Preparing For Retirement And The Hereafter

Conrad Hotel - Maldives Rangali Island

 When the word "retirement" is heard or read, what images pop-up in your mind? I have a cliche set of images such as the beach, a resort surrounded by beautiful landscape and water. It might have been a result of subliminal programming on my mind that we should all travel the world, hop on a cruise, and check-in to a resort during retirement. This might be because of the pain vs pleasure principle that marketers use to sell retirement products by selling the idea that by purchasing a certain retirement product, you can gain a certain pleasure and financial security or avoid poverty. Thus, we are then pushed products that may not be in accordance with the guidance of our religion.

Satan threatens you with poverty and orders you to immorality, while Allah promises you forgiveness from Him and bounty. And Allah is all-Encompassing and Knowing.

2. Surat Al-Baqarah (The Cow; 268)

Is everything before retirement then considered living in terrible pain? Remember the question that Allah poses in the Quran 31 times;

So which of the favors of your Lord would you deny?

55. Surat Ar-Raĥmān (The Beneficent; 13, 16, 18, 21, 23, 25, 28, 30, 32, 34, 36, 38, 40, 42, 45, 47, 49, 51, 53, 55, 57, 59, 61, 63, 65, 67, 69, 71, 73, 75, 77)

The image associations I have and many people have today would greatly differ to people in the past. But, every individual of past or present reach a certain age when their bodies start to weaken and sooner or later cause inability to work. So, I am curious when did the word "retirement" actually came about, and whether people in past civilizations prepared for retirement or more so toward death and the Hereafter?

But those who have feared their Lord - for them are chambers, above them chambers built high, beneath which rivers flow. [This is] the promise of Allah . Allah does not fail in [His] promise.

39. Surat Az-Zumar (The Troops;20)

Planning and action are required before retirement and akhirat. Retirement is temporary. Akhirat is eternal. The only action we need to take on both is to spend. Spend 15-20% monthly from our paycheck to put into a savings/retirement account, spend in the way of Allah, and spend wisely. Spending wisely is essential to success.

Indeed, the wasteful are brothers of the devils, and ever has Satan been to his Lord ungrateful.

17. Surat Al-'Isrā' (The Night Journey; 27)

Step 15 on retirement is such a big topic and requires extensive planning, to which you can seek from Islamic financial planners (IFP) or a certified financial planners (CFP). The only one I can find on Google is Azzad Asset Management and most IFP's are based in Malaysia. InshaAllah, there will be more posts on retirement in the future. 

In The End, Those Guided Will Prosper

They are on guidance from their Lord, and it is these who will prosper (be successful).

2. Surat Al-Baqarah (The Cow; 5)

We are embarking on a new journey, but do we know exactly where the long and winding road leads to? Before we embark on this journey in Islamic Personal Finance, we need to know where we should be. Like Stephen R. Covey said, “begin with the end in mind”. It's a difficult question to answer, especially when it's about our financial future. Is 1 million dollar the magic number we all need to have upon retirement?

Your Money Ratios: 8 Simple Tools for Financial Security, a book which I highly recommend (read reviews by thesimpledollar.com and thewisdomjournal.com), serves as a good guide to finding the specific point on our prosperity based on our age and income. Example based on the calculator provided by the author here, a person at the age of 25 with an annual income of $30,000 should have a savings of at least $3,000 or $3,600 if saving 12% of income.

Now, we have a clear picture of where we are, should be, or would've been at this point in time.