And then I was reminded of the hadith in which the Prophet ﷺ (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “This world is a prison for the believer and a paradise for the disbeliever” (Sahih Muslim). And for the first time, I understood it very differently than I had before. I think many people misinterpret this hadith to mean that the disbelievers get to enjoy themselves in this life, while the believers have to be restricted in this life by haram (prohibited) and halal (permitted), and have to wait until the next life to enjoy themselves. Or perhaps, some think it means that this life is miserable for the believer, while it is bliss for the disbeliever.

But, I don’t think that’s it at all.

And suddenly I saw the reality of this hadith in the little girl. I saw what looked like a soul imprisoned because it belongs to another world—a better world, where it doesn’t have to get sick.

But what happens when it’s the opposite? What happens when the soul already thinks it’s in paradise? Would that soul ever want to be somewhere else? Somewhere better? No. It is exactly where it wants to be. To that soul, there is no ‘better’. When you’re in a paradise, you can’t imagine being anywhere greater. You yearn for nothing else. Nothing more. You are satisfied, content with where you are. That is the condition of the disbeliever. Allah says:

“Indeed, those who do not expect the meeting with Us and are satisfied with the life of this world and feel secure therein and those who are heedless of Our signs.” (Qur’an, 10:7)

For the disbelieving soul, this inevitably painful, disappointing and temporary world IS their paradise. It’s all they know. Imagine if a world where you have to fall, bleed and eventually die was the only paradise you knew. Imagine the agony of that.

The one who does not believe that there is any place better—who believes that this world is the best it can get—will become very impatient when this life isn’t perfect. They are quickly angered and quickly devastated because this life was supposed to be a paradise. They don’t realize there is something greater. And so this is all they want. This is all they strive for. Every effort, every ability, every opportunity, every gift endowed to them by their creator, is employed for the sake of seeking this life—of which nothing will come to them except what is written.

Their soul is attached to the worldly body because it thinks that body is the only paradise it has. Or will ever have. So it doesn’t want to let go. At any price, it wants to hold on. To take the soul from its ‘paradise’ at death is the greatest torture possible. God describes the death of the disbelievers as a tearing of the soul from the body. Allah says:

“By the (angels) who tear out (the souls of the wicked) with violence…” (Qur’an, 79:1)

It tears because that soul doesn’t want to leave. It believed it was already in its’ heaven. It didn’t realize that there is something greater. So much greater.

For the believing soul, it’s different. The believer is in prison—not paradise. Why? What is a prisoner? A prisoner is someone who is trapped. A prisoner is kept from his home. Stuck, while he wishes to be somewhere better. The worldly body is a prison for the believer, not because this life is miserable for the believing soul, but because that soul yearns to be somewhere greater. It yearns to be Home. No matter how wonderful this life is for a believer, it is a prison compared to the Perfect life that awaits them. This soul’s attachment is to God and the true paradise with Him. It wants to be there. But this worldly life is what keeps that soul from returning—for a while. It is the barrier, the prison. Although, the heart of a believer holds the only true paradise of this life, the soul still seeks what is beyond. The soul still seeks its Home. But this soul must remain in the bars of the body for an appointed term. It must ‘do the time’, before it can be released to go Home. The attachment of the believing soul is not to the imprisoning body. When the sentence is over and a captive is told he can go Home, he would never hold on to the prison bars. So Allah describes the death of the believer very differently. God says:

“By those (angels) who gently take out (the souls of the believers)…” (Qur’an, 79:2)

The believing soul slips easily out of the body. Its ‘prison sentence’ is over and now it’s going Home. It doesn’t hold on like the disbelieving soul that thought it was already at the best it can get.

And so I could not imagine a more perfect analogy than the one used by our beloved Prophet ﷺ. Indeed this life is a prison for the believer and a paradise for the disbeliever. We will all be called back by the very same caller.  The question is, will we live our life so that when that call comes we hold on to the bars of the prison? Or will we live so that the call is a call of release. A call back Home.

rumble.

It was about 4 in the morning when I sat up, awakened by a low rumbling sound. All of a sudden the wind howled, and in the distance I heard an airplane flying above.  The house started to shake and continued to do so for a few seconds to a minute.  I was terrified, thinking that my neighborhood was being bombed. I kept asking myself how an attacker managed to get into U.S. airspace without getting shot. Then it registered – it was just a small earthquake.   Soon the shaking stopped. I could hear the snow plows cleaning the streets—snow had fallen all day the day before and through the night.   A few minutes passed, everything returned to normal, there was stillness again, and I was able to go back to sleep.

Later that day – February 10, 2010 – I was thinking about the earthquake, which had registered about 3.8 on the Richter scale. Wall Street Journal headlines read, “Minor earthquake strikes near Chicago,” and there was some damage to smaller towns out west. Haiti had been hard hit on January 12, 2010, not long before.   The Haiti earthquake registered a 7.0 magnitude on the Richter scale with the death toll rising day by day.  I continued to reflect on the natural disasters that have been accumulating over the past couple years accompanied by human suffering.

The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake registered between a 9.0-9.3 in magnitude, with a loss of 230,000 lives in fourteen countries, and the resultant tsunami is noted to be one of the deadliest natural disasters in history.

