In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Assalaamu alaykum
Dear Friends
I pray that you are well.
While grieving the death of my sister, a beloved friend, and someone who survived many hardships that brought her close to the Book of Allah, it got me to think more about my life and where I am going. Indeed, this life is a struggle, but it is nothing compared to the after life.
Death for a Muslim is the beginning of the next journey. It is the first stop to eternity. All future stops will be determined by our death.
Our next stop will be our life in the grave -- it's either a torment or blessing. If you die as a believer, then a gate to Paradise will be opened for you, and you will feel its rest and provision and blessings. If you die as an unbeliever, then a gate to Hell will be opened for you, and your grave will constrict until your ribs intermingle, and your grave will be like one of the pits of Hell, and You will feel its heat and torment. May Allah not make us die except as Muslims, in complete submission to Him.
The next stop will be Judgment Day when everyone will find their final abode -- Paradise or Hell. There is no other stop after this.
يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ ٱتَّقُوا۟ ٱللَّـهَ حَقَّ تُقَاتِهِۦ وَلَا تَمُوتُنَّ إِلَّا وَأَنتُم مُّسْلِمُونَ ﴿١٠٢[Qur'an, AleImran 3:102]
O you who have believed, fear Allah as He should be feared and do not die except as Muslims [in submission to Him]. (102)
When Allah Almighty says to have Taqwa of Allah (fear Allah) as He deserves to have, it is a personal judgment call for you and me. If you can tell yourself "I am doing everything I can to please Allah," knowing fully well that Allah knows what on the tongues and in the hearts, then that's fine, but if not, then keep trying and push yourself to a higher standard of Islam, but don't dare to die except as Muslims.
Death will come whether we are obeying or disobeying Allah. You better be in obedience when your death comes. You better not be doing something in disobedience when your death arrives. You better not get caught red-handed in the middle of a sin when the angel of death visits you. The state in which you die is a good indication of what Allah has in store for you.
Time is running out. All our life amounts to inhales and exhales and it will never come back. Every single breath is a step closer towards death. We are marching forward, heading towards our Master. Whether we accept this or not, whether we are oblivious or not, whether we face forward or backward, we are still heading forward with eyes open or close. Don't close your eyes to this reality.
O Allah, forgive my sister, grant her Your Mercy, expand and brighten her grave, and admit her in Your company among Your elect servants in Your highest Paradise.
Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'un (Verily, we belong to Allah and to Him shall be the return)
May Allah bring us closer to His Book and make us of His people of the Qur'an. May Allah make us of those who protect themselves from displeasing Him. May Allah grant us a state of Islam throughout our lives and grant us an excellent ending (husnul khaatimah).
May Allah forgive us, our families, and all the Muslims from among the living and the dead, and reunite us and our families and all our loved ones who have gone before us in the highest Paradise. Ameen.
Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa 'ala aalihi wa sahbihi wassallam.
Please don't forget us in your prayers. Jazakallahu khairan.
And Allah knows best.
Wassalaam
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