IOur whole story
You are standing in the middle of a story that began before you existed
The book will not let you start with practice. First it puts you on the map — because you cannot know what to do until you know where you are and which way you are facing.
The book lays out the whole of existence as seven scenes, like a film, and it is explicit about the roles. You are the actor. The Blessed Messenger Prophet Muhammad ﷺ is the Director, whose guidance you either follow or ignore. Allah is the Producer. The Devil plays the antagonist, and the temptations of the world play alongside him.
Only one scene is still being filmed, and it is the one you are in. Everything after it is consequence.
Look at how the middle of that diagram is broken up. Of a whole life, the book counts thirteen years of childhood, fifteen of work and education, twenty-two years asleep, two in the bathroom, one doing nothing at all, one in anxiety — and six years of actual adult living. That is the material you have to work with.
Scene one
When there was only Allah
In the beginning there was only Allah, and nothing else. Allah created the whole of the universe, including humans and jinn, only to recognise Him and to worship Him.
Everything you can see around you — the sky, the sun, the moon, the birds, the animals, the rivers and the mountains — was not created by itself, and was not created by mankind. None of it was in pre-existence. Nor were the angels, paradise, hell, the Throne of Allah, the Divine Chair, the Sacred Tablet or the Pen. None of it existed.
Scene two
The world of spirits, and a question you already answered
Before the world, there was an assembly. The trust was offered to the heavens and the earth and the mountains, and they refused it out of fear. Man accepted it.
Truly, We did offer al-Amanah — the trust, the moral responsibility and all the duties which Allah has ordained — to the heavens and the earth and the mountains, but they declined to bear it and were afraid of it. But man bore it. Verily, he was unjust to himself and ignorant of the result.
Then Allah asked all the spirits a question, and every spirit among mankind answered it. Because the spirits testified to the oneness of Allah, they were sent into this world and given a body — in order to prove in practice what they had already testified in the world of spirits.
“Am I not your Lord?” — “Yes, O Allah, You are our Lord.”
You are here to prove in practice what you have already said.
Scene three
Two more covenants
A covenant was taken from the Prophets, that when a Messenger came fulfilling what was with them, they would believe in him and help him.
And when Allah took a covenant from the Prophets, saying: “Whatever I have given you of the Book and wisdom, and then there comes to you a Messenger fulfilling that which is with you, you shall believe in him and help him.” And He said: “Do you agree, and do you accept the responsibility which I lay upon you in this matter?” They said: “We agree.” He said: “Then bear witness, and I am with you among the witnesses.”
And a covenant of obedience was taken from the children of Adam — not to worship the one who is an open enemy.
Did I not enjoin upon you, O children of Adam, that you not worship Satan — for indeed, he is to you a clear enemy?
Scene four
The Temporal World
Planet Earth. The place where we are currently residing — and the most central, crucial and important scene within the film of our life.
This scene is where all the action takes place: battles, competitions and war — the war between the actor and his opponents. The ego. The temptations and lusts of the world, played by the luring men and women, by money, by the love of fame and name. And the bad guy, who is played by the Devil.
Your reaction to the battles in this scene will determine your end, and how you will be treated in the scenes following your death. Here you possess the power to choose: a treacherous, corrupted character who collaborates with his enemies — or one who stands strong against them, upholding truth, exercising resilience and strength, following the guidance of the Director, the Blessed Messenger Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, in every step and movement.
In which case you will be declared a hero of the battlefield.
Scene five
The Intermediate World
Barzakh — life after death
The world of the grave. This is the scene where the mystery of the previous plot unravels, and where the real life begins.
The choices you made in the scene of Dunya will either come to haunt you, if you committed evil actions — or embrace you, if you committed good ones. A person resides in Barzakh after death until the Day of Judgement, and here the power of choice ends.
A person’s grave will either become a garden of bliss, or a pit of fire.
Scene six
The Day of Judgement
The day of final reckoning. This day will be fifty thousand years long, and on it every soul will have to account for the way it spent each and every second on earth.
In particular, each person will account for their youth, for how they spent their resources, for how they earned their wealth — and for the way in which they practised their knowledge.
The pious will be hailed as heroes on this day, rewarded for their perseverance, and for them this inevitable day will pass swiftly. Those who failed the battle on earth and succumbed to the tricks of the devil will fall on this day; they will be punished and disgraced, and the day will pass slowly.
These will be the actors who ruined the storyline of their life, and whose film was a blockbuster flop.
Scene seven
There are two different endings, and it is the actor’s performance in the central scene that decides which one is filmed.
The first ending
The everlasting life of Paradise
Those actors who stood by truth and safeguarded themselves and others from sin, avoiding the temptations of the Dunya and the lusts of the ego, will receive a happy and blissful ending.
The Producer of the film, Allah, through His infinite mercy and grace, will reward them forever in Paradise — a magnificent abode with palaces of great wonder and awe.
Allah, the Majestic, will speak to them directly, and show them His unrivalled and unmatched beauty. Paradise will be the climax for those who worked hard in the central scene of their film.
The second ending
The life in Hell
There is a possibility that we could be cast into the pit of hell, disgraced and humiliated forever. Hell is destined for those who performed poorly in the scene of the world — for those actors who were weak, who did not follow the guidance of the Director, Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, and who gave in to the whispers of the devil.
The rebellious and sinful will be cast for eternity into the scorching heat, the valleys and the rivers of hellfire.
Those who believed, but committed more sins than good deeds, will be removed from hell once they have been purified by the fire.
And there is traffic in both directions
The other runway
The book is careful to point out that the aircraft is not the only one on the tarmac. There are many planes waiting to carry you — and not all of them are going where you would choose in a clear moment.
Some are bound for the lands of your desire. The billboards along that runway are advertising, and at the end of it the sky is on fire.
Which is why the book turns next to the question of whether you actually want to go — and what to do if, honestly, you do not want it enough yet.