WHAT IS LIFE?

.....By Tijjani Muhammad Musa

“What is life?” This is definitely one of the most intriguing and interesting questions for anyone to ponder over. It is surely one of the simplest questions, yet a very difficult one to answer.  There are probably as many responses to this singular question as there are human beings on earth at this dawn of the 21^st century, which is more than 7.0 billion and still counting.

“Life is a journey”, “Life is beautiful”, “Life is strange”, “Life is full of obstacles”, “Life’s like that” or “That’s Life” are some of the most common responses people give when faced with this unique enquiry. Depending of course on the experience the responder is going or has gone through at the moment of impact, the male and female, the young and the old, the wise and the foolish, the strong and the weak, the funny and the serious, the leader and the lead or any other obtainable opposites for that matter would most likely perform a different dance steps to the rhythms of this three word phrase. And I’m no exception as I take the trouble to let flow my perception of what this mysterious place called “World” that I find myself in and the equally strange experience called “Life” that I am going through.

All this sleeping and waking up thing, all this joy and pain thing, all this reading and writing thing, all this thinking and reflecting thing and all this struggling to survive thing among several others too numerous to list out, that I keep doing on a daily basis, what does it all mean? Isn’t this what my fellow co-travelers on this earth call “Life”? Often one cannot help but ask himself “Where was I before I arrived here?”, “Who am I?”, “What am I doing here?”, “Why am I here?”, “When is all this going to come to an end?”, “Where am I going to from here?” and “Who even took the trouble to put me here?” Are these not the basic questions that sum up our individual lives? For any sane person, they are or at least they should be. They are so fundamental that finding satisfactory answers to them would define the “I” in your persona, your mind, your body and your soul.

Interesting though, it is a fact that upon careful observations, many among mankind are not bothered about finding out the exact answers to these all important questions. For some it is not a deliberate disregard, for they simply have never thought of them. Others are simply too unintelligent to even come to terms with them. There are those who are just plain lazy and so can’t be bothered. For another group it is simply a waste of their time, they are too busy struggling to survive, only to die. Still some make the effort but give it up too soon. While others are simply overwhelmed in the process and had to let go. Then there are those who get to the bottom of all these questions. Of these set, some are haughty, some are puffed up with pride, some are annoyed and others are utterly humbled by their findings. All pointing to yet another diverse nature of this creature called man.

“What is life?” again and again the question keeps coming up, facing, challenging, daring any to try and elucidate the phenomenon, if they can. The unique and interesting thing about mankind, though it has been described as sheer foolishness, is that he is never afraid to take risks, to put his abilities to the test, to prove that he is neither scared of challenges nor will he submit to defeat without giving it his best shot. This trait has eventually placed man at the peak of all creatures on earth. So in line with man’s true nature, here’s another shot, my shot at explaining what life is. This is a personal perspective of a soul on the subject matter, with the hope that it might give an insight God Willing, into what life is all about. It is not likely to make an impact in anyone’s life or cause a change for the better, but it is a wish and hope that is entertained. If it succeeds even with only one life, then it is “Bull’s Eye” for this effort. But if it does not touch a single soul, then at least the moon has been aimed at, as the saying goes.

In response to the question “What is life?” here is my submission “The world is nothing but a stage, where actors act out scripts in several scenes dramatically. Some are well rehearsed, others completed unread to depict life at the various levels that we see and experience it on a day to day basis. This drama called “life” is produced and directed by an invincible force or being who triples as the script writer. Some among mankind have chosen to call this producer/director God; others call Him Nature, Chineke, Olorun, Ubangiji, Soko, Allah etc. My favourite choice of name for Him however is ALLAH”

How is that for a straight forward answer? Yes, I know it is the common, conventional and boring one. Nothing new or interesting, right? Ok, how about if I tell you that the life you live is not quite what it seems? That your physical body does not really exist, the food you eat, the water you drink, the clothes you wear, the house you live in, the air you breath, the plants that surrounds you, the earth, moon, sun, stars etc that you see, touch, smell, taste and hear as the case may be all does not really exist? They all lack material existence, how would you react to that? Ahhhh! Now I have your attention right? For I can hear some of you saying “Oh common…how is that possible? You must be joking, right?” My reaction? It is NO JOKE! It is the absolute truth. But that is not the subject of the day, though I’ll make reference to this in the course of explaining our topic of discussion. So kindly permit me to continue with the issue at stake “What is life?”

