Bismillaah
As Salaamu 'alaykum and Peace to all,
Today my memory brings me back to 1996, the year my beloved mother passed away. It has been exactly 10 years since she left us all. But the memory of her is still so fresh in my mind. It seems like only yesterday i kissed her forehead to say my last goodbye. It is so fresh in my memory. I can still feel the coldness of her skin on my lips. It seems like only yesterday i bathe her for the last time and i hold her soft fair skin. I can still smell her perfume, see her beautiful face and smile. And i dont even have to close my eyes to do that. She looked so peaceful and happy. My tears still flow today, as much as it flows on the day she died. My heart still ache whenever i think of her. I missed her. I truly do...
My mum has led a wonderful life as a pious woman. She lead a balanced life. She pursued success in both, this world and hereafter. She constantly pursued beneficial knowledge. She has raised us all well, she had stood some very hard trials and tribulations during her lifetime. She was tested with illness with no cure and she endured it patiently. She had a clear aim in her life. Jannah. Thats her aim. She prays on time, reads Quran everyday, works, teaches, raises us all, cooks, takes care of my dad, plants and loves doing charity work. And there are tens if not hundreds of other things that she loves to do too.
When my mum passed away, she had this beautiful, peaceful smiling face. She looked as if she was just taking a nap. I believed that her peaceful face has everything to do with her being an obedient and pious servant of Allaah, a wonderful wife, mother, daughter-in-law, sister and friend to everyone's life she has touched. I remembered my dad used to tell me that he was pleased with my mum and blessed her everyday of his life.
Allah's Messenger said, "When a woman observes the five times of prayer, fasts during Ramadan, preserves her chastity and obeys her husband, she may enter by any of the gates of Paradise she wishes." Hadith - Al-Tirmidhi #3254, Narrated Anas ibn Malik [AbuNu'aym transmitted it in al-Hilyah.]
Now, i know why she was smiling.
When my mum passed away, i wasnt with her. My dad is my only link to my mum's last moments. He said that she had just finished her 'Isya prayer. My mum is the type who prays on time. While doing her zhikr that night, she suddenly developed difficulty in breathing. My brother, seeing her that way, quickly carried her from her room and passed her to my dad who was waiting at the stairs. My dad carried her in his arms, rush downstairs and ran to the car. All the while my dad was calling her name, asking her to say shahadah. He can see her mouth doing the zhikr.
Allaah has said,
Aboo Sa'eed al-Khudree and Aboo Hurayrah quoted the Prophet (SAW) as saying "Prompt your dying ones (to say): laa ilaaha il-lal-laah 1 and whoever's last words before dying are: laa ilaaha il-lal-laah, will enter Paradise one day,even if he is afflicted before that by punishment."2 (1 Sahih Muslim,Vol.2,#1996 ; 2 This addition is only found in Saheeh ibn Hibbaan,authenticated in Irwaa al-Ghaleel,vol. 3,pg.150)
And worship your Lord until there comes unto you the certainty (i.e. death).Surah Al-Hijr Ayah [99]
And my mum died right there, between our house door and the car. At the garden. She left us. She left me. She left her dunya. Just moments later, i arrived, only to see her still body lying there,in the middle of the house, covered with cloth. My dad hugged me and said my mum had died. My whole world crushes and crumbles. And my life changes...
I know everyone will die. That is the law. Allaah sent us to this world to be His servant, obey His commands, stand His trials. He gave us life and then gives us death.
It is He Who gives life, and causes death, and to Him you (all) shall return. Surah Yunus Ayah [56]
Say (O Muhammad ): "O mankind! Verily, I am sent to you all as the Messenger of Allah - to Whom belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth. La ilaha illa Huwa (none has the right to be worshipped but He); It is He Who gives life and causes death. So believe in Allah and His Messenger (Muhammad ), the Prophet who can neither read nor write (i.e. Muhammad ) who believes in Allah and His Words [(this Qur'an), the Taurat (Torah) and the Injeel (Gospel) and also Allah's Word: "Be!" - and he was, i.e. 'Iesa (Jesus) son of Maryam (Mary),], and follow him so that you may be guided. " Surah Al-A'raf Ayah [158]
We are reminded over and over again that we are here only temporarily.
