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When Life Begins (Chapter 1: Judgement Day)
Posted By:peer On 5/24/2012

By Abu Yahya (in Urdu).
Translated by Waseem Aslam & Bilal Khan

 

Chapter 1: Judgement Day

 

The Earth had become devoid of all its creases. Rivers and mountains, ditches and hills, and oceans and forests, in essence, every depth and every height of this world had been demolished. As far as the eye could see, the earth was a level plane and on top was a fire spitting sky...however, the sky today was not blue, but it was a glowing red in colour. This redness was not due to the blazing flames of the sun but was an effect of the flames that periodically leapt upwards from the hell towards the sky; they were like open-mouthed serpents trying to take the sun into their fiery embrace. This horrifying scene created by the leaping flames from hell and the uproar from its blazing fires was making hearts tremble with fear.

These trembling hearts were the hearts of criminals. They were the hearts of the negligent, the arrogant, and the cruel; they were the hearts of murderers and the rebellious. They were the hearts of the world’s pharaohs and tyrants. They were the hearts of those who considered themselves gods and icons of their time. They were the hearts of people who lived in the world bygone as if they were immortal, albeit, when they died, they became as if they had never lived on the face of the earth. They were the hearts of people who lived in God’s Kingdom and ignored him. They were the hearts of people who ruled like gods over the creations of God. They were hearts devoid of love for fellow human beings and of remembrance of God.

Hence, today was the day when these negligent hearts were to become fuel for the raging fires of Hell and its unending punishments... punishments that were waiting to have their hunger relieved by stones, and by people with hearts of stone. It was a day of festivity for these punishments for, their eternal hunger was about to be quenched. Due to the intense fear of these punishments, these criminals of God were running amok in search of a sanctuary...but in this flat plane, there was nowhere to hide and no sanctuary to find. Everywhere there was calamity, disaster and hardships...and for these stone hearted criminals, a never-ending misfortune.

No one knows how many years...and how many centuries have elapsed in this condition. This is the place of adjudication and the Day of Judgement... a new life has begun... a never-ending one. I too, stand in this place of Judgement, lost and speechless, staring with vacant eyes. In front of me, countless people run and fall in a chaotic manner. In the background, there is an echo of noises that emanates from the roaring flames and is mixed with the shouts, cries, and wails of people. People taunt each other, hurl abuses, and blame each other; many are engaged in scuffles.

Around me, some are holding their heads, while others pour dirt on their faces. I see some people hiding their faces in shame; others are bearing disgrace. Some are banging their heads on stones; others over there are beating their chests. Some are blaming themselves while others are having a go at their mothers, fathers, wives, children, friends, or leaders, holding them responsible for their ruin. All of them have the same problem; the Day of Judgement has arrived, and they have not prepared for it. Now! They may blame others or themselves, they may mourn or be patient, but now, nothing can be altered. Now! There is only a wait, a wait for the appearance of the Master of the Universe, following which the accountability will commence, and the destiny of every person shall be determined with justice.

Suddenly, a person near me shouted:

"Ah.... I was better off dead! Even the pit of the grave was better than this."

I had been standing silent and speechless for a long time on this flat plane, completely unaware of the happenings around me, when the near-yelling voice of this person brought me back from the valleys of my thoughts, into the realm of reality. In an instant, everything became afresh in my mind, from start to end. My story, the story of the world and the story of life... all began to run in my mind like the reel of a film.

I was at home at the onset of that dreadful day. For the casual observer, my home was the dark pit of a grave; in fact, this was the first stage of the real world of the hereafter and was the world of ‘Barzakh’, the world behind the ‘Veil’. It was a world that contained never-ending comforts for me. That day, my close, long-standing and dear friend Saleh *(Saleh: righteous- translators) had come to visit me. Saleh was the angel who was assigned to my right side when I was alive. His closeness and presence was always a source of immense solace for me in my life after death and as usual, we were having a pleasant conversation that day. I asked him during that conversation:

"My friend, tell me something, why have you been assigned to me?"