For me, “LIFE IS AN OBJECTIVE EXAMINATION” where you are tested for a period of time, after which your Question Paper and Answer Sheets are collected, marked and stored in a safe archive, duly marked with your Name, Examination Number, Examination Center and all other necessary information, till when the results of all other candidates are collected, collated, tabulated and pasted on a Notice Board at the Examination Body Center to determine who has succeeded and who has failed in the examination, on a fateful and inevitable Final Day.

“Haa! An Objective Exam!” I hear someone scream. I guess this is a new one, isn’t it? But before you start wondering what I mean by this comparison; do allow me to explain, may be then you will come to agree with me. Many of us are aware what an objective examination is all about, I pray. For those who are not so sure, it is an Intelligent Quotient (IQ) test, simpler but much more confusing than written examination. It is usually given to students to determine their ability to choose the exact answer or response from many options which can be very similar or completely opposite to each other. Though objective tests are less stressful, it is much more dangerous and could easily lead to failure due to the optional answers being closely related. While some students cherish this form of examination, others detest it utterly as it facilitates their confusion to run amok. Now, there is a similitude between life and this kind of test and here is the scenario close-up.

First, lets take a journey inwards, into our sub-consciousness, into our minds and set-up a stage upon which the whole drama will take place. Imagine a large heptagonal hall with a single door on one of the walls, which facilitates for ingress and egress. The seven walls are completely devoid of any windows, but six are made up of very large television screens labeled A, B, C, D, E and F, that provides a three dimensional view of pictures and images. The ceiling has air-condition outlets which blow in cool breeze for absolute comfort within, which can be controlled by an occupant via remote control. And the floor is covered wall to wall with the softest rug imaginable. In the middle of this huge well lighted auditorium, there is a single glass table and a swivel chair to match, specially designed to accommodate one person at a time. On top of this transparent table is set an alarm clock and all the typical items needed to partake in an objective examination. There is a pencil, an eraser, a sharpener, a question paper turned upside down and an answer booklet.

All is now set and the single door opens effortlessly to let you, my dear candidate come into this conducive hall. Right behind you is an escort, a no-nonsense invigilator flawlessly dressed for the occasion. Making you realize how important this whole event is. Leading you to the only table and chair in the hall without uttering a word, he smiled briefly and beckons you to sit. And you find yourself obeying respectfully. After making sure you are comfortable, the invigilator in a clear, distinct and audible voice explains to you that rules and regulations governing your conduct during the test period are written on the front page of your question paper and advise that they should be read carefully and complied with. Then with the conventional “Good luck!” he moves to the end of the room, counts down the seconds “5, 4, 3, 2, 1 and Start!” and quietly withdraws from the hall.

To your surprise, in a split of a second the well lighted room dims to reveal six wall size viewing screens sharply coming to life. And directly from above you a spot light pours down its pure white illumination on your exam table. First you find yourself adjusting your mind to accommodate the new changes in your environment, after which you look up in turn at each of the six walls and their huge dark almost breathing surfaces. Then your attention falls on the question paper glowing as if telling you to lift it up and read. Then you hear a soft barely audible tick-tock as the table clock in front of you begins to count away. And like a rush it hits you that the assessment is on. You take the answer booklet and quickly scribble your name and number in the space provided. Reaching out you turn the question paper and quickly scan over the rules on the front page before opening the booklet to read the very first question.      

Upon contact between your eyes and the first question, an amazing thing happens. The TV screen immediately facing you comes to life, depicting a scene in which is found all the necessary settings and persons involved in the question, in three dimensions, just like the stage of a theater. The only character missing is YOU. And as you browse down the six different options listed under the first question, each screen wall shows a different scene to reflect the six choices. The scenario on the screens start to change to depict the various options A which has 5 points, B - 4, C - 3, D - 2, E - 1and F with 0 point. In each case your character spot is blank waiting for you to occupy it. One of the rules of the test says you should consider carefully the options provided and choose which the most suitable answer is. 

