When the Dunya Fades and the Heart Remembers 28 Ramadan, 1447AH: Asking Ar-Rahman Series — Ibraheem Habeebah Adedoyinsola
All praise belongs to Allāh, Lord of the worlds. May peace and blessings be upon the Messenger…
All praise belongs to Allāh, Lord of the worlds. May peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ, his family, and all his companions.
As Ramadan quietly approaches its end, the heart begins to feel something difficult to describe.
A gentle sadness.
A quiet awakening.
It feels almost as though the soul has been reminded of something it had long forgotten.
For weeks, the believer has been fasting, praying in the night, reciting the Qur’an, and turning back to Allāh again and again. And now, as these blessed days begin to slip away, the heart pauses and wonders:
Why does my heart feel lighter in Ramadan?
Why does the world feel quieter?
The Qur’an gives us the answer.
Because Ramadan momentarily lifts the veil of the dunya from the heart.
The True Nature of the Dunya
Allāh says:
اعْلَمُوا أَنَّمَا الْحَيَاةُ الدُّنْيَا لَعِبٌ وَلَهْوٌ وَزِينَةٌ وَتَفَاخُرٌ بَيْنَكُمْ وَتَكَاثُرٌ فِي الْأَمْوَالِ وَالْأَوْلَادِ
“Know that the life of this world is but play and amusement and adornment, and boasting among yourselves, and competition in wealth and children.”
(Qur’an 57:20)
This verse is not merely describing the dunya.
It is gently awakening the heart.
Allāh tells us that much of what fills human life is play.
Distraction.
Adornment.
Competition.
People spend years chasing what appears significant, yet the Qur’an reminds us that most of these pursuits are only temporary attractions of a fleeting world.
And slowly, without realizing it, the heart becomes busy with things that will not accompany it beyond the grave.
The Dunya Is Beautiful… Then It Disappears
Allāh continues:
كَمَثَلِ غَيْثٍ أَعْجَبَ الْكُفَّارَ نَبَاتُهُ ثُمَّ يَهِيجُ فَتَرَاهُ مُصْفَرًّا ثُمَّ يَكُونُ حُطَامًا
“Its example is like rain whose vegetation pleases the farmers. Then it dries and you see it turning yellow, then it becomes scattered debris.”
(Qur’an 57:20)
There is something profoundly reflective about this image.
Rain falls.
The earth becomes alive.
Green plants grow and spread.
For a moment everything looks full of life.
Then slowly, almost unnoticed, the green begins to fade.
The leaves dry.
The colour disappears.
Until what once looked beautiful becomes dust carried away by the wind.
Such is the life of the dunya.
Youth becomes age.
Strength becomes weakness.
Gathered possessions are eventually left behind.
Even the days of Ramadan that once seemed long now feel like a fleeting moment.
How Little the Dunya Truly Is
The Messenger of Allāh ﷺ once gave an image that the companions never forgot.
Jābir ibn ʿAbdullāh رضي الله عنه narrated that the Prophet ﷺ passed by a dead goat with defective ears in the marketplace. He held it by the ear and asked:
“Who among you would like to buy this for a dirham?”
They said, “We would not want it even for free.”
The Prophet ﷺ then said:
“By Allāh, the dunya is more insignificant to Allāh than this is to you.”
(Sahih Muslim)
The very things people exhaust themselves chasing… in the sight of Allāh are worth less than something people would not even take for free.
And yet the heart often forgets.
Until something reminds it again.
Sometimes that reminder is loss.
Sometimes it is death.
And sometimes it is Ramadan.
The Competition That Truly Matters
After revealing the reality of the dunya, Allāh gives us something beautiful.
A different kind of race.
Allāh says:
سَابِقُوا إِلَىٰ مَغْفِرَةٍ مِّن رَّبِّكُمْ وَجَنَّةٍ عَرْضُهَا كَعَرْضِ السَّمَاءِ وَالْأَرْضِ
“Race toward forgiveness from your Lord and a Paradise whose width is like the width of the heavens and the earth.”
(Qur’an 57:21)
If people must compete, let them compete for something eternal.
Race toward forgiveness.
Race toward the mercy of Allāh.
Race toward a Paradise whose vastness stretches beyond what the mind can comprehend.
This is the race that truly matters.
Ramadan: When the Heart Realigns
Ramadan is one of the greatest mercies Allāh gives to His servants.
Because for a brief moment each year, the heart steps away from the endless noise of the dunya.
The hunger softens the soul.
The stillness of the night allows the heart to speak to its Lord.
The Qur’an returns the servant to the purpose for which he was created.
And suddenly the believer remembers something deeply important:
This life was never meant to be permanent.
It was always meant to lead somewhere else.
To a meeting with Allāh.
To a life that never ends.
A Quiet Question for the Heart
As these final days of Ramadan pass, every believer should pause for a moment and ask themselves:
What have I truly been racing toward?
What has filled my heart the most?
If my life ended today, would I be pleased with the direction I have been running?
Ramadan gives us the gift of reflection.
It allows the heart to gently turn back toward its Lord.
A Duʿā’
Yā Allāh,
Do not allow the dunya to deceive our hearts.
Let the Hereafter be greater in our hearts than this fleeting life.
Allow us to be among those who race toward Your forgiveness and Your Jannah.
Accept our fasting, our prayers, our charity, and our repentance.
And let this Ramadan be the moment our hearts truly return to You.
Āmīn.
The dunya will always call the heart toward itself.
But the believer remembers something deeper.
That every step in this life is meant to carry us closer to Allāh.
#AskingArRahman
