Life is Too Short

So much is going on in the world these days. I could have written about Gaza, the economic crisis, the Mumbai attacks, and a myriad of other world events. Since it doesn’t look like those situations will change anytime soon, I have time to reflect as these events continue to unravel. These events and events in my personal life have been causing me to lose some sleep lately. A childhood friend of my elder brother recently died (May God grant him heaven). I interacted with him from time to time with him at the mosque as a child. Out of everyone at the mosque, we knew he would be the one most likely to succeed. Mashallah, he was ambitious, smart, and religious. His family was also respectable. They were one of the most kindhearted families I had ever met, mashallah. He was their only son, and I hope Allah gives them patience during this difficult time. He was a last year medical student. I am sure he had so much planned and would have had a successful career. He was about 26/27 years old, which means he hadn’t wasted anytime, and may have actually been ahead of his peers in medical school. All I can say is that he died in an accident, but he died an honorable death because people had nothing but good things to say about him. He wasn’t known for having any vices but was known for noble deeds.

When I think of myself, I can’t help but feel a little shame. Alhamdulilah, God has blessed me with so much, yet I complain about the little things in life. If I die today, how will I be remembered? Forget being remembered, what will I have accomplished in the eyes of God? There have been times, God forgive me, when I haven’t made the effort to pray. How many mornings have I slept in and wasted time? What if I hurt someone’s feelings and couldn’t make amends with them because I died? God is the most Merciful, most Just, and most Forgiving. However, God can’t forgive me if hurt the feelings of another person. Essentially, the person whom I hurt must forgive me. This life is a test, and I will be judged on the actions in this life along with the way I interact with my fellow human beings.

Something else that will forever be etched on my conscious is another death of a childhood and high school friend. As children, we were close in a sense that we played and fought and did things children usually do. As we grew older, our Pakistani culture dictated that we could no longer openly interact with one another. We had a class in high school and chit chatted once a in while. Mashallah, He was also very smart and was planning on becoming a civil engineer. Anyway, we were meant to see each other again when we enrolled at the same university. Unfortunately, we never acknowledged each other. I always avoided eye contact or took another path if I saw him from afar. We bumped into each other one day, but nothing was said and we moved on. Shortly after the incident, he died on his 20th birthday. I not only mourned his death, but I also cried because I avoided him.

For some of you, this all may seem irrelevant, but the moral of the story is to make the most of each day. Don’t go to bed angry with anyone. LOL My younger brother taught me that when he would say he forgave me after we had just had an argument lol. (He likes to think it was my fault, but I think otherwise!) I don’t have the best relations right now with some members of my family or friends, but those relationships, I hope, will be salvaged soon. If you can’t make amends, at least try. If that doesn’t work, you can say you tried! Muslims believe we have a life after death. Whatever we do in this life, we will have to live with it in the next life. Muslims also believe that we all will go to Heaven, which is true to an extent. Islam is a religion of justice, so regardless of the final destination, if we were horrible people, we will still have to suffer some sort of punishment.

I’ll leave you with a more positive note-

“O mankind! We created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that ye may know each other (not that ye may despise (each other). Verily the most honored of you in the sight of Allah is (he who is) the most righteous of you. And Allah has full knowledge and is well acquainted (with all things).” (Qur’an 49:13)