Divine Intervention at 130 Kph

I should have been stuck by the roadside this morning or in hospital, or worse, dead. But I'm here, at the office on time, typing away my blog entry.

It had nothing to do with my car's licence plate number, which has 54 in it - in Chinese it sounds like "Never Die". Rather, it has everything to do with Allah's mercy.

It all happened so quickly. One moment, I was cruising along the highway calmly at about 130 Kph and, another moment, my car has done a 180-degree turn and facing the wrong way.

It was raining but it wasn't heavy enough to give my ZR-rated tyres much of a problem. However, it was dark. It was so dark that I couldn't tell the difference between the normal road surface and one which had been flooded with water.

Next thing I new, my car had hit a pool of water on the fast lane. Before I knew it, my car hydroplaned so badly that the rear-end swung out to the left, putting my car on a perpendicular slide.

"Ya! Allah," my inner voice screamed. "This is it! The front of my car is going to smash into the concrete divider," I told myself.

God knows, the divider must have been a hair's breadth away from the front of my car, but for some reason my car didn't smash into the divider. Instead, it completed its 180-degree swing and began to coast backwards down the highway.

Quickly, I jammed on the brakes. The anti-brake locking (ABS) system kicked in and, within moments, my car stopped dead in its tracks.

I needed a few seconds to regain my senses, what with the dashboard flashing with all sorts of safety warnings. But seeing that I was in danger of being rammed by oncoming cars, I quickly stopped and restarted my car's engine, and went on my way unscathed.

Realisation dawned on me then that my good fortune was nothing but Allah's mercy. Never mind that the traction control system (TCS) had kicked in; never mind that the Forte I'm driving is a light and nimble car designed by former Audi engineers; for, in an accident, what it all boils down to in the end is whether or not the Almighty determines that it is your time to wreck your car, get maimed or, worse, get killed - or escape unscathed.

"Say, Alhamdulillah!" I told my two boys who had just gotten the shock of their lives. "Allah has saved us," I added.

"And make sure, when we reach the (other) house, we perform solat Subuh (morning prayer)," I said insistently, and my two boys nodded vigorously.

When we got to the house, the three of us checked out the Forte - not a scratch!

Allahu Akbar! (God is Great!)

As I finish writing this, I half expect to be in a dream state - rather than being here, finishing this blog, I could actually be lying unconscious in hospital.

There, I just pinched myself. I'm really here.

Thank you, Allah. Thank you for the mercy you've shown my kids, my dogs (who were also in the car this morning) and me.