I seek refuge in God from Satan the rejected.
In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
40 years age is a very imperative landmark in the life of every human beings, Having in cognizance that the middling lifecycle of sixty-seventy years as obtained in the Hadith narratedfrom Abu Hurairah (RA) that Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) said, “The lifespan of my Ummah is from sixty to seventy (years).” (Hadith 2331, Jami’ At-Tirmidhi, Vol.
4), as a result we can substantially conclude that the one who by Allah’s grace attains the ‘mature’ 40 years age has accomplished approximately ‘2/3’ of his typical lifetime; thus connoting that he cross the threshold to the ‘probably’ ‘last 3/3’ part of his life (if Alllah wills).
It is the apparent truth that “If someone hasn’t matured by the time they reach forty – 40 years of age, they never will”. And looking above the immense feat of completing this proportion of years in life, a man expectedly spiritually energetic and mentally vigorous , he is projected to have reached to a high phase of his ‘prime of life’, and he is able to greatly comprehend the happenings of life and actively proffer solutions to the anticyclones and slumps of life in a realistic and astute manner. Having fully known that Allah began conveying revelations to Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) when he reached ‘mature’ age of 40 – forty, 40 years of age has a point has has many special meanings that are exclusively known by Allah (Subhanahu Wa ta’ala), and the Prophet of Allah (Peace be upon him Rasulullah (pbuh) said all or most prophets were given prophethood at the age of 40.
Ibn `Abbas (Rodiyyallahu Anhu) that Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) started receiving the Divine Inspiration at the age of forty. Then he stayed in Mecca for thirteen years, receiving the Divine Revelation. Then he was ordered to migrate and he lived as an Emigrant for ten years and then died at the age of sixty-three (years). (Sahih al-Bukhari). In other references from Quran and hadith, age 40 is the age of maturity. Rasulullah said in an hadith that a person’s characteristic is mostly formed and completed at the age of 40, very little change can happen to one’s characteristic after age 40.
At the age of 40, while engaged in a reflective retreat in Ghar Hira (Cave of Hira), Prophet Muhammad received his first revelation from Allah through the Angel JUBRIL, When Angel Jibreel, appeared to him he said: “Read! In the Name of your Lord, Who has created (all that exists), He has created man from a clot (a piece of thick coagulated blood), Read! And your Lord is the Most Generous, Who has taught (the writing) by the pen. He has taught man that which he knew not. Holy Quran (Al Alaq 96: 1-5). The revelation continued for about twenty-three (23) years (i.e which brought about the Glorious Qur’an).
Allah (Subhanahu Wa ta’ala) has accentuated this period of anthropological life very clearly in Qur’an, as follows:
وَوَصَّيْنَا الإِنسَانَ بِوَالِدَيْهِ إِحْسَاناًحَمَلَتْهُ أُمُّهُ كُرْهاً وَوَضَعَتْهُ كُرْهاًوَحَمْلُهُ وَفِصَالُهُ ثَلاثُونَ شَهْراًحَتَّى إِذَا بَلَغَ أَشُدَّهُ وَبَلَغَ أَرْبَعِينَسَنَةً قَالَ رَبِّ أَوْزِعْنِي أَنْ أَشْكُرَنِعْمَتَكَ قَالَ رَبِّ أَوْزِعْنِي أَنْ أَشْكُرَنِعْمَتَكَ الَّتِي أَنْعَمْتَ عَلَيَّ وَعَلَىوَالِدَيَّ وَأَنْ أَعْمَلَ صَالِحاً تَرْضَاهُوَأَصْلِحْ لِي فِي ذُرِّيَّتِي إِنِّي تُبْتُإِلَيْكَ وَإِنِّي مِنْ الْمُسْلِمِينَ
“And We have enjoined on man to be dutiful & kind to his parents. His mother bears him with hardship. And she brings him forth with hardship, and the bearing of him and the weaning of him is thirty months, till when he attains full strength and reaches forty years, he says: My Lord! Grant me the power and ability that I may be grateful for Your Favour which You have bestowed upon me and upon my parents, and that I may do righteous good deeds, such as please You, and make my off-spring good. Truly, I have turned to You in repentance, and truly, I am one of the Muslims.”
