Bismillah-hir-Rahman-nir-Raheem
How BIG is
YOUR LIGHT?
by Asma bint Shameem
You're sitting
comfortably in your room when all of a sudden, the electricity goes off. It
becomes completely dark. You can't see a thing. Although it is your own
house, life comes to an inconvenient, complete halt.
That's because you
can't see a thing! You dare not move, in the fear that you may knock something
over or worse still, you may stumble and hurt yourself. Uncomfortable and
unnerving, isn't it?
Now fast forward to an
unknown time in the future......when it will be dark like this and even
worse.....
when you.... and
I...... and all of mankind.....will be gathered in the dark, in front of a bridge.....
a bridge that is
sharper than a sword and thinner than a hair.....
a bridge called as-Siraat.......the bridge over Hellfire.
When the companions
asked about the bridge, he (Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam) said:
`It is a slippery (bridge) on which there are
clamps and (hooks like) thorns which are wide at one side and narrow at the
other and have bent ends... Some of the believers will cross the bridge as
quickly as the wink of an eye, some others as quick as lightning, a strong
wind, or fast horses or she-camels. So some will be safe without any harm; some
will be safe after receiving some scratches, and some will fall down into
Hellfire. The last person will cross by being dragged (over the bridge)."
Bukhaari
And then, it will be
ordered that we all pass over this bridge. And we will have no choice but
to comply to the order of the Lord of the Worlds. But it will be dark,
darker than any darkness one can ever imagine.....
and on this horrific
Day, mankind will be desperate... desperate to do anything,
anything, to have some kind of light that
will help them see the way and guide them to cross over the Siraat.
And then..... there
will be light.
But, you
know what? This light will only be according to the light of Imaan
that you had in your heart during this Dunya.
If your Imaan was strong,
so will be this light....strong and bright and illuminating. And if your Imaan
was weak, this light will be weak too, dim and faltering and feeble.
Ibn Kathir reported in his
Tafseer: "They will pass over the Siraat
according to their deeds. Some of them will have a light as large as a
mountain, some as a date tree, some as big as a man in the standing position.
The least among them has a light as big as his index finger, it is lit at times
and extinguished at other times.''
(Ibn Abi Hatim and Ibn
Jarir).
Ibn al-Qayyim says:
"For one person, it (the light) will be like
the sun, for another like the moon, the stars or a lamp. For yet another, this
light will be only at the tips of his toes; it will shine, then go out [then
shine, then go out]. For just as his light had been in this world, so he shall
be given when crossing the Bridge. In fact, it is the same light that had
appeared to him before. However, just as the hypocrite has no real light in
this world, or has only an outward light but none within, so shall he be given
[on that Day] an outward light which will vanish in the darkness and be
lost."
If you lived a life of
righteousness and Taqwa, a life according to Islaam, submitting to Allaah
and repenting to Him, obeying His commandments, hoping for His Mercy yet
fearing His Wrath, taking care not to disobey Him to the best of your ability,
then good news for you, O Muslim. Allaah will illuminate your path over the
Siraat just like He illuminated your heart in this Dunya with guidance and
righteousness.
"The
Day (will surely come) when you shall see believing men and women with their
light running before them and on their right hands, (it will be said to
them): 'Glad tidings for you this Day. You shall live for ever in Gardens
underneath which rivers flow! That is indeed the mighty triumph. (Surah Hadeed: 12)
BUT,
If you dared to
disobey the Lord of the Worlds, following your whims and desires, earning
haraam, lying, cheating and backbiting,involved in all sorts of sins and
forgetting the Aakhirah, then dim and feeble will be your light in accordance
with the deeds that YOU chose to commit.
Imagine the
desperation, despair and hopelessness of a person in such a situation!
Complete darkness.....
and a bridge, that he has to cross....a bridge so sharp and so slippery
and so thin, with hooks....stretching over Hellfire....and he can't see a
thing! May Allaah save us.
Wouldn't he give
anything, anything to have a light that is strong and bright.....
A light that can
illuminate his way across the Siraat....
A light that can take
him to Jannah??!!
Alas...for him, it
will be too late.....
BUT, it's not too late
for YOU. You still have time. You still have a chance to make your light big
and strong. All you have to do is to submit to Allaah and repent
sincerely. Obey whatever He commands you to and stay away from whatever He
forbids you from. Have Taqwa of Allaah in all that you say and do and Wallaahi,
He will brighten your heart with Imaan, lighten your life in this Dunya
and illuminate your way over the Siraat on to Jannah.
"O
you who believe! Turn to Allaah with sincere repentance! It may be that your
Lord will remit from you your sins, and admit you into Gardens under which
rivers flow. The Day that Allaah will not disgrace the Prophet (Muhammad ) and
those who believe with him, their Light will run forward before them and
with (their Records Books of deeds) in their right hands they will say:
"Our Lord! Keep perfect our Light for us [and do not put it off till we
cross over the Siraat safely] and grant us forgiveness. Verily, You are Able to
do all things ."
(Surah Tahreem: 8)
So... How BIG is your
LIGHT ???
by Asma bint Shameem
