Innal-Hamdu lillah was-Salaatu was-Salaam `alaa Rasoolillah
“Lucky escape … hmmm … Nah! It just wasn’t my time to go yet; Allah saved me and gave me a little longer …”
Driving home from work after having a late staff meeting, it was an ordinary evening not much traffic on the road. I got onto the dual carriage, I was in the right lane doing around 60-70 miles an hour, then all of a sudden *BANG* the bonnet of my car flew open and smashed against my car windscreen, *SMASH* all the glass cracked and from the great impact, my back view mirror had completely broken off. It took me a few seconds to comprehend what had actually happened; I thought I had lost my eyesight as the bonnet was completely up against the windscreen blocking my whole view.
Straight away I started to read ‘La elaha illallah’ and ‘Allahu Akbar’. I pressed the hazard button to let the cars around me know that I’m in trouble – all this while still doing 60-70 miles an hour! I thought ‘that’s it, your time has come; it’s time for you to go.’ Alhamdulillah none of the windscreen glass actually fell on top of me, although all the glass had cracked, however was not given permission by Allah to fall!
Without any panic, I started to reduce my speed – Subhaanallah, I could not see a thing from the front or the back and it was pitch black outside… I managed to keep the car straight without swerving into the cars in the left lane, how I don’t know! All I say is ‘Alhamdulillah’. Once my car had stopped, I quickly jumped out as I had now become an obstruction in the road. I looked at the car and looked at myself, and could not believe what had just happened within less than a minute.
I thank Allah Almighty for saving me. I thank Allah that I did not even get a scratch on my body or any sort of injury at all. Throughout the whole event, I had such peace in my heart that I knew Allah was with me, I did not panic and I did not scream. Allah could’ve ended my life there and then but He chose not to, it was simply not written for me to go yet. I am fully aware that we are all going to die, death is the only definate thing in life but the reason why I am so thankful to Allah is for the fact that He has given me a bit more time in this world to obey Him, to do the good deeds, to live by the Sunnah of our Beloved Prophet Muhammad sallallahu’alayhi wasallam, in hope of earning Allahs Love and Mercy and making it to our true home – Al Jannah.
I ask Allah to make us among those who spend their whole lives striving hard for His Religion and not be among those who took His Religion for a joke, disobeying Him and His Messenger Muhammad (sa) and preferring the life of this world over the life in the hereafter.
For Allah says in the interpretation of the meaning:
And this life of the world is only amusement and play! Verily, the home of the Hereafter, that is the life indeed (the eternal life that will never end), if they but knew. [Surah al-‘Ankabut, 29: 64].
So let’s take heed from these words of Allah and understand that this life is temporary, it’s going to come to an end sooner or later – this is a fact, even if we choose to ignore it.
“For Indeed we come from Allah and to Him is our return”. [Surah Al-Baqarah, 2:156].
But the question is: How are we spending our lives here on this earth? Because the way we spend our lives here will determine the final outcome of our ETERNAL LIFE in the hereafter. Only the individual can answer that question: “Only you know how you are spending your life.”
Just like anything in this world, you’ve got to work very hard for it: that good job, that slick car, that nice house… Well Jannah isn’t cheap and it doesn’t come easy either!
Just sit back and imagine …
Do you want to live in your own palaces and mansions of which its bricks are made out of gold and silver and pebbles of pearls and sapphire?
Do you want to drink from rivers of Milk, rivers of Honey, rivers of Wine and rivers of Water?
Do you want to eat from gardens, with trees that have everlasting fruits, and all that’s required for you to do is simply stretch out your hand and eat to your hearts desire?
A place in which you will be wearing crowns of rubies, of which 1 ruby alone is better than this world and all that is in it! Allahu Akbar.
A place in which there is no sadness, no grief, no sorrow – only total happiness, joy, bliss and tranquillity. Whatever you wish for Allah will grant you, whatever you want Allah will give you.
A place in which, being there for 1 second will erase all the hardships you went though in this life, all the struggling you went through obeying Allah when so much was calling you to disobey Him – just 1 second in Jannah, the joy of 1 second alone will completely wipe out all those difficult times and calamities you faced in this world.
A place in which all the people of Jannah will gather together in a market place every Friday: all the righteous believers, all the Prophets of Allah (alayhi salaam), the companions of the Prophet Muhammad (sa), and the Prophet Muhammad (sa) himself!
A place in which the people of Paradise will have conversations of the time they spent on this earth, such as “Do you remember that time when we were afraid of so-and-so, or such-and-such but Allah guided us, and look how gracious Allah has been to us by saving us from the hellfire.
Now these are just some examples of Jannah told to us from the Qur’aan and the Hadith, we can talk about Jannah all day and night, it will not suffice its delights, because it is too much for us to comprehend. But the main thing is that Jannah is real, same as the Hellfire – and we will end up in one or the other…
But the question is: What are we doing to get to Paradise and what are we doing to save ourselves from the horrors of the Hellfire? Are we willing to sacrifice the chance of getting to Jannah, in exchange for the limited pleasures of this world by giving into our desires?
View this life as an exam, and as with any exam you’ve got to revise to pass – what would you think of a person going into an exam without any preparation, even though he had been given all the answers? Well this is the analogy of our lives here on earth; Allah and His Prophet Muhammad (sa) have told us how to get to Jannah and how to save ourselves from the Hellfire – Now it’s up to us whether or not we want to respond to this call….
Did you know that Allah has already created the paradise and has already created the hellfire? And we all have a place in them both awaiting us?
Now depending on how we spent our life here in this world, one of them will be destroyed. We pray to Allah that we all get that place in Jannah, and our place in Hellfire is destroyed.
Understand once we have died, that’s it – we have no more chances to do the good deeds, no more chances to repent and say sorry to Allah. Each day is a blessing from Allah that we have another day to do the good deeds. How foolish would we be, if we knew the truth about Islaam but spent our lives not believing and worshiping Allah in His Oneness, not living by the Sunnah of His Prophet Muhammad (sa), not praying to Him 5 times a day, not fasting the month of Ramadan, not paying our zakah and not making the Hajj?
What would we say to Allah… that we were too busy?
Is Allah asking us for too much?
Has he not given us everything: good health, wealth, a home, a family, food, clothing, countless blessings (we could never re-pay him back even if we tried)… and all He asks us to do is worship Him without associating partners, and to live our lives according to the Sunnah (way) of His Prophet Muhammad (sa)… Is this too much? And if we simply did that, Allah promises us Paradise? And if we didn’t Allah also promises us the Hellfire. He says in the interpretation of the meaning:
“And whosoever disobeys Allah and His Messenger (Muhammad SAW), and transgresses His limits, He will cast him into the Fire, to abide therein; and he shall have a disgraceful torment.” [4:14]
So we need to ask ourselves: Are we in or are we out? Do we want the Jannah or do we want this world? And if we want Paradise, are we willing to sacrifice all that we have got for Allah? We have to decide what we want. The choice is ours…
It’s never too late, we must rectify ourselves now before the Angel of Death comes and takes our souls, only then it will be too late. Remember nothing in this world, no pleasure of this world, is worth loosing Paradise.
Remember, Allah says in the interpretation of the meaning:
“Every soul shall have taste of death; In the end to Us shall ye be brought back" [Surah Al-‘Ankabut, 29:57]