He knew not that he lacked in plenty that courage
To prepare himself for that long long voyage,
Had he known that it was his last moment that day
He would certainly make use of it to sincerely pray!
His eyes were closed, his limbs were now lifeless,
To this imminent happening he was really clueless.

Soon he found himself on four shoulders being carried
He knew that soon he would be with all his deeds buried!
Deep inside the earth, he would have that uncozy bed,
In store for him are things never heard, never said!
The desires which led him astray will despise him now,
Where will he rest that head to his nafs which would always bow!?

All the relations he had made were now a different party,
Had he any among them, who would now be to him a continuous charity?
Was he just to the creations of that Sovereign Creator?
Did his relatives make him a lowly coward - a cheater?
Did his bond with his Creator govern all relations?
Did he love the sunnah?
Did he pay heed to the narrations?

Finally he was there, and they were now covering him,
Every layer of the closing mud, was shivering him.
He wished they didn't leave him, he wished he could just walk back
He wished to earn some good deeds which he would carefully pack..
He wanted the sustenance needed for him in this journey
But alas! He could buy none even with all his money..

There he sits weeping for an hour or more,
His dearest son, who could always see him at the shore
How could he warn him to spend his age rightly?
The lamp of life can go off anytime, now which shines so brightly

But now he can't, he can't do that he is not more than the mud and stones,
He wished his dear ones make amends while they live, no use if for all the sins now he atones
Days and nights he spent making money, reciting from THE BOOK was a rarity
He hastened his prayers and missed few too, for the WORK was his priority!

He had to earn for a comfy house and give all luxuries to those he loved
Happy were their hearts, their smiles always told, the best they ever knew he proved..
Alas! He now remembers, he handn't taught the boy that salah gives a believer all powers
Neither did he show the girl love for Hijab, a girl's beauty has to be under covers..
A life-partner was to share the life, but in two different parts his was spent,

He made her work for money was power, and their meetings always ended in an argument..
A little time they spent with each other, they watched a movie till late in the night
Oh how he wished they used those moments in sincere prayers, together praising HIS Might!

The worst of sins he committed unknowingly, was he not a little farsighted?
Had the best lawfully, but in disguise of friendship, he chased the thing that was prohibited

WIll he be able to answer the angels in his grave those questions now?
Will he be let to sleep there in peace till he meets his Lord above?
Will he be given a reward for small acts of goodness he had somehow managed to do?

Or had he committed one grave mistake which would make things on THE DAY blue?
Now, he is ashamed to face "THE EVER DOMINANT", for he never took the correct path
Yet, he looks up to "THE ALL FORGIVING", for HIS mercy prevails over HIS wrath!

He knows when he is allowed to walk again, it will be on THE DAY
That walking will not be on hearing the call to the prayers he did not say
He recollected all the many many wrongs, yes he had wronged himself
No intercessor in the form of THE BOOK, for he had always kept it in the shelf.

His deeds will be then presented before his Lord, undutiful to whom he had always been
A tough trial it shall be, for it will be judged by the ONE who sees the unseen

All said and done, this is the end, now he has really nothing to make an amend
How he wished he could live again, the span of his life could a little extend!
All those vast plots, those spacious bungalows, are now only a burden for him, a load!

On this earth, only this 6 feet land was his final and permanent abode!
Those flights he took, those expensive cars he drove were today kept aside!
Only on four shoulders, to his final destination on earth, was his LAST RIDE!

*****

Firdaus Fathima (Umm Hashir) has BA in English literature and currently pursuing BA in Islamic Studies from Islamic Online University. She writes Islamic articles and poems. She lives in Hyderabad, India. For more her works can see her blog http://umme-hashir.blogspot.com.