To help you make a sound choice, you are permitted to get up and walk on to the stage on the screen, which you can easily do to your shocking disbelief. But before you do that, you must wear a costume to fit the question setting on the stage. This costume you wear changes each time you want to activate a scene on the stage, depending on the question in consideration. And once you join the cast, the whole characters and surrounding comes to life. You then act out the scenes and lines in full, after which you can come off the stage, remove your costume, move back to the table and shade a choice in your answer booklet with your pencil. Of course if you should change your mind about any chosen option, you are at liberty to use your eraser and clean off your earlier shaded box and choose another more accurate alternative. However, this is allowed only during the exam period, once your time is finished, you submit and leave the hall, no more chance for any change or corrections.

Now let us consider an example or two to further make clear our point. You are working in a corporate organization and your office is shared with several other colleagues, one of which is a beautiful young lady you secretly admire so much, you would not mind giving your annual salary in exchange for just one date, even though you are married with children. Though you are the shy type, yet on one or two occasions you muster enough courage to invite her out for lunch during your break hour, but she kindly decline on the first occasion and gets annoyed, making some rude remarks the second time you try. Then you realize that she is particularly attracted to another disrespectful and playboy character of a colleague, who is years your junior and a subordinate. One day you find yourself working late to catch up on a submission due for a crucial meeting the next morning with the Management. After completing the work, you close office and as you move towards the main office door you hear a sound. It seems to be coming from the Director’s office and so you move briskly over with the intention of saying good night, thinking your boss is also finalizing on something against the important meeting tomorrow.

Without any formality you push open the Director’s door wearing a warm smile. What you saw leaves your mouth hanging ajar with shock and disbelief. For right on top of your boss’s executive table is sprawl the young woman you are crazy about together with the young insubordinate  colleague in a very uncompromising position. They turn and see you, both getting off the table and starting to apologize for the embarrassing situation. You quickly shut the door and leave. As you are driving home your mind is busy considering the line of action to take when you arrive at the office the next day.

The question under consideration is No. 19 and reads “What are you going to do about it?” The followings are your options:

A – You will report the matter to company’s Management for appropriate disciplinary action

B – You will give the young man an official query to be submitted within a tight deadline

C – You will tell the Managing Director about the incidence and request he takes an action

D – You will call the two of them into your office, warn, admonish and give them a second chance

E – You will blackmail the young woman into having an affair with you or expose them both

F – You will just ignore them; it is none of your business

Another scene shows a student who sits for a final year examination in a pre-college level of a renowned university. The results are unfavourable when they eventually come out. He is able to make just enough grades for the school authority to allow him repeat a year with the next set of students. Ashamed of the development and desperate not to loose face after being popular among the social circles and girls on campus, he packs his belongings and return home against all sound advice. Back home he pleads with his parents to get him an admission into another school, but his father had other ideas. He tells the young man that things can be worked out and it is possible to get him back into his last school and into a faculty and department of his choice. Full of surprise, the young man agrees, trusting in his father’s connections.

Two days later in the night, his father takes him on a trip to a remote part of town. They arrive at small dilapidated house. Upon entering they meet a strange looking old man who welcomes them. Without waiting for any explanation, he says to the young man’s father “Is he the boy?” and his father nods his head. They then sit down in front of the old man, who gets busy consulting a dark bluish round glass. He tells the father “Everything will be alright, I see him graduate with flying colours” The father turns to the young man and smile, with a look that says “I told you so”

The old voodoo man then instructs that they can come the next day and collect his preparations. All the young man has to do is go to a cross road in the middle of the night and place the small calabash at the center and then turn and walk away. He must never turn back until he gets to a safe distance warns his father but the old man laughs and reassures the father, “It does not really matter, once he drops the mixture and turns, even if he should immediately turn round the thing would have disappeared. Success is then guaranteed for him”

