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By Abu Yahya (in Urdu). |
Translated by Kamran Saeed, Fizza Rashid, Abu Anas, Waseem Aslam & Bilal Khan |
Chapter 5: The Two Friends
Once again, we were stood in the Plane of Judgement. Naimah’s question about the children was still ringing in my ears.
I said to Saleh, “I want to meet my kids; the ones who are here.”
“It means that you are now mentally prepared to meet them in their grim state.”
“Yes, I am ready. I could not find the courage in myself earlier on. Even the shock of seeing my teacher in this place was too much for me. Then, I totally lost my wits after I saw my daughter-in-law Huma. But I realise now that it is time to face the inevitable.”
“Well, it is still the Day of Judgement. It is only after you enter the Paradise would you be completely relieved of every shock, fear and grief.” Saleh construed the sadness, which was overwhelming me.
“Yes, the Holy Qur’an described the Paradise in the same way. It described it as a place where there won’t be any regret from the past nor any dread of the future”; I referred to a verse of the Qur’an. In reply, Saleh explained another important concept:
“Yes Paradise is a place like that. When the accountability starts, both the Heaven and the Hell would be brought closer, so people can see them. When the Almighty makes a decision about granting Heaven or Hell to each person, that person shall also be informed about what he or she didn’t get. That is, people would be clearly informed about the torments they have been saved from or the blessings they have been deprived of.”
“What do you mean?” I asked eagerly.
“I mean that when it is announced that a person will go to the Paradise, at that time, he will be shown the likely place in Hell where he could potentially have ended up, and from which he was saved by the grace of God. Similarly, when the Almighty declares that a person is destined for the Hell, the criminal will then be shown the place that had been reserved for him in the Paradise, which, he lost due to his evil deeds.
“That shall be a huge torture in itself!” I exclaimed.
“Yes, it will be the foremost and biggest relief for the people of Paradise to have been saved from the Hell whereas for the people of the Hell, the first torment will be the regret that they have been deprived of such great blessings and high stature forever. You may remember that I said earlier that on the day when all the souls chose their trials, the ones that opted to go for very high positions in the Paradise, had also conversely risked equally low positions in the Hell, in case of failure. Hence, today the joy of attaining a high stature in the Paradise will be accompanied by the good news of having been saved from severe chastisement in the Hell; similarly, the heart-sinking news of a fate in the Hell would be worsened by the equally depressing regret of failure to achieve a high rank in the Paradise.”
“Oh, my God!” I said involuntarily.
We were having this discussion and slowly strolling ahead. The state of the Plane of Judgment was the same or perhaps a little more wretched. I could see and hear the same cries and wails, the same distress and misery, and the same remorse and penitence. People showed the same disquiet and unease and the same sadness and despair that I had seen earlier. A question was etched onto each face but the answer was nowhere to be seen. There was torment visible on every face but peace was nowhere to be found. I wondered what my son and daughter would be going through.
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Two girls were sitting helplessly on hard rocky earth in the same Plane of Judgement. Their eyes were puffy, indicating that they had been crying a lot. Their bodies looked exhausted, faces were distraught and eyes were lifeless. The tale of their sorrow could be read straight from their faces, even from faraway. The one who looked more miserable said to the other:
“Leila, I can’t believe that all this is real! Humans can wake up after death like this; a new life can begin after life of the world, unbelievable! Oh how I wish this would be a dreadful dream! I wish that I would open my eyes and find myself lying on my soft bed in my air-conditioned bedroom! And then I’d go to college and tell you that I had such a horrific dream… I wish this would be a dream! I wish it would be a dream!”
She started to cry inconsolably like a child. Leila said to here:
“It does not matter any more whether you believing or not, Aasmah. This is the reality and not a dream. In fact, what we witnessed in the previous world was a dream. We have only woken up now in the true sense of the word, Aasmah! But, what’s the point in waking up now?”
Both of them were quiet for some time. Finally, Leila said wistfully to Aasmah:
“If only, I had not befriended you! If only, I had not followed your ways!”