Breaking news – February 27, 2010, on CNN: Chile just suffered an earthquake measuring 8.8 in magnitude. According to CBS, this earthquake tied for fifth place on the list of most powerful quakes ever recorded and was 500 times more powerful than the one that shook Haiti the previous month. The Chile quake set off Tsunami warnings for Japan, Hawaii, and California.

March 16, 2010: Los Angles wakes up shaking to an earthquake that measured 4.4.

Looking at these, I felt they were a wake-up call.  How infinitesimal are we as humans on this earth?

A specific line in a hadith (report of the sayings or actions of the Prophet ﷺ) about the signs of the Last Day echoed in my mind.

Allah’s Apostle said, “The Hour will not be established till…earthquakes will increase in number…” (Sahih al-Bukhari)

I kept on thinking to myself, “What if the earthquake in Chicago had been of a greater magnitude? What if the earth was to swallow me whole?” The increasing occurrences left me troubled. Have I done enough good? I question my existence because I’m one of those folks who are fond of this dunya (life). I’m being totally honest when I say I love my material possessions and all the fun stuff that is man-made. Along with that love, I have a deep appreciation for all the beauty that the Almighty has created from the snow-capped mountains to the vast ocean to serenity of the wooded forests to all the different races that spice up my little life with culture and food.  But if my world were to get shaken upside-down and I were to account for my deeds, what would I have to show?   This question started to bother me. Have I done enough?

Allah’s Apostle (ﷺ) came to us all of a sudden as we were busy in a discussion. He said, “What do you discuss about?” The Companions said: “We are discussing about the Last Hour.” Thereupon he ﷺ said: “It will not come until you see ten signs before and (in this connection) he made a mention of the smoke, Dajjal, the beast, the rising of the sun from the west, the descent of Jesus son of Mary (Allah be pleased with him), the Gog and Magog, and landslides in three places, one in the east, one in the west and one in Arabia at the end of which fire would burn forth from the Yemen, and would drive people to the place of their assembly.” (Sahih Muslim)

What have you done for your return? This is the question I asked myself and am posing to you. A very basic approach would be to start by increasing or strengthening your iman (faith).  Granted iman varies and fluctuates in one’s life, which is natural as noted by the following hadith.

Al-Haakim reported in al-Mustadrak, and al-Tabaraani reported in al-Mujam, that the Prophet (ﷺ) said: “Faith wears out in the heart of any one of you just as clothes wear out, so ask Allah to renew the faith in your hearts.”

Here are some basic steps:

1. Try to increase your prayers if you are not achieving all five. Ask for strengthening of your iman, and forgiveness in your du`a (prayers) along with guidance.
2. Increase the dhikhr (remembrance) of Allah subhanahu wa ta`ala (glory be to Him) by reading the Qur’an – perhaps a few pages a time with translation for those of us who aren’t Arabic-speaking. (There’s another idea: learn the language of our religion.)
3. Start attending Islamic gatherings, like halaqas (study circles) or weekend programs at the Masjid.
4. Get involved with Islamic charities and organizations: volunteering helps one realize how truly blessed we are and help open the door to attaining more Islamic knowledge.
5. Last but not least, think of death. There are benefits of thinking about death; as noted by Daqaq radi allahu `anhu (may Allah be please with him), “Whoever remembers death frequently will benefit in three ways: he will hasten to repent, he will become content, and he will be active in worship. Whoever forgets death will be punished in three ways: he will delay repentance, he will no longer be content with what is sufficient, and he will be lazy in worship.”

Waking up to rumbling and shaking served as wake-up call for me (literally).   I know how easy it is to get caught up in the rat race. Sometimes a little reminder is all you need to remember that the daily grind isn’t the end-all be-all, but just a means to distract us and lure us away from what really is key, the Akhirah (the Hereafter).

If we remembered our Akhirah, would our lives be the same?
Would our interactions change?
Would we wallow in our pain?

If we remembered our Akhirah, Would the petty things matter?
Would our focus be scattered?
Would formalities flatter?

If we remembered our Akhirah, would we sit around bored?
Would we for mercy implore?
Would we fear more our Lord?

If we remembered our Akhirah, would we oppress?
Would we leave our dealings in distress?
Would our faults we confess?

If we remembered our Akhirah, would we avoid touchy issues?
Would our comrades we misuse and accuse?
Would we accept to lose?

If we remembered our Akhirah, would we slander each other?

Would we sigh to our mothers?
Would we our anger smother?

If we remembered our Akhirah, would we stress and snap?
Would we digress or interact?
Would we progress or be trapped?

If we remembered our Akhirah, would we procrastinate?
Would we hate to prostrate?
Would we wait and be late?

If we remembered our Akhirah, would we rest when tired?
Would our desires backfire?
Would we aspire to be admired?

If we remembered our Akhirah, would it all seem unfair?
Would it be rare that we despair?
Would we care and be aware?

If we remembered our Akhirah, would the task seem so daunting?
Would the serious we be taunting?
Would our skills we be flaunting?

If we remembered our Akhirah, would it still seem unimportant?
Would our souls be dormant?
Would we waste a moment?

If we remembered our Akhirah, would our hearts remain hardened?
Would we still refuse to pardon?
Would our values be bargained?

If we remembered our Akhirah, would death seem more real?
Would our souls humble when we kneel?
Would our eyes and ears be sealed?

If we remembered our Akhirah—

If…

—

Akhirah: the life to come after death.