Can you remember exactly what happened when it was time to wake up this morning? Was it the usual case of Mummy or whoever it was trying very hard to wake you up amidst your complaints of not wanting to wake up yet? Did you remember that Salaat -us Subhi was just around the corner and get up to start preparing for it? Or did you decide to get up so that the person who was disturbing your sleep would let you be? Anyway, whether your reaction to waking up was unpleasant, eager or lukewarm, the hard fact of it all is that you acted that way because you were alive to do so. Have you ever wondered how it would feel not towake up in the morning? I dont mean to scare you, Im just being factual. When we go to sleep at night, we take it for granted that we will wake up the next morning. Some people are not so lucky.
Death creeps in on them in their sleep and they are not even given the chance to pronounce the Kalimah (Lailaha illah lah, Muhammadu rasulullah) or say goodbye to their loved ones before they die.
The Doctors always have a name for the cause of their death, but that can never bring them back to life. Some people do not die in their sleep. They get involved in one kind of accident or the other and lose their lives. Most times, such accidents are so sudden that there is no time to make last minute decisions or repentance. For them, that is the end. A lot of other people wake up in the morning and set out for various destinations but never get there: With recent reports of lots of kidnapping going on, they fall victim and are never found. Others who seem healthy in the morning just fall down and die before the day is over. The Doctors tell us that they slumped or collapsed. The truth is that in whatever form it comes, death is death and it is an end that nobody can run away from. Worse, we do not know when our turn will come. Allaah says in the Quran;
"Verily, AIlaah! With Him (Alone) is the knowledge of the Hour, He sends down the rain, and knows that which is in the wombs. No person knows what he will earn tomorrow and no person knows in what land he will die. Verily,AIlaah is AIl-Knower, All-Aware (of things)." (31:34)
When we get up each day, we assume it is our right to be alive, to go to sleep at night and then wake up the next morning to continue the cycle. We make plans ahead and sometime forget to say "Insha Allaah" (If Allaah wills). We commit some sins and del our Taubah (Repentance) till later an end up forgetting about it. We have been lucky so far, at least we are still alive to read this. This is a great mercy from Allaah. We may not be more pious than those who are dead. The opportunity to wake up every day is a rare gift that should be treasured. It should be a chance to seek forgiveness for our misdeeds and to be better Muslims. Henceforth, when you are woken up in the morning, always thank Allaah by saying
"Alhamdulilahi ladhi ahyana ba da ma amatana wa ilaihin nushur" (Praise is due to Allaah Who brought us to life after causing us to die, and unto Him we shall return.)
Remember, you never can tell which night will be your last
"Which is of the favours of your Lord would you deny?" Soorah Ar- Rahman (Q 55).
This article was culled from the publications of Deen Communication Limited