“Yes… if only, I had followed your ways! Then, both of us would not have been in this state. I wonder what would happen next?” Said Aasmah in a remorseful tone.
After a period of silence, Aasmah said:
“Leila, tell me how long did we live in the world?”
“I don’t know… may be a day… or ten days; or perhaps only an afternoon. It used to feel as if life would never end. Now it seems like a dream.”
“I can’t even recall any glimpses of that dream.”
As Aasmah said this, she got lost in her thoughts, thinking about the life gone by. May be, she was trying to flip through the pages of her past life to try and find a memory or an action, which could comfort her today. However, she could not recall anything of the sort. Each memory that she could recall seemed like a charge sheet of her misdemeanours in its own right.
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“Don’t I look awesome today?” Asked Aasmah as she gracefully twirled her body round and then took a couple of steps to stand in front of Leila like a model. Leila was sat on a bench in her college, sipping some juice under the shade of some trees. Her dear friend Aasmah was stood in front of her, showing off her new dress. Leila did not respond. Aasmah said again:
“Come on, tell me, how do I look?”
“You have not left much to imagination despite wearing clothes!” Leila finally responded while taking another sip of juice.
“What…?”
“What else! No doubt the print on this Lawn dress looks superb but it reveals your body effortlessly. I know you like to wear sleeveless blouses but even your shoulders are fully exposed in this dress.”
“Well, well… madam! You have no right to criticise me as I only wore this Eastern dress due to your mithering. Otherwise, as you know, I only like to wear jeans and T-shirts.”
“Come on Aasmah, this is only the half truth; the fact of the matter is that you only like to wear fitting jeans and body-hugging sleeveless shirts.”
“Do you expect me to come to college wearing a Burqa?” Aasmah replied in a sarcastic tone.
“Look Aasmah, we study in a co-education institution. It is our responsibility to be careful about our dress” Leila made her point in a paternal tone.
“I am sorry, but I don’t agree with your opinion. In my opinion, it is responsibility of the guys to guard their gaze. Why does not any priest ever explain this to them?”
“Of course it is their responsibility, but don’t we have any responsibility in this?”
Aasmah immediately responded in a combative tone:
“So are we not even allowed to wear the clothes we like? Are we not allowed to look beautiful?”
“Of course you are allowed to wear whatever you like and to look beautiful, but as long as it is within the limits of modesty.”
“Come on, stop now. Don’t be like Madam Shaista; she always lectures about modesty and now you are doing the same. Listen, do not to follow in her footsteps otherwise, you would end up like her. Like her, you would also fail to find a suitable match and will be left all alone, on account of your modesty!”
“Aasmah, it is very wicked of you to talk like this! You should not make fun of such a nice and honourable teacher. By the way, it is not her fault that she could not get married; rather, it is the moral decline of our society which is to blame for this.”
“Ok, forget about it! You know what, the supermodel actress Champa just launched this new design that I am wearing today; the person who designed it holds an international repute. You know what, this suite cost me 20,000! Although you refused to go with me to the exhibition, it was quite fun. There was also a fashion show at the end. Champa modelled the same design during the show that I am wearing today. Why don’t you make one for yourself too?”
“So that after I wear it, my parents can kick me out of my home!”
“Don’t worry, you are welcome to stay with me! Your family is very orthodox, anyway. I like your mother, aunt Naimah, but she is always admonishing. And uncle Abdullah… it seems like he will only take rest after he has spread Islam in the entire world! The rest of your brothers and sisters are same except for your brother Jamshaid, who is cool. That is probably why he lives on his own.” “Actually, Father thinks that he is the one who has gone far apart from him as far as his deeds are concerned. Mum is of the opinion that I have also become spoilt due to his bad influence.”
“I don’t see anything wrong with you. You seem quite virtuous to me.”
“What, me and virtuous? Come on! It is on account of my old habits that I pray regularly and fast once a year during Ramadhan. Other than that, I do the same stuff as you do, because of your influence.”
