Maulana Wahiduddin Khan | The Sunday Guardian | July 22, 2018

The Quran says that on the Day of Judgment, when mankind is gathered before God, a person will look at his deeds. Those who denied God, and rebelled against Him, will behold the doom that awaits them. In anguish they will cry out: "Would that I were dust!" (78:40)

When Umar, the second Muslim caliph, lay on his death-bed, stricken by the dagger of Abu Lulu Firoz, his son Abdullah Ibn Umar was resting his father's head in his lap. "Rub my cheek in the dust, Abdullah," Umar said to him.

Abdullah ibn Umar did so. Then, with his head resting on the ground, Umar addressed these words to himself: "Woe betide you, Umar, and woe betide the one who gave birth to you, if God does not forgive you."(Tabqat ibn Sad)

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If one compares both these events, one will find that the very words uttered by those who did evil in the next world, are those uttered by a righteous person in this world.

In the life after death, wrongdoers will wish they were dust. But here we have a pious person saying, before he dies, in this life on earth: "Join me with the dust."

Who dare rebel against God when He appears before one? Everyone will submit to Him then. But the only creditable submission to God is that which comes before He makes Himself manifest. Those who do wrong will bow to God when He reveals Himself before them. But a sincere person bows to Him while He is still invisible.

The truth is that a truthful person experiences in this world what the wicked will experience in the next world. The wicked will humble themselves on seeing God, while a virtuous person does so without seeing Him.