The price of eternal life is the hours of his life, but what is left of them for him to buy it with?! – Ibn Al-Jawzi

What Can This Eternal Life be Bought With?
WHEN A PERSON THINKS about the life of this world before entering it, he considers it long. Likewise, when he thinks about it after leaving it, he sees a long period of time and knows that the stay in the grave is long. When he thinks about the Day of judgment, he knows that its fifty thousand years long, and when he thinks about Paradise and Hell, he knows that they will never end.
Now, when he goes back to look at the time spent in this world, lets say 60 years, he can see that thirty of it is spent sleeping, fifteen or so is spent in childhood and most of what’s left goes to chasing after desires, food and money. When he accounts for what is left, he finds that much of it is nothing but showing off and heedlessness. The price of eternal life is the hours of his life, but what is left of them for him to buy it with?!

Excerpts from The Book “ ‘Sincere Counsel to the Seekers of Sacred Knowledge’” by Ibn Al-Jawzi was published by Dar us Sunnah publishers, and this excellent book can be purchased at troid.ca