Bismillah, Alhamdulillah, wa as-salatu wa as-salamu 'ala Rasulillah.

As salamu 'alaykum wa rahmatu Allhi wa barakatuh,

I was recently asked a very good question:
We know we are not ready for our reckoning, how do we prepare?
From the nature of this question, you will appreciate that the answer is also very
broad, covering many areas. I will try to list the most important ones here.
I have intentionally kept the advice simple. It is often the simple actions that are the
most important in the sight of Allah Subnahu Wa Ta'Ala.
First some facts:

We live during the last period of Human existence on this Earth. The proof is
that we are the Ummah of the last and final Prophet, our master Muhammad
Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam. There will be no more prophets after Him, and no
more Ummah after us. The Quran is the final revelation. Allah Subnahu Wa
Ta'Ala says in Surat Al-M'idah [5:3]
"This day I have perfected for you your religion and completed My favour upon
you and have approved for you Islam as a religion".

As stated by Rasool Allah Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam, every age is followed by

one which would be worse than it. The time of Rasool Allah Sallallahu Alayhi
Wasallam was the best, this included the blessed companions, the Sahaba. Then
came the time of the Tabe'en and Tabe'Tabe'en. After these ages, once, Islam had
been recorded and codified by the great Imams of the four Madaib, it was really
downhill from there. All the major sins of previous civilisations can be found, in
some form or another, in the people of today. To name a few, Kufr (Atheism has
never been so rife in the history of man's existence on Earth), Hypocrisy (we feel
that we are better than the nations before us, even though our efforts pale in to
insignificance), Deception (it is all around us), Homosexuality (never been at
such a peak after the people of Hazrat Loot Alayhi Salam), Arrogance (we feel
that we no longer need Allah Subnahu Wa Ta'Ala. Don't believe me! Just
think about your everyday actions and tell me if there is any tawakkul (reliance)
in Allah Subnahu Wa Ta'Ala.

We are weak. This is a fact, as we no longer possess the strength to appose the
oppression that is unleashed on the Muslim of the world by the kufar. Look at
what is happening in Syria, Afghanistan, Palestine, Iraq, Pakistan. Rasool Allah
Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam has stated, addressing you and I
Muslims at the end of time will be like the foam of the sea and Allah will take
the fear of you away from your enemies and will place weakness into your hearts.
The weakness will be the love of the world and the dislike of death.

A great Sufi one said there are only two great realities. The first is Allah, and
the second is your fait forever. What is meant by this is that, it is only Allah
Subnahu Wa Ta'Ala that truly exists, everything else is temporary. Although
man existence on the Earth is temporary, Allah Subnahu Wa Ta'Ala has
stated that once man leaves this world and is judged and placed either in
Heaven or Hell, there will be no more death after that. Allah Subnahu Wa
Ta'Ala has bestowed his favour, or his justice, by allowing Man to exist in
Heaven, or Hell forever. So only two things are real, the first is Allah Subnahu
Wa Ta'Ala and the second is your destiny, whether in Heaven or in Hell.

Now back to the question, what can we do to prepare for the inevitable?
The following are the some important areas that we must start implementing in our
daily lives:
1. Mental preparation: Have we ever paused for a moment and thought, what is
our purpose in this world? Why were we sent to this planet? How do we get
back home? The reality is that we have preoccupied ourselves with this world so
much that we no longer have any time to stop and reflect on where we are and
what we are doing. We are after the pleasures of this world and have not
considered why we were placed here. The life of this world is but a drop in the
ocean. Do not forsake the ocean for a single drop by brothers and sisters. The
only way to progress in anything is to have goals, and then strive to achieve
them. If you do not pause to reflect, you cannot set yourself goals. If you have
no goals, the Shatian will always be trying to set you some. My advice to all my
brothers and sisters is to:

