The Last Breath – Ahmed Bukhatir

From those around I hear a Cry,
Oh God Oh God My eyes are dry

From those around I hear a Cry,
A muffled sob, a Hopeless sigh,
I hear their footsteps leaving slow,
And then I know my soul must Fly!
A chilly wind begins to blow,
Within my soul, from Head to Toe,
And then, Last Breath escapes my lips,
It's Time to leave. And I must Go!
So, it is True (But it's too Late)
They said: Each soul has its Given Date,
When it must leave its body's core,
And meet with its Eternal Fate.
Oh mark the words that I do say,
Who knows? Tomorrow could be your Day,
At last, it comes to Heaven or Hell
Decide which now, Do not delay!
Come on my brothers let us pray
Decide which now, Do not delay!

Oh God! Oh God! I cannot see!
My eyes are Blind! Am I still Me
Or has my soul been led astray,
And forced to pay a Priceless Fee
Alas to Dust we all return,
Some shall rejoice, while others burn,
If only I knew that before
The line grew short, and came my Turn!
And now, as beneath the sod
They lay me (with my record flawed),
They cry, not knowing I cry worse,
For, they go home, I face my God!
Oh mark the words that I do say,
Who knows, Tomorrow could be your Day,
At last, it comes to Heaven or Hell

Decide which now, Do NOT delay !
Come on my brothers let us pray
Decide which now, do not delay
Come on my brothers let us pray
Decide which now, do not delay

I. PURPOSE FOR CREATION

Have you ever wondered about the reason of our existence? Have you ever wondered why we die, and where we go after death? What will happen to us in the end? Have you ever asked yourself why God made the earth and all that is in it under man’s dominion? Why were the night and the day, and the sun and the moon created? What are we supposed to do during our lifetime? Were we created just to eat, drink, and enjoy ourselves before we die?

As one poet put it: “I do not know where I have come. I saw my feet walking on the road. As they please I go and stop. What am I doing here? How did the road find me? I do not know! I do not know! I do not know! ”

God has emphasized in many verses of the Qur’an that He did not create us without purpose. He said: “What! Do you think that I created you simply in jest ? And that you would not be returned to Me?” (23:115) He also said: “What! Does man think that he will be left to roam at his will?” (75:36) In addition, He said: “Do people think that they will be left to say: “We believe,” and they will not be held accountable?” (29:2)

Indeed, God Has created human beings for a purpose and with a purpose: TO WORSHIP HIM ALONE (Monotheism). He said: “I have not created the Jinn and humankind except only to worship Me. I don't require provision or feeding from them. Surely Allah 4 is the All-provider, the Possessor of all strength, the Firm.” (51:56-58) In fact, all prophets told their people to worship God alone (Monotheism) and shun worshipping His creation (Paganism).

God said: “I assuredly sent among every people a messenger with the command: Worship Allah and avoid worshipping false gods.” (16:36)

Prophet Abraham, for example, believed in One God, who had no partner. Anyone who holds a different understanding of God than this has contradicted the religion of Abraham and follows falsehood. God says in the Qur’an: “Those who reject the religion of Abraham make fools of themselves.” (2:130)

II. THE BASIC MESSAGE OF ISLAM

The basic message of Islam is the same message of all the previous prophets: worship God alone and avoid worshipping anything besides Him, whether it is a person, place or thing, directly or indirectly. This basic principle of Monotheism is contained in the opening chapter of the Qur’an, known as Surah al-Fatihah, verse 4: “You alone we worship and from you alone we do seek help.” In (4:37), God also said: “Worship Allah and do not associate partners with Him.” Muhammad, the last Prophet (mercy and peace of God be upon him) is reported to have said: “Anyone who says: There is no god worthy of worship but Allah, and dies holding that belief will be granted paradise.”

III. PROOFS FOR GOD'S RIGHT OF WORSHIP

Only God should be worshipped because He is the Creator and sustainer of all that exists. This Great Universe and everything that is in it cannot be the product of chance, and could not have created itself. Signs testifying that God is the only Creator can be seen throughout the earth and in the very soul of each person. God said in the Qur’an: “It is Allah who created the sky and the earth, and sent down from the sky water by which He brought forth fruits for your sustenance. He subjected for you the ships to sail upon the sea at His command, and He subjected for you the rivers. And He subjected for you the sun and moon in continuous cycles, and He subjected for you the night and day. And He gave you all you asked Him for .” (14:32-34) In the Qur’an, God mentions Prophet Abraham’s search for truth as an example of how those who follow God’s signs will be rightly guided to the worship of Him alone; God said: “In this way I showed Abraham the kingdom of the heavens and the earth so that he would have faith with understanding and certainty. When the night covered him with darkness, he saw a star and said: ‘This is my Lord’, but when it set, he said: ‘I don’t like those that set.’ When he saw the moon rising up, he said: ‘This is my Lord’, but when it set, he said: ‘Unless my Lord guides me, I will certainly be among the people who went astray.’ When he saw the sun rising up he said: ‘This is my Lord, this is the greatest of all.’ But when it set, he said: ‘O my people! I am indeed free from what you join as partners with Allah. Verily, I have turned my face towards Allah who created the heavens and the earth and I reject those who associate partners with Allah (in worship).”(6:75-79)

