One of the great scholars, who held an important position in the Islamic Republic of Iran, narrated a very strange account of his own experiences. He said:
“A few years ago, I fell ill and was taken to the hospital. My condition worsened day by day until one day, while in the hospital, I felt light, as if my soul had left my body. At the same time, I saw the people around me crying and wailing, and the doctors were constantly shocking me in an attempt to revive my heart.
In that moment, I saw two individuals standing beside me, one of whom had a file in his hand. I realized that they were the two angels who question the dead.
I thought to myself: I have just died moments ago, and already the reckoning has begun?!
One of the two asked me: ‘What have you brought with you?’ I began listing my good deeds, saying: I have served my country, I was a scholar, I wrote books, I performed prayers, I fasted, and so on. The angel holding my file said: ‘None of these have been recorded here.’ I mentioned every other good deed that came to mind, but each time he looked at the file and said: ‘Those have not been recorded either.’ Distressed and anxious, I thought to myself: Surely, they will not settle for a simple question and answer, and if I do not have a good deed with me, the torment and punishment will begin.
Desperate and upset, I turned to my only remaining hope and asked: ‘Has my love and devotion for the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and his family not been recorded here either?’
The angel holding my book of deeds flipped through the pages and said: ‘Yes, your love for the Prophet and his family has been recorded.’ At that moment, the other angel said: ‘Lady Fatimah Zahra (peace be upon her) has said to give him another chance.’
Meanwhile, the doctors were using a defibrillator to revive me. Suddenly, my soul returned to my body, and my loved ones rejoiced. I realized that I had been given a brief reprieve, so this time, I could bring back with me deeds performed with sincerity. I had learned that my previous actions lacked the necessary purity, and on the Day of Judgment, only deeds performed with complete sincerity of heart will be accepted.”
