Welcome to this week’s Jumuah Special on Quran & Productivity!

Today I am sharing a very familiar ayah with you, but from an angle beyond this life. Let’s start.

Did you know everything which is familiar to you now will change one day? Your house, your car, your city. You will look around and witness a breath-taking scene. The laws of physics will not work anymore. Welcome to… The Day of Judgement.  The universe is now not relevant anymore. Everything you once had, it’s gone.  All focus now is on 3 things: Paradise, the Hellfire, the Bridge.

Allah [swt] will wrap the universe in His Hands. Stop for a moment. Can you imagine this?
All that matters now is that Paradise is there and Hellfire is there and a bridge will be brought over the Hellfire. It is called: as-Siraat. Today we learn about this bridge and how it effects you.

The Ayah: this is for real

Imagine you are standing at this Siraat. Underneath is the Hellfire, across it is Paradise. Where you want to go so badly. No matter how rich, poor, good or bad you are, you will first have to cross this bridge.
How do you know how to cross it?

This is where the Mercy of Allah [swt] comes into play. He [swt] gives us the chance every day to practise how to walk over this bridge and go to Jannah. How?
Look at what you daily say in Surah al Fatihah: ihdinas siraatal mustaqeem.
We say ‘guide us to the siraat, the path which is straight.’ This is a spiritual path in this dunya, the path of Islam, the Quran and the Sunnah.  And it is your training to walk that bridge.

However, one day, this straight path will become REAL. And how you walk on the Siraatul Mustaqeem in this life will be how you will cross the bridge. Believe me, fast cars, being beautiful and having lots of money won’t get you to the other side. This is for real.

Thinner than hair, sharper than a sword…

Abu Saeed al Khudri said,
“The Siraat (bridge) is thinner than hair, sharper than a sword.” A voice calls out.  It’s your turn now to go. You look in front of you. There are hooks and clamps everywhere, doing what? They grab people and injure them and they throw people in the Hellfire. Some people’s arms will be connected to their legs and then thrown off the bridge. You hear screaming, you see people slipping. They will fall for 70 years until they hit the bottom of the Hellfire.  Other people will pass like the wind or with the speed of lightening and make it to the other side. Now the question is; who will you be? Will you fall or will you walk?

Out of gas?

Some people will get stuck on the bridge and cannot move. Like what happens to your car when it’s out of fuel.  Now, what is your fuel on that bridge? Your fuel is your DEEDS. When you are out of deeds you will be stuck there with all those hooks trying to grab you. It’s time to think now, what do you need this day when you have to cross the Siraat?

Allah [swt]says:
“Whoever turns away from my dhikr (“ I don’t have time to read the Quran, I’m too busy to supplicate..”), verily for him is a difficult (narrowed down) living, and We raise him on the day of resurrection, as blind. [Surah Taha 20:124]

Imagine if you can’t see and you have to cross the bridge. But that’s not it. The sun and the moon will be joined and they will lose their light. So it will be pitch dark. You need two things to cross:
Light so you can see and speed so you can cross.  And guess what?  Both of them are related to your deeds.

You need light and speed!

The more good deeds, the more noor (light) you will have. Some people will have a mountain of light in front of them; other’s light will go on and off, because their deeds in this life were weak. Remember the bridge is a challenge in itself and not being able to see won’t make it easier. So let’s collect as much light and speed now we can!

Here are 5 deeds to help you cross the Siraat.

The Prophet [saws] said:

1.  “Whoever recites Suratul-Kahf every Jumu’ah, it will be for him a light from his distance to Makkah.”
   So put this in your weekly schedule.
2. “Don’t pluck your grey hairs because it will be noor, light for you on the Day of Judgment.”
   A wisdom behind this is when you see your grey hair, you remember time is running out. You remember death.
3. “Salah is light, sadaqah is light, and sabr is light.”
   The light of Salah cools you down, the light of sadaqah extends to others and to sabr is heat, there’s a struggle to it. And all of them will bring you light.
4. “Whoever supports his Muslim brother for a need that he has, until that need becomes established for him, Allah will make his feet established on the bridge on a day when the feet will slip.”
5. “There are 360 joints in the body. Every day, on each joint, there is sadaqah (charity) due.” Whoever prays 2 rakaat of the Duha prayer [forenoon], it will fulfill all the 360 joints of charity that’s due!  

The Prophet on the bridge: true love

Who is the first to cross the Siraat? It is the Prophet [saws]. Then he turns around and looks out for you and me, his Ummah. And he will stand there and make dua for us: ‘Allahumma sallim’ (O Allah! Protect them!). After all his hardships in life, he can now just leave it all behind and walk straight through the Gates of Jannah. And be happy forever.  But he doesn’t. He thinks about you. SubhanAllah.

And what do we do in this life? All he [saws] asked was: ‘lower your gaze’, ‘pray your prayers on time’, ‘cover yourself’, ‘speak good or remain silent..’ But what do we do? We say ‘yes, but I just want to have some fun,’ or ‘ when I’m older I will start practising.’
Let’s ask ourselves after seeing the love of the Prophet at the moment we need it most: How do we show our love for the Prophet [saws]?

Now this is how this one ayah can make you more productive; each time you recite ‘ihdinas siraatal mustaqeem’, visualize the bridge you have to cross!

So focus and amass as much light as possible in this world.
And remember, good deeds =  light + speed.

Be of the Fast & the Righteous!

~Khawlah bint Yahya

THE AYAH JOURNAL, Qur’an & Productivity is a global project with the exciting goal to inspire every Muslim worldwide to open the Qur’an every day, pick one ayah and apply it to your own life by making acting on the ayah your mission for the day. Let’s bring back the message of the Qur’an to our daily life! Check www.ayahjournal.com and follow us on www.facebook.com/ayahjournal for vibrant Qur’an & Productivity tips.