Actually, in the Qur’an God calls people to continuously look at the Universe, as this will affirm the divine truth of His existence, His greatness and that He alone should be worshipped. God alone deserves our worship because only He can answer our prayers. God says in the Qur’an: “And your Lord says: Call on Me and I will answer your prayer.” (40:60) Hence, if a human being prays to an idol and his prayers are answered, it is not the idol which actually answered his prayers but God. Similarly, prayers to Jesus Christ, Buddha, Krishna, Saint Christopher, Saint Jude or to Prophet Muhammad, are not answered by them, but are answered by God. Consequently, prayer is an act of worship which should be directed to God alone. Indeed, prophets who are worshipped besides Him did not tell people to worship them. Instead, the prophets warned their people against doing just that. For example, Islam teaches that Prophet Jesus (mercy and peace of God be upon him) was a human being who was created by God in a miraculous way. He was born of a mother, Mary, without a father and he worshipped God. He was not God, nor was he the son of God. He was neither one of three manifestations of God as Christians say, nor was he the son of a prostitute as the Jews say. He told his people (the tribes of Israel) to worship God alone. He did not tell people to worship either himself or his mother. Furthermore, Prophet Jesus (mercy and peace of God be upon him) did not worship himself when he worshipped, rather he worshipped God. However, those who claim to be the followers of Jesus Christ today worship Jesus himself, claiming that he is God, and others also worship his mother calling her ‘the mother of God.’!

God says in the Qur’an that He will ask Prophet Jesus (mercy and peace of God be upon him) on the Day of Judgment: “O Jesus, son of Mary! Did you tell people: Take me and my mother as gods besides Allah? Then he will say: Glory to you, I could never say what I had no right to say. If I had said it, You would have known it, You know what is within myself, but I do not know what is within Yourself. Verily, You alone are the Knower of the unseen. I did not say to them except what You commanded me; to worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord, and I was a witness over them as long as I was among them, but when You raised me up, You were the observer over them, and You are the witness over all things.” (5:116 – 117)

God emphasizes in the Qur’an that Prophet Jesus (mercy and peace of God be upon him) was neither killed nor crucified, but God raised him up into the heavens in body and spirit and he will be returned to the earth before the end of the world. Prophet Muhammad (mercy and peace of God be upon him) stated that Prohet Jesus would rule the earth according to the Islamic law, then he will die on earth like other human beings and will be buried and resurrected like them on the Day of Judgment. Hence, Prophet Jesus who was given life, was born from a woman’s womb and circumcised, ate, slept, went to the toilet, grew up, prayed, and will die, should never be taken as God as all these characteristics are not the attributes of God, but of His creatures.

The New Testament states that Jesus Christ taught his followers to pray to God saying: “Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” (Luke 11:2 / Matthew 6:9-10) Also, he taught that only those who submit to God would inherit paradise: “None of those who call me ‘Lord’ will enter the Kingdom of God, except one who does the will of my Father in heaven.” (Matthew 7:21) Prophet Jesus also pointed out that he himself submitted to the will of God: “I cannot do anything of myself. I judge as I hear and my judgment is honest because I am not seeking my own will but the will of Him who sent me.” (John 5:23) In fact, there are many reports in the Gospels that show that Prophet Jesus made it clear to his followers that he was not God. For example, when speaking about the final hour, he said: “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, not the Son, but only the Father.” (Mark 13:32)

Buddha, was a reformer who introduced a number of humanistic principles in the Hindu religion practiced in India. He did not claim to be God, nor did he suggest to his followers that he be worshipped. Yet, today most Buddhists have made him their God and they prostrate themselves before idols representing his likeness. In brief, from the perspective of the object worshipped, all religions today [except Islam] invite people to the worship of creation!

God’s attributes point to the fact that God alone deserves worship. He is One, without relatives; He has neither father, son, mother nor wife. He is the Eternal Absolute. He neither gives birth, nor is He born, and there is nothing like Him. He is perfect in His knowledge, in His power, in His will, in His mercy and in all His other attributes. God is all-powerful and perfect, while human beings are weak and imperfect. That is how He defined Himself and how all prophets defined Him. Another proof that God alone deserves to be worshipped can be found within the human soul. Islam teaches that all human beings have imprinted on their souls an awareness of God and a natural inclination towards worshipping Him alone imprinted on their souls.

In the Qur’an, God explained that when He created Adam He caused all of Adam’s descendants to come into existence and then He took a pledge from all of them saying: “Am I not your Lord? To which they all replied: Yes, we testify to it.” God then explained why He had all of humankind bear witness that He is their Creator and only true God worthy of worship: “That is in case you, humankind, may say on the Day of Resurrection: Indeed we were unaware of this.” God further elaborated on this point saying: “It is also in case you may say: It was our ancestors who made partners with Allah, and we are only their descendants, will you then destroy us for what those liars did?” (7:173) Hence, people who associate partners with God in worship cannot claim on that day that they had no idea that Allah was the only god who deserved to be worshipped. Prophet Muhammad (mercy and peace of God be upon him) reported that God said: “I created my slaves upon the right religion, but devils made them go astray.” He also said: “Each child is born in a state of Islam. Then his parents make him a Jew, Christian or a Zoroastrian.”

Thus, Islam is the birthright of every human being, since every child is born with a natural belief in the existence of God and an inborn inclination towards worshipping Him alone. Just as the child submits to the physical laws which God has imposed on the physical world, in the same way its soul also submits naturally to the fact that God is the only Lord and Creator. But if their parents are following a different path, the child is usually not strong or aware enough to recognize the truth or resist the will of the parents. In such cases, the religion which the child follows is one of custom and upbringing. But God, the Most Merciful and Compassionate, will not hold him to account or punish him for following a false religion before he reaches the age of reason and is exposed to the pure message of Islam.

By Majed S. Al-Rassi