[to the certainty of resurrection.] Does man think that We will not reassemble his bones? Yes indeed; We are able to reconstruct his fingerprints. But man wants to deny what is ahead of him.

Quran – {Resurrection 75: 1-5}

This whole life journey is to master the self, the self that is inclined to do / think bad. So if we are not controlling our baseline urges in such a manner then it means we are being controlled by the self, which is the hardest state to live in. When one is conscientious of their actions, the accounting with their self is much more difficult than the one who is not aware of their actions and the repercussion of their actions, to themselves and unto others.

Islam identifies three stages in one’s self:

1. the commanding self (nafs al am-mara): the, animalistic, self which obeys all its whims and lower desires with no further depth and interrogation.
2. the reproachful self (nafs al lawamma): the, blaming, self in struggle between the material and the spiritual.
3. the blissful self (nafs al muttma’ina): the, secure, self beyond earthly desires, connected and transcended to the spiritual realm.

These are an extremely brief overview of the stages in the human’s state; many spiritual masters have dissected and added to these a total of seven stages, (in the weeks to come I could share more insight on this subject) identifying the spiritual diseases accompanied by it and the remedies for it. Islam identifies spiritual disease as, often, highly linked to physical disease; a manifestation of a spirit in pain, yet in modern age this is overlooked when relieving with medication as opposed to healing the system as a whole entity, it is treated as if one is independent of the other. The reproachful self is the station we are all born in, and from there we elevate or debase the soul, ascend to transcend the transient world or deepen our dependence on this impermanent world. As quoted by Sufism.org: “It’s sign is the fluctuation between the characteristics of the people of this world and the people of the next world.”  Interestingly we are born with the gift of a guilty conscience, and it is part of our nature embedment, like an internal siren when we have wronged ourself or the other.

We often prolong, procrastinate, delay, put on hold priorities of self-love, soul nourishment, spirit growth, self-care and soul-reformation, denying its primary issue and necessity. We feel that worldly attainments are more important than spiritual realization. We feel that an academic education is required for a successful life and that success is independent of a spiritual education, denying the calling of our inner truth. We feel time losing its essence, time has lost its blessing; a year is passing like a month and a month like a week … a decade passes from one’s life and we think, where has the time gone?

The Hour will not begin until time passes quickly, so a year will be like a month, and a month will be like a week, and a week will be like a day, and a day will be like an hour, and an hour will be like the burning of a braid of palm leaves.

The Hour will not begin until knowledge is taken away, earthquakes increase, time passes quickly, tribulations appear, and there is a lot of haraj, which is killing, killing, killing and until there will be a lot of wealth among you and it will become abundant.

Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)

Many prophecies have already come true, and many more are on the way of manifestation. It startles me how then one can deny these truths, and then deny that maybe yes there is a day when we will be judged in front of our Creator for our actions, our deeds in this life, unto ourself and unto others. Ultimately then how can we deny death? This is the only certainty of life; isn’t it time we thought about what is ahead of us? Time and life is not guaranteed to any of us; death comes to all ages and to the healthiest as well, Buddha says it profoundly: the trouble is you think you have time. Denying and delaying what is most necessary for our timeless soul, which does not die, is the most painful lesson we learn in life, and better to learn it than to regret it or even miss it. It is about day to day moments, and daily choices are about choosing better, to choose better we need to have the intention to change, grow our awareness and choose beneficial knowledge over superfluous diversion.

May this reminder be embedded in our consciousness, mine and yours, today and always.

Ibn Masood said “I said to the Prophet,
“Does the Hour (time of reckoning) have a knowledge that you can know it by?”
He said “Yes, Oh Ibn Masood.
And Muslims have to know these signs
so they recognize them when they see them.
And there are many signs
One of the signs
Children become filled with rage
Rain becomes burning or acidic. Acid rain.
You’ll see evil people spreading widely
Oh Ibn Masood from the signs and conditions of the Hour is that
people will trust treacherous people
and they will consider trustworthy people treacherous.
The truthful one will be called a liar
and the one telling a lie will be called truthful. The Hour will not be established-till the people of the desert (the camel shepherds) compete with one another in constructing high buildings. Women will be clothed but naked. There will be an increase in sudden deaths, especially amongst the youth. Increase of the number of women to men. Wars and discord in Islam. Emergence of false prophets. Degradation of muslims.” …. (and it goes on)

Propeht Muhammad (pbuh)