June 30, 2007 by contact.

Contribution from our Reader: Khalid Lazaar   You can also post your contribution by registering (using the Register link below) 

Dear soccer players,  The prophet peace be upon him said that the wisdom is sought after by the believer; wherever it is found, it is claimed. In other words, our life is full of lessons that can be of good benefit should we take the time to search. The thought of this article is a practical endeavor of the aforementioned wisdom.     The life span of a human being is usually between sixty or seventy years old, only a few live longer. This fact is mentioned in a prophetic statement when he(peace be upon him) said that the ages of my umma (the Muslim nation) is between 60 and 70 and only a few of them who reach 100.May Allah forgive my ignorance in translating the prophet’s words accurately.  Let us consider someone who is thirty years old; according to the prophetic hadith, half of his or her life time is over and getting ready to start the second half. The analogy of the two halves of your lifespan is exactly that of the two halves of a soccer game.  Both you and the player share a concern of whether the second half would be better than the first one. Both of you is trying to put more energy and focus to achieve your goal by the time the whistle blows. Both of you try to catch up for the bad performance you might have given in the first half.  A believer who reads beyond lines must think of the whistle as the time the curtain of life is drawn.  The whistle brings the second half; thus, the whole game to an end and so does death when it strikes.  As soon as the referee blows the whistle, any goal is not counted no matter how you try and try. “That’s it time is up, you had the chance of two halves but you could not score. I was fair to you and gave you time as equal as every body else, yet you did not succeed”. The referee would tell you. My dear soccer player, would you please ponder with me upon this for a bit. It is a critical moment when you find out that all your chances of rectifying the mistakes in life are null. It is with no doubt the destruction of all hopes. Death sends no pre- warning; it just comes like the blink of an eye. The energy you put into the second half is the decisive element for your victory;  

Therefore, nothing should distract you from achieving your goal. Let us go back to the soccer field for more lessons if we can find them. The player leaves the game with either a victory or a loss. In case of victory, joy will be endless because the performance shown during the game was as a result of putting forth the full effort. However, in case of loss, sorrow will encompass him. My question to you, what result do you prefer? Loss or victory? The sad feelings of loss might be relieved because the player will try to do better in the next game. But do you really have the chance for a second game/life. God the almighty says in the noble Quran: “every soul shall have a taste of death: and only on the Day of Judgment shall you be paid your full recompense. Only he who is saved far from the fire and admitted to the garden will have attained the object (of life): for the life of this world is but goods and chattels of deception”.  Surah:  AL’ Imran, verse 185. It is very clear from the above verse that none is escaping death; it is the gate to the everlasting life. Either one will cherish the rewards of good deeds in the worldly life or sink in a sea of remorse and ultimately face severe punishment. In conclusion, let me remind myself first and whoever reads these words that repentance is our hope and sole remedy to the disease of death forgetfulness. My dear reader let us all hand in hand work towards achieving the goal of repentance before it is too late. Let us all catch up and rectify before the whistle blows/death strikes.