The world is the believer's prison

Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds [i.e., people], and peace be upon the noblest of all messenger and prophets: our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his Companions.

It was reported in Sahih Al Bukhari and Sahih Muslim from the Hadith of Abu Hurayrah who narrated that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: "The world is the believer's prison and the infidel's Paradise."

It is an ancient prison since Allah created the Heavens and Earth; Allah (Glory be to Him) said: "He (Allâh) said: "Get you down (from Paradise to the earth), both of you, together, some of you are an enemy to some others. Then if there comes to you guidance from Me, then whoever follows My Guidance he shall neither go astray, nor shall be distressed. * But whosoever turns away from My Reminder (i.e. neither believes in this Qur'ân nor acts on its teachings.) verily, for him is a life of hardship, and We shall raise him up blind on the Day of Resurrection. * He will say: "O my Lord! Why have you raised me up blind, while I had sight (before)." * (Allâh) will say: "Like this: Our Ayât (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.) came to you, but you disregarded them (i.e. you left them, did not think deeply in them, and you turned away from them), and so this Day, you will be neglected (in the Hell-fire, away from Allâh's Mercy)."" [Surat Taha: 123 - 126].

Adam (peace be upon him) disobeyed his Lord then the punishment was in a prison called the world prison, the prison of calamities, the prison of concerns, the prison of ordeals, the prison of diseases, the prison of fear, the prison of grief, and the prison of sins.

When the word "prison" comes, directly it jumps into mind constraints, detention, jailer, narrow places, and gloomy scenes where you do not eat, wear, or move but by the command of a jailer.

Dear Muslim brother, imagine the darkness and narrowness of the prison. Imagine that deadly thinking which prisoners live in their prison while waiting for the hour of release. Imagine the hour of sunset which falls down along with all worldly concerns and burdens while a prisoner is waiting the hour of dawn perhaps it brings glad tidings. It is a picture which Yusuf (Joseph) (peace be upon him) embodied when he was a prisoner. He said: "He was indeed good to me, when He took me out of the prison." [Surat Yusuf: 100].

He recalled the beautiful favor of Allah upon him when he got out of prison, detention, and chains.

In the world prison, Noah used to suffer the belying of his people, Abraham suffered the denial of his father and the slaughter of his son, Jacob suffered the loss of his eyes, Moses suffered the oppression and tyranny of the Pharaoh, and Muhammad (peace be upon him) felt pain from the turning away of his clan and people.

The world is the prison of the righteous, for how many righteous servants were tortured therein?! Yusuf (Joseph) was imprisoned, Jonah was imprisoned in the belly of the whale, and polytheists wanted to lock the Prophet (peace be upon him) in detention. "And (remember) when the disbelievers plotted against you (O Muhammad peace be upon him) to imprison you, or to kill you, or to get you out (from your home, i.e. Makkah); they were plotting and Allâh too was plotting; and Allâh is the Best of those who plot." [Surat Al Anfal: 30].

Perhaps here we may ask: When is the time of release from this prison? When these chains shall be broken?

The answer comes as was reported in Sahih Al Bukhari and Sahih Muslim from the Hadith Ibn Mas`ud (may Allah be pleased with him) who narrated that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "(The matter of the Creation of) a human being is put together in the womb of the mother in forty days, and then he becomes a clot of thick blood for a similar period, and then a piece of flesh for a similar period. Then Allah sends an angel who is ordered to write four things. He is ordered to write down his (i.e. the new creature's) deeds, his livelihood, his (date of) death, and whether he will be blessed or wretched (in religion)."

So, death is the moment of release from this prison; indeed that was the understanding of Prophets and the righteous. It was reported in Sahih Al Bukhari and Sahih Muslim from the Hadith of `A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) who said about the hour of the Prophet's death: "So when the death of the Prophet (peace be upon him) approached and his head was on my thigh, he became unconscious for a while and then he came to his senses and fixed his eyes on the ceiling and said: "O Allah (with) the highest companions." (See Qur'an 4:69). I said' "Hence he is not going to choose us." And I came to know that it was the application of the narration which he (the Prophet (peace be upon him)) used to narrate to us. And that was the last statement of the Prophet (peace be upon him) (before his death) i.e.: "O Allah! With the highest companions." [Surat Ta ha: 84]."

The concept of going out from the world prison by death is confirmed in Sahih Al Bukhari and Sahih Muslim from the Hadith of Abu Sa`id Al Khudry (may Allah be pleased with him) who narrated that Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) sat on the pulpit and said: Allah gave a choice to His Servant that he may opt the beauties of the world or that which is with Him and the servant chose that which was with Him. Thereupon Abu Bakr wept and he wept bitterly and said: Let our fathers and our mothers be taken as ransom for you. It was Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) who had been given the choice and Abu Bakr knew it better than us.

The Prophet's choice of death and preferring it to other options makes you feel that there is a room and wideness after this world especially for a righteous person. Again, we ask the following question which every Muslim should ask: What is the destination after going out of prison? Shall it be to a garden or to something else?

The answer comes rapidly in Sahih Al Bukhari and Sahih Muslim from the Hadith of Abu Qatadah ibn Rib`y who narrated that when a funeral passed by the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) and he said: "Relieved or relieving? The people asked: O Allah's Messenger! What is relieved and relieving? He said: A believer is relieved (by death) from the troubles and hardships of the world and leaves for the Mercy of Allah, while (the death of) a wicked person relieves the people, the land, the trees, (and) the animals from him."

The Companions and the Successors understood that fact of the world and knew that the hour of release is approaching fast, and understood where is the destination after this prison. So, when someone of them was killed, he would cry with a loud voice saying: "I have won, by the Lord of the Ka`bah." They imagined the moment of breaking the chains and may do as Bilal (may Allah be pleased with him) did, when he was about to die, he said: "Tomorrow we shall meet the beloved ones: Muhammad and his Companions."

As for today's people, they buy the real states in the prison of the world, build palaces, and exert efforts in maintaining and decorating the world prison; by Allah have you seen a prisoner builds, decorates, and buys buildings in his prison?

Dear Muslim brother, no matter how many properties a person has in this world, he shall be in a prison if it is compared to the pleasures of Allah. So, do not get attached with worldly pleasures and adornment for they are all temporary and shall end in the world. When Saladin was about to die some of his righteous friends saw in their dreams an announcer saying: Yusuf has come out of prison, so they interpreted it to Saladin as his actions shall be accepted.

O Allah, make the best of our actions the last, the best of our days are the last, and the best of our days on the day of meeting you.

And peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his Companions.