SALAAM UN ALAIKUM
Part II
On awakening, I saw two men sitting on my either side, one handsome and the other ugly. They kept sniffing my body from head to toe, whispered to each other, and then filled up certain boxes and sealed them. I realized that my deeds were being judged and recorded. On completing their task, they tied some sheets round my neck and kept the boxes beside my head.
Next they put me inside an iron cage, which was made smaller by twisting a lever. I was terrified and couldn’t breathe. I heard my bones cracking and oil oozed out of my body which they mopped up. I soon fainted and became unaware of what was going on.
When I regained consciousness, I found my head on Haadi’s lap. I started crying in a weak voice. He consoled me and then said, “Everyone has to face this in the initial stage in the grave. It is due to one’s own past deeds.” After making things comfortable, he left me. My body appeared to have been purged of all debasements and become pure and clean. I now understood that the constriction had actually been an act of purifying, so that if a man possessed evil traits these debasements would, as a result of the constriction, be squeezed out of him like the black oil which I had seen.
On Thursday night, I visited my house in the form of a dove. I saw my family and friends were reciting Quran, listening to religious lectures and then eating good food. I was saddened as all this was being done for tradition’s sake. No needy or deserving person was invited. Of what good was such food to me?
When I returned to the grave, I saw Haadi with a tray of sweet ripe apples. “Where have these come from?” I asked. “Somebody sincerely recited Sura-e–Fateha near your grave, and Allah has rewarded you”, he replied. He then informed me of another good news, “The Imam’s son whose grave you visited and the religious scholars whom you used to remember in your night prayers are coming to visit you.”
Suddenly the guests arrived, most prominent amongst them were Hazrat Abbas and Hazrat Ali Akber Their majestic faces were very bright and they were wearing a war-helmet, shield, sword etc. as if prepared for battle. Hazrat Abbas spoke to me, “Your remembering my father, Imam Ali (A.S.), has proved your salvation. You have been pardoned and absolved.” After some conversation, the guests departed.
It was time to move ahead and picking up my bag of Deeds, I started walking along the path that Haadi had shown me. After covering some distance, I began feeling a bit tired and thirsty.
At this point, an ugly person, “Abu Lahaw” joined me. He told me, “They call me “Ignorance.” My title is “Waywardness”. My family name is “Abu Lahaw” (Father of playfulness and wasting time). My aim is to create mischief, mislead people and cause them to go astray.”
He tempted me into a “short cut” and I left the main road. This proved to be more difficult, full of ditches, dirt and thorns with many snakes and scorpions. The unbearable heat made me very thirsty, but my companion laughed and seemed to enjoy my plight.
On an open ground, we saw some watermelons which he ate with relish and also offered me some. “It is somebody’s property and hence it’s not right to eat this without permission.” He tempted me again saying, “Don’t be so pious. The Qur’an says, “Whoever is driven to necessity, not desiring nor exceeding the limits….” I fell into his trap again and bit into the fruit. To my horror, it was so bitter that my mouth and throat hurt.” Watermelons of Satan and Ignorance!" I thought.
Suddenly we were attacked by a dog and a guard of the land. I was beaten viciously for being on the property without permission. By the time I reached the true road, I was in a bad state. Abu Lahaw, who had escaped the beating, was laughing and enjoyed seeing me crying and calling out to Haadi for help. “The seeds of these sorrows were laid by yourself on the earth.” he shouted.
After sometime, I reached an open airy and bright city. I requested the guard to rid me of Abu Lahaw. He replied, “Abu Lahaw is inseparable just like your shadow! But he cannot enter the City of Light. Though, when you resume tomorrow, he’ll be beside you again.”
I spent the night in this place. It was beautiful and here I met some old acquaintances. We were happy here with the best of people, food and service. We were thankful to Allah that for our small deeds on the earth, He had richly rewarded us.
The next day, I moved on. At a bisection, to my dismay, I saw Abu Lahaw approaching me like a black smoke. The Duty-officer saw this and said, “Abu Lahaw is the face of your own bad traits, like injustice, pride, desire, anger etc. etc. If you did not desist from them on earth, how can you separate them from yourselves now?”
I moved on with Abu Lahaw by my side. We soon reached a mountain, which had a deep moat on one side. Abu Lahaw tempted me to climb this. I accepted and to my great surprise, it proved to be very difficult and dangerous. Several times, I slipped and hurt myself almost falling into the moat. Abu Lahaw laughed and said, “He who is proud in this world, Allah will break his back, and he who tries to be higher than others, Allah will rub his nose in dust. You have read all this (in the Qur’an), but never acted on it!”
After some time I reached a garden with a pond around which some people were sitting and eating fruits. They greeted me and invited me, “We had been fasting at the time of our death; Since you had played host to people who were fasting, you can also have these fruits. As for Abu Lahaw, your defense weapon against him is the control which you had exercised in your life over your desires.”
To Be Continued…