Alhamdulilah!
This is a beautiful image I captured just the day before yesterday. I have been trying to capture moments from places where we have spent meaningful time. And today, on this blessed Friday, just before reciting Durood, I found myself thinking to imagine!
Imagine!
You are sitting on a bench not made of wood or stone, but of light. It rests beneath trees whose shade is not cast by the sun, but by the mercy of Allah Ar-Raheem. The air is fragrant, though no breeze moves. Time feels fulfilled. You realized you have arrived in Jannah!
You remember the benches of the dunya the ones where you sat tired, thinking, waiting, sometimes reflecting, weeping.
You also remember the empty benches that reminded you of how temporary everything is. You remember pausing in the chaos of life just to breathe, to remember Allah Al-Maalik to recalibrate. You didn’t know it then, but each of those quiet pauses was a step toward this very moment of eternal bliss mashaAllah.
And then someone walks toward you.
He ﷺ.
Your heart knows before your eyes confirm. The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, the one whose name was stitched into your prayers, whose blessed life lit your path, whose tears in the dark of Madinah watered your faith. You knew it with yaqeen that you will be in his company due to his ﷺ beautiful hadees, “You will be with those whom you love.”
You rise, trembling with awe and love.
You want to speak, but words scatter like petals in the wind. He ﷺ speaks first.
“I know you by your name, you used to send durood upon me frequently, especially on fridays, you used to learn seerah along with your kids, you wanted yourself and your progeny and everyone around you to follow my footprints. I know you by your name, you loved me to an extent that you tried to revive the deen which I was sent with, you were mocked and belittled, but it was all registered in Allah Al-Adl’s register, I know you by your name, your durood used to reach me.”
Tears fall. These are tears of reunion. Of completion. Of accomplishment.
He ﷺ walks with you, through gardens where the soil sparkles with light. Birds sing praises you have never heard, and every leaf glows with contentment. You pass rivers that murmur secrets only the soul can understand. You feel known. You feel home.
And all the hidden deeds, the silent sujood, the whispered salawat, the sacrifices no one saw they bloomed here. Nothing was wasted. Not a single deed.
He ﷺ tells you stories, and you are immersed in complete awe. You also crave to meet the person you are named after, like in my case it is Maryam (a.s). And you meet all the righteous beings, you are happiest to meet your parents, family, friends in jannah.
You meet Asiya (r.a) who stood against Pharoah, and was highly persecuted, you listen to her story, and is in awe of her palace near The Throne of Allah (the dua which she herself made).
…And suddenly you understand why it was all so hard. Why you were tested. Why you were asked to be patient when your heart broke. Why you were taught to believe in the Unseen, and love someone you never met. Because love like this, faith like this, is rewarded like this. And that’s the biggest blessing, the supreme success, called as الفوز العظيم in Holy Quran.
In that moment, sitting beside him ﷺ, you realize.
This isn’t just a bench.
This is where your longing ends.
This is the beginning that never ends.
This is Jannah. Allah’s Garden of Bliss.
And when you thought what else can be better than this in reward then you are given that is beyond words, and comprehension, you are blessed to see Him, Allah ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ , ذُو ٱلْجَلَالِ وَٱلْإِكْرَام with all His Glory and Honour, on His supreme arsh (Throne) as befits His Majesty.
Holy Quran (3:185)
كُلُّ نَفْسٍۢ ذَآئِقَةُ ٱلْمَوْتِ ۗ وَإِنَّمَا تُوَفَّوْنَ أُجُورَكُمْ يَوْمَ ٱلْقِيَـٰمَةِ ۖ فَمَن زُحْزِحَ عَنِ ٱلنَّارِ وَأُدْخِلَ ٱلْجَنَّةَ فَقَدْ فَازَ ۗ وَمَا ٱلْحَيَوٰةُ ٱلدُّنْيَآ إِلَّا مَتَـٰعُ ٱلْغُرُورِ ١٨٥
“Every soul will taste death. And you will only receive your full reward on the Day of Judgment. Whoever is spared from the Fire and is admitted into Paradise will ˹indeed˺ triumph, whereas the life of this world is no more than the delusion of enjoyment.”
Peace and blessings, and durood be on the Prophet Muhammad who was sent as a rahmatul aalaameen. May we become the ambassadors of that rahmah! Ameen.
اللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلَىٰ مُحَمَّدٍ وَعَلَىٰ آلِ مُحَمَّدٍ، كَمَا صَلَّيْتَ عَلَىٰ إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَعَلَىٰ آلِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ، إِنَّكَ حَمِيدٌ مَجِيدٌ
اللَّهُمَّ بَارِكْ عَلَىٰ مُحَمَّدٍ وَعَلَىٰ آلِ مُحَمَّدٍ، كَمَا بَارَكْتَ عَلَىٰ إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَعَلَىٰ آلِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ، إِنَّكَ حَمِيدٌ مَجِيدٌ