Saleh replied in a serious manner, “You see, Abdullah, my companion and I were assigned to you when you were living in the world. He used to record your bad deeds and I, the good ones. You would not let me sit idle for even two minutes. Sometimes you would be reciting supplications for the Almighty, sometimes shedding tears in his remembrance and sometimes praying for fellow human beings; you would spend your time in ritual prayers, your money in God’s way and your energy working for the welfare of people. In short, even when you were not doing such deeds, you would at least have a welcoming smile on your face for other people. Therefore, I was always busy in recording some activity of yours. You almost killed me because of overwork and exhaustion! However, you know we angels are not like you humans; we do not recompense bad deeds with bad ones! So, you see, despite these ‘bad deeds’ of yours, I am alongside you and looking after you”.

I replied in an equally grim tone, “I ‘wronged’ the angel on my other side even more than I wronged you. He used to write down my sins but immediately afterwards, I would repent. The poor soul then used to erase all he had written and curse me, complaining that if I was going to make him erase it, why I made him write it in the first place. Eventually, he got so fed up that he prayed to the Almighty for my riddance. That’s why, ever since I died, only you have kept my company.”

Saleh burst into laughter on hearing this. Then he said:

“Don’t worry, he will return at the time of accountability. According to the Law, both of us will have to present you in front of the Almighty.”

As he uttered these words, his face showed a profoundly grim expression. He became quiet and bowed his head down, becoming immersed in deep silence. I had not seen him behave in this manner previously. As he raised his head up after a few moments, the ever-present freshness and smile had disappeared off his face, replaced by shadows of fear and sadness. He made an unsuccessful attempt to smile and said:

“Abdullah! Archangel Rafael has received his orders; the time for fulfilment of God's promise has arrived. The deadline given to the inhabitants of the world has passed. You will continue to enjoy the blessings of your Lord a bit longer, behind this curtain of Barzakh, but I have to depart now. I will meet you again when life begins again. When your eyes open, the Day of Judgement would have begun. I shall meet you again that day.”

The commotions of life were continuing as ever. The shopping malls had the usual activity and razzle-dazzle. There were various entertainment events going on in New York, Los Angeles, London, Shanghai, Delhi, Moscow, Karachi, and Lahore. Spectators were watching and applauding 20/20 cricket and World cup football matches being played in the midst of floodlights that turned nights into days. People intoxicated with alcohol were busy drinking in pubs and bars while others watched strip tease in nightclubs. Actors were captivating appreciative fans in Hollywood and Bollywood movies. Movies, dramas, stage, television, belly dancing, and fashion shows had models and actresses dancing, gyrating and parading their bodies while their financiers filled their pockets with money made from these enterprises... The owners of multi-national companies were the new conquerors of the new world; talented youth were happy to sell them their knowledge and skills, so that they could weave dreams for their future careers. The glitter and dazzle of media, the spiced up world of journalism and the upheavals of the world of politics with its never-fading treacheries and deceit were continuing unabated. Men and women were engaged in shopping in the bazaars of this world, surrounded by eye-catching shops and hailing shop owners. There were echoes of songs and music in lavish abodes of the prosperous, which were in sharp contrast to the silence of hunger and poverty rife in the shacks of the poor. People were singing songs of merriment in wedding celebrations but shadows of sorrow and despair shrouded funerals and hospitals. Religious leaders were safe guarding personal interests in the name of God, wealthy people, as ever, were oblivious to the trials and tribulations of the poor. Government servants were filling their pockets with tainted money from corruption and dishonest traders were filling their safes with income from adulteration and hoarding. Rulers were busy in exploiting their people while super powers continued to work on their schemes to maintain their subjugation of the world. In short, all were engrossed in their jobs and interests, as ever.


The dwellers of the Earth were doing what they had done all along: tales of cruelty and disorder, stories of deceit and deception, race of greed and selfishness, attitudes of negligence and rebelliousness, obliviousness to God and Hereafter, political commotions, economic struggles, religious feuds, and inter-class tensions... everything was going on, as before. The prophets of God had already departed from the world centuries ago. Agricultural age changed to industrial age and then, industrial age transformed into the age of information; however, human attitudes did not change, nor did their sorrows. Human beings had the same old worries of work and livelihood, the same setbacks of love and romance, and the same predicaments of death and disease. At this time, as at any other time before, human beings were concerned about every worry under the sun except for the worry for the Hereafter; they had every fear except for the fear of God.

