Imagine yourself after you pass away
Imagine your grave through night and through day
Wishing that you did not do as they say
Wishing that you had got up and had prayed.
Imagine, my friends, the day that you died
Imagine all of the tears that they cried
Remember how it felt when your body was tied
Remember how it felt in the grave which you lied.
Imagine the day you'll be called to account
Imagine the sum to which your life will amount
Think for a moment of the deeds which you mount
Think for a moment how much they will count.
What will they say of you when you are dead?
What will they say, what will be said?
Will they speak of all the poor who you fed?
Will they remember all the Qu'ran that you read?
Think not of them, but of Allah, Lord of mankind and jinn
Think of Allah when tempted to sin
Think of the paradise which you will dwell in
Don't wait till later to think what might have been.
The Holy Prophet Muhammad sall-allahu 'aliahi wa'sallam has said that whilst you are praying, imagine that all the prophets are on your right side, all the angels on your left, heaven in front of you, hell below you, the angel of death at your back and Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala watching over you.
Imagine how revered a prophet is, that an entire chapter of the Holy Qu'ran may be dedicated to him, imagine their position in heaven right now.
Imagine 124,000 of them (prophets) all lined up on your right side whilst you are praying. How then can you be distracted?
Imagine the sacredness of an angel. Every human being has been allocated two of them for accounting of his deeds. Every cloud moves because Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala has ordered an angel to that function. ("But verily over you are appointed angels to protect you - kind and honourable, writing down your deeds: They know and understand what you do. As for the Righteous, they will be in Bliss; And the Wicked, they will be in the Fire") Surah Al Infitar 82:10-14
Imagine the light from which each one of them was created, and all of them (much more than 6 billion) assembled on your left side listening to you praying. How then can you be distracted?
Imagine hell! In a Hadith-al-Qudsi, Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala says that hell will have seven levels with fires which eat each other! And in each level, there are valleys of fire, cities of fire, castles of fire, houses of fire, rooms of fire, wells of fire, serpents of fire, oceans of black poison containing thousands of scorpions of fire, each one in turn having seventy thousand tails of fire. In reality, hellish fire is much hotter than earthly fire, and hell is unimaginably much worse this description.
Imagine Heaven!! In Hadith-al-Qudsi, Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala says that heaven will have eight gates with thousands of gardens, thousands of cities of pearls, thousands of palaces of Ruby, thousands of rooms of gold, thousands of tables and of plates of jewels, thousands of kinds of food, thousands of thrones of red gold around each of which thousands of rivers will flow with life water and pure honey. On top of each palace, there will be thousands of gifts from the Merciful, which have not been seen by any eye, heard by any ear and are beyond our imagination.
It has been said that inspite of all this pleasure, if the residents of heaven were shown the punishment of someone who did wrong for just one hour on earth, they would scream out with fear. And in spite of all their discomfort, if the residents of hell were shown the reward of someone who did good for only one hour on earth, they would forget they are in hell! Now imagine this hell beneath you and the open doors of heaven in front of you whilst you are praying. How then can you be distracted?
Imagine the angel of death behind you, the angel that appears as a beautiful person at the deathbed of one who is favoured by Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala and as fierce creature that pulls the soul out as if it were a cloth being dragged amongst sharp thorns for one who is disfavoured. Imagine this angel just at your back whilst praying. How then can you be distracted if you are not even sure that this might be your last prayer?
And finally imagine the Creator of all that has been mentioned in the previous paragraphs, one Who has created an infinite universe of which earth is only a very tiny insignificant bit, and more insignificant are we who live in it. How then can you be distracted when Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala is watching above whilst you are offering prayers to Him?
Surah Al Tawbah
9:112
Those that turn (to Allah)
In repentance; that serve Him,
And praise Him; that wander
In devotion to the Cause of Allah;
That bow down and prostrate themselves
In prayer; that enjoins good
And forbid evil; and observe
The limits set by Allah ~
(These do rejoice). So proclaim
The glad tidings to the Believers
Asger Hamza
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