Death; a Beautiful Gift For a Believer

Introduction

"To Allah (Almighty God) we belong, and to Him is our return." (Qur'an 2:156)

Multitudes of men have walked on the surface of this Earth. They all belonged to different nations and cultures. A few of them made history for which they were remembered, whereas others were never to be mentioned again. Although each one was personally different from another - their habits, thinking and tastes differed - they all had two (2) things in common, first, they were all delivered from their mothers womb (birth) and second, they all tasted death. Who claims he has lived a thousand years?

"The Sun travels to an appointed place. This is the decree of the Mighty, the All-Knowing."(Qur'an 36:38)

Almighty God blesses us with all His gifts. The Sun gives us light during the day to help us see and it helps our crops grow so that we can eat. But the Sun also teaches us other things. The Almighty God causes the day to die with its setting and allows the night to take over, which is a time for rest.

In this way, He may be showing us that all of us will eventually have to die just like the day. And when the Sun rises in the morning again after our period of rest, it is as if Almighty God is telling us that we too will be raised to life after we have died. These are all signs of Almighty God to teach us to take care of our life.

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.

According to an old fable, a man made an unusual agreement with Hazrat Izraeel (pbuh) - the angel of death. He told Izraeel (pbuh) that he would be willing to accompany him (as though he had a choice) only if Izraeel (pbuh) would send him a notice well in advance. The agreement was made. Weeks became months and the months into years.

One bitterly cold night, as the man sat alone thinking of his success in life, Izraeel (pbuh) tapped on his shoulder. "You are here too soon" the man cried out. "You sent no messenger.

I thought we had an agreement!" Izraeel (pbuh) whispered "Notice your hair, once it was full and black, now it has streaks of silver in it! Observe your face in the mirror and see the wrinkles. Yes! I have sent many messages through the years! I have kept my part. I am sorry that you are not ready for me but the order of Almighty God cannot be averted!"

Hence, hair color turning gray from black or wrinkles on the face are also the signs of nearing death, and the Almighty God is the only one who can bring the dead back to life.

Surely all men die, and just surely Almighty God give them life with His ability, and judges them on their deeds and actions. We know Almighty God is the Creator and can recreate us, because if one can do something he has the ability to do it again.

For instance, if your teacher asks you to draw a picture on the blackboard and color it. Then if after ( 02 )

you have drawn it with beautiful colors, the teacher asks you to rub it out and do it again, could you repeat the same drawing again?

Of course you would be able to repeat the picture. It is what you created and are capable of doing again.

From this example, we can understand Almighty God is able to give life to the dead because it is He Who created us in the beginning. Almighty God can surely give life to the dead. He judges them on their deeds. On Resurrection Day He will re-create the dead for judgment, and then allow the doer of good to enter paradise but cast the evil-doer into hell.

Hatred towards death and love of the world is the outcome of an ignorant person's mind, who thinks that the happiness of this world is his prosperity and good fortune. The world beset with numerous troubles and anxieties is about to end in misery and does not enjoy eternity, perpetuity and sincerity. A poet has referred to this in the following words - "Do not give your heart to this world, for its example is of an unfaithful bride who has never loved you, even for a night.

"Imam Ali (pbuh) says: "If man will see how speedily his death is coming toward him he willabhor ambitions and will give up admiring the world."

It is of utmost importance that man should hold death dear and consider it an opportunity of meeting with his Almighty, and not hate it and consider it as evil, but should take lessons from it. He should ask forgiveness from Almighty for his sins and tame the rebellious self (Nafs). When the call of his Lord comes, he should welcome it with open arms accepting it to be a blessing from Almighty. He should be contented with the decree (Qadr) of Almighty.

He should also rejoice that shortly he would be taken to the presence of Ahlul Bait [Household of Prophet] (pbut) and meet his deceased companions and other believer brothers. He should also not be disheartened by the delay in death but should consider it as an opportunity afforded by Almighty to him to repent. This delay would give him a chance to gather provisions useful for his journey to the other world, for the journey is tiresome and full of dangerous valleys and difficult paths.