The sky witnessed the fact that the human race, which had spread injustice and chaos all over God’s Earth, had now become an unbearable burden for the planet. Therefore, it was given repeated shocks, as reminders. The predictions of the final Prophet began to come true. The bare-footed, goat herders of Arabia managed to build the tallest skyscrapers, but the humanity did not take heed. The descendants of Noah's third son Japheth that is, the race of Gog and Magog, became the gatekeepers of the world. They started to attack the dwellers of the Earth from the ultimate heights of greatness. Great Britain, Russia, America, and China... one after the other, took the throne of ruler of the world. All predictions of the divine scriptures came true, but humanity still did not come to its senses. Then followed tsunamis, floods and earthquakes, but the humanity remained in negligence. God created the information age, his non-Arab believers took the message of their Arabic Prophet and clarified the truth in its ultimate form in front of the whole humanity, so that, no reason was left to deny it. However, humanity still did not pay heed. Before the Day of Judgement arrived, the picture of the Day of Judgement was painted in its ultimate form to awaken the humanity but there was no change in the attitude of people. At last, the event that was bound to happen eventually did happen! Archangel Raphael heard the orders of his Lord and picked up the trumpet in his hand. Within moments, the end of the world was here.

The checkerboard of the Sun was folded back; stars began to lose their shine. Mountains as big as the Himalayas began to fly in the wind like balls of cotton wool... peaks turned into deserts. Seas gave rise to waves as tall as mountains and soon, the plains of this world became oceans. Earth emptied the bellies of its volcanoes onto its surface…rivers of fire started to flow through valleys. The planet off-loaded all its earthquakes... Earth was turned upside down. Cities became ruins while buildings turned to dust. Soon, habitations started to look like graveyards.

What worth did the frail human beings have in front of these upheavals? Only a while ago, people were busy making plans… for a new home, or a new shop and business venture… harbouring hopes for an upcoming wedding… busy searching for a new car or new clothes… planning for a bright future for their children… suddenly, those plans and schemes vanished from their minds. Mothers busy in feeding their babies ran for their lives, leaving the children behind. Pregnant women miscarried; the ones who were physically strong ran while trampling the weak whereas youngsters fled leaving the elderly behind.

Now, gold and silver lie on the side of roads, currency notes fly in the wind and precious goods lie scattered… but there is no one to take them, no one to gather them together. Home... business... relatives... relations and assets... all have been rendered irrelevant. Every soul is concerned only for itself. Today, man has forgotten everything and is only calling one God, but there is no response. Atheists and non-believers are also repeating God's name but no one can find a place of sanctity. The shadows of destruction are difficult to escape from; death is on the hunt everywhere. Hardships have surrounded people from all directions.

Finally, life surrendered, to death. Life was over... but only because, life was about to begin, in earnest.

I could hear the wind buzzing in my ears. A few raindrops landed on my face. I began to regain consciousness. I kept trying to get up for a long time, but my senses were not working fully. I remained in this state for a very protracted period. Then, I heard a familiar voice in my ears.

“Abdullah! Get up, quickly!" This was the voice of my long-standing, dear, and beloved friend Saleh. His voice worked like magic and I stood up quickly.

“Where am I?” was my instinctive first question.

He replied while tapping my shoulder, “You have forgotten, what I told you. The Day of Judgement has begun. Raphael is blowing the trumpet the second time. At the moment, its volume is quite low. Its sound is waking up only those people presently who were obedient to God in the previous life…"

“What would happen to the remaining people?" I interrupted him.

“In a short while, Raphael will steadily up the volume so that, it will sound harsh. Then, this noise will transform into a loud bang. At that stage, the remaining people will also wake up but that awakening will be one of suffering and discomfort. We need to get out of here before that happens", he replied hurriedly.

