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Chapter 5: Two Friends
Once again, we stood in the Plane of Judgement. Naimah’s question
about our children was still ringing in my ears.
I said to Saleh, “I want to see my kids; the ones who are here”.
“It means that you are now mentally prepared to meet them in
their sad state.”
“Yes, I am ready. I could not find the courage earlier. Even the shock
of seeing my teacher in this place was too much for me. After I saw my
daughter-in-law Huma as well, I was at the end of my wits. But I realise
now that it is time to face the bitter truth.”
“Well, we are still in the Day of Judgement. It is only after entering
the Paradise that you would be completely relieved of every shock, fear,
and grief”. Saleh rationalised the sadness written all over me.
“Yes, Holy Qur’an has described Paradise similarly. It described it as
a place where there would be no regret from the past and no fear for
the future”, I referred to a verse from the Qur’an.
In reply, Saleh explained another important concept:
“Yes. Paradise is like that. When accountability starts, Paradise and
Hell would be brought closer so that people can see them
simultaneously. When the Almighty makes a decision about granting
Paradise or Hell to a person, that person will also be informed about
what he or she did not get. That is, people would be told in clear terms
about the torments they have been saved from or the potential
blessings they have been deprived of in this world.”
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“What do you mean?” I sought further details.
“When it is announced that a person will go to Paradise, he will also
be shown the likely place in Hell where he could have landed, and he
was saved only by the grace of God. Similarly, when a person is assigned
to Hell, he will also be shown what choice location was reserved for him
in Paradise that he had lost due to his misdeeds.
“That would be a huge torture even by itself!” I exclaimed.
“Yes, it will be the first and the foremost happiness for the people
of Paradise to know what they have been saved from, whereas the first
torment for the people of Hell will be to know that they have been
deprived of such great blessings and high stature forever. You may
remember I had explained earlier that when all the souls chose their
tests, the ones who opted for high positions in the Paradise had also
risked equally worse positions in Hell in case of failure. Hence, today the
joy of attaining an exalted position in the Paradise will be accompanied
by the good news of having been saved from the worst parts of Hell;
similarly, the heart-sinking news of a life in Hell would be worsened by
the equally depressing regret of having failed to achieve a high rank in
the Paradise.”
“Oh my God!” the words escaped my lips involuntarily.
Engrossed in the discussion, we moved ahead at a leisurely pace.
The condition of the Plane of Judgement was the same as earlier, or had
perhaps become worse. I could see and hear the same sighs, cries,
wails, distress, remorse, and penitence as before. People portrayed the
same misery and despair as I had seen earlier. A question was etched on
every face – ‘What now’. However, the answer was nowhere to be
found. There was torment on every face and no relief was in sight. I
could not stop wondering what my son and daughter would be going
through at this time.
Two girls were sitting on hard, rocky earth in the same Plane of
Judgement, totally helpless. Their eyes were visibly swollen as they had
been crying their hearts out. Their bodies looked exhausted, faces were
distraught and eyes lifeless. Sorrow was all over their faces and could be
seen even from a distance. One who looked more miserable said to the
other:
“Leila, I can’t believe that what is happening is real. Humans can rise
after death like this; a new life can begin after the life in the world. It is
so unbelievable. Oh, how I wish it were a nightmare. I wish I would open
my eyes and find myself lying on my soft bed in my air-conditioned
bedroom! Then I would go to college and tell you that I had such a
horrible dream… I wish it were a dream! I wish it was a dream!”
She started to weep bitterly. Leila said to her:
“It does not matter anymore whether you believe or not, Aasmah. It
is the reality and not a dream. In fact, what we had witnessed in the
previous world was somewhat like a dream. We have only woken up
now in the true sense of the word. But what’s the point of realising it
now?”
Both of them were quiet for some time. Finally, Leila said wistfully
to Aasmah:
“If only, I had not befriended you! If only, I had not followed your
ways!”
“Yes… and if only I had followed your ways! Both of us would not
have been in this state. I wonder what would happen next”. Aasmah
said, in a remorseful tone.
After a brief silence, Aasmah added:
“Leila, tell me, how long did we live in the world?”
“I don’t know… may be a day… or ten days; or perhaps only an
afternoon. It used to feel as if that life would never end. Now it seems
like a dream.”
“I can’t even recall any part of that dream.”
As Aasmah said so, she was lost in her thoughts of the life gone by.
Maybe she was trying to flip through the pages of her past to try to find
a good deed that could comfort her today. However, she could not
recall any such act. Each memory that she recalled seemed like a charge
sheet of her misdemeanours.
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