In fact a believer always remembers death, since his or her main goal is to reach the Almighty God. Hazrat Qasim (pbuh), the son of Imam Hasan Al-Mujtaba (pbuh), when asked concerning death at Karbala, answered: "death to me is sweeter than honey."

Therefore true believers, those who aresincerely devoted to the Almighty God, anticipate death since to them it signifies the long-awaited meeting with their creator.

During imprisonment, Imam Ali An-Naqi, Al-Hadi (pbuh) had a grave dug up ready by the side of his prayer mat. Some visitors expressed concern or surprise. The Imam explained, "In order to remember my end I keepthe grave before my eyes."

Before a believer approaches the final moment of his/her life and death overtakes him, it is necessary that he wakes up from the state of negligence and prepares for the final everlasting place. This way he will be able to avoid bewilderment and the fear of the so-called untimely death.

At the time of leaving this world, as attested to by the Holy Qur'an, a person will be in one of two states - either he will be of the Companions of the Right, or the Companions of the Left (Refer Holy Qur'an 56:7-56). If he is counted amongst the Companions of the Right, he will be in a good, final state, but if he is one of the Companions of the Left, he will be of those who have suffered a great loss ( 03 )

The Truth of the life of this world:

Once a man saw in his dream, that a Lion was chasing him! The man ran to a Tree, climbed on to it and sat on a branch. He looked down and saw that the Lion was still there waiting for him.

The man then looked to his side where the branch he was sitting on was attached to the Tree and saw that two Rats were circling around and eating the branch. One Rat was black and the other one was white. The branch would fall on the ground very soon.

The man then looked below again with fear and discovered that a big black Snake had come and settled directly under him. The Snake opened its mouth right under the man so that he will fall into it.The man then looked up to see if there was anything that he could hold on to. He saw another branch with a Honeycomb. Drops of honey were falling from it.

The man wanted to taste one of the drops. So, he put his tongue out and tasted one of the fallen drops of Honey. The Honey was amazing in taste. So, he wanted to taste another drop. As he did, he got lost into the sweetness of the Honey. Meanwhile, he forgot about the two Rats eating his branch away, the Lion on the ground and the Snake that is sitting right under him. After a while, he woke up from his sleep.

To get the meaning behind this dream, the man went to a pious scholar of Islam. The scholar said: The Lion you saw is your Death. It always chases you and goes wherever you go. The two Rats, one black and one white, are the night and the day. Black one is the night and the white one is the day. They circle around, coming one after another, to eat your time as they take you closer to Death.

The big black Snake with a dark mouth is your Grave. It's there, just waiting for you to fall into it. The Honeycomb is this world and the sweet Honey is the luxuries of this world. We like to taste a drop of the luxuries of this world but it's very sweet. Then we taste another drop and yet another. Meanwhile, we get lost into it and we forget about our time, we forget about our death and we forget about our graves.

Imam Ali (pbuh) says: "You are the game that death hunts. If you stand still it will seize(catch) you. If you ran (flee) away it will overtake you."

"What is the life of this world but play and amusement? But best is the home in the hereafter, for those who are righteous. Will ye not then understand?" (Qur'an 6:32)

**The Reality of "Departing from the World" ** What is the reality of death? What is the philosophy of life and death? For answering these questions, first of all, we must clarify our perception regarding death, in other words, at the beginning we must see how exactly death is and how we must visualize it.

Usually, most of the people are alarmed and fearful upon hearing the word `death', and to them, death appears dreadful and terrifying, whereas, according to the Islamic ideology, this terminology or this subject has a different appearance and can be perceived in a different way. Basically it can be said that those who fear death, consider it to be a negative entity.

According to this insight, death is an end of life and a moment of everlasting separation of man with his life. They believe that with death, the compounded substances of the body suffer a breakdown and return to nature and man too, is nothing except this very broken-down body. Hence, with death, everything ends with no hope remaining!