I wondered to myself as I got up, “but where to go?” however, Saleh immediately understood my concern from my facial expressions and replied whilst taking quick steps, "You are fortunate, Abdullah! We are heading towards the Throne". Then, he provided some more details:

“At this stage, only the prophets, the ‘sidiqeen’, the ‘shuhada’ and the pious people have emerged from their graves. God ordained the success of these people while they were still in the previous world. They are the ones who believed in God despite being unable to see him with their eyes. They found him despite being unable to touch him with their hands. They listened to his call without being able to hear his voice with their ears. They believed in his messengers, submitted to them, and supported them in an exemplary manner. Their loyalty was neither to their religious leaders, personalities or sectarian elite nor to the prejudices of their ancestors; it was only, and only to God and his messengers. They patiently sustained all kinds of sufferings, tolerated all kinds of scorns, and underwent all sorts of hardships, just for the sake of God. High morals and noble character was the only way of life for them to follow. All their lives, they were in love with their Creator and compassionate to his creations. Abdullah! Today is the day for recompense of these people and this is the beginning of their recompense.”

As I listened to Saleh, my face displayed expressions of astonishment while his was gleaming with enjoyment.

“But, I was in Heaven and…” before I completed my sentence, Saleh interrupted me and said light-heartedly:

“My dear friend, that was the period of Barzakh, the world hidden behind a veil from your previous world. That was a life of dream. The real life has begun only now. Only now will people receive the reward of Paradise. By the way, that life in the Barzakh was also real in a way; remember, our friendship started during that life.”

I shook my head and just stared at him. Some of this made sense to me but there was a lot more to comprehend. However, I decided that at that stage it would be more appropriate to leave myself at Saleh’s disposal.

My friendship with Saleh began when after my death or more appropriately, after I stepped out from the illusion of a finite world and entered the real world. People are usually very scared of death, but for me, death was a pleasant experience. The angel of death, Israel's name is a symbol of terror in the world, but he came to me in a very handsome façade. He separated my personality that is, my soul, from my body with utmost love and care. My body remained in the previous world while he transferred my true personality into this new world called the world of Barzakh. Barzakh actually refers to a veil or a curtain; a curtain appeared between the previous world and me as soon as the angel of death appeared. Because of this curtain, I lost all contact with that world. I did not know what happened to my family due to the grief of separation, although I had full confidence that because of my upbringing, they would be patient and content upon the will of the Lord.

I was in a new world now, with my true personality. This was the world of Barzakh. The angel of death Israel had handed me over into the care of Saleh in this world. Along with him, there were many good looking, well-dressed and well-spoken angels. All of them had bouquets of flowers in their hands, while on their lips they had salutations and prayers for long life. In this background of greetings and wishes for long life, together, all of them tried to reassure me that the days of trial were over; the days of the glorious success of Paradise had begun in earnest, they said. It was then, when Saleh gave me the glad tidings of my first reward at the start of my life in Barzakh; the reward was an audience with the Master of the Earth and the Skies! He also informed me that this honour was granted to only a select few. I cherished this news even more than the glad tidings of entering the paradise!


Hence, my journey began in the company of these angels. This was a new world. Over there, the meanings of distances, places, time, and space altered in such a manner that it was impossible to explain them in words. I was on this journey in a state of euphoria and trance, when suddenly, we were ordered to stop. It was announced that the angels of the Earth had now reached their limit and must halt. Only Saleh was allowed to accompany me from there onwards. The journey into the unseen skies began. Soon, we stopped again. I was informed that Archangel Gabriel, The Trustworthy had specially come to welcome me. On seeing me, he said:

"Abdullah! You are meeting me for the first time, but I have met you many times before.”

As he tapped on my shoulder lightly, he spoke again:

"On the orders of my Master, I helped you many a times but you were not aware of it".

On hearing the word Master, my face became alight with excitement. The spiritual being of Gabriel sensed this even before I had a chance to put my feelings into words. He said:

"Come on then! I shall take you to meet your Lord. Apart from prophets, the privilege of attending the court of the One and the only is reserved for very few human beings. You are indeed, very fortunate."

As we proceeded forward, a question came into my mind; I felt that it was not inappropriate to ask Gabriel about it, may peace be upon him. So I said:

"Are we going towards ‘Sidrah tul-Muntaha’, the limit which no creation can pass”?

