Am I ready to face my Lord?

The Day...
It was 14th March, 2010, Sunday. The weather was salubrious and the train towards Chennai was moving fast...

The Train
The name of the train was Yelagiri Express. It usually departs from Tirupattur at 4.30 AM in the morning and reaches Chennai Central at 9.00 AM. It is known as JP Exp., Link Exp., etc. It is the most prefered train. It halts at Jolarpettai, Tirupattur, Vaniyambadi, Ambur, Gudiyattam, Katpadi, Arakkonam etc, etc.
The train was full of all kinds of people - traders, businessmen, housewives, students, office-goers, teachers etc.

The Men...
Janab H Abdur Raqeeb Sahib, Janab P Muhammad Yousuf, Janab C Tufail Ahmed were among those in the train which was moving fast towards Chennai. They are all veterans of the Islamic Movement in this part of the world and have spent decades in the struggle to establish Deen in all walks of life.
The weather was pleasant and the three musafirs of rah-e-huq cherished every moment of the journey. They were at their best as they were proceeding to Chennai for an important event. They were attached to Islamic Foundation Trust and they were on their way to attend the bi-annual meeting of the Board of Trustees of Islamic Foundation Trust. They were engrossed in deep discussion..

The incident...
When the train screeched to halt in Katpadi Junction, Br P Muhammad Yousuf and Br C Tufail Ahmed alighted from the train to get a cup of tea. They were never aware of what lied ahead them.

It was just an usual day. They have alighted here for tea umpteen number of times.

Then it happened.
They were in the platform roaming here and there in search of tea vendor. But , Strangely they could not sight the ubiquitous tea vendor.

Seconds moved fast into minutes.
Suddenly the train started to move. Both the brothers hurried to enter the train. Br CTA got the foothold and was in the train. Br PMY too followed suit.

Alas..! It happened in a fraction of a second..!

Br P Md Yousuf slipped and fell..!
His legs got trapped in between the gap of the moving train and the platform...
And the departing train was moving gently..!
Br P Md Yousuf was shocked for a moment. But at the next instant, he tried to extract his trapped legs. He tried hard... But, he felt as if the train is pulling him to the pit.
1... 2... 3... 4... Four bogies passed him with his legs still trapped in between the train and the platform..!
Meanwhile, the onlookers gathered around him and instinctly tried to lift him..
Then in a spur of the moment he got his legs lifted and stood on his own.
The train was gaining momentum. The onlookers urged him to get in the train. He paused and declined to catch the train. In the melee, both his shoes fell in the railway track. Somebody dived into the empty track and procured the shoes for him. He thanked Almighty Allah and recovered his composure. Then he started to dial and inform everybody about the incident.

In the train..
CTA was in the train and he was startled by the happening. He rushed to pull the chain to stop the train. But the chain didn't budge a inch. Moments passed as ages. Then his phone blinked with the message, ''Yousuf calling..."

In Katpadi Junction..
Br P Muhammad Yousuf catched another train from Katpadi and reached Chennai one and half hour late. He drove straight to the IFT office. He attended the Trust meeting without giving a hint about the accident and got actively involved in the dicussions and proceedings.

The Lesson...
Moulvi Haneefa Manbayee loudly exclaimed, 'It is definitely a miracle. It is grace of Allah'
Br A Shabbeer Ahmed, Ameer-e-Halqa advised, 'Once when you cross 40 you should watch your steps and not behave like a 20 year old youth'.
Somebody opined, 'You have been saved because of some good deed in life'
I remained silent.

The real lesson...
I could not sleep that night. The incident splashed over my mental screen again and again. 'You have been saved because of some good deed in life' the words echoed in my ears.
Suddenly I got up from the bed and the words of Janab Maqsood Alam flashed in my mind nowhere. He too faced similar situation in his life. He too was given a new lease of Life. His friends too commented that he had been given a fresh lease of life because of some good deed in life. But Moulana Minnathullah Rahmani had a different view. He said had it been on account of some past good deeds he should have been better in heavens instead of this world! May be Allah wants him to add good deeds to his account by doing some specific noble job.

The greater lesson...
Is Yousuf is the lone person who has been given a fresh lease of life? No. Definitely not.
We are all at the mercy of Allah and we are all vulnerable to all kinds of accidents. It is Allah who saves us from calamity. He is the Muhaimin the guardian. He gives us new lease of life every second..!
What do we do with that new lease of life?
What has happened to Br P Muhammad Yousuf could happen to anyone of us anywhere, any time. But, are we ready to face them? Am I ready to face my Lord? That is the most crucial question.

Miyan Tufail Muhammad, the legendary Tahreeki icon of the sub-continent used to say, 'Apne rab say apna hisab saaf rakho! Ho sakta hai yeh tumhari zindgi ka aakhri din ho!' 'Keep your accounts with your Lord clean. who knows? Today may be your last day'

Khurram Murad in one of his speeches mentions, 'The heart in your body seeks the permission of your Lord to beat. When He grants the permission to beat, the heart beats. When He denies, your heart would stop to beat. When the denial would occur? When your heart would stop to beat? Nobody knows. Be eveready to face your Lord'.