Small Acts, Huge Rewards

#4

Assalamu alaikum warahmathullahi wabarakatuh!

I trust you've all been having a sound mind and soul and heart after being successful in (or even trying to practice) the last task. If you have, make sure you leave a comment saying 'done' in the previous chapter. This one's gonna become more Reaalll Insha'Allaah!

We're about to start a chapter on Judgement Day in my Aqeedah class and my teacher, may Allaah bless her, spoke a little about death leaving me wondering how truly close and unpredictable death is to all of us. Some people go to sleep and never wake up; some others leave home, not even remotely aware that they are never going to reach their destination. Few go to sujood and their souls peacefully slip away; few die terrible deaths and others lie in pain for several years together awaiting their death. Whether a believer or a person of ahle-kitab or a polytheist or an atheist, one thing all agree upon is death. It's the blatant truth glaring at our faces, taunting, and ironically, stupidly, somehow we've all settled for the fact that death is only for the old, not the young; death is for others, not for us.

We've been entertaining this notion so much, relying heavily on the meagre comfort it offers that we feel sorry only for those who die young, not those who've lived their lives.

While the idea of death itself may not be frightening to some (because we know it's eventually gonna come anyway), we can't deny that all of us are terrified to die with our sins outweighing our good deeds, with stuff that we would have rather liked to have been wiped clean of our slate. We expect death but we hate for us to die unexpecting deaths. We hate to go and stand in front of Allaah on the Judgement Day with sins, face His wrath because of all what we have done due to our nafs. There's no denying that we hate it.

It is believed that Adam (AS) was very happy when his appointed time came, because he had seen Jannah with all its splendour, he was very eager to leave earth and go back to his first home Subhanallah!

In that case, shouldn't we all love to go to our permanent homes too?

The Messenger (pbuh) said, "Allaah the Most Great said, 'If My servant likes to meet me, then I like to meet him; and if he dislikes to meet Me, then I dislike to meet him.'"

[Al Bukhari]

In another narration, from 'Ubaadah ibn al-Saamit (RA), from the Prophet (pbuh) who said: "Whoever loves to meet Allaah, Allaah will love to meet him, and whoever hates to meet Allaah, Allaah will hate to meet him." 'Aa'ishah (RA) or one of his wives said: "But we all dislike the idea of death." He said, "It is not what you are thinking. When death approaches the believer and he is given the news of Allaah's pleasure and honour, nothing will be more dear to him than what lies ahead of him, so he will love to meet Allaah and Allaah will love to meet him. But when death approaches the disbeliever and he is given the news of Allaah's wrath and punishment, nothing will be more disliked by him than that what lies ahead of him, so he will hate to meet Allaah and Allaah will hate to meet him."

[Sahih Al Bukhari]

Now Alhamdulillah, I think all who are reading this are Muslims. We have not indulged in shirk or murder or adultery (in simple terms any major sins) but we all have, to a certain extent done stuff that is still considered bad in Islaam, that could still earn us Allaah's wrath, His displeasure. We've all done stuff we are not proud of, that we really do not like to be recorded or even read out aloud in the Judgement Day.

We all want them gone before we reach Him or before our death reaches us; before the doors of forgiveness close. We want them gone from our records permanently, don't we?

There's one way to wipe them clean, not even leaving a trace behind - repentance. That is what we are going to be dealing about this time Insha'Allaah.