INTRODUCTION
At this point, you are not alone in the room where you are reading this
book. Even at times when you think you are alone you have never really
been alone. Allah's appointed angels are constantly monitoring and inscribing
everything that you do. The moment you say a word they write it down.
Your every step, every thought, everything that you do, including obligations
which have been postponed, are all recorded without omission.
These angels do not discriminate between minor or major actions. Even
when you are asleep they are constantly with you. They fulfil their obligations
without error. They are never forgetful or erroneous, they carry out their
task faultlessly. By the same token, your appointed angels of death are
also waiting. What are they waiting for? For your predestined time to
be fulfilled. When your appointed time of death reaches you, it is they
who will take delivery of your soul.
As well as these, there are other witnesses which we have not yet mentioned,
the ones you do not think about, these are your secret witnesses; your
hands and skin. On the Day of Judgment, all these witnesses will congregate,
and with Allah's permission they will speak and give their testimony about
you. If you happen to be one of those who did not fear Allah, or if you
were not a cautious person they will, testify against you.
Humanity has been created to worship Allah and is constantly being tested.
A person's temporal existence on average is about sixty years, it is not
much time before one is eventually brought before Allah to give account
for every second of one's life. When everyone learns of what they have
earned on Earth through the evidence provided by these witnesses, Allah
will then decide on the kind of eternal life appropriate for them. If
a person possesses good deeds he will be given his Book in his right hand
and that person will be eternally saved. However, if he is among those
whose Books are given in their left hands, he will then say:
… If only I had not been given my Book and had not known
about my Reckoning! If only death had really been the end! My wealth has
been of no use to me. My power has vanished. (Surat al-Haqqa: 25-29)
From here on he will be apprehended, dragged facedown and taken to Hell,
never to be released.
The reason behind this terrible end, is that people never imagined that
their every action would be recorded and would one day be revealed and
accounted for, hence they passed their lives carelessly without fearing
Allah or His warnings. A person such as this who does not possess a definite
form of belief in the Hereafter, in the Day of Judgment or in a terrorizing
place of punishment for wrong actions and careless behavior, like Hell,
will not mind ignoring Allah's boundaries.
This is why fear of Allah is a very strong indicator of faith in Allah
and an important indicator of what to expect in the eternal Hereafter.
The only way to safety is founded upon fearful awareness of Allah and
scrupulous caution.
The Day of Judgment is a fearsome reality to be reflected upon with awe
so that it becomes impossible to remain unaffected by it. However, this
fear is only applicable to people of faith and is a particular type of
fear because Allah has described what will happen on the Day of Judgment
in numerous Qur'anic verses; the scribes, witnesses and the enormous congregation
of people. This is an absolute certainty, which is unconditionally accepted
by true believers who are fearful of facing such a terrifying ordeal.
Everything you do is immediately recorded, even as you are reading this
book. You are fast approaching the day when you will be called by Allah
to account for your actions. So we hope to be amongst those who have earned
Allah's pleasure through fearful awareness of Him:
... Take provision; but the best provision is taqwa of
Allah. So have taqwa of Me, people of intelligence! (Surat al-Baqara:
197)
(Taqwa means consciousness, awe or fear of Allah, which inspires a person
to be on guard against wrong action and eager for actions which please
Him. In this book, it will be translated as "fearing Allah" or "guarding
against evil" or "righteousness" according to the context.)
|