Fish Who Do Not Know the Ocean

People are like fish in the ocean who do not know where the ocean is: they do not value the ocean. Human beings, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) says, are asleep, and they wake when they are dead.^**** That is the reality. Many people live their lives like sheep. How does a sheep live? Has anyone ever seen a sheep, any sheep, looking up into the sky and reflecting, making tafakkur, saying Allāhu akbar, Allāhu akbar? Sheep, by definition, by default, keep their heads down on the ground, looking for what? Grass. All they do is eat, sleep, defecate, multiply; eat, sleep, defecate, multiply; eat, sleep, defecate, multiply. That is what sheep do. At least they are good — ḥalāl: they are slaughtered, eaten, and give benefit. If a human being lives his life without Allah, without lā ilāha illallāh Muḥammadur rasūlullāh, there is no difference between him and the sheep. Even the sheep is, in essence, a Muslim: it obeys the laws of Allah, sunnatullāh. And the sheep will not be held accountable on the Day of Judgment; it will die and become dust. But human beings never will. Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq (may Allah be pleased with him) used to weep and pray: O Allah, how I wish I were just a tree, a rock. Why, O Abū Bakr? Because then I would not have to stand before You to be held accountable, to answer for my deeds. This is Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq (may Allah be pleased with him). And yet people call themselves Muslims — born into a Muslim family, given a head start as a gift from Allah (swt) — and do not realise who they are; they do not know the value of lā ilāha illallāh Muḥammadur rasūlullāh.