Ma’rifat is contemplation of the creation of God. Supporting data is always required for contemplation. Before the developments of science, very limited data was available on this subject. Now science has provided a huge library of unlimited data for the seekers of Ma’rifat. It has become possible for such seekers to pursue their journey endlessly. At every moment they may receive the spiritual food of Ma’rifat. The process of spiritual development can go on within them continuously and never stop even for a single moment until the day they die.
A human being is a dual creature. We have a body and a soul. Both these have different demands. The development of the body depends on material things. The development of the soul depends on its continuous intellectual development. This is a completely different department. It is impossible that if you live in the midst of material development, you will have intellectual development as well. If you take one, you will lose the other.
The hadith says:
مَنْ أَحَبَّ دُنْيَاهُ أَضَرَّ بِآخِرَتِهِ، وَمَنْ أَحَبَّ آخِرَتَهُ أَضَرَّ بِدُنْيَاهُ، فَآثِرُوا مَا يَبْقَى عَلَى مَا يَفْنَى فَآثِرُوا مَا يَبْقَى عَلَى مَا يَفْنَى
Whoever loves his worldly life will suffer in his Hereafter, and whoever loves his Hereafter will suffer in his worldly life. Thus, prefer what is everlasting over what does not last. (Musnad Ahmad 19697) You cannot develop both at the same time. You have a physical part and an intellectual part. Your choice depends on you. This is a very serious matter. When a person is born, he grows, reaches adulthood and has great energy at that time. He begins to spend time in sports and entertainment. For example, consider this. Two youngsters are busy in sports. When a person is busy in sports and games, he believes that this is all that life is. But you cannot overrule the law of nature. You cannot always have a youthful life full of energy. You will fall sick, meet accidents and face different kinds of odds. If nothing happens to you, you can still not save yourself from old age. Reversing old age is completely impossible. In the end, a person is all alone and sad within. He is at the point of death and keeps waiting for death to arrive.
What happens after death? All your material and physical growth is left behind. This is a very serious matter which we all should think about.
