be six to seven decades in the life of the world, is in fact as short as a single day or even much shorter. This is similar to the case of a man who assumes that he had spent days, months or even years in his dream, but who, after awakening, realises that he dreamt only for a few seconds.

Some contemplation would enable man to grasp the brevity and temporary nature of the life of this world. For example, everyone makes certain plans and sets some goals for his life. These plans and goals never end. They follow one another. Typically, a person graduates from high school, enrolls in university, and then takes a job with a company. All these are, however, fleeting experiences. In youth, one hardly imagines reaching thirty years old. Yet before too long they reach forty.

The shortness of the life of the world is a certain fact God reveals in the Qur'an that can be understood by anyone before dying. For those who grasp this it would be unwise to neglect the endless and real life of the hereafter for such a brief and temporary life. Some of the verses in which God warns mankind of the briefness of the life of this world are as follows:

'My people! The life of the world is only fleeting enjoyment. It is the hereafter, which is the abode of permanence.' (Surah Ghafir: 39)

These people love this fleeting world and have put the thought of a Momentous Day behind their backs. (Surat al-Insan: 27)