The Traveller

I’ve had the privilege of losing people close to me unexpectedly.

They may not be my loved ones per se but they are people who my loved ones had loved fiercely.

And I say privileged, not because the deaths were not tragic or sad, but because each time it happened, I’ve been fortunate to learn a lesson or two about life.

And unlike the way we feel after someone’s death- helpless, sad but still moving on, these lessons haven’t gone away from me.

The first time that someone close to me died unexpectedly, it was as unexpected as it comes.

This minute she was here, and the next minute, there were shuffling feet and mumbled voices of adult men in tears, telling us that she had left the world.

It’s still as shocking today as it was the first day.

But that day, the first lesson I got was the reality of our time on earth.

See, it is easy to know and say that we are only here for a brief period, but most times this information is retired into a corner of our subconscious.

You don’t necessarily live every day with that reminder firmly planted at the front of your mind.

But it is a reminder that should be the first thing that comes to our mind as we do anything during the day.

We are only here for the briefest of moments.

And with the way Allah (swt) has designed it, that moment could be staring you in the eye and you wouldn’t even have a clue.

A traveler isn’t someone who fully settles in a place.

They may relax for a while and immerse themselves into their new environment, but their date of departure is firmly printed at the front of their minds.

We don’t know our date of departure, but we should act like we do.

Because acting like we do is the only way to be unconsciously prepared when death comes.

After she passed, we spent a lot of the following weeks reminiscing on the type of life she lived.

And the second lesson was that she had lived her life exactly like that of a traveler.

Relaxed in this world, but also aware that it’s temporary.

She attained as much worldly goodness as anyone, but held everything in her hand and not in her heart.

And most important of all, she worshipped Allah every day as if she’ll not get the chance to do so the next day.

No human knows when their time will be up, but as Muslims, we should live every day as if it will be our last.

And worship Allah as if we may never get another chance to do so.

Fee amanillah,

Amina