"No…” He replied, and then clarified further:

"You are probably thinking about Mi'raj (the incident of ascension of Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him – translators); that is the path of the prophets. The places where the prophets are presented for attendance are supreme. They are also allowed to witness places and events in the Universe that others are not allowed to see. Your path is totally different. The reason you have been called for is to grant you the honour of prostrating in the Court of the Almighty. Probably, it is because of you that Saleh has also been granted permission to come so far."

I looked back at Saleh; his face was glowing with joy. Gabriel, The Trustworthy continued his conversation:

"God is boundless. His abodes are countless. In your world, these abodes cannot even be imagined. Whatever knowledge you had on Earth was very little and limited. Now, after death, your eyes have truly opened. You can now see a world, whose enchantments know no bounds."

What I was observing was a testament to the truthfulness of Gabriel, The Trustworthy. I thought to myself, it is a great blessing of God that I did not die in a state of disobedience and rejection of the ultimate truth about God. Otherwise, my eyes would still have re-opened after death but what they would have had to see would have been awful and horrifying.

Accompanied by Gabriel, we passed through various stages and approached the bearers of God’s throne in the empyrean. Here was a beautiful and subtle blend of nur, colour and light, the description of which was beyond the realm of words. The heads of the bearers were bowed. Their faces displayed an air of fear as well as a light of serenity. Gabriel explained:

"Every command from the Court of the Almighty descends through these angels and every act of the creatures below is presented to the Lord of the Universe via them".

I was watching them with envy in this unique place of closeness to God. They also looked up at me and for an instance, a smile appeared on their lips. This gave me more courage. I took a few steps towards the empyrean. Every pore of my body began to sing praise for the One, whom, I had yearned to meet my entire life.

I do not know why but I began to tremble as I walked forward. The realization of his greatness overcame the intense desire of meeting him. At that instant, I felt so over whelmed by his grandeur that I started to retreat in fear. The Throne was still quite far but the realization of the magnanimity of the Master of the Throne broke my will. I felt at that moment, that my being would breakdown into countless tiny fragments and disperse into the atmosphere. Perhaps, that is what would have happened, but at that instant, I heard the voice of Gabriel in my ears, saying:

"Bow down right here! Only the noble prophets go beyond this place."

Saleh and I both prostrated right there. Thus, I prostrated to the One I had prostrated to all my life without being able to see him, but today, this was after seeing him. Well, I did not really see him; I only saw the signs of his presence.

I do not remember how long and delightful this act of bowing was. The One who bestowed the Sun with a glittering sheet of light and the Moon with a cover of brightness, the One who provided fragrance to flowers and dressed butterflies with colours, the One who gave sparkle to the stars and jingle to the blooms, the One who granted the skies their sublime crown and to the seas the dominion of vastness, the One who blessed the soil with fertility and adorned rivers with the beauty of flowing water, and the One who endowed man with the ability to communicate and the honour of receiving the revelation of the Qur’an… every moment spent in the feet of such a being was superior to any other honour; even owning the Empire of the seven continents of the world could not have surpassed this experience. However, inevitably this moment ended. I heard the delightful voice of the carriers of throne chanting:

“‘Hu Allah hu, la Illaha illa Hu’, which meant, ‘He is God, there is no deity worthy of worship except him’”.

This was in fact an announcement that the Master of the Throne was about to speak. A voice proclaimed:

"I am God and there is no one worthy of worship but me.”

The effect of this magical voice was more delightful than any melody I had ever heard before; it left my body in a state of absolute attentiveness. All my strength suddenly became focused in my ears and my sense of hearing. I wanted to hear more, but there was a pause. I realized that I was expected to say something. The first sentence that came to my trembling lips was:

"Master! This is the only truth I came to recognize in my life time".

My voice was so faint that even my own ears could barely hear it. However, it reached the One who knows all, whether hidden or obvious; the One who even knows the secrets embedded deep inside hearts. He replied:

“Not everyone who knows this fact is able to reach here... do you know this, Abdullah? How come you reached here?"

This time, the magnanimous tone in the expression of my Lord had a tinge of affection about it.

"The reason is Abdullah, that you dedicated your life to informing other people about me. You spent your life warning them about the day they will meet me. You made my remembrance and work for my causes a mission of your life… this is the reward for it.”