The young man finds the whole experience confusing. What he hopes for is a meeting with a senior academician or someone influential in society who can comfortably assure him of securing an admission at the university. But what he ends up getting is a “guarantee of success” from a weird looking old man who seems to lack self composure. His head starts to ache from trying to figure out what is going on. Being a little bit spiritually conscious and by the special grace of his Lord and Maker, he realizes that something is amiss with the whole episode. He suddenly becomes edgy, wanting to leave immediately, but being a respectful and obedient son, he patiently waits till they are excused to go. On their way home, his father chats away with excitement, but the young man remains quite, lost in thought, deeply engaged in sober reflection. And before disembarking from the car at home, he makes a firm decision to seek for a sound advice from someone about the experience.

Question 99 demands that YOU advice the young man by making a choice from the following:

A – He should honour his father and complied with the master plan for him

B – Refuse to go back to the old man and his shrine no matter what

C – Go to town on a celebration spree since he will soon be back on campus

D – Meet his father and talk to him about the evil implications of the plan

E – Spend the night in prayer seeking for God’s forgiveness for the day’s event

F – Tell his mother about the outcome and beg her to go the cross road for him

Next we consider a very simple one. The time is 4:30 pm. You are a Muslim, a wife and a mother. You are yet to pray your Asr’ (afternoon) prayer. It is time to start cooking dinner for the family and your 9 months child is crying and needs your attention. Meanwhile you are in the middle of a very exciting conversation with your neighbour who is telling you an experience about how she escaped an armed robbery attack.

Question 309 says “Which one would you attend to first?” Here are the choices:

A – The child’s diapers need changing promptly so is your first choice

B – The neighbor’s story is paramount to your friendship, so can not be compromised

C – No your Asr’ prayer must not be delayed further so off you go to perform it

D – If the dinner is late, your husband gets annoyed and so you can’t afford that

E – Who is paying you for all the trouble you are experiencing, so can’t be bothered

F – None of the above

Now, there is one very special and unique question.  It is so important that over it, is written in italics, bold capital letters and underlined MOST FUNDAMENTAL in red ink. It even has a nickname “Ikhlas” and is Question No.112. This question alone carries 40 percent of the total marks, which is basically the minimum pass mark for any examination as you should know. Fact has it that it is so essential that the whole examination is practically based on it. So if you are able to pass this one single question, you are guaranteed all the promised bounties of a winner and the hidden bonuses as well. It goes thus:

A Trustworthy Courier is sent to you with a special message from your King, with Whose permission you are able to live in a Kingdom. This Ruler has never broken his promise and has proved to be Fair and Just to everyone and everything under his domain. The Courier’s soul responsibility is to deliver the communication, give you glad tidings of a good reward if you accept what is contained in the message and to warn you of a terrible misfortune to befall you if you choose to reject it. He assures you that there is No Compulsion in the matter, as you are given the freewill by the Lord of the Sovereignty to believe or to rebuff it. So you take the letter and open it and it reads:

Peace Be Unto You,

This is a special communication coming directly from ME your King to you my humble servant, through this Praiseworthy Messenger standing before you to declare that “LAA ILLAHA ILLALLAH, MUHAMMAD RASULILLAH” meaning “There is No King worthy of worship but ALLAH, and Muhammad is the Messenger of ALLAH” Do accept it for your own sake and abandon all other falsehood. Embrace this message that you may be bountifully rewarded by ME” Peace Be Unto You.

            
Signed: 
The King of All

Question 112 asks “What would you do?” and gives you the following options

A – Say “This is nothing, but tales of the ancient” and absolutely reject it.

B – Tell the courier that you follow your forefathers’ ways, but would think about his offer.

C – Pretend to accept the message by smiling and shaking the courier’s han.

D – Submit totally and believe in the messenger, trusting in the fairness and justice of the king.

E – Laugh at the whole drama and then call your supporters to mock and disgrace the courier.

F – Tell the courier that you do not believe there is a king ruling the kingdom in the first plac.

