>I only lived 26 years. My 27th birthday was exactly two weeks away. I >always imagined I would live long. At least until age 60. It just >wasn't imaginable that I would have such a sudden, unexpected death. > >I graduated from the University of Southern California three years >earlier with a degree that means absolutely nothing right now. Shortly >after, I landed a job as the marketing director of a major clothing >company. Aside from the usual life problems, I was living a normal life. > >My girlfriend of 4 years was starting to pressure me into us getting a >place together. I knew I wasn't supposed to have a girlfriend in the >first place but I enjoyed her company and friendship. I wasn't ready to >give that up. I used to always tell myself that eventually I would >marry her. Plus, what would these few years of living a sinful life >mean by the time I got older? > >My job, girlfriend and life-friends took up the majority of my time. It >seemed I never had time to offer salah. I hardly even had time to sit >down and eat. Offering salah was always something that continuously bugged me. >The more I postponed my salahs, the more it irritated me. I did give an >effort to keep up on my salahs. But for the last two years of my life I >gave up. I pretty much stopped making salah altogether. > >I never made it home in time to make salah that day. SAW 3 was a walk >through the rose garden compared to what I was about to experience. I >was doing 85 on the 10 freeway. At 12 midnight, 85mph is not considered >speeding. Omar flipped through FM radio stations searching for the song >he liked. Malik had fallen asleep in the back seat. I began to doze off >too. I used to hate when that happened. I shook out of what seemed like >a 10 second snooze. I tried to keep my eyes open. But again I dozed off. > >Omar screamed, "HEY!" It was too late. The car struck the center >divider and spun back into the flow of traffic. An on coming car hit my >door. That car was also hit by another vehicle. We finally came to a >halt somewhere in the middle of the freeway, a hundred yards from the spot of the collision. >I didn't feel any pain. I was just dizzy. I heard Omar and Malik >moaning as good civilians tried pulling us from the wreck. > >I wasn't rescued until the fire fighters arrived. It was quite a task >recovering my battered body from my totalled car. Breathing became >difficult. The fire fighters huddled around me and frantically applied >device after device. "He's not gonna make it," I heard one of them say. >I'm not gonna make it? How? I didn't feel like I was dying. I felt >nothing. My heart started pounding. I was soaked in sweat and blood. I >saw Malik standing over the top of me with tears in his eyes. "Don't >quit on me", he told me. At that time I knew it was over. I started to >cry. > >The fire fighters moved him away as they made last attempts to revive >me. I died. An angel came to me and removed my soul. I watched him fly >away with it in disbelief. "How could you? I'm not even 27," I pleaded. "It's time," >he told me and left... > >Two minutes later they pulled a white sheet over me. Omar and Malik, >apparently doing better than me, pulled the sheet back to look at me >one last time. They cried their eyeballs out. I had known them ever >since I was 13 years old and had never seen either one cry. It was a >depressing sight. > >The ride to the morgue, until then, was the worst experience I ever >had. I was alone. It was dark and cold. I missed my mom. I missed my >brother. I missed my sister. I wished I had spent that last night with >my family instead of with Omar and Malik. I worried what my mother was >going to do when she saw me in this state. I was ugly. When we finally >arrived, I was placed in another cold room with dozens of other dead people. > >I missed my family so much. Every so often a family came in to view >their dead. I always thought it was my family but it wasn't. Hour after >hour passed. No mom. No dad. I started to cry again. Then one odd hour >I recognized voices. My father walked in with my mother in his arms. >His face was worn from stress. Hers wet with tears. They just stared >into my eyes and cried. I stared back. I wanted to tell them I loved >them. I couldn't. I wanted to hug them. I couldn't. Mom stroked my bloodied hair and left. > >I was to be buried the next day. When my parents left, it hit me. I >never made Isha! My heart jumped out my chest. I owed Allah a salah and >failed to deliver it to Him. I had hundreds of missed salahs over the past two years. >Now I was about to face Him. I felt powerless. For those of you who >have never experienced guilt at death, there is not a worldly feeling >that amounts to it. It is guilt and sorrow at another level.