At the moment, I just wanted to continue to listen to the words of the Master of the skies and the Earth; this felt like the most intense desire I had ever experienced. However, once again, the King of the Worlds became silent. I sensed that my Master was giving me another opportunity to speak. I said:

"Can I stay near you, over here?”

He replied, “no one is far from me Abdullah, neither am I far from anyone. All my obedient servants who lived their lives in my remembrance are close to me, regardless of whether they are men or women. Anything else...?"

The last comment made me realize that the meeting was ending. I said:

"What are my orders?"

"The time to obey orders has long gone”, the Almighty replied. “Soon, it will be time for you to give orders as a king. For the time being, you should return. Life has not begun yet".

As I was leaving, I said:

"You will not forget me on the Day of Judgement, would you? I have heard a lot about the horrors of that day and your anger".

I could feel a beautiful smile spreading in the air. A sharp voice followed:

“You, human beings are the ones prone to forgetfulness Abdullah. The King of kings…your Lord, the One who provides for you, does not forget anything. As for my anger, it never over shadows my mercy. You remembered me your entire life with hope and fear. I will also remember you with forgiveness and mercy. However…”

There was a moment of a kingly pause…then he continued:

"…For your consolation, I am sending Saleh along with you. He will look after you."

This is the account of my first meeting with Saleh, and the real reason for the benefit of his company. I did not have a physical body during my life in Barzakh. Here, my feelings, emotions, experiences, and observations were akin to a dream. It was a non-physical life but one full of insight; I had full realization of the blessings that awaited me in the Paradise. Saleh used to visit me regularly, whenever I wished for him to do so. Whenever he would come, he would inform me about all sorts of new things and answer all my questions. Slowly, our friendship became stronger. In our last meeting, he told me that life was about to begin. Hence, today along with him, I was crossing the vast plane of the Day of Judgment, rapidly moving towards the Throne.

As I was walking along with Saleh, I looked around; it was a never-ending plane field, as far as the eyes could see. The atmosphere felt like it used to be just after dusk before sunrise, around the time of morning prayers; it was as if, daybreak was about to scatter all around. At that time, I could see only a handful of people in the field, albeit, those who were present had the same destination. I wondered if anyone among those people was a prophet or a messenger. I looked towards Saleh; he knew what I wanted to know. He replied:

"All of them woke up earlier. We are in fact, going towards them."

"Will I get a chance to meet them?” I asked him eagerly, excited like a child.

He stopped walking and spoke gently:

"In fact, your life will now be spent among them. Abdullah! You have still not managed to grasp what is happening. The test has finished now. There is no facade anymore. Life is now beginning in real and in this life, righteous people will live among the righteous forever and the ones, who are wicked, shall live among people who are wicked."

The truth was that I had still not recovered yet from the shock of all that was happening. In fact, the entire introduction to this new world had already taken place in the world of the Barzakh. That was a kind of non-physical world but now, here, on this Day of Judgement, everything was like the physical world in which I lived previously. My hands and feet, my feelings and the Earth and the sky around me… everything was similar to what I was used to in the previous world. There, I had a home, a family, a neighbourhood, a region and a nation... suddenly there was an explosion in my head. I stopped immediately and asked Saleh while holding him with both my hands:

"Where is my family? My relatives, my friends, where are they? What will happen to them? Why can I not see them?"

Saleh answered while avoiding my gaze:

"Do not ask me such questions Abdullah that I do not know the answers to. Every person is on his own today. No one can benefit anyone else. If their deeds are good, then remain confident that they will end up meeting you. No injustice shall be done to them. But, if it is to the contrary, then..."

Saleh left the sentence incomplete and became silent. On hearing his reply, my mood became downcast. He put his hand on my shoulder and tried to elevate my spirit in these words:

"Have faith in God. You were a fighting soldier in God's army. For this reason, you have risen before others. Rest of the people are rising up now. Those people will also meet you, God willing, in the right circumstances. For the moment, continue to move ahead."

My moral rose due to his reassurance and I started to walk briskly along with him.

 

<< Preface Chapter 2: In the Shadow of the Throne >>

 

Source: http://www.understanding-islam.org.uk/archives/when-life-begins-preface/chapter-1-judgement-day.html

 




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