THE CASE OF LOST IDENTITY IN FRONT OF GATES OF HEAVEN

A Story by Shahzeb Jafar

A man wakes up lying on the ground & sees two angels staring at him. He gets up & doesn’t seem to remember how he got there or who is he. The angels can’t seem to find the record of this man, hence the angels can’t decide whether to take him to heaven or throw him in hell.

Angel 1 (to man): What is your name & if you followed any religion, which was the last religion you followed before your death?

The man can’t seem to recall anything but tries to reason with the angels

Man: I can’t remember anything but I’m sure I was a nice guy who did plenty of good deeds. Shouldn’t this be enough to get me into heaven?

Angel 1: It is absolutely necessary to believe in God & the proper religion to enter heaven. If you were an atheist, agnostic or followed the wrong religion then you get thrown in hell.

The man thinks that at least Hinduism & Buddhism are not actual religions as they believe in reincarnation & since I’m standing in front of heaven so I should probably just guess between being a Jew, Christian or a Muslim.

Angel 1: We can read your thoughts. The gates of heaven could actually be the path to reincarnation to you next life. You can’t make random guesses as we’ll know.

Suddenly the man starts to remember a few things about his life.

Man (replies happily): O angel, I remember that I believed in God. I still can’t recall my name or my religion’s name but not to worry, I’m sure my religion is the right one. Please open the gates of heaven for me

Angel 2: How do you know your religion is the right one?

Man: I may not remember my religion’s name or its key details but I remember studying my religion in great detail & there is no doubt in my mind that it is the proper one.

Angel 2: So you liked this religion hence you decided to convert to this religion?

Man: No, I was lucky enough to be born in this religion

Angel 1: So let me guess, you didn’t bother to study other religions in much detail & just because your parents followed this religion

Man annoyingly replies: Its not just my parents, alright. Almost all my friends, most of my teachers, scholars of my religion & many others wise people followed my religion. I remember that my religion had a massive following. You don’t get that if your religion is false. Also, thousands of people convert to my religion each year. Why is that?

Angel 2: Haha, it seems you were born in a country that followed the religion you followed.

Angel 1: So, if there was a religion with greater following than your religion & many people from other religions, including yours, converted to that religion, then does this mean that religion is the true one?

Man replies angrily: You both talk just like those godless atheist pigs. You both need to be thrown in hell by God. Other religions are fake because my religion explained how other religions were not proper. Devil & people misguided by devil had a role in what those religions are today. As for people leaving our religion, they are apostates & misguided people. I hope they burn in hell for eternity

The man does not like these questions & is himself confused.

Out of nowhere another angel appears with the record of the man & when his record is checked, he followed the wrong religion. Angels grab the man & start grabbing him to hell

Man (resisting & screaming loudly): How could this be? It was an honest mistake. Why would I intentionally follow the wrong religion? Can’t I be forgiven for my ignorance? I had done many good deeds in my life so please don’t throw me in hell. All religions teach that no one loves a person like God does, so why would he want me to burn in hell for my honest ignorance?

As the angels throw the man in hell, he suddenly wakes up & realizes its midnight & this was all just a nightmare.

The next day he wakes up & carries on with his daily routine. He kept following the same religion & dismissed the nightmare as the work of devil