These are just a few samples of the questions in your objective examination and the options you encounter at each stage. And so the questions go on line after line, page after page, as the time ticks away. Some are difficult, others are simple. Some are social, others are religious and some involve family members, while others are about friends. Some deal with a husband or wife, others are on your children. On and on and on the questions keep coming covering all aspects of your life, from your birth through your childhood, to your teenage years, on to your young adulthood. Then your grown up age is focused upon and gradually into your old age. There are several thousand questions and several thousand more choices and options to choose for each. By the time you are through with all the questions, you look at the time piece in front of your examination table and you realize that 75 years have gone by. Yet it feels like you have been there for only an hour. Another of the rules, states that each candidate has an apportioned time limit within which the exam must be completed. Some candidates have more time; while others have less, depending on a criteria none, but the Examiner knows.

One funny thing though is that you do not feel any change in you as the examination proceeds, as regards the early or final stages of the examination duration. Why should you? After all, you are where you are, in the huge air-conditioned hall, busy making choices after reading your questions and considering your options. You are neither young nor old, neither rich nor poor, not black, white or any other colour. You are not an African, Indian, European or an American. You are just you, a colorless, odorless, heightless, weightless, ageless soul. You only get to feel a simulation of being a youth or an old man, happy or sad, pleasure or pain, excitement or depression etc when you walk onto the stage on the TV screen and play your part of the drama. But the moment you detach from the screen and sit back at the table to tick an option, you are back to feeling yourself. Note carefully too that, each time you consider a question and its challenging options, all the characters and material things you see on the various screens are not real, but images and illusions, just like on your television screens at home. They are provided by the Examiner to help you make an accurate decision and thus pick the right answer that would give you the maximum points.

You also have the freewill to make choices. You can choose to sit patiently and complete the test or get up and walk out of the hall at any stage of the exam in annoyance and frustration (suicide). You can also choose to postpone answering (procrastination) or ignore any question that you find uncomfortable (non-chalance). You are free to cheat in the test if you like; a question has given you options to or not to. However, various rules of the examination states that there are grievous consequences to each of these actions. So your best bet is to try as much as you can, using all the chances and opportunities you have to recall all your study and research findings and apply them in making your choices and thus pass your objective test with First Class, Second Class Upper, Second Class Lower, Third Class, Pass or Failure, may God forbid.

Though you didn’t choose to sit for the test in the first instance, your parents did. You see, it was during their own test, one of the questions offered them a choice to beget you to continue their lineage, but in the process you will be registered for this test. Or not to born you and you would remain obscure. They chose to have you as their child. In certain instances, you came about by accident or by mistake. A question also informed them, among the given options, of the huge bonanza they stand to gain if you should win the same test they faced. Otherwise, you would become a victim of a terrible calamity, that of a surety will befall all future candidates that will sit for the assessment who failed it. They still got you registered for the examination, with the hope that if they are not able to win the magnificent rewards on offer, you could be luckier than them and so fare better in the test. Remember, mankind is a bold and daring creature, who is never afraid of challenges and would rather give anything his best shot than give it a cowardly withdrawal.

The benefits for successfully passing the test as listed in the application form are beyond quantifying or one's imagination, sounding too good to be true. Among the many prizes for each winner is perpetual youth, a special transformation from which ever age group to a perfect youth. There is also a state-of-the-art 60 bedroom mansion, surrounded by beautiful well tended gardens, pools, fountains and springs, finished in marble, granite and glass, decorated with gold and silver fittings, situated on a 1000 hectare of land. Also attached to the prize tag is a $100, 000, 000 bank account and lion shares in each of the most successful global businesses, a private home-in-the-air Boeing 747 plane, a garage full of all models of the latest rare and vintage cars, from all the world class brand manufacturers and 1000 rare horses of the finest breed. There are also youthful servants and maids to attend to your every need.

In fact, information from very reliable sources hint to the fact that these first batch of prizes are just the tip of the iceberg, like an appetizer. The real actual prize is beyond any person’s wildest imagination. So, you would have ended up blaming your parents, if they had not registered you for the examination.

Now, let us get back to the examination hall and see how far you have come.

