The Islamic Journey of DEATH

What is mean by DEATH?

     Death in Islam is the termination of worldly life and the beginning of afterlife. Death is seen as the separation of soul from body, and its transfer from this world to the afterlife.

    The angel of death ( Malak al-Maut) appears to the dying to take out their souls. The sinners' souls are extracted in the most painful way while the righteous are treated easily.

One thing that we must remember is that death is

inevitable, and everything except the Almighty God

of course, will perish. Signs of death can be seen all around

us. At funerals we see people who were once walking

among us being buried in their graves. In the fall we see the

leaves turn from green to yellow and fall one at a time, and

in the winter we see trees, lifeless. In this way, all things in

this world will wither away and die.

Death according to the Quran:

1. Meeting with Almighty God

The Holy Qur'an, in the last verse of the Surah Kahf, has expressed death as a meeting with Almighty God and says:

“So whoever desires to meet his Lord, he should do good deeds and not associate anyone in the worship of his Lord.”

 (Qur'an 18:110)

2. Return to Almighty God

Another interpretation which the Holy Qur'an has and which makes clear the reality of death is “return to Almighty God”. However, the Islamic philosophers, regarding the manner of the creation of the entities (and amongst them, man) by Almighty God and after then, their return towards Almighty God, have subtle, profound and interesting theories.

 The Holy Qur'an says:

“Verily, we are Almighty God's and verily to Him shall we return.”

(Qur'an 2:156)

3. Seizing of the Soul

One of the beautiful interpretations of the Holy Qur'an in the matter of death is. This word means seizing a thing in its entirety. Hence, according to the verse under consideration, the reality of death is that the angels commissioned to take the soul, seize the entire personality of man at the time of death, and remove it from the captivity of the body.

 They, then carry it to the Divine Presence:

“Say: the Angel of Death who is given charge of you shall cause you to die, and then to your Lord you shall be brought back.” 

(Qur'an 32:11))

Saying on death:

Holy Prophet Muhammad (S) Says:

1. Most intellectual of man is he who remembers the death most.

2. One who gains the love and grace of Almighty Allah (swt), always death (Ajal) will be before his eyes and he will be always worried about his death. But the one who take Satan (Shaitan) as friend and becomes evil doer (Bad-Bakht). Satan overpowers him and indulge (Giraftaar) him in long desires and then he never remembers death.

3. Somebody asked Holy Prophet (pbuh): How to gain reward of Shahid (Martyr of Jang-e-Ohad). He replied, by remembering death twenty (20) times in the day and night.

4. Remember the destroyer of pleasures. When asked what that was, he (pbuh) replied, ‘Death’.

Imam Ali (pbuh) Says:

1. How poor is the son of Adam, he knows not his length of days nor understands his sickness. The sting of a flea will make him suffer, he smelts of sweat and dies of cough.

2. Every breath is a step towards death.

3. It is truly surprising that someone forget death even as they watch other dies.

4. The result of long life is disease and weakness.

5. Who leaves long will mourn (cries) on his friend.

Imam Hussain (pbuh) Says: “The children of Adam carry the mark of death like necklaces that adorn the neck of a bride.”

Lessons of death:

Man desires life, but sooner or later, he has to come to terms with death. Just as he is at the peak of his career, death comes and shatters it all. Suddenly, he has to face a world for which he has made no preparation.

Man aims at establishing his own glory on earth, but death comes and demolishes all the delusions of grandeur which he had nurtured, teaching him how powerless he is before death. Man wants to be his own lord and master, but his helplessness in the hands of fate shows that he has no control over his destiny. Man wants to satisfy his desires in this world, but he is foiled by death, which constantly eludes him in this world.

We must learn from death, for the secret of life is hidden in the message it has to teach us. Death shows us that we are not our own masters; that our stay on earth is only temporary; that the world is no place for the realization of our dreams. 

Death teaches us how to live; it shows us the way to real success.We must learn from death, for the secret of life is hidden in the message it has to teach us. Death shows us that we are not our own masters; that our stay on earth is only temporary; that the world is no place for the realization of our dreams. 

Just close your eyes and imagine,

You have just one more day to live;

One more day to show Allah,

To you “Heaven” should he give?

To say goodbye to your family,

And all your closest friends;

To ask for forgiveness,

And try to make amends;

Just close your eyes and imagine,

Did you miss a prayer or two?

Did you please Allah, and do the things,

He asks every Muslim to do?

Just close your eyes and imagine,

Tomorrow you will be gone;

No more second chances,

To smell the mist of dawn;

Just close your eyes and imagine,

The angels are going to come,

To take your soul and ask,

In your life “what have you done?”

Just close your eyes and imagine,

The words you want to say;

Will not come out you may realize,

For all your deeds you'll pay;

You want to speak out, to cry out,

In Allah I believe;

But, silence beckons you,

No more can you deceive;

Just close your eyes and imagine,

Finally,

Your silence breaks away;

You tell the angels you believe in Allah,

And for him, you did pray;

You say as tears are pouring down,

Please, Allah, forgive me,

For the sins that I committed,

Have mercy is my plea!

Just close your eyes and imagine,

That the smell of musk surrounds you,

From your head down to your feet;

You realize Allah forgave you,

Hell fire you did defeat;

But we all know as Muslims,

When it's time for you to die;

You'll not be given a second chance,

To say a last goodbye;

So live each day as If it's your last,

And never forget to pray;

So when the angels come to ask,

You'll know the words to say.

Remember, you can try, but you cannot bury the truth!!!