“But look at how much fun you have with me. Look, one hardly lives for 50 or 60 years, might as well enjoy it to the fullest!”
“No doubt that it is fun being around you, however Dad says that in the Hereafter where one day shall be equal to thousands of years, it would be extremely difficult to be accountable even for one day! He says that all the joys of these 50 years will evaporate into thin air if that happens. My sisters, mother and brother Anwar all try to lead virtuous lives because of his influence.” “Don’t talk about them, Leila. They lead a boring life, not a virtuous one! Even the thought of such a boring life sends a chill down my spine! That is why I seldom visit your home nowadays. All they talk about is Paradise! The only talk in your household is about the Hereafter and virtuous deeds. ‘Say your prayers regularly, try to fast, keep your head and bosom covered’, etc. I don’t like all this rubbish talk.”
Expressions of displeasure appeared on Leila’s face on hearing this. She replied:
“Aasmah, don’t talk like this about my family. They have never said anything of the sort to you. They do all this themselves and only give me sincere advice. They have never tried to admonish you, Aasmah. Only once did my dad say to you that, ‘since you are Leila’s friend, please be such a friend who ends up as a friend in the Paradise as well. I hope that both of you will never commit deeds that bring you displeasures of the Almighty. It would be a shame if you two were to end up cursing your friendship on the Day of Judgement!’”
“I am sorry Leila, I think you took offence to what I said. But do you realize that you have just repeated your father’s sermon to me. All they think about is the Day of Judgement!”
Leila’s looked even more infuriated when she heard Aasmah’s comments. Aasmah immediately sensed that and said to Leila:
“I am sorry dear, please don’t mind! I promise I won’t utter a single word about your dad again. Lets go to the canteen, I feel really very hungry.”
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The heat was fierce in the Plane of Accountability. I was trying to imagine whether people would be more worried by thirst or by the thought of being thrown into the raging fires of Hell. I was engrossed in these thoughts when I heard Saleh's voice:
"Abdullah, get prepared. I am taking you to meet your daughter." Unconsciously, I bit my lower lip between my teeth. As we moved forwards, we saw two girls sitting on a few steps on a rough and rocky terrain. I recognized both of them from a distance. One of them was Leila, my youngest and most loved daughter. The other was Aasmah, Leila's best friend. At that time, the atmosphere was extremely hot. Sweat was pouring down from the bodies of people like water. Hunger had already disappeared from this world because of anxiety, but the thirst had made every person miserable. Both of them were also exhausted with thirst. Aasmah's condition was very dire and due to the intensity of thirst, she was licking the sweat dripping from her arms. Obviously, how could that quench her thirst? If anything, it made it worse. On the other hand, Leila was sitting with her head between her knees. Aasmah was the only off spring of a very wealthy family. God had endowed her with everything, beauty, wealth and status. Parents had their loving daughter educated in the best educational institutions. From childhood, she was not even slightly exposed to Urdu. Arabic and recitation of the Qur’an with understanding of its meaning was out of question. The influence of English medium schools was so apparent that she could speak English better then native Englishmen. But in such schools, English was not taught just as another language, rather it was learnt in an atmosphere reflecting strong subservience to a supposedly better foreign civilization. Thus with the language, the western culture had also reached her doorstep along with most of its accessories. In such a culture, others were greeted with a ‘hello’ or a ‘hi’ instead of the ‘Salam’, jeans and shirts were the preferred dress, and Western music and films were considered essential requisites of life. However, Aasmah had a long and wealthy legacy and did not belong to a family of upstarts. As a consequence, even though only skin deep, a degree of refinement, etiquettes and respect of elders was still a part of her personality. For this reason, I had tolerated their friendship in the hope that Leila's company may have a positive influence on Aasmah. Their friendship began while they were at college. I do not know what was similar in their attitude and chemistry that despite coming from such diverse backgrounds, this college camaraderie transformed into a life long friendship. However, unfortunately in this friendship Aasmah