You are almost finished with the test. The time allotted to you has virtually run out and you frantically browse through your choices on the many pages of the answer booklet, to make doubly sure that the right and exact answers are the ones yu have chosen. You also check on the questions you have skipped earlier and try to find the appropriate answers to them, but discovered that it is getting too late for you to do anything about them. Again desperate not to miss out, you start to guess answers for all the outstanding questions in the remaining available time. Looking around and seeing nobody, you hope the invigilator is not around so that you can cash in on a few more minutes before your answer booklet is collected from you. The six viewing screens are beginning to dim as you raise you eyes to look at them in an effort to get a clue or a hint before wildly ticking off the last answer.

Then you hear his clear distinct unmistakable voice from the darkness, “Don’t forget to write your names, examination and center number. Make sure you have answered all the questions, most especially 112.” And after a brief pause he continues with “You have a minute to go. Remember, you did not come in with anything. Everything you needed for the test was provided for you. So do not remove anything when you are going” You look around nervously. Funny, the voice of the man seems fixed at the same audible level, whether he is near or far. Now, you are suddenly curious about the whole saga. Intuitively you try to impress the setting in your mind for keeps, as you realize that you are likely never going to return to this place. One of the rules says there is no resit or retake or repeat or re-"whatever". Only one chance is given. You either make it with that singular opportunity or you mar it forever.

The walls have now fully resume their original looks, with no tell-tale of their ability to show candidates images or illusions. You drop the eraser on the floor and bend over to retrieve it, in the process run your palm and fingers over the lush, soft, beautifully patterned rug. It feels so nice you crave to take a tiny part of it with you as a reminder of your encounter with this strange hall. As something else attracts your attention, you hear your invigilator calling on you to “Pen up!” and with all due regard and courtesy “Please stand up” and sadly you realize it is over. As you stand up to leave, your instinct tells you are leaving something behind, so you look on and around the table and on your seat, nothing is there that should not be. Again you check the top of the transparent table, all the items are there. So, you turn and start to move away. But strangely you still feel as if you are leaving something very important behind. With your invigilator closely following behind, you move towards the only opening to this magnificent examination hall. The door automatically opens to let you out.

Once outside, the invigilator hands you over to an equally smart looking guard that looks exactly like him, possibly a clone. With a courteous smile, you are escorted down a brightly lighted corridor that expands as your walk through, opening up to another area with a beautiful garden, full of birds singing, with lots of sunshine and the most pleasant scenerio. The guard informs you to “Please wait here. Your result will soon be made known to you. Feel free to enjoy the scenery and anything else that attracts your fancy” and then with a respectful bow and a smile he turns and walks away. As you smile back, a cute tiny little birdie flies over and patches on you right should and with a sweet exciting chippi-chippie song says to you “Welcome to Barzakh!” As you smile at it, a bit surprise that it could talk, the garden fills up with clean looking people, young and old, decently dressed in simple white garments and smelling of the finest fragrance. There are all kinds of animals, both wild and domestic, known and unknown to you coming over to welcome and congratulate you for being there, assuring you will find unprecedented peace of mind and comfort of the soul in their midst. And then you realize that you have made it. You have succeeded in passing the test even before the result arrives. Some of the persons without any slight sign of worry, casusally ask you about their family members, friends and colleagues. The wild animals talk to you as if it is the most natural thing for them to do. "Ow, you are surprised I can talk to you?" a lion asks you, mysteriously reading your mind. "Don't worry, you'll get use to it." It concludes as he walks off with a genuine smile on his charming face. It is so exciting, it feels like a carnival of sort.  

For another candidate, the exact opposite of what is happening to you in the description above is what he is going through. Once outside the examination hall, the invigilator hands him over to a stern looking, roughly dressed, ugly looking guard with protruding red bloody eyes. With a growl and a snarl like a mad dog, the guard pushes and drags him in the opposite direction through a dark dingy hot and smelly corridor to a tiny room barely enough to contain his body. As the door opens to this hellhole, the candidate hear moans and screams of pain blasting out from within it. To his horror, there are other occupants already in the tiny cell and he starts to plead with the guard “Please no, not in there… Please!… Please!!…Please!!! I beg you not in this place…! No! No!! Please No!!!” To his horror, as he thrash about pleading, he finds the tiny door or opening strangely expanding to accommodate him and once taking him in, it tightens up to the release of an excruciating painful scream from its latest occupant. An earlier occupant responds “Shut the HELL up!!! You are disturbing us” and smashes a huge spike studded club in his face. As if that is a signal they are waiting for, the rest of the tenants immediately join in on the beating frenzy. After completely exhausting themselves and reducing him to a messy pulp, the last person standing, bends over and spit into his remains, whispering in a growl “Welcome to Barzakh!”   