Indeed, with this view and insight, death is darker and more dreadful than every other thing and perhaps, no calamity, pain, sorrow and tragedy can be greater and more painful than the tragedy of death, because death would mean the burial of all the desires, hopes, longings and in short, the termination of all things for man - that man who loved life and eternity very dearly.

Anyway, Islam does not possess such a dark and fear-instilling view of death because according to the Islamic view, death is a positive entity. The moment of death is a moment of rebirth of man and a moment of his hastening out from a confined region of this world into a world, which is wide, expansive and rapturous.

A world, wherein, man is not troubled by anxieties, sorrows and the material and natural limitations. Of course, those who have habituated themselves to worries and limitations must free themselves of such habits. In other words, becoming free from the clutches of mother nature entails some transient hardships but after that, in place of a confined and dark place, man is taken into a world which is extensive, infinite and full of luminosity and happiness.

According to this view, death is not annihilation but is inherent fallout of one stage of progress and development of man. Similar to an infant in the womb of the mother, which, after reaching a particular stage of its development, just should not and cannot stay in the confined and dark womb of the mother and obtain nourishment from her blood, but must come out and continue its development in a more extensive world.

Similarly, after a certain period, he should attain freedom from the confined and limited world of nature and hasten to another world, which is appropriate for his eternity-desiring soul.

In short, it is according to this view that life of man becomes pleasant and sweet and his death too, not only does not become a means of sorrow but also is regarded as an escape from the misfortunes, sorrows and limitations. And if his death is like the death of the champions and by his own choice and on the path of Truth and as a result, can be called martyrdom,

then surely it will be more pleasant and more sweet, and in the moment of death and departure from the world he shall experience such pleasure that only the very righteous and the martyrs on the path of virtue and piety have the knowledge of, and these are the very people who can taste this pleasure. This is because, those pleasures cannot be described and if ever described, does not possess the same pleasure (which is gained by experiencing it).

The reality of death, according to the Holy Qur'an (32:11), is `Tawaffa' and not `Faut'. `Tawaffa' means

the angels commissioned to seize the soul of man, seize it and release it from the captivity of the body and then transfer it to another world, towards his Lord.

The Holy Prophet Mohammad (pbuh) has said: "You have not been created to perish, but toremain forever. You only transfer from one home to another when you die."

Philosophy of Death:

Why is it that man is created, and then after a certain period of time, in which he lives in this world, departs from it? If death is total annihilation and man after death becomes totally non-existent, this question is propounded with greater seriousness, meaning that, according to this assumption,

the probability of the creation of man being futile and the life being vain and empty increases. But, in the event that we do not consider death to be a `negative entity' and define it to be a transfer or a renewed birth, still the question arises and seeks its answer as to why exactly do we come into the world and why exactly do we get transferred from it?

This very question can be expressed in one of the two possible ways:

i) What aim did Almighty God or the Agent possess in creating His creations, or in other words, what benefit does He wish to avail of by the life and death of man and other creations?If the question is put up in this form, it is necessary to state that the question and its answer is not related to our discussion and it must be deliberated in a discussion related and appropriate to it.

All we can say is that Almighty God is an Independent Entity, and He avails of no benefit as a result of His creating His creations. Hence, the exact answer for "Then why did He create?" is related to profound, Gnostic topics.

ii) What purpose did Almighty God or the Agent have for his action? In other words, Almighty God created His creations and among them man, that they travel along which path and to where they reach or what goal they follow? If the above question is expressed in this manner, we must say that according to the Qur'anic verse, Almighty God created the heavens and the creations so that they recognize Almighty God and worship Him:

"And I have not created the Jinn and the Men except that they worship me." (Qur'an 51:56)

In the meaning that, all the creations must, in their journey for perfection, reach a stage that they can, by means of man, become a mirror for the Divine Attributes, because it is in this stage that the worship and cognition of Almighty God can reach a stage which is befitting it.

