Future means: 'The time to come.' Future planning means that man should prepare for the future. He should utilize the available resources properly and try to opt for more available resources as per his strength and ability. In the Quran and Sunnah, we are instructed to prepare for the life after death. It has also been taught that we should prepare for the coming days in the life of the world too.
Allah has ordered us not to waste the resources and blessings we have for future needs. It is not against “Tawakal" to try and accumulate resources now to avoid any pain and suffering in the future. Allah has ordered in the Holy Quran that Muslims should accumulate resources to fight against their enemies.
Allah Almighty says:
وَاعِدُّوالَهُمْ مَّا اسْتَطَعْتُمْ مِنْ قُوَّةٍ
Translation:
''Prepare against them whatever force you can.'' (Surah Al-Anfal: 60)
In the Holy Quran, the life circumstances of Hazrat Yousuf have been described in detail. It also mentions that Hazrat Yousuf made a brilliant plan to protect the Egyptians from famine. Even Egypt, in times of famine, was not only self-sufficient in its own food needs but was also supplying grain to other countries.
Planning and thinking for the future is a blessed Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad .You have done it without notice. Prophet Muhammad (s) ordered to save blessings from wasting so that they can be used in future. He forbade the wastage of water and ordered to plant more trees, so that in the future we can benefit from these blessings.
The Holy Prophet always made plans for the strength of the Islamic Dawa and the welfare of the Muslims. In the battle of Trench, when he came to know about the intentions of the infidels to attack Madina, the messenger of Allah made a plan to protect the people of Madina. On this occasion, on the advice of Hazrat Salman Farsi , Muslims dug a trench and the people of Madina were saved from the attack of polytheists of Makkah.
A clear example of future planning is the treaty of Hudaybiyah incident. On the occasion of the treaty of Hudaybiyah, the Holy Prophet made a treaty of peace with the polytheists, the terms of which were apparently in favour of the polytheists. But on this occasion, the Messenger of Allah were planning for the future. Allah gave such a blessing in the plan of Holy Prophet that this peace agreement proved to be a milestone in the conquest of Makkah and after some time the power of the polytheists of Makkah was shattered.
Every Muslim should prepare himself for the coming time by following the commandments of Allah and the Sunnah of Holy Prophet . Allah does not like those who sit with their hands on their hands and waste the resources.
Allah Almighty says:
إِنَّهُ لَا يُحِبُّ الْمُسْرِفِينَ
Translation:
''Surely, Allah does not like the extravagant.'' (Surah Al-An'am: 141)
Allah loves those who use their strength and intellect and think about the benefit of themselves and others. While planning any future work, we should follow the limits set by Shariah. We should not make any such plan that is against the order of Allah. One should not involve usury, usurpation, lie, bribery and materialism in one's intentions and plans. While planning and making plans for the future, a person's tawakkal should be in Allah completely. Tawakkal means that a person should do all efforts leaving the result to Almighty Allah.
When a person or a nation makes decisions with planning and understanding, there are many positive effects on the life of that person or the nation, some of which are:
i. Many resources are saved from being wasted.
ii. Happiness and prosperity is achieved.
iii. One does not have to beg from others.
iv. Resources increase and the entire society develops.
v. Better planners get better results.
vi. Society is saved from anarchy and chaos.
vii. People who keep an eye on the future tend to be moderate in their individual and collective relationships, so that they do not experience embarrassment or loss.
This is also the teaching of Islam. Today is the age of wisdom and knowledge. Individuals and nations are investing a lot of money in planning for the future for many years. We should also adopt this method of future planning both on individual and collective level. It is only in this way that we can prosper and our society will become a prosperous society.