Everyone shall taste death. And only on the Day of Resurrection shall you be paid your wages in full. And whoever is removed away from the Fire and admitted to Paradise, he indeed is successful. The life of this world is only the enjoyment of deception (a deceiving thing).Surah Al-'Imran Ayah [185]
Ibn Umar (Radhiallahu Anhum) said: Allâhs Messenger (Sallallahu Alaihi
Wa Sallam) took me by my shoulder and said: "Be in this life as if you were a stranger or a traveller on a path." Hadîth #40: Taken from Jâmi al-Ulûm wal-Hikam [1]
Ibn Umar used to say,
"If you reach the evening then do not expect to reach the morning, and
if you reach the morning then do not expect to reach the evening. Take
from your health before your sickness, and from your life before your
death." - [Reported by al-Bukhârî]
I remembered reading this wonderful poem that chills me to the spine. It is about the flight we already booked long before we are even born. Let me share it with you...
Welcome aboard......
Assalamu Alaikum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatu
Fly Air Janazah
When we are leaving this world for the next one, it
shall be like a trip to another country.
Where details of that country won't be found in glamorous
travel brochures, but in the Holy Qura'an and the Hadiths.
Where our plane won't be Indian Air Lines, British
Airways, Gulf Air or Emirates, but Air Janazah.
Where our luggage won't be the allowed 30 Kgs but our
deeds no matter how heavy they weigh.
You don't pay for excess luggage. They are carried
free of charge, with your Creator's compliment.
Where our dress won't be a Pierre Cardin suit or the
like but the white cotton shroud.
Where our perfume won't be Channel, Paco Rabane, but
the camphor and attar.
Where our passports won't be Indian, British, French
or American but Al Islam.
Where our visa won't be the 6 months leave to stay or
else but the "Laillaha Illallah".
Where the airhostess won't be a gorgeous female but
angel Isra'iil and its like.
Where the in-flight services won't be 1st class or
economy but either a piece of beautifully scented or foul
smelling cloth.
Where our place of destination won't be Heathrow
Terminal 1 or Jeddah International Terminal, but the
Graveyard International Terminal.
Where our waiting lounge won't be nice carpeted and
air-conditioned rooms, but the 6 feet deep gloomy
Qabar or Barzakh
Where the Immigration Officer won't be His Majesty's
officers but Munkar and Nakeer.
They only check out whether you deserve the place you
yearn to go.
Where there is no need for Customs Officers or
detectors.
Where the transit airport will be Al Barzakh.
Where our final place of destination will be either
the Garden under which rivers flow or the Hellfire.
This trip does not come with a price tag. It is free
of charge, So your savings would not come handy.
This flight can never be hijacked so do not worry
about terrorists.
Food won't be served on this flight so do not worry
about your allergies or whether the food is Halal.
Do not worry about legroom; you won't need it, as your
legs will become things of the past.
Do not worry about delays. This flight is always
punctual. It arrives and leaves on time.
Do not worry about the in-flight entertainment program
because you would have lost all your sense of joy.
Do not worry about booking this trip, it has already
been booked (return) the day you became a foetus in your mother's womb.
Ah! At last good news! Do not worry about who will be
sitting next to you.
You will have the luxury of being the only passenger.
So enjoy it while you can. If only you can!
One small snag though, this trip comes with no
warning.
Are you prepared.....you better be !
My mum wouldnt know that her time was up that night. My mum wouldnt know that the Isya' prayer would be her last prayer. My mum wouldnt know that when she prostrated during her 'Isya prayer, it will be her last prostration. When she beg Allaah for forgiveness, that is her last chance to beg. She wouldnt. I, too, would not know when my time is. When my last prayer will be. When is my last chance to beg Allaah for forgiveness. And my dear friends, you would not know yours too.
They indeed are losers who denied their Meeting with Allah , until all of a sudden, the Hour (signs of death) is on them, and they say: "Alas for us that we gave no thought to it," while they will bear their burdens on their backs; and evil indeed are the burdens that they will bear! Surah Al-An'am Ayah [31]
However, Allaah has also asked us to seek for His forgiveness and repent to Him all the time
And verily, I am indeed Forgiving to him who repents, believes (in My Oneness, and associates none in worship with Me) and does righteous good deeds, and then remains constant in doing them, (till his death). Surah Ta-Ha Ayah [82]
Let me leave you with these video clips to ponder upon.
The question we should ask ourselves my dearest brothers and sisters, are we prepared for boarding? The plane is on the way. It is coming for us. We dont know the distance between the flight and us. It could still be very far. But, it could be just around the corner. It could even be preparing for landing as we speak. No matter what the distance is, the time for the arrival of the flight Air Janazah is closing in. Tick.. Tock... Tick... Tock... Tick... Tock...
May Allaah forgive us all. Astaghfirullaah...
Sis Zabrina
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