accepted Leila's influence to a much lesser degree and Leila accepted Aasmah's influence a lot more. Leila was no doubt my daughter but unfortunately, she could not become like me. More than me, she was Jamshaid’s favourite and the object of his attention. Jamshaid was my first-born and like her, was wandering somewhere in the Plane of Accountability. On one hand, she was spoilt by the love of her elder brother and on the other hand, by her friendship with Aasmah. Aasmah was her parents’ only child and as a consequence, had been over indulged by her parents all her life. The result being that today on the Day of Accountability, she had to receive her share of heartache. Most children of my time were destroyed by the excessive love and adoration of their parents. Children have always been dear to parents. In my time, this novel tragedy happened that parents became imprisoned in the love of their children to such an extent that they became their finger-puppets. Perhaps this was the effect of having fewer children. In previous times, every household had eight to ten children. As a consequence, parents could not pay more than a certain degree of attention to each child. But in my time, most households only had two or three children, and their parents devoted their lives to giving them every happiness in the world. They would ignore their tantrums. They would avoid enforcing any discipline for the sake of their up bringing. They would try to fulfil their every legitimate and illegitimate desire. They would spend all their wealth for the sake of their education. So much so that for the sake of a better future, they would send them abroad but tragically in the end, these children would settle in the developed countries leaving their old parents alone. Even if that did not happen, the role of parents in this new way of life was quite limited. However, despite all this, the parents were very happy and content. In the opinion of parents of my time, it was more important for their children to learn to speak English in a foreign accent than to learn the fundamentals of their religion. It was more important for them to get their children educated in pricey educational institutions than to teach them about faith and moral values. The children learnt the lessons of self-interest and selfishness from their parents instead of possessing true love of God, love for his people, a desire to serve humanity, and work for its betterment. They spent their time sat in front of the television where everyday, they received lessons in materialism and uninhibited fulfilment of desires instead of benefiting from the company of the family elders and learning about modesty, morals and etiquettes. The world and success in this world was presented to these children as the most important goal instead of eternal success. The concepts of God, religion and hereafter were reclined to the status of mere formality and ritual. The ultimate standard in religiosity was limited to arranging for an Imam to teach the child the Qur’an in Arabic without a translation. As far as the meanings of Holy Book were concerned, the Imam would not know them, neither would the parents, and nor would the child ever come to know of them. If these people had ever read the Qur’an with understanding, they would have found out that Qur’an was devoid of talk of worldly materialistic goals just as much as their lives were devoid of the talk of the Hereafter. The reason for this may or may not have been understood clearly by many people in the previous world but was crystal clear to all today. The time that was spent in the previous world was in fact not the real life. That time was merely an examination paper or else, an afternoon spent by a traveller in a roadside cafe. Life in reality was now, a never-ending harsh reality that was staring everyone in the face today.
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As we reached closer, Aasmah saw me. She nudged Leila. Leila raised her head up from between her knees. Her gaze met mine. When I saw the helplessness, horror and grief in her eyes, it felt as if my heart was torn apart. She got up and ran to me, and embraced me tightly while crying loudly. She was inconsolable, and the only words coming out of her mouth were, ‘father, father!” I was trying to keep myself composed with great difficulty. I felt that if she continued to cry, then perhaps, the dam of self-control holding my emotions back may also break loose. I said to her as I stroked her hair:
"Stop crying, my child. Did not I repeatedly try to make you appreciate to learn to live for this day? Did not I say that the world is nothing but a façade?"
"Yes you were right but my eyes were blind-folded." As she said this, the intensity of her sobs became even louder.
