Death is always unexpected. No one wakes up in the morning expecting it to be their last day. When we hear that someone has passed, we often have similar thoughts; it was so unexpected, he was so young, didn’t even know they were unwell, it was sudden…

Death is something we take for granted that it will happen but very rarely expect it to happen at any given moment. Life is an exam that we keep studying for without knowing the exam date. As with the advise that we give to our children when they are preparing for an exam, the success of the exam of life depends on starting early and being consistent.

There are many instances in the teaching of Islam that emphasizes the importance of not delaying our good deeds.

O you who believe! Spend of that with which We have provided for you, before a Day comes when there will be no bargaining, nor friendship, nor intercession. And it is the disbelievers who are the Zaalimoon (wrongdoers). ( Quran 2:254)

Ibn Abbas reported: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said,
“Take advantage of five before five: your youth before your old age, your health before your illness, your riches before your poverty, your free time before your work, and your life before your death.”
Source: Shu’ab al-Imān 9575

Let us not wait until we are settled, got the promotion, built the house or any other milestone to start giving charity. There is never a guarantee that we will achieve it. But there is a guarantee that we will run out of time. Let us start investing our Hereafter today, while we still have time.