Death

Every soul shall have a taste of death: And only on the Day of Judgment shall you be paid your full recompense. Only he who is saved far from the Fire and admitted to the Garden will have attained the object (of Life): For the life of this world is but goods and chattels of deception.

Often, one of the first reactions you will get when you pass on news of somebody's death is: 'Was he sick?' 'Did he/she die of natural causes?' 'Were they old?'

Human beings, despite our constant exposure to the reality of death, still find a need to justify or rationalize its occurrence.What we forget is that death is a certainty which we will all face, age and health status not withstanding. It is this very denial of the reality of death that keeps us confident to keep doing wrong, for at the back of our minds, we feel that we will make amends in time, we will reform when we are older. We have assured ourselves that today is ours for sure, and that tomorrow we can do what we plan.

I know of a person who was explaining to his wife how death comes, so he told her (while illustrating practically), well, when death comes, one will just lay themselves down in the right direction facing the qiblah, and recite the kalimah, and just die, like they just fell asleep. Then the wife realized he had gone silent, so she went up to him only to realize that he had actually died. Had he sensed his approaching end and decided to embrace it in a way that would not send his wife into a panic attack thereby disrupting his end, or is he another illustration of how frail our nature is. One moment we are alive, and the next we are dead. As the Holy Prophet (pbuh) said: 'This world lasts but an hour, so spend it in obedience to Allah.' 

There are many experiences one may read about or hear, or indeed even experience related to death and the supernatural nature of the soul. The experience of death is one which should remind us how fickle we are. Ever noticed how when one has died, immediately you lose even your most personal thing: your name. A dead person is no longer referred to as Ahmad or Fatima, but simply as "the dead body" "mayyit". Nobody asking about the funeral will ask, 'What time is Ahmad/Fatima being buried?' They will simply ask, what time is he/she being buried?

No matter how pompous your clothes or your home, in the end you are buried in a simple plain undecorated white cloth, and laid to rest on an earthen pillow, and will become the food of worms and insects in a little while. How then can anything else you do be of any significance or importance in your life, except that which will prepare you for the life to come, and give you security when you are left to face your deeds in their true face on your first night in your grave.

Perhaps what we need to remind ourselves is that the greatest cause of death is life itself, and the fact that you are alive now is itself a symptom of your impending death. 

That is also why we are told that the best way to keep away from doing sin is by remembering death constantly.

In a letter by Imam Ali (as) to Muawiyah, he says:

"Have you ever seriously considered what would happen to you if all your wealth and property is taken away from you. The possessions, the riches and the luxuries that you have surrounded yourself with, belong to this world, a world which has profusely decorated itself and which is bent upon alluring you with its enjoyments. It has enticed you away and you have fallen an easy prey to its allurements. It has dragged you and you have followed it like a tame animal on the other end of the rope. It has ordered you and you have obeyed its orders submissively. You have forgotten that shortly you will be called to bear the consequences of such a life; consequences from which no one can shield, liberate or absolve you. Abstain from such a life, keep yourself ready for the Day of Judgement; be ready for death which is inevitable, bound to come and sure to end every life, rich or poor." 

In another hadith from Imam Hadi (as) we are told: 

 "Remember when you are on your deathbed and your body is lying before your family members, then there is no physician to prevent you (from death) nor a friend to avail you."Bihar-ul-Anwar, vol. 78, p. 370

We must always remember that it is His (swt) mercy that we need, in our life, and in our deaths, and must thus seek all means of earning his proximity. In the invocation of Shabaniya we say:

My Lord, if You forgive me, then who is more suited than You to do that? If the time of my death has come near and my deeds have not still brought me close to You, I make this confession of my sins a means of approaching You. I have been unjust to my soul for I have not looked after it. It will certainly be doomed if You do not forgive it. My Lord, You have always been kind to me during my life time. Therefore do not cut off Your favour from me at the time of my death. My Lord, how can lose the hope of Your looking kindly, in me after my death, when you have always been good to me during my life. 

Kindly recite surat al Fatihah for all marhomeen and marhoomaat.