Poem: The Taste of Death

A poem by Sara Bawany

What if your day had arrived?
Imagine if your entire life was a lie.
Assess yourself as your sins flash by;
You’re wasting your youth and you don’t know why.
Tears flow, but there’s no time left to cry -
You’ve got one last breath, one last sigh.

The Angel of Death has come too soon;
He snatches your soul with a startling boom.
In an instant, you know that you are doomed.
“Kullu nafsin dhaa iqatul maut. Thumma ilayna tur ja’oon.”
He warned you, He warned you; did He not warn you?
Hunched over, you’re miserable in a state of gloom.
Did you really believe that you were immune?

You’re made to enter your grave alone,
Compressed beneath your worldly throne.
Munkar and Nakir arrive; you’re now in the test zone.
“Who is Your Lord? Prophet? Book?” “I don’t know,” you moan.
Eternal punishment begins; it’s too late to atone
With the pressure of your sins squeezing your bones.
For ages to come, this pit will be your home.

You lived among many but you died alone, here with no allies,
Yet you know that you haven’t reached your final demise,
And when the Day of Judgment finally arrives,
When the trumpet is blown, out of your grave you arise.
The records prove you’re condemned; why were you so unwise?
Every beat of your heart echoes screams and cries.
Your shameful book of deeds can never be revised.

Before you, hellfire is set ablaze;
Its sparks leap to and fro in a craze.
The doomed are shocked and paralyzed in a haze,
Sorely regretting all the wasted nights and days.
The message of Allah had been clearly conveyed,
But all you did was go far, far astray.