Dated: Wednesday, May 22, 2013

by Sana Kazi

There is a point in everyone’s life which forces him to think and rethink about his life in general. I went through the same phase last year. On May 6th, 2010 two colleagues in my office lost their lives in a fatal car accident on their way back from work. May Allah SWT forgive their sins and grant them Jannah, Aameen. Their deaths came as a shock to all of us; after all it was all so sudden and unexpected. This is what I thought at first too, but later when I was deep in thought I realized that yes, it was sudden but unexpected, no. I mean, we all know that every soul shall have a taste of death, but the right time and place is only and only known to Allah SWT. So why is it that when something like this happens we go in to shock by calling it an unexpected death? The conclusion that I reached was that except for a few, majority of us do not recall death every day. We do not realize that we never know whose turn it might be next, and hence, we do not really make any special efforts to prepare for the journey of death. This entire incident was an eye-opener for me. I was forced to think about how I have been spending my life and ultimately about my death. What if I die right now while writing this very piece? Have I made any preparations for my journey to the next world? What deeds will I take with me? Are those deeds good enough to get me relief from the trials of the grave? The very thoughts bring goose bumps on my arms. If we analyze our lives seriously we’ll know that we are not prepared for this journey at all. Had we been ready we would not be in the state in which we are right now. We never give a second thought when we back bite or make fun of someone, when we lie, when we snatch away other people’s rights, when we do not hesitate in doing things which are outright forbidden by Allah SWT like consuming Riba, alcohol, listening to music etc. etc. A Hadeeth tells us that a Muslim brother should not remain angry with another Muslim brother for more than three days. But look at us, our egos are so big that we never initiate in resolving our differences, always expecting the other to come forward and apologize. How many times do we actually feel bad about missing our prayers? How many times do we actually think about the poor and the needy before satisfying our own hunger? The sad part is that the list goes on and on, yet we do not pay heed. Have we seriously ever thought about the consequences we shall have to face in the next world due to all these things? The questions of Munkar and Nakeer, the hardships of the grave and the fire of Hell if we have sinned; and the blessings of Allah and the bounties of Paradise in return for our good deeds, the crossing of the Pul-Sirat, etc.

The day when we will be shown our deeds, would be the day, when we will be ashamed at how we had spent our lives. The fact is that we keep on postponing our duty towards our own betterment, but what we do not realize is that it will be too late if we don’t work on it right away. Just imagine what if death suddenly approaches us one day. What can we do then? Will we be ready for the questions of Munkar and Nakeer? Will we be in the position to face our Rabb? It is high time we realize that this world in which we live right now is merely a temporary abode and simply a testing ground. We spend our lives running after material things which can never benefit us in the Hereafter. The day we will be dead, all things that we had earned during our lifetime, be it our prestigious qualifications, our wealth, family, education, social status, each and every thing will be left behind except for our deeds, which will go with us down to our graves. At that time the only things which can benefit us would be our Salah, the Quran that we had recited, the fasts that we made, the Nafls that we prayed, our Sadqats and Zakah. So what good is running after our material desires when none can bring solace in the darkness of the grave and the haunting of the Hell? Hence, deliberately postponing our plans towards a pious life to a later date will not lead us anywhere; in fact it will only bring death more close to us and leave us with less or no time for repentance. Allah SWT says in the Holy Quran: “Know that Allah is severe in punishment, but that Allah (also) is Forgiving, Merciful” (Surah Maidah 5:98).

It is never too late to repent and ask for His forgiveness, so that when death approaches us we are ready. We need to be thankful to Allah SWT for giving us each day so that we can repent sincerely and aim at becoming better Muslims. Instead of wasting any more time we should look within ourselves and ponder over the very thought that are we ready for the journey of death? And most importantly keep reminding ourselves that death is near and never unexpected. Death can never be unexpected because Allah SWT says in the Holy Quran: “Therefore glory be to Him in Whose hand is the dominion over all things! Unto Him ye will be brought back.” (Surah Yaseen 36:83). The irony of the whole situation is that we know death can approach us anytime and anywhere and after that there is a whole journey ahead of us till the Day of Judgment, yet we are not preparing ourselves for that final Hour. It is just a matter of time after which Allah SWT will unfold on us the time of our final destination.