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When Life Begins ---------
He said in a dejected tone:
“I have got a
fair idea, Papa. After seeing my wife, children and in-
laws being condemned to Hell, I have realised that today, no one has
any say or power. All authority belongs to the Almighty God, whose
commands I ignored. If a person’s deeds do not save him today, no
power in the Universe will be able to help him. I have been wandering
wretchedly in this Plane for thousands of years. I have seen
innumerable people going to Hell. I have no hope. I have repeatedly
sought forgiveness of the Almighty. However, I know that it is of no use
today. Papa, maybe God will not forgive me. Nevertheless, I want you to
forgive me. After all, you are my father!”
After saying that, Jamshaid started to weep bitterly. I tried my best
not to cry, but my eyes started to rain tears on the predicament of my
son.
In the meantime, Jamshaid’s name was called. The angels separated
him from me immediately and presented him in front of the Lord.
He stood, arms folded and head lowered, in front of the Lord of the
entire Universe. There was pin-drop silence. He kept standing there
however, no question was asked of him. I could not understand the
reason for it.
The reason became apparent in a short while as Naimah arrived
along with a few angels. At
the same time, Saleh gestured to me and I
stepped forward to stand besides Naimah.
Naimah’s face was numb with worry & stress. She wanted to ask me
something but the grandeur of the Court of the Lord was such that she
could not utter a word.
Jamshaid was asked:
“Do you know me? Who am I”?
The Lord’s voice had such a neutral tone that I could not fathom
whether it was the harbinger of a hurricane or a sign of the Lord’s
infinite mercy.
“You are my Lord. You are everyone’s Lord. This is what my father
had taught me”, Jamshaid replied.
He was asked majestically:
“Who is your father”?
Jamshaid looked at me and said, “It is him”.
My heart missed a beat at this sentence. I feared that there was no
hope for Jamshaid. Besides teaching him about the Oneness of God, I
had also explained quite a few other things in which his record was not
up to mark. I had a feeling that I would be asked about all the things I
had taught him, and that would be used to declare him as guilty since
he had not followed what was told.
However, unexpectedly, the Almighty did not order me to appear as
a witness. He asked a completely different question from Jamshaid:
“What did you just say to your father a few moments ago? Did you
say, ‘maybe God will not forgive me? However, I want you to forgive
me. After all, you are my father’”?
The hope that had kindled in my heart a second ago died with that
question. Jamshaid had also realised that he was now being taken to
task for his deeds. His face darkened with fear. His limbs started to
tremble. He had not
suspected that the Almighty, who was apparently
occupied in the accountability of other people, had also been listening
to our conversation. He realised that not only had the Lord been
listening to what was said, but in addition, he had also taken offence to
it.
He said helplessly, “Yes, I did say that but you have misunderstood
me”.
“How do you know what I have understood from your words?” The
Lord replied, however the neutrality in the tone of the voice was still
there, as before.
“No, no… I do not know… I have no idea about what you
understood from my words!” Jamshaid replied in a stuttering voice.
The Almighty addressed the next question to Naimah instead:
“My slave, he is your son. How did he treat you”?
Naimah replied, “My Lord! He treated me very well. He served me
until the end. He provided tender loving care to me using his wealth and
physical abilities. His wife used to deter him from looking after me but
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