(Aayah No. 15, Surah Al-Ahqaf, Chapter No. 46, Holy Qur’an).
Qur’an 46 verse 15 clearly shows that that a man achieves filled forte at the age of 40. Moreover, this wonderful verse informs us about some of the tasks of a man when he reaches the 40 – forty age of development,at forty years he completes his journey through the world of nature and commences the journey towards the world of the Hereafter. And it is for this reason that it has been said: “One who reaches forty years and does not take up a staff has surely disobeyed” Also, the body achieves maturity at this age and so also does the standing of delight or woe, when a man reaches forty years without ever repenting, Satan strokes his face with his hand and says, “May my father be your ransom, it is the face of one who will not prosper!” Safinat al-Bihar, vol. 1, p. 504; in Ihya’al -Ulum, vol. 3, p. 25
Once a man arrives his 40 – forty year, it is said to him, “Now be careful, because (henceforth) you will not have any excuse.”. Saduq’s al-Khisal, p. 545.
40, NO REGRETS
“Therein will they cry aloud (for assistance): “Our Lord! Bring us out: we shall work righteousness, not the (deeds) we used to do!” – “Did We not give you long enough life so that he that would should receive admonition? and (moreover) the warner came to you. So taste ye (the fruits of your deeds): for the wrong-doers there is no helper.”
Qur’an 35 Verse 37]
According to Ibn Abbas, Hasan al-Basri, al-Kalbi, Wahab bn Munabbih,
and Masruq –Radhiyallahu ajma’in-, what is meant by “longevity in the future enough to think” in the mention verse no other is when 40 year old.
According to Ibnu Kathir, this verse give hints that the man toward age of 40 should updated repentance and truly return to Allah.
When it applies toward the age 40 years, then Allah provided His promise in the next verse, which is Maturity.
Allah Said :
“Those are the ones from whom We will accept the best of what they did and overlook their misdeeds, their being among the companions of Paradise. That is the promise of truth which they had been promised”.[Al-‘Aĥqāf 16]
The 40 years age is not the age of regret but of increased goodness in all forte, worship in all sense of sincerity, brightened experiences & wisdom in all sagacity of direction for others, flinging the damaging youthful exuberance, eschewing ignorance with abundance knowledge accretion and buildup, it doesn’t come with much surprise that most strategic leadership positions come with the requirement of the ‘mature’ age 40.
*WEAK SAYING ATTRIBUTED TO AGE 40*
Below is a very common saying in our society now attributed to the Prophet of Allah (Peace be upon him): Narrated by Imaam Ahmad  on the authority of Anas ibn Maalik  that the Prophet , said: “Any man who reaches forty years in Islam, Allaah protects him from three [things]: madness, leprosy and vitiligo. When he reaches fifty, Allaah makes his reckoning easy. When he reaches sixty, Allaah grants him repentance to Him as pleases Him. When he reaches seventy, Allaah loves him and the inhabitants of heavens love him. When he reaches eighty, Allaah accepts his good deeds and forgives his sins. When he reaches ninety, Allaah forgives his past and future sins, he is called the prisoner of Allaah on earth and he is allowed to intercede (for forgiveness) on behalf of his family.”
This Hadeeth was not authentically narrated from the Prophet .
In “Al-Mawdhoo‘aat” (Fabricated Ahaadeeth), Ibn Al-Jawzi  said that this Hadeeth was not authentically narrated from the Prophet . Imaam Ash-Shawkaani  mentioned it in his book “Al-Fawaa’id Al-Majmoo‘ah min Al-Ahaadeeth Al-Mawdhoo‘ah” (The Collected Benefits of the Fabricated Ahaadeeth), and Shaykh Al-Albaani  classified it as Dha‘eef (weak) in “Dha‘eef Al-Jaami‘As-Sagheer”. Shu‘ayb Al-Arnaa’oot said, ‘The chain of narrators of this Hadeeth is very weak, and even the other narrations that support it are of no significance.’
*SOCIETAL RECOGNITION OF AGE 40.*
The society itself identify that the triumphs of a person is steady when that person is 40 years old; Soekarno became the President at the age 44 years, Soeharto became the President at the age 46 years, J.F. Kennedy 44 years, Bill Clinton 46 years, Paul Keating 47 years and Tony Blair 44 years.
