Eternity > Lifetime

In 2006, I lost my beloved Mejo Chacha.

In 2012, I lost my dearest Dadi.

In 2013, I lost my dearest Nana.

About a year ago, I lost my beloved Noa Chacha.

Each of them was dear to me—so, so dear.

I was loved immensely by them, and losing them felt like losing pieces of myself.

When Mejo Chacha passed away, I wasn’t old enough to fully understand, but I remember the pain—it was devastating.

I recall bits and pieces of my Dadi and Nana’s passing.

But the pain that hit me the hardest was Noa Chacha’s death last year.

That one… was different. It was deep. It shook me.

For nights, I couldn’t sleep. The weight of it sat heavy on my chest.

But here’s what my belief tells me—he is not gone forever.

His soul has left his body, he has left this temporary world, but he is not dead-dead.

He is in Al-Barzakh,

The realm between this life and the next, where every soul waits until the Day of Judgment.

And in that waiting, he is already experiencing the results of his deeds—his rewards, his punishments, everything he earned with his own hands.

That realization stayed with me.

Because he’s now one step ahead of me in the eternal journey.

And I could be next—at any moment.

Every second that passes, someone is leaving this world.

Every day, around 166,000 people die.

In the U.S., one person dies every 10-12 seconds.

Death is real.

It is inevitable.

And it is closer than we think.

Life in this world? Maybe 80 years, at best.

And then? We leave.

We transition from this fleeting world to eternity.

And our true home? The Hereafter.

Allah says:

“And this worldly life is nothing but diversion and amusement. And indeed, the Home of the Hereafter—that is the [eternal] life, if only they knew.”

(Surah Al-Ankabut 29:64)

I kept thinking about these two words: Lifetime and Eternity.

A lifetime—80 years, maybe?

But how long is eternity?

And then, I came across this hadith.

The Prophet ﷺ gave us this powerful analogy:

“By Allah, this world compared to the Hereafter is like dipping your finger into the ocean—see what remains on it when you take it out.”

(Sahih Muslim 2858)

Just think about that for a moment.

Imagine standing on the shore of a vast ocean.

You dip your finger into the water and pull it out.

That tiny drop of water clinging to your finger?

That’s your entire 80-year life.

And the endless ocean before you?

That’s eternity.

—

I tried to put this into numbers—not that they can ever truly capture eternity, but just to make sense of the vastness.

• One drop of water = 80 years

• One liter = 20,000 drops ≈ 1.6 million years

Would you ever trade a single drop of gold for an entire liter of gold?

No one in their right mind would.

Yet, we’re often so obsessed with this single “drop”—this short, temporary life—while the infinite ocean of the Hereafter waits ahead.

The ROI is insane.

It’s unbelievable.

And honestly, it’s not even fair.

—

If we truly believe in Allah, in the Last Day, in Jannah and Jahannam,

How can we justify spending 110% of our time and resources just to make this worldly life comfortable?

Maybe, deep down, we don’t even fully believe it’s real.

So here’s a simple thought:

Take a break.

Step away from the noise.

Look at this perspective again.

This one drop vs. the infinite ocean.

It’s now or never.

—

I know—time and eternity are two completely different dimensions. Maybe my math is totally invalid.

But this is just my attempt to understand—

To grasp the weight of eternity.

To remind myself what truly matters.

May Allah guide us to set our priorities straight.

Before it’s too late.