Career Retirement and Investing One’s Years

Dr. Hassan Issa Al-Talib

The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) fought the final battle of his life at Tabuk in the ninth year of the Hijra; he passed away six months later at the age of approximately sixty-three. Uthman ibn Affan—the third Caliph of the Muslims (may Allah be pleased with him)—was killed while at the helm of the Caliphate and the leadership of the state, at the age of about eighty-two. When the Commander of the Faithful, Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah honor his countenance), was killed, he was on the battlefield confronting rebels and instigators of strife; he was approximately sixty-three years old.
These are the exemplary models in Muslim history—the patterns of their revered figures and the conduct of their lives throughout their professional leadership journeys. They remain a source of inspiration for those who follow, offering a guide to the wisdom and sound judgment they embodied. Islamic law prescribes neither retirement nor idleness, nor sitting in the shade of unemployment, surrendering to ease, or abandoning great endeavors. Rather, it is a continuous life—from the cradle to the grave—where roles shift according to circumstances and arenas of action transform accordingly.
The struggle (*Jihad*) is ongoing and never ceasing while its forms and locations may change, turning one’s back on the battle is forbidden—except when maneuvering for tactical advantage or regrouping with another contingent of forces. All of this unfolds according to the principle: “Indeed, you are striving toward your Lord with [great] exertion and will meet Him.”

The righteous among this nation held fast to the maxim: “There is no rest for the believer until he meets Allah”—for they knew that what lies with Allah is better and more enduring. Consider the changes that befell Muslims following the decline of the Caliphate—eras marked by humiliation and backwardness, and the transformation of governance and legal systems. These shifts stemmed from the encroachment of Western civilization; the introduction of state-salaried positions and usurious commercial institutions owned by Westerners; the adoption of social and behavioral norms and bureaucratic regulations imposed by colonial powers upon the colonized; and the seductive, materialistic worldview that took hold—particularly after the French Revolution of 1789. That revolution—which rejected religion entirely—arose as an angry reaction against the injustices of predatory capitalism, the tyranny of rulers, the Church’s heinous transgressions, and the deceit of its corrupt clergy. These clerics had traded the Hereafter for worldly gain; they sold their faith and corrupted the world by distorting religion, inventing “indulgences” for every tyrant, oppressor, and profligate. For a negotiated fee, the clergy would issue a certificate—worn around the neck and placed upon the burial shroud—purportedly guaranteeing entry into Paradise without reckoning or punishment. This promise was made despite the individual’s oppression of the weak, killing of the innocent, extravagance, destruction of crops and progeny, and the commission of atrocities far worse than those revealed in the scandalous Jeffrey Epstein files.
Consequently, the masses rose up against them; people turned away from the Church and its laws, holding its religious leaders in contempt and scorn. In 1790, a law was enacted requiring all clergy to pledge allegiance to the Revolution’s Civil Constitution—rather than to the Gospel, which the revolutionaries had rejected and scorned. Consequently, around 200 priests were hanged—an event known as the “September Massacres” of 1792—on the streets of Paris and elsewhere, notably at the Carmelite Monastery. The Church was shut down, and religion was replaced by irreligious secularism, leading to rampant social chaos and immoral conduct. The death toll from the ensuing civil wars and conflicts with France’s neighbors—such as Spain, Prussia, and England—is estimated at around 300,000. King Louis XVI and his wife, Marie Antoinette, were executed by hanging on charges of high treason and threatening national security; the monarchy was abolished in favor of a secular republic, and religion was sidelined. Religious individuals were barred from running for parliamentary office, religious clauses were removed from the legal framework, and the 1905 Constitution prohibited the use of Church slogans in political activity. Indeed, no party with religious leanings emerged after the French Revolution until 1924, with the founding of the Popular Democratic Party (PDP).
This blatant hostility toward religion in France is unparalleled in European nations that transitioned to constitutional monarchies—such as Britain, Sweden, Spain, and the Netherlands—or in the United States, which rejected monarchy in favor of a republic without adopting an anti-religious stance. The U.S. demonstrated a religious orientation by adopting and printing the phrase “In God We Trust” on the dollar bill. Furthermore, the Republican Party relies on the support of church leaders and conservatives, particularly among Protestants and Christian Zionists. The same applies to political parties in Germany—such as the Christian Democratic and Christian Social parties—as well as in Belgium and the Netherlands. In Israel, the state has declared its Jewish identity in its constitution, and extremist fundamentalist religious parties have emerged—such as Likud, Shas, and United Torah Judaism—that reject any religion other than Judaism.
Generally, European democracies do not prohibit the formation of religious parties by law; however, some do object to the use of churches as venues for launching election campaigns. Ultimately, the matter is left to the voters at the ballot box to decide who will govern them.
Most political parties in Europe and America do not impose a retirement age on politicians; however, the age for voting eligibility is set at eighteen—as is the case in the United States, Britain, Germany, and Italy.
In the faith of the *Ahl al-Qibla* (the Muslim community), the issue of age—which is essentially the cumulative tally of the time a person has spent on earth and the deeds they have prepared for their meeting with their Lord on the Promised Day—is not measured by the number of years or the count of seasons passed. Rather, what matters are the recorded deeds and which of the two paths the long-lived individual chose to follow throughout their life, and what they prepared in accordance with divine law. These two paths are:
“As for him who transgressed and preferred the life of this world…”
And: “…who feared the standing before his Lord and restrained the soul from [its] desire…”
Thus, the competition within this limited span of time—with its known beginning and unknown end—is a choice between fleeing from the Hell that serves as an abode and entering the Paradise that serves as an abode. That is the eternal investment project for the Muslim. Subsequently, a clouding of the concepts foundational to Sharia and its authoritative jurisprudential principles—along with a weakened understanding of the fundamentals of the faith—afflicted certain later generations of Muslims who were Westernized imitators; consequently, they suffered cultural and intellectual dispossession.
They were dazzled by the glitter and ostentation of Western civilization—its captivating materialism, its outward lifestyle, and its liberation from the constraints of religion, social heritage, and inherited tradition. Consequently, they began calling for the emulation of Western systems regarding employment, retirement, and daily life. Some even openly advocated for rejecting religious rulings and Islamic Sharia, discarding the entire heritage of governance, judiciary, and legislation—claiming it was the cause of Muslim regression and backwardness—and instead calling for a French-style secular state, the rejection of religion, and the banning of Islamic parties, all without a public referendum, consultation with the people, elections, or legal process. They sought to follow the example of the French during their revolution against the Church, forgetting that the backwardness they observed lay in the behavior of certain individuals and communities identifying as Muslim, not in the essence of the religion itself, nor in its prescribed teachings.

