Want To Retire?

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

Our life journey is about getting better. So get good at what you do and master it. To master something is a lifetime endeavor. We don't retire.

If your goal in life is to relax and retire, then it will happen that way, because Allah will deal with you that way. If you expect to get old and retire, that may function as a du'a and it will happen because you will prepare for your old age and retirement. And when you prepare you are making a du'a. For example, when we prepare for a disaster, we are asking Allah to help us survive through that disaster. If for those that Allah does not want to be harmed by the disaster, Allah will help them through it by the du'a. And those who didn't prepare, didn't make du'a (they didn't ask Allah for help), then Allah leaves them to themselves. They will be struck by the disaster. May Allah protect us. Preparation does not mean having the means but taking the means or doing what you can.

What happens if you want to retire?

In Islam we work to benefit the ummah, humanity at large and all of creation. The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam is a mecry to all of creation. We are the ummah of mercy and we need to emulate that.

Allah places us in work, so we work and get better and better at it. For some, that will be worship, for some that will be learning, and for some that will be toil (secular work), or some other things. And many will have a mix of all types of work. Someone who is toiling and actively making the ummah a tangibly better place, it is selfish and arrogant to say "I want to retire so I can worship", or "so I can learn about Islam," because working is worship. We have our obligations and we will fulfill our obligations. For someone who wants to retire so I can worship is like I want to retire from medicine so I can make houses, just like hopping careers, or like someone who says, "I don't want to live in my house anymore, I want to live in my neighbor's house now." What a ridiculous thing to say!

You are just as good here. To retire is to enjoy being a burden to society because you are hoarding wealth and you have taken the benefit you provide away from the ummah. You might say that "I am not doing much now, and I might do more in something else or somewhere else." By doing that, you directly remove an expert from the ummah and replace them with a novice who doesn't know what they are doing. Because our obligation is to progress creation and you pull the world back by retiring. And you have decided by yourself to remove 40 years of experience because you want to do something else.

So if you are starting out, pick a field (job, work), the one that Allah has placed you in. Trust Allah, put in the effort, don't pick bad jobs to begin with, jobs that are a burden on society or causes problems for the society or your own families. Look at what you do, what other people do, what you like to do, and don't compete. When the ummah competes with each other, the ummah hurts. So cooperate with each other. If somebody else is better than you, then let them take the job. If you are better, you take the job. You know yourself. Don't fight people for your own benefit. Don't fight people who are trying to make the world a better place. Be content with what Allah has given you. Work but don't work until you are burnt out, and just waiting to retire.

The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam said that whoever seeks a position by their own merit, Allah will leave them to themselves. And whoever is given a job, Allah will assist them. He, sallallahu alayhi wasallam said to Ibn Abbas radhiaAllahu anhu, Be with Allah and Allah will be with you.

رَضيـتُ بِاللهِ رَبَّـاً وَبِالإسْلامِ ديـناً وَبِمُحَـمَّدٍ نَبِيّـاً .

I am pleased with Allah as my Lord, with Islam as my religion, and with Muhammad sallalahu alayhi wasallam as my Prophet.

May Allah be pleased with us and make our hearts content with Him. Aameen.