4:34 p.m., music is blasting from the stereo. Singing along with my favorite song as my siblings are tagged along. To me, it was just another Thursday afternoon….or so I thought. After picking up my siblings from their friend’s house, it was straight back to the house. Traffic was bad and the rain was pouring. I always loved the rain, but this day just seemed different.
As my left blinker is on, I turn onto the main street to find that rush hour had begun. Traffic..Really? 30 mph but I decided that 40 would be okay. Tapping my fingers on my steering wheel and enjoying the warmth of the car, I seemed to get into the daze phase, the similar feeling you get when you’ve been driving on the highway for so many miles. 25 minutes and we would be home. However, life isn’t perfect.
The car in front of me came to an immediate stop. Daze mode now off, I begin to panic, not even for my own safety but the safety of my siblings. I turned a hard right into the ditch on the side of the road. What I thought was a ditch actually turned into a hill that was stretched into a forest preserve. This hill was so steep that the end was blurred and hard to see. The way that the car swerved to the right was truly a rahma from Allah SWT. When the car turned into the forest, it rammed into a telephone pole. Subhanallah, I was more worried about the car being totaled than about my own life, this is how this dunya can deceive us. Nevertheless, all of us we’re safe and sound.
At this point, we were stuck in the car as it was tilted on the side, and the driver’s side was blocked by tree branches and debris. At that moment, I felt that this was it, and I could hear and see the fear on my siblings’ faces. I started to recollect my life, and at that moment I experienced the phrase “life flashing before my eyes.” What saved the car from not flipping completely over was the wooden pole holding the hood of the car. When EMT arrived, they were beyond shocked over how we were okay and had no injuries.
Driving home that night I just couldn’t help thinking what if I had truly died that day? Would God be pleased with me? Would I be granted Jannah? I share this to shed light on the importance of spending our time wisely in this dunya. Sometimes we feel as though we are going to live forever or that we still have so much time on our hands. Wallahi this dunya can be so blinding if we overlook our purpose. Change is easier said than done. We are not perfect as human beings, but it is the effort that counts. Allah SWT knows our intentions.
My dear reader, I ask that you and I take advantage of our time. Our time is limited. I ask Allah swt to keep us amongst those whose hearts are softened and not hardened. I ask that our lifetimes are filled with barakah. Most importantly, I ask that Allah accepts from us and makes us amongst those that are beloved on the earth and in Jannatul Firdous.