Now, let travel back out of our sub-consciousness, come out of our minds and revisit the whole saga. Recall what I said earlier that YOU are the only one who sits in the examination hall; no other soul is in there with you. You are all alone with your questions and answers booklet. Well, that is exactly what is going on in this so-called “real life” to you. Detach yourself from everything you think you are physically experiencing right now, because they are simply illusions and images being projected on the “television screen” inside your head, at the back of your mind. You are right now going through the above described imaginary examination. All the exam rules above and many more not mentioned, apply.

The Examiner is God Al-Mighty. He is ALLAH Subhanahu Wa Ta’alah, the Creator of our individual souls and the Master Illusionist who is Providing and Sustaining the images and illusions we keep experiencing on those six screens in that examination hall. When the test is over, He will pack up and cast away the examination hall

The Time piece on your exam table is your given time on earth. It depicts your age at each stage of your journey, in this worldly life and for each individual soul, it is currently ticking away.

The Costume you wear each time you want to activate a scene on those stages, is your soul bag or your physical body. So it shows you at various ages, from your infant stage to your old age, depending on the question you are tackling at any given time.

Your father, mother, wife and kids, your house, money, car and job, your friends, colleagues and enemies, the neighbourhood, community, state, country, continent and world, in fact the whole universe do not really exist, they all lack material existence. They are all Images and Illusions being used to subject you to life trials. In actual fact, you are all alone in this life, going through this very important test called LIFE.

Your race, language, nationality, status, complex, prejudice etc are all part of the several questions you are answering. They too are illusions and images you activate each time you act out your role on the stage in those TV screens mentioned above, to help you make a good choice out of the different options presented to you in answering the exam questions.

Each plant, animal, environmental feature you see and encounter each day, are all part of the images and illusions being used to test you. How you treat or deal with all these is part of the trials you must go through in this life. Your choices will ultimately determine the end result and this can give you the much desired bliss or the abominable end, may God forbid as depicted at the end of our sub-conscious similitude described above.

Now for each single person you are seeing around, each soul you interact with on a daily basis as you go through your life (test), he or she is similarly going through this same test or examination or experience called life in another hall similar to the one described above. He or She is also all alone in his or her own occupied seat and table, in another of those unique exam halls that accommodate one soul at a time and you are similarly an image or illusion to them, appearing on their hall's TV screens

And so life goes on for you, an objective test with several options to choose from. Each time you are faced with one situation, problem, development, encounter etc or the other, the options are laid before you and you have to choose. Some you help, others you sabotage. Some you give to, others you deny. Some you love, others you hate. Some you feed, others you poison. Some you trust, others you betray and so on and so forth. One question after another, you make your choice and the points or marks are accumulating until when your time is finished and you hear the terminal word “Pen/s up!”, meaning death has come upon you. So please be careful in your daily interactions and with whoever or whatever.

For me, that is what this life is all about. That is my understanding and perception of the question “What Is Life?” Mind you, this write up is a reminder and has one of those questions of life attached to it. The question is “What are you going to do with it?” Your options are as follows:

A – Will you share it with all those you care for?

B – Will you allow it to influence your actions and reactions in life, in future?

C – Will you ignore it and hope nobody else ever reads it, ever again?

D – Will you pray for the writer to succeed in his test (life)?

E – Will you like to print and distribute this piece as permission is granted?

F – Will the devil allow you to make the right choice?

“Hey! Look up; the TV screens are glowing, beckoning at you to make a choice…..”

Peace be unto all follower of The Truth (Al-Haqq)