There were only 15 minutes left
before Salat-ul Isha. He quickly made Wudhu and performed Salat-ul
Maghrib.
While making Tasbih, he again remembered his grandmother and was embarrassed
by how he had prayed.
His grandmother prayed with such tranquility and peace.
He began making Dua and went down to make Sajdah and stayed like that for
awhile. He had been at work all day and was tired, so tired. He awoke
abruptly to the sound of noise and shouting. He was sweating profusely. He
looked around. It was very crowded. Every direction he looked in was
filled with people. Some stood frozen looking around, some were running
left and right and some were on their knees with their heads in their
hands just waiting. Pure fear and apprehension filled him as he realized
where he was. His heart was about to burst. It was the Day of Judgment. When
he was alive, he had heard many things about the questioning on the Day of
Judgment, but that seemed so long ago. Could this be something his mind made
up? No, the wait and the fear were so great that he could not have
imagined this. The interrogation was still going on. He began moving
frantically from people to people to ask if his name had been called. No
one could answer him. All of a sudden his name was called and the crowd
split into two and made a passageway for him. Two angels grabbed his arms
and led him forward. He walked with unknowing eyes through the crowd. The
angels brought him to the centre and left him there. His head was bent
down and his whole life was passing in front of his
eyes like a movie. He opened his eyes but saw only another world. The
people were all helping others. He saw his father running from one lecture
to the other, spending his wealth in the way of Islam. His mother invited
guests to their house and one table was being set while the other was
being cleared. He pleaded his case, 'I too was always on this path. I
helped others. I spread the word of Allah. I performed my Salah. I fasted
in the month of Ramadhan.
Whatever Allah ordered us to do, I did. Whatever he ordered us not to do,
I did not. 'He began to cry and think about how much he loved Allah. He
knew that whatever he had done in life would be less than what Allah deserved
and his only protector was Allah He was sweating like never
before and was shaking all over. His eyes were fixed on the scale, waiting
for the final decision. At last, the decision was made. The two angels
with sheets of paper in their hands, turned to the crowd. His legs felt
like they were going to collapse. He closed his eyes as they began
to read the names of those people who were to enter Jahannam. His name was
read first. He fell on his knees and yelled that this couldn't be, 'How
could I go to Jahannam? I served others all my life,I spread the word of Allah to others'. His
eyes had become blurry and he was shaking with sweat. The two angels took
him by the arms. As his feet dragged, they went through the crowd and
advanced toward the blazing flames of Jahannam. He was yelling and
wondered if there was any person who was going to help him. He was yelling
of all the good deeds he had done, how he had helped his father, his
fasts, prayers, the Noble Qur'an that he read, he was asking if none of
them would help him. The Jahannam angels continued to drag him. They had gotten
closer to the Hellfire. He looked back and these were his last pleas. Had
not Rasulullah [SAW] said,
'How clean would a person be who bathes in a river five times a day, so too
does the Salah performed five times cleanse someone of their sins'?
He began yelling, 'My prayers? My prayers? My prayers.?'
The two angels did not stop, and they came to the edge of the abyss of
Jahannam. The flames of the fire were burning his face. He looked back one
last time, but his eyes were dry of hope and he had nothing left in him. One
of the angels pushed him in. He found himself in the air and falling
towards the flames. He had just fallen five or six feet when a hand
grabbed him by the arm and pulled him back.
He lifted his head and saw an old man with a long white beard. He wiped
some dust off himself and asked him,
'Who are you?' The old man replied, 'I am your prayers'.
'Why are you so late! I was almost in the Fire! You rescued me at the last
minute before I fell in'. The old man smiled and shook his head, 'You always performed me at the last
minute, did you forget?'
At that instant, he blinked and lifted his head from Sajdah.
He was in a sweat. He listened to the voices coming from outside. He heard
the Adhan for Salat-ul Isha. He got up quickly and went to perform Wudhu.
Pass this on to your friends and family... ...
Maybe, you can help someone open their eyes.
And who knows?
Maybe, this is a good deed that can help you during the day of judgement.
(INSHA-ALLAH)