هَلْ يَنظُرُونَ إِلَّآ أَن تَأْتِيَهُمُ ٱلْمَلَـٰٓئِكَةُ أَوْ يَأْتِىَ رَبُّكَ أَوْ يَأْتِىَ بَعْضُ ءَايَـٰتِ رَبِّكَ ۗ يَوْمَ يَأْتِى بَعْضُ ءَايَـٰتِ رَبِّكَ لَا يَنفَعُ نَفْسًا إِيمَـٰنُهَا لَمْ تَكُنْ ءَامَنَتْ مِن قَبْلُ أَوْ كَسَبَتْ فِىٓ إِيمَـٰنِهَا خَيْرًۭا ۗ قُلِ ٱنتَظِرُوٓا۟ إِنَّا مُنتَظِرُونَ ١٥٨
Apakah (yang ditunggu-tunggu oleh mereka yang tidak beriman itu?) mereka tidak menunggu melainkan kedatangan malaikat (yang mencabut nyawa mereka), atau kedatangan (azab) Tuhanmu, atau kedatangan sebahagian dari tanda-tanda Tuhanmu (yang menjadi alamat hari kiamat). Pada hari datangnya sebahagian dari tanda-tanda Tuhanmu itu, tidak berfaedah lagi iman seseorang yang tidak beriman sebelum itu, atau yang tidak berusaha mengerjakan kebaikan mengenai imannya. Katakanlah: “Tunggulah kamu (akan apa yang kamu berhak mendapatnya), dan kami pun sebenarnya menunggu (akan apa yang telah dijanjikan oleh Tuhan kepada kami)”.
What are you waiting for? The time to change is NOW.
When it comes to change, we often like to wait.
Waiting for the right time (Ramadhan or New Year baru aku berubah. As they say, “New Year, New me”).
Waiting to reach a certain age (dah tua baru aku fokus akan ibadah, for now kita enjoy).
Or even waiting for something miraculous to happen (Mimpi jumpa nabi, sembuh dari penyakit kronik, save from a deadly car accident).
Anything that could convince us right then and there that,
“Woah, I think it’s time for me to change”
But here’s the problem, what if the day that we have been waiting for never arrive?
Ingat nak berubah time bulan ramadhan, tapi Allah tarik nyawa kita sebelum kita sampai ke Bulan tersebut. Ingat nak fokus ibadah bila dah pencen kerja, tapi takdir Allah kita meninggal di usia muda.
We thought that we would change when certain time comes. But the fact is, the only thing that is certain is, the coming of Judgment Day. And unfortunately, on that day, everything is too late. As you’re standing there, in Padang Mahsyar, experiencing the extreme heat from the sun, seeing the punishment of hell fire in front of your eyes, and witnessing Allah’s wrath for the first time, you think to yourself,
“Ya Allah, I believe now, I’m sorry, plz forgive me.”
But your cry and plead means nothing on that day. You’re too late.
This is undoubtedly one of the tricks of the devil. As he was given all the time in the world to lead humanity astray,
“Iblis berkata: Berilah tempoh kepadaku hingga hari mereka dibangkitkan. Allah berfirman: “Sesungguhnya engkau dari golongan yang diberi tempoh” (Al-A’raf; 14-15).
He then convinces us that we too have that same luxury. The luxury of time. The time to do anything we want and enjoy life. And the time to start repenting and change when we see fit. Cuz in our mind, there is always a tomorrow. The devil succeeds in making us procrastinate when it comes to self-change because we have been deceived into believing in the false promise of “Tomorrow, I’ll change” and “Tommorow I still got time”.
That’s the problem, there will be a day in our life whereby tomorrow might never come. And only then, you will come to realize all of your wrongdoings and mistakes, begging for repentance and crying for a second chance. But then, there’s no point crying over spilled milk. The test of iman is now over. You’re too late.
As the ayat mentioned,
“Pada hari datangnya sebahagian dari tanda-tanda Tuhanmu itu, tidak berfaedah lagi iman seseorang yang tidak beriman sebelum itu, atau yang tidak berusaha mengerjakan kebaikan mengenai imannya.”
Based on tafsir Al-Munir, this passage refers to the hadis regarding the sign of judgment,
Hari Kiamat tidak akan terjadi sampai matahari terbit tempat tengelamnya. Jika orang-orang melihatnya orang-orang mengimaninya. Pada saat itu adalah saat di mana keimanan seseorang tidak bermanfaat baginya, dia belum beriman sebelum itu. (HR Bukhari)
The fact that we wake up every morning and experience the sun rising from the east is actually a blessing. It means we’re given a chance yet again. A chance to repent and turn back to Him. A chance to do better. An opportunity to change. Now is the time. Not tomorrow, not next week, not next Ramadhan, and not next year. Now!
Thus, let us seize this opportunity and stop waiting. Cuz like it or not, any moment could be our last.