Line 17: Exam And Its Lesson

This is copied from my Facebook Note- Ibnu Hanaffi
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Assalamualaikum w.b.t

1. It is an exam season in IMU now. I believe it is so in other places too. It is few final months of the year anyway.

2. Today I want to talk about you. (You say: Me?) And I reply: Yes, you ;-)

3. Imagine this. Exam was near. You knew you had to study to score. Then somebody gave you some targetted questions (more commonly known as spot questions) for the exam. The lecturer said you need it to excel. So you studied on that. Only that.

4. During the exam, all spotted ones came out. Not a single one was missed. BIG QUESTION: What do you feel?

5. Of course. You are right. You needed an additional buccal muscle to hold your huge smile. It felt so awesome and you shouted yeah! yabedabedu. I so love exam was what you uttered. And you didn't care when people call you insane while reading a sad news from NST while still smiling. Because you felt like the entire world was yours.

6. Wait though. What if it was the opposite? Everything was such a blur. You didn't know what will come out so you studied at random. You knew it was time-consuming and you intended to study all, but you ended covering only almost a third quarter of the whole syllabus. Worse, some of that were even forgotten as time passed.

7. Don't care. D-day finally came. You looked at the questions paper and.. ops? You looked again and brushed your eyes. Ops?

8. Ops? Yes, most of them were the other 1 quarter. And you were so depressed that even all other easy questions were awfully perceived as difficult. You were in emotional turmoil and entered a phase known as 'blank.'

9. Exam ended. You felt like flying and kicking and flyingkicking the door (not the lecturers please, there were innocent). So no flying colors this time around. No good results. No hope. Nothing. And you could not turn back time. It was not a  Doraemon's world. You were in total regret and repent. Arghh!

10. Comparison: In a way, life is the same. Guides are given i.e Al-Quran and As-sunnah. They were sent down to guide us to excel DURING the life in the hereafter, the same way we need resource to use DURING the exam. It may be difficult and of course it is difficult, but again, remember, it's not only now, it's more importantly, in the Hereafter.

11. Take that feeling and imagine. When you were one day resurrected, you find out you have nothing and you have breached the guidelines? The same regret maybe? No, it'll be worse. You can resit exam, you can repeat, or at least life must go on. But in the Hereafter? Can imagine the feeling?

12. Given the situation, would you rather consider to live at 'random' and just take a few part of Islam that suits you while forsaking the others? Are you weak enough to let 'random' people decide what world is to you? Let them decide what is success by definition? You sure?

13. Do you not believe that He already prepares us a manual book that explains all? Every single thing? (16:89) Imagine the good feeling. Imagine you feel that during The Day of Resurrection. Maybe recall is a better word. You used to taste what success was like. So can you feel?

14. It's ok. It's a choice. Consider life in the Hereafter. The feelings DURING the day. The same way we believe there are at least 2 conditions DURING exams.

15. It definitely will come. And there is no turning back. Two options: to LIVE and SUFFER or to LIVE and PROSPER. And in the Hereafter, it lasts forever. Not that forever. The other forever. Forever in the absence of death. In a time that is infinite- which means no more time, no more end. And certainly, it will come.

16. So are we prepared for the real 'EXAM' in the Hereafter?. Go grab the Quran now. Live with it now, if you haven't. Allah will always be there. To those who disbelieve, just wait when the day comes. He has 'something' for you.

17. "..............Taste you the Penalty of the Fire, the which you used to reject as false." (32:20)

Wallahuaklam.

 

P/S:

1. The pronoun 'You' used in this article is strictly addressed to all readers. I as the author automatically become the first reader, so it applies to me first, and then you.

2. It is Line 17 because it has 17 lines and the Quranic verse in the 17th point inspires this writing.

Take care all. May Allah bless us all.

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