**Upon Her Return
There was a story a few years ago in Al Qaseem Newspaper I wanted to share with everyone, inshaAllah. There was a young man in Damascus who planned to leave his country to study. His mother was very caring and supportive of him. She raised him alone through toil and hardship. And, at last, she felt that after all the hard work-- she was proud of her son as any mother would.
“Ah! The joys of motherhood!” she said to herself. The pleasure of staring at this little man, who once held onto her dress begging to be carried and to be tightly clenched by her arms. She recalled the days when he was small and helpless, and yet there he was --embarking on a journey to be the man he was raised to be.
The young man’s flight was scheduled to leave early in the morning, thus his mother prepared food and all that was needed for this long trip. Her acts of kindness and loyalty displayed his mother endearing love for him. His excitement as a young man, and her hopefulness as a proud mother, is something we can all relate to.
That morning, she heard over the news that there was a storm headed their way. Out of fear that her son might die on this journey, she decided not to wake him. Instead she left early for the market hoping to surprise him with his favorite food later that morning.
Upon her return, she called out his name in anticipation and excitement–for she had a few more days with him before he would continue on with this journey.
But to no avail, there was no response from him.
Allah had taken his soul away and he died in his sleep that morning.
Allah tabarak wa ta’ala says "Say (to them): “Verily, the death from which you flee will surely meet you, then you will be sent back to (Allâh), the All-Knower of the unseen and the seen, and He will tell you what you used to do.” [62:8]
Death, as rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam called it, is the Destroyer of Pleasures.
Many of us will probably read this email on a Monday morning, possibly at work or still at home. InshaAllah, tell your loved ones that you love them. It is never too late to ask forgiveness from people. Treat those beloved to you as if it were the very last time you would see them. Perhaps even place a phone call to your children at school or to your parents, husbands or wives, and tell them how much you love them for the sake of Allah and that we all make dua’a that everyone enters al jannah.
A poet once said “Everyone who is being overtaken by death asks for more time, while everyone who still has time make excuses for procrastination.”
May Allah grant us the ability to remember death, to ask for His forgiveness always, and grant us His forgiveness. ameen.
Please remember to make dua’a for our brothers and sisters under the yoke of oppression. **