The hour finds the man. Or is it Allah who does the finding? But does Allah have to go looking for the man?
And what about women? Does Allah find women too?
After all, didn't Allah find Hazrat Maryam, Alaihas Salam?
And Hazrat Khadijah, Radiyallahu Anha?
And Hazrat Aayishah, Radiyallahu Anha?
And Hazrat Fatimah, Radiyallahu Anha?
And didn't Allah find all our mothers too, may Allah bless those of them who live now as Muslims, or who died as Muslims and those of them who died believing in him?
And shouldn't all of us be clamoring, and jumping up and down, to be recognized by Allah's Scouts and to be "found" by Allah?
The fact is, Allah has already found everybody: men as well as women.
The fact is, Allah has created men and women with their fate and destiny stamped big and bright on their forehead. And their path in life clearly programmed into their genes.
And he did all that before he created them. And before he created time. In eternity.
And when these men and women are born, whenever and wherever they are, their DNA and their circumstances lead them to where Allah meant them to go from Day One.
Good ones go to good places -- and taste paradise right here on earth. They work to change the world for better. They toil to invite the world to Allah.
And those around them can feel the impact of their work. And they can feel the gentle breeze of paradise blowing on them and toward them -- and from them.
And bad ones go to damnation and perdition and descend to the pit of hell, and drag their world, and many of those around them, into that hell-pit, right here on earth.
They become obstacles in the path of Allah. Or they become indifferent to their responsibility of inviting the world to Allah.
Thus, they become irrelevant in the larger scheme of God's creation -- and in God's administration of his universe. They float through life like pieces of straw on water: irrelevant, immaterial, weightless and worthless.
The Hadith Sharif calls people like that Guthaa' Ka Guthaa-is Sayil: foam in floodwater.
Everyone -- and the world -- around them can feel the flames coming from their direction.
The good ones are focused, targeted, driven, sustained, guided -- and results driven: good and wonderful and positive results for all.
The bad ones are slothful, slow, devious, lost and full of excuses and explanations why they are not doing what they should be doing.
The whole world of Allah reads them like a book and laughs at them, except that they are not -- human beings in general are not -- able or equipped to hear it.
Life goes on. Death nears. Day of Judgement looms. Human fates are finally sealed and tossed away where they belong: an eternity of joy and bliss (Jannat) or a never-ending life of shame, guilt, remorse and pain (Jahannam).
But the point to learn in all this is that, while this worldly life lasts, we all have a chance to kick our bad habits and attitudes, and our slothfulness and our litany of excuses, and clamber on God's Bandwagon that is hurtling along right before our eyes.
At least this time around. For, God's Bandwagon has come many times before. And it will come again.
Maybe. If life lasts.
END
