ARE YOU DEAD?

Many a times we come across individuals who take religion and religious activity lightly. They often mock at people who try to practise religious tenets. Similarly they treat the religion.
The Holy Prophet (s.a.w.) in one of his saying stopped people from four things, as these things cause the heart to die, he said : "There are four things which cause the heart to die: 1) Commiting sins, one after the other, 2) Talking much with women, 3) Disputing with a fool, 4) Assouiating with the dead," Those present said "0 Prophet of Allah! who are the dead?" The Holy Prophet (s.a.w.) replied "The rich who have forgotten Allah".
The Holy Prophet (s.a.w.) in the above words has sent a clear message of caution to people who have forsaken Allah. who take religion and religious activity lightly, who consider every other thing except religion to be important. who mock at religious practices.
Many instances from our daily life can be cited where we take religion lightly. One of my friends narrated an experience, he found a person, who teaches in a Madressa (school) where religious instructions are given twice a week. Once he found out that a student was remaining absent for quite some time. He went to the house of the student to find out the reason for his absenteeism. On inquinng he found out that his father has stopped him from going to the Madressa.
The teacher was taken aback and met the father in a bid to convince him. The father justifyng his decision said that as his son has so many activities and he cannot cope up with attending Madressa also. The teacher asked him as to what are his activities. The father said that his son has to attend school for six days in a week, five days in a week he has to go for extra coaching, twice a week are his tennis sessions, thrice a week he has to go for Karate classes, twice a week he has to take part in football and cricket matches. His father expanded the list and said that now he has joined Gymnasium, so already he has so much pressure that I cannot allow more pressure on him and besides his Gymnasium timings clash with Madressa. The teacher concluded that these are the people about whom Allah says in Qur'an, that on the Day of Judgement Allah will forsake such people. Explaining the reasons thereof Allah says :
"Surely Allah has prohibited to them water (of heaven)... because they are the ones who have taken their religion as an idle sport and a play, and life of this world has deceived them; so today We forsake them as they denied the meeting of this day and rejected Our communications (7:51)

Yes! People who consider religion as last on their priority list will be negated by Allah with utmost disgrace on the Day of Judgement. We have to reflect and think whether our behaviour is like those who take religion lightly? Why when timings of our worldly activities clash with our religious activities, that we choose to forsake religious activities? why do we strive so hard for our worldly activities and leave religious activity. Even if we do perform religious activity we tend to take it lightly as if it carries no importance. School, College, Tennis, Karate, Football, Tours, Parties, Birthday celebrations etc. all are important. Attending madressa is not.
Imam Zainul Aabedin (a.s.) said:
I am surprised at proud people, who were yesterday a drop of semen and will tomorrow be a corpse. I am amazed to look at one who has doubt about Allah inspite of looking at His creation. I am more amazed at people who reject the Hereafter and Qiyamat inspite of seeing the first creation. But the greatest amazement is to see people working so hard for this world, which is going to end soon, but leaving the Hereafter; which is going to last forever"
Yes! No doubt about it! People strive so hard for life of a few years but forsake completely the life of Hereafter which is going to last forever. Let us resolve this very day that we will maintain a balance between our affairs of this world as well as the Hereafter. Let us fulfil our duty towards Allah. Imam Zainul Aabedin (a.s.), explaining the right of Allah, said : "The greatest right of Allah against you is that you worship Him without associating anything with Him. When you do that with sincerity, He has made binding upon Himself to give you sufficiency in the affair of this world and the next".