The dilemma started when I was unable to get myself registered in any medical college. Disheartened and disappointed, I decided to do something ‘more challenging,’ and, to my utter surprise, I cleared the ‘aptitude test’ and embarked on a long journey to become a chartered accountant. Clearing six papers in one ago is not easy at all – it requires hard work, patience and a great deal of good luck.
My friend Suqaina had come from Hyderabad. She was much more determined and energetic, as she was paying a high price for leaving her parents and siblings and being alone here, in Karachi. She was the eldest one, always looking forward to weekends as she then got a chance to visit her very amiable family, especially her siblings, who used to wait anxiously for the small token gifts she got for them.
She was usually the first one to enter the library and the last one to leave. Her hard work bore fruit, and she cleared her first level at the first attempt.
Our final examination of the second level was about to commence, when she asked me to recommend a renowned urologist in Karachi. The examination schedule was announced and she somehow managed to appear for all the papers. She cleared that level too, remarking that it was all due to her mother’s prayers. I forgot about her ailment, as I was struggling harder to clear the second level.
Suddenly, I received the shocking news of her death. I was told that she was misdiagnosed in a local Hyderabad hospital, and passed away after being given the wrong treatment for almost two weeks.
I tried hard to combat the depression, but the worn out pages of my accounting books had become meaningless. Her sudden death had made me realize the ultimate truth of the mortality of my life and this world. From that day I accepted this reality that any day could be my last day, in this materialistic world. I started asking myself: “Am I ready to face Him (swt) at this very moment? What is the purpose of my existence?” Have I ever made any effort to find out what my Creator, the most Beneficent wants to tell me through His Book, the Holy Quran? Have I ever made any deliberate effort to learn, implement or spread the light of righteousness through it?
I realized that one day I will be questioned, for that ever increasing long term loan in the form of countless and countless blessings from Him, the Almighty Allah (swt) to whom we all have to return.
May Allah (swt) grant Suqaina a place in Jannah. (Ameen)
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