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)
by Asma bint Shameem


When my daughter was 2 years old, she loved to play with the water in the commode. Yes, that's right....the commode. Yuck!! That's nasty! You would say. But to her, that was the delight of the day! Splish...splash! To her there was nothing like it! And so when I would prevent her from it, she would scream and cry and wouldn't want to stop. She didn't understand how harmful that was for her. In her little mind, I took away something that she really enjoyed.
And when I would take her to the doctor to have her immunization shots, she didn't understand either. She would howl at the top of her lungs at the first sight of the needle and would run the other way. It would take two of us just to hold her down! To her, frankly, it was plain torture! Her innocent little mind simply could not even begin to understand how, on earth, could being tortured by a needle, be good for you?!! She didn't realize that this 'needle' will Insha Allaah protect her from certain illnesses and harm that is much more severe than the prick of this little needle.

So what's the point here?
The point I am trying to make is that we, as parents sometimes do things for our kids, out of our great love and concern for them, which they may not understand. They do not see the wisdom behind it, although we do, and so we carry out those things because we know it will be better for them.

And for Allah is the Highest example. (Surah Nahl:60)       وَلِلّهِ الْمَثَلُ الْأَعْلَىَ  
                                               
 So when Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta'ala , in His Infinite Wisdom, tests us with a situation that we think is  difficult or takes away something that in our mind was good for us, we need to remember that perhaps it may not be so. Perhaps if we had continued in our way, it might have been harmful for us and whatever 
Allaah decreed for us is actually better for us, for He is All-Wise and All-Knowing. 
Allaah says:

"...and it may be that you dislike a thing which is good for you and that you like a thing which is bad for you. Allaah knows but you do not know." (Surah Baqarah: 216)

Al-Hasan al-Basri said: "Do not resent the calamities that come and the disasters that occur, for perhaps in something that you dislike will be your salvation, and perhaps in something that you prefer will be your doom." 
Remember that we are dealing with the One who is Arham ar-Raahimeen, the Most Merciful of all that show mercy. All the mercy that we have in this world from Adam (Alaiyhi Salaam) to the Day of Judgment is only one hundredth of the Mercy of the Most Merciful. And He is Most Wise. He knows and we don't know.
So have faith in Him and trust in Him and although, sometimes we may not understand the reason behind certain things, know that as long as you obey Him, whatever He will do for you is, in fact for your betterment.

So if Allaah didn't give you that big house, or that nice car you wanted or that big raise you were hoping for, know in your mind and believe in your heart that it is actually better for you. Who knows.....maybe that big house, that car or that money would have become a source of 'fitnah' for you....Perhaps you would have become arrogant and conceited because of it, and Allaah saved you from it. Because, you know that the Prophet (sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam) said:
"Any one in whose heart is even a mustard seed's worth of pride will not enter Paradise." (Muslim)

And if you have been sick and suffering, sure it is not easy. But again, know in your mind and believe in your heart that it is indeed better for you. For, if you bear patiently, it will be a means of expiation for your sins and a source of great reward. The Prophet (sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam) said:
"There is nothing that befalls a believer, not even a thorn that pricks him, but Allaah will record one good deed for him and will remove one bad deed from him." (Muslim)

And: "On the Day of Resurrection, when people who had suffered affliction are given their reward, those who were healthy will wish their skins had been cut to pieces with scissors when they were in the world (when they see the immense rewards for the afflictions they suffered)." (Tirmidhi-Saheeh by al-Albaani)

If Allaah took away a dear, loved one, believe, from the bottom of your heart, that surely this was better. For, you never know, had the one who passed away lived longer, may be his life would have been one of sins and disobedience and Allaah, out of His Mercy, took him before that....in a state of Imaan.

And if life has been difficult, worries surround you and calamities after calamities befall you, hear the good news from the Prophet (Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam): "Trials will continue to befall the believing man and woman, with regard to themselves, their children and their wealth, until they meet Allaah with no sin on them." (Tirmidhi-- saheeh by al-Albaani)

Subhaan Allaah! No sin?! And what is it from this world that you wouldn't give up, just to meet Allaah with no sin??!!

Remember that the One Who is testing you is the Most Wise, the Most Merciful and the Most Loving.....and that He did not send this calamity in order to destroy you....or cause you pain or finish you off. Rather, He is checking on you, testing your patience, acceptance and faith; it is so that He may hear your du'a and supplication, so that He may see you standing before Him....seeking His protection....filled with humility and complaining to Him, alone. The difficulties you face is a reminder for you to return to Allaah and ask for forgiveness from Him. Who knows... if He didn't give you the difficulty, maybe you would have strayed from Him far, far away....
Ibn Taymiyah said: "A calamity that makes you turn to Allaah is better for you than a blessing which makes you forget the remembrance of Allaah." 
Thus in our times of trouble, when we go through pain and suffering and in our times of loss, we need to trust Allaah. We need to keep in mind that as long as we fear Him and try our best to obey Him, He will never do us wrong. He will protect us and guide us and do the best for us, no matter what the situation apparently looks like. Allaah says in a hadeeth Qudsi:

"I am as my slave thinks of me and I am with him whenever he remembers me." (Agreed Upon).

It is actually a sign of our weakness and shortsightedness, that we tend to focus on the calamities themselves, without paying much attention to the benefits that they may bring. We also forget to look at all other innumerable blessings that we enjoy and see around us.
Our minds, our logic and our senses cannot even begin to fathom the Wisdom, the Knowledge and the Hikmah behind Allaah's decisions and verdicts. It is He who is the Wise....it is He who is the Just and it is He who is the Knower of the unseen. If we trust in Allaah, He will suffice and it is He who will grant us goodness in any situation and under any circumstances.

"And when someone puts all his trust in Allah, He will be enough for him." (Surah at-Talaaq:3)

The Prophet (sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam) said:
"If you put your trust completely in Allah, He will arrange for your sustenance in the same way as He provides for the birds. They go out in the morning with their stomachs empty and return filled in the evening." (Tirmidhi-saheeh).

So trust Him....for, there is much reward in trusting Him.....it is Jannah. And there is sin in distrusting Him. Calamities and disasters are a test, and they are a sign of Allaah's love for a person. They are like medicine: even though it is bitter, yet, in spite of its bitterness you still give it to the one whom you love....

"The greatest reward comes with the greatest trial. When Allaah loves a people He tests them. Whoever accepts that wins His pleasure but whoever is discontent with that earns His wrath." (Saheeh al-Tirmidhi)