She was clinging to my chest; in the eye of my mind, running like a film reel, I could see her life story from birth, childhood, adolescence, and adulthood to various other stages of her life. Sometimes, she appeared like a doll lying on the bed, whose crying would make me disconcerted. Sometimes, dressed in a frock she looked like a fairy that could take my breath away with every little movement of hers. Sometime, she appeared like an innocent flower bud standing there in her school uniform, carrying her school bag. I could see dressed in her college uniform, looking like a flower in bloom; and sometimes, I could see her in her wedding dress, that piece of my heart, who at this time, was crying in my arms in extreme distress, looking like a picture of utter hopelessness and fear. It seemed to me that my heart would soon explode. I held her by her arms and moved her away from me. I then stood up, holding my head with my own hands. Leila spoke in a sobbing voice: "I have found no one here from amongst my family, my husband and my children are not around, nor is there anyone from your side of the family except brother Jamshaid. He is in a very dire state, father! He has been desperately searching for you. You are his only hope." I looked at Leila and said:
"That stupid man had pinned wrong hopes in the world and even now he is pinning his hopes to the wrong source. In the world, he had rested all his hopes in his business, wife and children. He is now facing the consequences of that. Now he is pinning his hopes to me although I can not do anything." In the mean time Aasmah also came near us. After hearing my last sentence she spoke:
"Uncle, all my hopes were in you. Now even you are taking them away."
"Do you recall Aasmah what I said to you when you came to our house for the first time with Leila?"
"I remember father what you said to her." Leila answered instead of Aasmah. She continued:
"You said to her that you are a friend of my daughter. Look! Be such a friend who is with her in the Paradise as well. I hope that both of do not you annoy God and as a consequence, do not end up together in a difficult place. Lest it may happen that on the Day of Judgment, both of you blame each other that your friendship destroyed you." After Leila completed the last sentence, she began to cry again. With her Aasmah also began to sob. I turned round and looked towards Saleh who had been standing there quietly all this time. I hoped in my heart that perhaps he might say something that would raise their hope. When he saw me looking towards him, he said:
"Abdullah! Obviously, every person's fate is solely in the hands of God. If the action of a human being was equivalent to even a tiny grain of barley, it will be present in his book of deeds. Every action will be scrutinised today. Motives, triggers, instigators, circumstances, actions, and their consequences, all will be analysed in minute detail. Angels, physical environs, organs and limbs, in short every thing will be held witness. It will become absolutely clear that every good or bad deed is worthy of how much punishment or reward. The reward of a good deed would range from ten to seven hundred times whereas the rewards for actions done with steadfastness and in support of the religion of God will be countless. In contrast, bad deeds will be recompensed by only as much as the effect of the deed itself. However, if sins like polytheism, murder and fornication are included in a person’s deeds, they will destroy that person. Furthermore, sins like confiscating the wealth of orphans, taking undue share from inheritance, slander, and other similar crimes are so dangerous that they would eat up all good deeds and may take that person straight to Hell. These are the general principles of reward and punishment. On the basis of these, the Almighty will take just decisions. Rest assured that even by the scale of an excess grain of barley, no one would be treated unfairly. As for your offspring, the only hopeful thing, that I have already mentioned to you is that except for people like you who took precedent in embracing or supporting the truth and have already been declared successful, the rest of the people with true faith in their hearts would face accountability and would thus be spared, sooner or later. Albeit, you know your children better than I do, so you would have a better idea of the likelihood of their success."
"I am more concerned about my son" I replied. This reply encompassed all my assessments, hopes and fears. I further added: "He was very fond of making money, posh cars, big houses and getting rich. If someone gets hooked on them, he can end up with any ill fate. Such people often loose the ability to discriminate between right and wrong as well as permissible and un-permissible means of earning one’s livelihood. Even if they manage to avoid the illegitimate sources of income, they often fall prey to immoralities like extravagance, negligence, pomp and show, miserliness, arrogance, and lack of awareness of rights of other people etc., all of which take one to that tough spot of accountability in the court of the Almighty, from which it is very difficult to escape unscathed." Unexpectedly, Aasmah replied to my statement:
"Leila used to say all this to me after listening to you. She also gave me some of your books to read but I could not understand them, as I did not know how to read Urdu. It is my bad fortune that I wasted my entire life in negligence, love of the world, following latest fashions, pomp and show, extravagance, and arrogance. I was obsessed about looking beautiful. I wasted millions on jewellery, clothes and cosmetics. However, I never managed to spend anything on the poor. If ever I did something good for them, I considered it a big favour although God had endowed us with a lot of wealth and prosperity. Not only this, when I felt angry I used to take it out uninhibitedly upon the weak people who were my subordinates or servants. I had the opinion that modest clothes were a symbol of poverty. Habits like backbiting, badmouthing and spitefulness were of trivial importance for me. I did not know that these trivial deeds would come back to haunt me in this manner today. I just did not know…" As Aasmah said this, she burst out in tears again. Leila commented in a very sad tone:
"We met Aasmah’s parents, they were in a bad way! I wonder what will happen to them." Then she looked at me and said:
"Father, what will happen to me?" As Leila said this, tears began to roll down her cheeks.