a. Take 15 minutes before going to bed at night to reflect on what you have
achieved that day. The question you should really be asking yourself is
whether you have spent the day wisely, balancing the needs of your
family and preparing for your death.
b. Think about all the friends and family that have passed away and make
duas in your heart for their forgiveness. Maybe Allah Subnahu Wa
Ta'Ala will make this a means of forgiveness for our sins.
c. Think about your death, are you ready to die? (The answer will most
likely be, NO). Motivate yourself to identify what you have done wrong
and make an intention to correct it in future. If you die in this state, then
Allah Subnahu Wa Ta'Ala will assuredly forgive you because of your
intention.
d. Make Istigfar, ask Allah Subnahu Wa Ta'Ala for forgiveness. The
Shaitan will try his best to get you to feel that your sins are so great, that
Allah Subnahu Wa Ta'Ala will not forgive you. You will loose hope in
Allahs forgiveness and give up. Asking for forgiveness is the hardest
thing to do, as it means that you admit to yourself that you have done
something wrong. You will be too scared to find faults in yourself, as you
will be scared of change. Life is too comfortable, we dont want it to
change. Lets make an intention to change it now, before we are forced
by circumstances to change. If we are forced to change due to
circumstances, we will not be mentally prepared for the change and will
question Allah Subnahu Wa Ta'Ala regarding our situation. This will
most likely result in us loosing our Imaan.
e. Thank Allah Subnahu Wa Ta'Ala for what he has given you.
Everything we have is due to the grace of Allah Subnahu Wa Ta'Ala.
2. Spiritual preparation: Allah Subnahu Wa Ta'Ala has given us the means of
getting to Jannah. This is through His worship. How do we know what
constituted worship and how we do this worship? This is a very big topic. The
simple answer is, learn your Deen (Islam). It is compulsory for every individual
to learn as much of the Deen as it takes to know how to perform your daily
Fardh. There will be no excuse when you stand in front of the ranks of angles on
judgment day and are asked what you did to learn your Deen. Answers such as,
I could not read and write, I did not have the time, it was too hard, will not
help you then. The angles will say, did Allah Subnahu Wa Ta'Ala not give you

intellect, did he not spread the Earth for you to travel in to learn your Deen.
What will you say then? Moreover, if you do not know right from wrong, how
will your children know? We are all Shepherds in charge of our flocks (families).
We as parents will be asked about how we provided for, and educated our
children. Do you have an answer for that? If not, then we must start preparing
now. My advice to all my brothers and sisters is to:
a. Make an intention to learn your Deen properly. My advice will be to
start by reading books (not the Internet). This will create a love for the
Deen and the texts that you are reading, this will be a catalyst for really
taking time out of your busy life to learn under a teacher. Only when you
respect knowledge and the conduits of knowledge (your teachers), will
Allah Subnahu Wa Ta'Ala give you the ability to retain and act on
what you have learnt. Knowledge without action (or without
application), is just information. Even the kufar have information about
the teachings of the Quran, but are not Muslim, as Allah Subnahu Wa
Ta'Ala has not given them the opportunity, due to their own sins, to be
able to accept Islam.
b. It goes without saying that you should be reading all five daily Salah, on
time. If you are in an Islamic environment, such as your home or your
workplace, then there is absolutely no excuse for missing the Salah.
c. Calculate how many Salahs you have missed and make an intention to
make them all up. Keep a tick chart and read at least one Qadha Salah
per day. This should ideally be the Qadha of a whole days Salah, but this
may be difficult to begin with. Remember, you MUST make up any
missed Salah. There is no other way.
d. Read the Quran. It is a well known fact that opening and looking at the
words in the Quran, or more correctly, the Musaf, and then reading
them increases remembering power (memory). If you do not know how,
then find a good teacher. There is no excuse for not knowing how to
read the Quran. Remember that the Quran is the actual Arabic words
spoken by your tongue and not what is written down in the book. Know
what Allah Subnahu Wa Ta'Ala is saying to you. Get a Musaf with
translation and transliteration. There are glad tidings for the non-Arabs:
Verily the one who recites the Quran beautifully, smoothly, and
precisely, he will be in the company of the noble and obedient angels.
And as for the one who recites with difficulty, stammering or

stumbling through its verses, then he will have TWICE that reward.
[Al-Bukhari and Muslim]
e. Make much Dikr and Shukr.
f. Make much Istigfar.
g. Teach your children what you have learnt.
All praise be to Allah Subnahu Wa Ta'Ala, Lord of the Worlds, May Allah
Subnahu Wa Ta'Ala continue to send blessings and abundant peace upon our
Master Muhammad Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam, his Family and Companions, until
the Day of Judgement.
Faisal Dean Raza Saifi
Raza Publications
sales@razapublications.co.uk