Judgement Day (1/5)

The Earth had become devoid of all its creases. Rivers and mountains, ditches and hills, and oceans and forests, in essence, every depth and every height of this world had been demolished. As far as the eye could see, the earth was a level plane and on top was a fire spitting sky... however, the sky today was not blue, but it was a glowing red in colour. This redness was not due to the blazing flames of the sun but was an effect of the flames that periodically leapt upwards from the Hell towards the sky; they were like open-mouthed serpents trying to take the sun into their fiery embrace. This horrifying scene created by the leaping flames from Hell and the uproar from its blazing fires was making hearts tremble with fear.

These trembling hearts were the hearts of criminals. They were the hearts of the negligent, the arrogant, and the cruel; they were the hearts of murderers and the rebellious. They were the hearts of the world’s pharaohs and tyrants. They were the hearts of those who considered themselves gods and icons of their time. They were the hearts of people who lived in the world bygone as if they were immortal, albeit, when they died, they became as if they had never lived on the face of Earth. They were the hearts of people who lived in God’s Kingdom and ignored him. They were the hearts of people who ruled like gods over the creations of God. They were hearts devoid of love for fellow human beings and of remembrance of God.

Hence, today was the day when these negligent hearts were to become fuel for the raging fires of Hell and its unending punishments... punishments that were waiting to have their hunger relieved by stones, and by people with hearts of stone. It was a day of festivity for these punishments for; their eternal hunger was about to be quenched. Due to the intense fear of these punishments, these criminals of God were running amok in search of a sanctuary... but in this flat plane, there was nowhere to hide and no sanctuary to find. Everywhere there was calamity, disaster and hardships...and for these stone hearted criminals, a never-ending misfortune.

No one knows how many years...and how many centuries have elapsed in this condition. This is the place of adjudication and the Day of Judgement... a new life has begun... a never-ending one. I too, stand in this place of Judgement, lost and speechless, staring with vacant eyes. In front of me, countless people run and fall in a chaotic manner. In the background, there is an echo of noises that emanates from the roaring flames and is mixed with the shouts, cries, and wails of people. People taunt each other, hurl abuses, and blame each other; many are engaged in scuffles.

Around me, some are holding their heads, while others pour dirt on their faces. I see some people hiding their faces in shame; others are bearing disgrace. Some are banging their heads on stones; others over there are beating their chests. Some are blaming themselves while others are having a go at their mothers, fathers, wives, children, friends, or leaders, holding them responsible for their ruin. All of them have the same problem; the Day of Judgement has arrived, and they have not prepared for it. Now! They may blame others or themselves, they may mourn or be patient, but now, nothing can be altered. Now! There is only a wait, a wait for the appearance of the Master of the Universe, following which the accountability will commence, and the destiny of every person shall be determined with justice.

Suddenly, a person near me shouted:

“Ah.... I was better off dead! Even the pit of the grave was better than this.”

I had been standing silent and speechless for a long time on this flat plane, completely unaware of the happenings around me, when the near-yelling voice of this person brought me back from the valleys of my thoughts, into the realm of reality. In an instant, everything became afresh in my mind, from start to end. My story, the story of the world and the story of life... all began to run in my mind like the reel of a film.

I was at home at the onset of that dreadful day. It is not possible for me to explain the location of that home. For the casual observer, it was the dark pit of a grave; in fact, this was a door to the real world of the Hereafter... a door that could not be opened back into the world. I did not wish to open that door anyway. For, after passing through this door, I had now entered the world behind the veil... the world of Barzakh. It was a world that contained never-ending comforts for me. That day, my close, long-standing and dear friend Saleh had come to visit me. Saleh was the angel who was assigned to my right side when I was alive. His closeness and presence was always a source of immense solace for me in my life after death and as usual, we were having a pleasant conversation that day. I asked him during that conversation:

“My friend, tell me something, why have you been assigned to me?”

Saleh replied in a serious manner, “You see, Abdullah, my companion and I were assigned to you when you were living in the world. He used to record your bad deeds and I, the good ones. You would not let me sit idle for even two minutes. Sometimes you would be reciting supplications for the Almighty, sometimes shedding tears in his remembrance and sometimes praying for fellow human beings; you would spend your time in ritual prayers, your money in God’s way and your energy working for the welfare of people. In short, even when you were not doing such deeds, you would at least have a welcoming smile on your face for other people. Therefore, I was always busy in recording some activity of yours. You almost killed me because of overwork and exhaustion! However, you know we angels are not like you humans; we do not recompense bad deeds with bad ones! So, you see, despite these ‘bad deeds’ of yours, I am alongside you and looking after you”.

I replied in an equally grim tone, “I ‘wronged’ the angel on my other side even more than I wronged you. He used to write down my sins but immediately afterwards, I would repent. The poor soul then used to erase all he had written and curse me, complaining that if I was going to make him erase it, why I made him write it in the first place. Eventually, he got so fed up that he prayed to the Almighty for my riddance. That’s why, ever since I died, only you have kept my company.”

Saleh burst into laughter on hearing this. Then he said:

“Don’t worry, he will return at the time of accountability. According to the Law, both of us will have to present you in front of the Almighty.”

As he uttered these words, his face showed a profoundly grim expression. He became quiet and bowed his head down, becoming immersed in deep silence. I had not seen him behave in this manner previously. As he raised his head up after a few moments, the ever-present freshness and smile had disappeared off his face, replaced by shadows of fear and sadness. He made an unsuccessful attempt to smile and said:

“Abdullah! Archangel Rafael has received his orders; the time for fulfilment of God's promise has arrived. The deadline given to the inhabitants of the world has passed. You will continue to enjoy the blessings of your Lord a bit longer, behind this curtain of Barzakh, but I have to depart now. I will meet you again when life begins again. When your eyes open, the Day of Judgement would have begun. I shall meet you again that day.”

(Continued)