Assalamu’alaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh
Bismillahir- Rahmanir-Rahim
1. Opening
Friends whose hearts are always filled with optimism, have you ever seen someone who, by age, is already elderly, hair turned white, yet the glow in their eyes is so alive, their smile so soothing, and their spirit outshines the young? Conversely, why are there so many 20-something youths with fresh bodies, but whose minds are already weary, burnt out, depressed, and experiencing acute psychological emptiness? From a scientific psychological and biological standpoint, this phenomenon is closely tied to one’s life orientation. People who are oriented only toward material and worldly things will age quickly mentally. Once their limited targets are reached—like buying a house, accumulating wealth, or getting married—they immediately lose direction, get bored, and are struck by emptiness [existential vacuum]. Yet, a true believer never grows old mentally. Why? Because their highest target, goal, and Beloved is unlimited and endless—namely Allah SWT and the ocean of His knowledge. Because their goal is infinite, their soul is always dynamic, constantly renewed, and stays young. Biologically, the sense of security, optimism, and rich emotion of love for Allah lowers stress hormones like cortisol, and stimulates endorphins and oxytocin. The effect? The immune system improves, body cells regenerate well, and physical vitality remains active even as biological age increases.
Allah SWT describes this dynamic, ever-growing soul of the believer in the Qur’an:
وَالَّذِينَ اهْتَدَوْا زَادَهُمْ هُدًى وَآتَاهُمْ تَقْوَاهُمْ
“And those who are guided—He increases them in guidance and gives them their righteousness.” [QS. Muhammad: 17]
This never-extinguishing spiritual energy is also alluded to by Rasulullah ﷺ when he explained that a believer whose age increases actually becomes better in the quality of his soul:
خَيْرُ النَّاسِ مَنْ طَالَ عُمُرُهُ وَحَسُنَ عَمَلُهُ
“The best of people is the one whose life is long and whose deeds are good.” [HR. At-Tirmidzi]
2. Lessons and Message
The precious message for our mental health: Do not hang your happiness on a false finish line. If your life’s purpose is only worldly things, you will grow tired after achieving them because this world is too small to satisfy the capacity of your soul. Make Allah your purpose, then every morning you live will always be full of energy, beautiful curiosity, and passion for worship and learning.
Let us recall a touching portrait from the lives of the scholars, one of them the great Tabi‘in named Sa‘id ibn al-Musayyib. In his old age, his eyesight had begun to fade, his legs hurt to walk, and tyrannical rulers repeatedly tortured him physically. Physically, his condition was very pitiful. Yet, for 40 years, he never missed the first takbir with the imam in the mosque. As his death approached, his daughter wept seeing her father’s frail, emaciated body preparing for prayer. Sa‘id ibn al-Musayyib looked at his daughter with a serene smile and said, “Do not cry, my child. By Allah, your father has never seen the back of a person praying [because he was always in the first row] for forty years.” His body aged and withered, but his mind was that of a young lion full of love for Allah. Compare that to us who are physically strong, yet when woken by the Fajr adhan we already complain of aches and overwhelming laziness. How sad.
So we can absorb this secret to staying young with a relaxed smile, let’s imagine two Children’s Toys. The first toy is a Wind-up Toy Car with a spring key on the side. You wind the key three times, then release it. The car zooms fast, vroom… [this is like a worldly person chasing material targets]. But once the spring unwinds after 2 meters, the car immediately collapses, stops completely, and becomes a boring, motionless piece of junk.The second toy is an Electric Train whose tracks are directly connected to the main power cable or wall outlet at home [this is like a believer whose heart is connected to Allah]. Will that train stop after 2 meters? No! It will keep circling, running day and night, its lights stay bright, its energy never runs out because its power source is unlimited!
The funny thing about us on social media now is that many people suffer mid-life crises or stress at a young age because they live on the “wind-up car” system. Once they get a job and buy a new motorbike, the spring runs out, and they’re immediately confused, “So what do I do next with my life? Why does it feel so empty?” Of course it’s empty—you haven’t plugged your soul’s power cord into the heavens! If you plug it into Allah, you’ll become an “electric train” whose energy never runs out until husnul khatimah!
3. Conclusion and Closing
Friends, in conclusion, the true secret to “staying young” is not plastic surgery or expensive serum, but having a life purpose that is limitless. Believers never grow old inwardly because every day they renew their love, their knowledge, and their longing for Allah SWT.
Let us shift our life orientation. Pursue the world moderately as a means, but make Allah’s pleasure and His knowledge the endless primary goal. Guard your inner health with faith and taqwa, and biologically Allah will also bless your body with blessed vitality until the end of life
. والله أعلم بالصواب
الحمد لله رب العالمين
Wassalamu’alaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh.
Abu Sultan Al-Qadrie