In fact, Muslims pioneered the foundations of modern human civilization and the principles of good governance as early as the era of the Rightly Guided Caliphate. The concept of human rights—celebrated globally in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights—was encapsulated in the famous words of the Rightly Guided Caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab, the second Caliph of the Islamic state: “Since when do you enslave people when their mothers gave birth to them free?”
During the Abbasid Caliphate in the 8th century CE—under the reigns of Al-Ma’mun and Al-Rashid—Muslim civilization radiated its light across the globe. The “House of Wisdom” (Dar al-Hikma), established by Abu Ja’far al-Mansur in Baghdad, served as a national and global academy for research, science, scholarship, and translation; it encompassed all branches of knowledge and research dating back to the eras of the Greeks, the Romans, and even earlier civilizations. Thus emerged brilliant scholars—such as Ibn Sina, Al-Farabi, Al-Razi, and Ibn al-Haytham—who stand as the fathers and founders of modern sciences.
Then, the sun of civilization rose over Al-Andalus, bringing forth Ibn Rushd. He rectified the philosophical doctrines held by Socrates and Aristotle—which had persisted since the era of the Greeks—earning him the Western title of “The Second Teacher.” A statue was erected in his honor in Córdoba, standing to this day as a testament to his stature. Next came the genius Abd al-Rahman Ibn Khaldun, author of *Al-Muqaddimah* (The Introduction), who laid the foundations and principles of sociology, economics, the rise and fall of states, and good governance.
Backwardness, therefore, lies neither in ruling by Islamic Sharia nor in the fact that this message is the final one for humanity; rather, it stems from a failure of understanding.

Shortlink: https://sudanhorizon.com/?p=18180