It is a great deprivation and evident loss for a person to be just a number in the long list of humanity during this life and after death, having no weight in the values of moral code and no contribution in ethical legacy. Such contribution is the last imprint you leave and the last image of you in life. You should leave a mark that commemorates you after you die. So, how will your departure look like? What will you leave behind? Will you leave a lasting fruitful legacy and a good memory or a bad impact that will continue to harm and a disreputable memory?

Before answering, we should know that Allah created creatures varying from each other, and just as they are different in color and size, so are they different in qualities, nature, behavior, and morality. Allah did not create a harsh nature or innate characteristic in a way that a person could not change his character,  behavior, or be unable to purify his soul. It is oddly enough that a person leaves the world without leaving an impact to be praised and emulated, even stranger than that, one leaves a pure evil, such as the notoriety on social media, insult, slander, and defamation. Allah may forgive the negligence of his slave if his sins involve just the rights of Allah, but the sins which involve transgressions against the rights of other humans will be pending until the Day of Judgment. Therefore, transgressors must be aware that their bad impact is the cause for their hatred, and supplications against them by those who have suffered their mistreatment, not only that, but their bad impact might be spread and promoted by their followers, Allah, the Exalted, Says (what means): {That they may bear their own burdens in full on the Day of Resurrection and some of the burdens of those whom they misguide without knowledge. Unquestionably, evil is that which they bear} [Quran 16:25]

Noble conduct and good impact are considered as an additional life, a model for others who desire and love to emulate and imitate them, and who will continue to ask Allah to have mercy on them. It is a treasure that not only his/her family will share, but also everyone will benefit from that treasure. A person's legacy will not be passed only to that person's inheritors, but also will be passed to those who benefited from this legacy. Their traces will keep drawing an intellectual image for society even when their bodies are lying beneath the dust; they will be remembered and followed. It is a continuous giving and permanent goodness that drives society to keep the good deeds and maintain generous qualities, as Allah, the Exalted, Says (what means): {Whoever does righteousness, whether male or female, while he is a believer – We will surely cause him to live a good life, and We will surely give them their reward [in the Hereafter] according to the best of what they used to do} [Quran 16:97]

Human life has no value without leaving a legacy after his/her departure, unlike successful ones as they know how to create great glory and rich history of their own.

One of the prominent characters of our era is Sheikh Abdur-Rahman As-Sameet, born in Kuwait in 1947. He had been persistent in praying since his young age; he loved reading, he read the seerah (biography) of the Prophet and his great companions and the biographies of righteous predecessors. He grew up loving this religion, which makes his lovers great men having no counterparts in history. Sheikh Abdur-Rahman noticed, during studying in high school, that the workers used to wait for public transport under the burning sun of Kuwait. Accordingly, he and his colleagues decided to raise money to buy a car to transport workers from work to their homes for free, just for the sake of Allah. After that he joined university study, he had his bachelor's degree in medicine in Iraq, his master's degree in Britain, and his doctorate in Canada, and finally decided to return to Kuwait to work as a physician, but his good wife advised him that he should work in the field of Da‘awah (Islam propagation) in East Asia. It was the will of Allah that he settled in Africa in Malawi, because one of the good women had asked to build a Masjid outside Kuwait, as he fulfilled her wishes. He was shocked by what he saw; many Muslims there did not know how to perform ablution nor know about the teachings of Islam, while he saw the European Christianization activity as they succeeded in Christianizing them. As-Sameet and his wife decided to stay there for Da‘awah; both of them abandoned the luxury life and settled in a remote village on the island of Madagascar in the village of Madikeri in a modest house. He set up a team of Islamic preachers and Imams to spread Islam to the African countries, after training them on wise Islam propagation ways and methods of dealing with different cultures. He spread his students everywhere in the continent, creating an integrated network of loyal young people who were moving from a village to another walking on foot to propagate Islam among their people.

He helped huge numbers of people to convert to Islam, he also contributed to the construction of about 5700 Masjids, cared for and fostered orphans; he fostered nearly 15,000 orphans, drilling more than 9,500 Artesian wells, building 860 schools, establishing 4 universities and 204 Islamic centers.

Abu Suhaib formed an association and named it the Direct Aid Association to benefit everyone whether Muslims, Christians, or Pagans. May Allah have mercy upon him, and dwell him in paradise. Allah the Exalted Says (what means): {Indeed, it is We who bring the dead to life and record what they have put forth and what they left behind, and all things We have enumerated in a clear register} [Quran 36:12]

When will you leave your mark, while Allah has bestowed the grace of Islam upon you? And what a great blessing, you are also blessed to be a descendant of great ancestors who enlightened the world from its darkness and created a civilization written by history. Are you not worried about the state of your Ummah (Islamic nation)? Aren’t you concerned about the Dunya (the worldly life) being as a weapon with others who threaten your Ummah? Isn’t it worthy for you to take part in building that history? Get up and let go of your laziness, find out who you are and look at your nation's past to be inspired by them as a torch that lights your way; hasten to work and make your mark in life as life is short and you don’t know when it is going to end. When it comes to an end, only your legacy will remain and you will have an honorable mention in later generations, otherwise you won’t have a legacy, and the history will forget you.