How often the phrase “If only…” echoes on the tongues of regret…

How often the phrase “If only…” echoes on the tongues of regret…
as though it were the voice of a soul awakened too late, or a heart that saw the truth after time had slipped away.

If only I were dust… not merely words, but the sigh of one who finally felt the weight of what he carried.
If only I had sent forth for my life… a late confession that the journey was shorter than we imagined.
If only I had not been given my record… the pain of reading one’s own story and finding little to rejoice in.
If only I had not taken so-and-so as a close companion… a harsh lesson that a companion either lifts you… or lets you fall.
If only we had obeyed the Lord and obeyed the Messenger… a wish that gathers all salvation within it.
If only I had taken a path with the Messenger… the cry of a soul that realized the way was always clear… yet delayed.
If only I had been among them and attained a عظيما great triumph… a longing for those who were sincere—and thus arrived.

These are not mere wishes…
they are delayed mirrors, reflecting truth without adornment.

Yet the difference between us and them…
is that they said it when it no longer availed,
while we hear it now—before the door is closed.

So do not let “If only…” be the end of your story,
but make it the beginning of awakening.

Send ahead today for what comes after,
choose those who strengthen you, not weaken you,
and walk the path you know to be true—not the one your fleeting desires suggest.

Life is but one chance:
either to be filled with the wishes of regret…
or to be inscribed with deeds of salvation.

And as long as you still breathe…
the door of “If only…” has not yet closed—
it has turned into:

“All praise is to the Almighty Allah… I realized before it was too late.”