"Just wait my child. It seems likely that it will not be long before the accountability begins. I am hopeful on account of God's mercy, that considering that you have endured so much hardship today, he will forgive those of your sins that you committed just because you considered them as trivial.” “Alas, father! I wish I had followed in your footsteps! You repeatedly tried to make me understand that Faith does not mean reciting a statement with one’s tongue, but that it means making God the centre of one’s life. You used to say that God does not require mere ritual worship; rather he wants to see our hearts laden with true faith. I remember you saying that he does not care for a few dispirited prostrations but that he desires a servant who is truly dedicated to him. Faith was part of my life but it did not manage to encompass my personality. I did pray to God on your insistence but his remembrance did not infiltrate into various aspects of my life. I used to fast during the month of Ramadhan but I could not nurture true God-consciousness in my heart. At the most, I would have had to do all that God required for fifty or sixty years in the world but over here, centuries have passed roaming around helplessly in this heat and hardship.”
On hearing Leila, Aasmah put her hand on her shoulder and said whilst sobbing:
"Sister! At least, you are better than I am. In my life, I did not even prayer or fast. Moral depravities, showing off, extravagant spending, arrogance, violation of other peoples’ rights, etc. are all in addition to them. What will happen to me? I can see no other outcome for me apart from Hell!" Aasmah started to cry and scream loudly.
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It felt as if my heart would break into two. I did not have any strength left in me to stay with them any longer. Saleh appreciated my state and said to them:
"Abdullah has to leave now. Both of you should now wait for a decision by the Almighty. It would not be long before the accountability starts."
After saying this, he moved ahead, taking me along, holding my hand. I wanted to say some words of consolation to Leila but when I turned back, I was shocked to see that the scene behind me had changed completely. We were now stood somewhere else.
"I had to take you out of there rather quickly Abdullah, or else you would have been hurt even more. Would you like to meet your son now?" Said Saleh.
"No, I do not have the strength to face anymore of this at the moment.” I replied in a definite tone.
My heart had now sunk deep in a sea of sorrow. I wished dearly that I could somehow return back to Earth and dedicate my life to a better upbringing of Leila. I appreciated that this was not possible. Then another thought raised its head in my mind like a poisonous snake. I asked Saleh:
"Saleh, am I also responsible for Leila’s plight? Do you think I am responsible?"
"No, this is not the case. Look! Even the offspring of a prophet like Noah, May peace be upon him, ended up in trouble. However, it was not Noah’s fault. The main obligation upon a human being is to pass the correct message onto others. The decision of accepting or rejecting the message lies with the individuals themselves. Leila made her own decisions. Thus, you are not responsible for her plight."
It felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. But in the next instance, I appreciated something very frightening in my heart. What would happen if I ended up in the dock on account of my daughter? I realised that I would have no qualms in allowing my dear daughter to be thrown into the Hell in order to save my life. This was because the punishment of this Day was so severe that no relation or association was of any consequence when compared to it.
Source: http://www.understanding-islam.org.uk/archives/when-life-begins-preface/chapter-4-naimah/907-when-life-begins-chapter-5.html |