Even the “Constitution Of The
Federal Republic Of Nigeria 1999, Chapter VI (The Executive), Part I provides inthe extant provision in Section 131; that the required age of the President is 40 years. Though, the Legislature recently amended the constitution. Also, the age of Nigerian Presidents from 1960 till dates was around/above 40 years of age (see:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_heads_of_state_of_Nigeria), and this is obtainable in most countries of the world today
*AGE 40 & THEIR SIGNIFICANCES*
“At twenty years of age, the will reigns; at thirty the wit; at forty the judgment.” – Benjamin Franklin
We can regard these 4 (four) intervallic period for classification of mankind from birth to death, which are: Childhood: Birth – puberty. Youth: Puberty – 40 years. Adult: 40 years and above.
Age 40 is the period to be cautious, as well as other lower age (s) too as no one knows when death will come knocking but if someone at 40 hasn’t being seen as a model of goodness in the religion and the society, then, this is a bad premonition of the conclusion of his/her age on Earth. Just as stretch, people that are 40 years old may have entered the twilight, such person should make a re-valuation of his entire conduct, be grateful to Allah for His love, endless repentance, Isthigfar shouldn’t leave such person’s mouth and live his life in accordance to Qur’an and Sunnah in the sole attainment of Allah’s pleasure, and not for worldly praises and ephemeral gratification. Indeed, this is just like a renewed chance to start afresh and eased opportunity to achieve the ultimate goal of entering the Paradise.
Also, we should be conscious that no matter the life’s situation we find ourselves, we shouldn’t wish for death nor commit suicide, as greatly explained in this hadith: Narrated Jabir ibn Abdullah: Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) said, “Do not wish for death, for the terror of the place whence one looks down is severe. It is part of a man’s happiness that his life should be long and Allah Who is Great and Glorious, should supply him with repentance.”
Ahmad transmitted it.
Al-Tirmidhi – Hadith 1613
*CONCLUSION*
Ibn Mas’ud said, “The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, drew lines making a square and then drew a line in the middle which extended beyond it. He drew some small lines up to this middle line from the side within the square and said, ‘This is man, and this is end of his lifespan which encircles him – or by which he is encircled – and this which goes beyond it is his hope and these small lines are things that happen. If this one misses him, that one gets him, and if that one misses him, this one gets him.’” [al-Bukhari]
Mnn… And here we are living in otiose anticipations; occupied totally with transient aspirations and we ignore our chief purpose in life (i.e to worship Allah). We disremember that all these worldly plans at the price of our obligations as a believer shall originate to an unexpected culmination when bereavement raids. This is better explained in this verse of the Qur’an as well:
Allah Almighty says, “Every self will taste death. You will be paid your wages in full on the Day of Rising. Anyone who is distanced from the Fire and admitted to the Garden, has triumphed. The life of this world is only the enjoyment of delusion,” (Qur’an 3:185)
After, we shall pass to an unending world – Al-Qiyamah, with our deeds of this world to resolve our abode: Jannah (Heaven) or Jahannam (Hell)! We ask Allah to grant us paradise and keep our face far from the blazing fire. Aameen.
Our action should always correspond with our prayer for effective result, those that are 40 or 40+ should see the opportunity as a means to get closer to Allah and create indelible impacts on the Ummah of Abu-l-Qasim and those that are 40- below shouldn’t be complacent and feel unworried as to their responsibilities to Allah, you don’t have to attain the 40 years age before you can be regarded as a ‘man of goodness’, remember, that millions of people have died before they attained ‘40’.
“So whoever desires to meet his Lord, he should do good deeds and not associate anyone in the worship of his Lord.” (Holy Quran – 18:110).
And Allah is our source of Guidance.
May Allah rectify our affairs and grant us His endless favors. Aameen.
سُبْحَانَ رَبِّكَ رَبِّ الْعِزَّةِ عَمَّا يَصِفُون َ ; وَسَلامٌ عَلَى الْمُرْسَلِينَ ; وَالْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ.
Lawal AbdulAfeez Arishekola for www.knowislam.com.ng
4/8/2017
English 