It is guilt and sorrow at another level. I tried >getting up to make Isha but I couldn't move. It was over. I had no >second chance. > >Then I began to think back. I never knew my memory was so good. I had >more than enough time to ponder as I was awaiting my burial. I >literally remember every single salah I missed and reasons why I missed >them. Most were laziness, procrastination and neglectfulness. I knew I was in trouble. >I wished they would take longer to bury me. I failed! I failed! I failed! > >My girlfriend paid me a visit. She was a devil. When I was alive I saw >her as a pretty angel. My pretty angel who loved me and would do >anything to make me happy. If I had the ability, I would have cursed >her and demanded her to leave the morgue. She put her hand on my >forehead. I allowed her to do that for the past four years. Now that I >opposed to it, I could do nothing about it. The devil cried for hours >at my side. She just would not leave. I felt cheated. I felt like she >pulled a prank on me for the past couple of years of my life. I hated >this devil! She was ugly! She smelled horrible! She finally left... As >she walked out the door my heart was filled with fear and anxiety. > >The funeral was simple. My body was washed. I didn't seem to care that >my naked body was exposed. My worries far surpassed my desire to be >modest. I was wrapped in three white sheets. About 300 people attended >my funeral. I was saddened not to see my mom at the funeral. I wished >she came to see me one last time before they put me in the ground. I >never knew so many people cared about me. Many just stared at the >tightly wrapped figure in disbelief. Others cried and cried some more. > >The mass prayed for me. Thousands of individual prayers were made. They >asked Allah to have mercy on me. They asked Him to forgive me. I wanted >to pray for myself but I couldn't speak. I was helpless. I was carried >to the hole in the middle of the barren desert. The people followed. It >seemed like slow motion. I didn't want to go. If I had 24 bonus hours I >would pray non-stop. They lowered me into the ground. The anticipation >was eating away at me. I had surely failed life. > >I thought back on everything I had worked so hard to accomplish. I >earned a college degree. I had a well paying job. I spent hours and >hours in the weight room ever since I was 16 years old developing my >body. I had a pretty girlfriend who loved me. In that life, that was a badge of honor. >But as they were lowering me into this grave, which seemed like it took >forever, I realized I couldn't use any of those "accomplishments". If >only I had been that dedicated to making salah five times daily, I >would have been at peace right now. Instead I am a nervous wreck beyond >anything you all can comprehend. > >Dirt fell in my hole. Darkness overcame my new home. The last shovels >of sand filled the grave. Everyone sadly walked away. The graveyard >started to empty. Family by family. Mine was the last to leave. The >attendant left. By nightfall it was just me. All alone. >My wrapping was soaked in sweat. I nervously awaited the angels to come >and question me. > >They finally did. My final judgment has not been reached yet. I am now >waiting for judgment day. Still lying here, alone, as day comes and >night falls. Soon I will meet Allah Himself and He will decide whether >He will forgive me or not. I can only lay here, wait and hope The All >Forgiving, The Most Merciful forgives me and does not punish me. I >hope. That is all I have right now. Hope. > >By Saleh Ali >
A good reminder, Jazaaka Allahu khayran for the post. But I just would like to comment the last paragraph, the author has ignored punishment in the grave. when body get buried, the angels came just after to question the dead and according to the answers there will be reward or punishment. we don't simply lay down in the grave waiting for the Day of Judgement...
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 09/21/2007 05:04 by utopia7.
oh dear, oh dear!! this is scary stuff, i got the shivers while reading it...
I think it's quite original the way the author presented this story. The fact that the dead person is narrating his ordeal makes it all more powerful...
thanks atlas for this story although i'm not sure i agree on everything that's descriped but the finality and the message that's transmitted is what matters first.
There is no sincerer love than the love of food. George Bernard Shaw
chargement...
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