How to Build an Impressive Akhira CV

The other day I was crouched over my desk at home in the early hours of the morning, updating my professional cv when all of sudden I was hit with a profound insight.

It was 6am and there I was hyper-focused and busy polishing my cv and trying to highlight all my best work and summarise and showcase the value and skills I bring to the table on a 3-paged document, but I could not help but draw a startling contrast and contemplate about what my ‘akhira cv’ looked like.

A cold shiver ran down my spine and I felt the walls of my room creep on me. The document I had open on my laptop screen blurred out of vision and my memory came into sharp focus. I skimmed my memories and I tried to recall some of my best and most sincere acts of worship and private good deeds, and my mouth grew instantly sour. 27 years of living and there was nothing that stood out to me or felt like I could proudly brag to Allah about. I want to mention that I was in no shape or form trying to belittle any honest or good deed I might have engaged in the past, the matter was that it all just felt underwhelming to me; I believed I could do so much better. Think about it, there are 7 billion people on the planet, what makes you special and stand out in the sight of Allah? Think of all the great sahabas and sahabiyat, scholars, invetors and all they have achieved and their significant contributions to the ummah.

When we talk about the end goal I am aware that Jannah is a reward that no-one can ‘earn’ even if they spent their entire life in a state of worship but at that very moment when I was working on my cv, I wondered…if Jannatul Firdaus (the highest level of paradise) was a position I was applying for, what positive habits and skills have I honed or what achievements have I attained that is worthy of being highlighted in my CV that could make me a worthy candidate of one of the dwellers of Jannah? I felt very small and embarrassed…I could not help but think like the typical African parent who would often preach to us during the times we submit our school report cards ‘does Abigail have two heads to score an A+ on the test?’. I asked myself a similar question ‘does a girl my age, living in the same time as me have more than one life to work for and earn her spot in jannatul firdaus?’ A new feeling stirred strongly inside me and I felt extremely fired up to ACT. As Muslims we all know we shall account for everything on the day of judgement and our book of records will be presented to us on the day of judgement. So why then do we spend our entire lives mainly focusing on building our cv or an impressive investment portfolio, when in reality the main record that should seize our attention and is worthy of our greatest concern is the one that will be presented to us on the day of judgement?

I’m here today to remind myself first before anyone else to not loose sight of what matters most, which is our record of deeds/ or what I will now coin as our akhira cv. Allah does not care about how many awards or degrees we have bagged, or the title of the positions we hold or the amount of money that sits in our bank account. None of that will benefit us in our grave and on the day of judgement.

Today you may be busy vying for a high and lucrative position in a prestigious company or organisation but how about your home in Jannah? The same way you have to work hard to earn a good living in this world you have to work hard to secure a good spot in the hereafter. Don’t aim for one at the expense of the other. You have to work hard and pray for the best in BOTH this dunya and the akhira, hence the beautiful dua our beloved Prophet ﷺ frequently made in his lifetime:

Rabbana atina fid dunya hasanatan wa fil Aakhirati hasanatan waqina ‘adhaban-nar. Our Lord, give us in this world [that which is] good and in the Hereafter [that which is] good and protect us from the punishment of the Fire.

As Muslims how committed are we to refining and updating our ‘akhira cv’ , do we equate as much value and importance to it as we do with our professional cv/investment portfolios?

I once read somewhere that if our deeds are not enough to help us attain a certain rank in Jannah that God knows we can attain, He instead tests us with hardship so that the beautiful patience we endure would make up for it. My question for you and I is which of those paths would you rather thread? The path that requires hard work, perseverance and you disciplining yourself or the path of enduring patience and several hardship? I know in reality they are both not mutually exclusive but you get the point I am trying to make.

I have a little assignment for you. At the end of reading this post, I want you to bring out a piece of paper and pen or pull out the notes on your phone and just write down a list of ways you wish to impress Allah azzawajal. The Quran paints a vivid picture of a scene on the day of judgement of a group of people who shall be elated and pleased to receive their records of deeds on the day of judgement and they will be so excited to show people the things written down in them. May Allah make us from among those people. Now imagine if it was you on that fateful day, what good things would you like to read in your record and want to brag to Allah about? Is it that you want one of the things written about you to be the fact that you beautified your character and made it the most praiseworthy thing about yourself? Or would you want to be a person that loved to fast fervently for the sake of Allah because Allah mentioned in the following hadith:

“Every deed of man will receive ten to 700 times reward, except Siyam (fasting), for it is for Me and I shall reward it (as I like).

(Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 5927; Muslim, 1151) 

Remember, fasting is not just refraining from food and drink but also anger and looking at unlawful things. Or is it that you want to be a hafidh/hafidha and it’s recorded that you spent a significant portion of your time reading, contemplating upon the verses and memorised the entire Quran; a mighty feat? Is it by being someone who loved and offered their salat at the prescribed times including praying all supererogatory prayers? Is it by being someone who enjoined all that is good and forbade all that Allah mentioned evil? Is it by being someone who relied upon and placed their full trust in Allah at all times in both times of joy and sorrow and would only utter words of praise and good things about Allah and their situation?

After you’ve concluded that exercise, I want you to proceed to the next level and set 1 SMART goal for yourself before the end of the year. You read that right, just one goal. If one of the ways you wish to impress Allah is by being a hafidh/hafidha and memorising the entire Quran, then set a SMART goal to memorise and revise a specific portion of the Quran unfailingly every day. It could be just one ayat every day but you make it a non-negotiable goal for the rest of the year. Set a solid and sincere intention that it’s something you want to achieve and are doing for the sake of Allah alone and on the day of judgement you want to be able to see it as one of the great accomplishments that the great scribes/ angels wrote on your behalf and will testify on your behalf. Frequently revisit and purify your intentions because you may work hard but the devil works harder and will try to bring all your efforts to naught. If your wish is to be one of those who love and fast for the sake of Allah, then set a smart goal to fast either every Monday and Thursday for the remainder of the year or on the 3 white nights of every month.

If your goal is to have one of the most beautiful characters that has ever graced this earth, then love for others what you would love for yourself and do not backbite or speak ill of anyone no matter what and constantly engage in tazkiyah (purification of the heart) and try to rid yourself of negative emotions such as riya (show off), arrogance, jealousy/envy, anger e.t.c.

If your goal is to be from among those who love and offer their prayer on time then set a SMART goal to limit all distractions and prioritise and perform your daily prayers with Ihsan and make it a sacred time for you to connect with your Rabb. For my dear sisters this means always ensuring you wear the correct hijab so that wherever you may be (when you leave the house), and the call for prayer is made, you can proceed to pray immediately in your current state and won’t have to put off your prayer till you return home because you are not well dressed.

All I want is for you to set 1 SMART goal that you can track. Many times we get ahead of ourselves and try to set too many goals at once and we become overwhelmed and loose track of them all but small and steady wins the race. Remember the most beloved deed to Allah is the one done most consistently even if it is small (Bukhari 6464). Thus, if you want to be someone who is charitable and loves to spend their wealth in the path of Allah, you may not have much to begin with but giving 1 Naira daily is more beloved in the sight of Allah than giving 1 million Naira just once in your lifetime.

Personally, one of my biggest prayers and wishes is to be from among the people of Quran. I want to memorise, practice and embody the Quran in my speech, actions and everyday life. Some of you may think it’s overzealous of me and I admit it’s a lofty goal. As I write this post I cannot help but hold myself accountable and ask myself a honest question; ‘So you want to be from among the people of Quran but Altine how often does Ayman see you hold the Quran and recite from it and how often does he see you hold your phone and mindlessly use it?’ Are you from the people of Quran or from the people who are addicted to their mobile devices? When my children see me constantly carrying and using my phone; scrolling, playing games or chatting what am I modelling to them? What message am I sending to them? What are the things I preoccupy myself with that I am consciously or subconsciously placing value to? There is so much room for growth on my part, and I informed myself I needed to do better. Our children learn and pick up habits and many other things just from observing us. May we be the best teachers and role models to our children.

As I conclude this post I want you to look inward and not compare yourself to any other person and trust and believe in your journey and success story. Aim very high; do not aim for the first level of Jannah. Aim to be from one of the dwellers of jannatul firdaus and to be neighbours with our beloved Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.

My humble prayer is that after today, you and I will become a lot more conscious, passionate and committed to building our akhira cv and making it a stellar application to becoming one of the blessed dwellers of Jannahtul firdaus.

Until next time In Sha Allah.

Your dearest sister in deen,

Ma Salam!