In short, Almighty God created His creations and amongst them, man so that finally they reach the level of cognition of Almighty God and can understand His Beautiful Attributes and manifest them within themselves, because the real worship and cognizance of Almighty God can take the creation and man to a position and status, the specialties and the grandness of which must be referred to in gnostical topics.

So according to this view, the philosophy of life and death, which are part of the creation of Almighty God, become clear. The life and death and basically, the changes in the material world and the transfer from one stage of life to another of it or the transfer from one world into another world, all of these

play a part in the journey of man and the creations towards perfection. Such changes or the ups and downs must be present, in the light of which, people can be tested, and the pure are separated from the impure. This is what, the Holy Qur'an says:

"Who created death and life that He may try you - which of you is best in deeds; and He is Mighty and Forgiving."(Qur'an 67:2)

According to this verse, firstly, both life and death are part of the creation of Almighty God. Thus, death is a thing which Almighty God has created and hence cannot be a `negative entity', because a negative entity is not capable of being created.

Secondly, tests and trials are considered to be the philosophy of the creation of life and death so that it can be known who is the most righteous.

Of course, it should be known that this "test" is not in its literal meaning that takes place on an appointed time and is taken from one particular group or according to a pre-determined subject-matter, but it possesses a very wide meaning. In other words, the tests and trials here, encompass all the moments of the life and death of man, his ups and downs during the span of his entire life, even during his transfer into the next world and after that too.

Basically, these changes and transfers prepare the ground for the development and progress of man. Similar to sportsmen, for whom, not only their competition is a trial and a test, but the pre-competition training is also considered as a form of test and these physic trials and tests, help to prepare them for the original competition.

Life and death and the transfer of man from one world to another world and also the bounties and at times the problems of life, according to the verses of the Holy Qur'an, are trials and tests for man which prepares him, stage by stage, for attaining his ultimate objective.

`Death'- according to the Holy Qur'an:

In the Holy Qur'an, interesting and varied interpretations have been made, regarding death, the study of all the aspects of which, shall become very elaborate, hence we suffice by mentioning a few of the beautiful and expressive interpretations, which have appeared in some of the verses.

**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)

`Death' - according to the Traditions:

The traditions also contain beautiful, subtle, instructive and interesting interpretations regarding death, some which are mentioned.

1. The bridge of crossing

In some of the traditions, death has been referred to as a bridge, over which people, at the time of transfer from this world to the other world, shall cross and reach their goal, which is the other world. For example, Imam Husayn (pbuh) on the day of `Ashura', speaking to his loyal companions said:

"Remain firm, O sons of noble people, because death is just a bridge which will cross you and transfer you from discomforts and troubles, into the extensive gardens of paradise. So which of you does not desire his freedom from prison and entering into a castle. Of course, death for your enemies is like their being transferred from a palace and a castle into prison and torture."

Concerning this Prophet Jesus (Hazrat Esa) (pbuh) has said:

"Thisworld is like a bridge, cross it and do not build on it."

2. Removal of clothes

In some of the traditions, death has been compared to clothes, which of course differs, with respect to a believer and an unbeliever. Death, for a believer is like dirty clothes, which he removes and frees himself from its dirtiness and unpleasant odor, whereas, death with respect to an unbeliever is also like clothes, but beautiful, costly and pleasant-smelling, which he must remove from his body at the time of transfer to the other world.

3. Sleep

In some other traditions, death has been compared to sleep, in which the soul goes out of the body. The only fundamental difference between sleep and death is that the coming out of the soul from the body, at the time of sleep, is only for a short period of time. In addition, the connection between the body and the soul is not completely severed. On the other hand, researches pertaining to the soul have proved that the soul maintains a connection with the body in a very special manner. While, at the time of death and after that, the severance of this connection is more complete than that during sleep,

although, after death too, a weak connection does exist for a certain period.

Another point is that the coming out of the soul at the time of death continues up to the Universal Resurrection. This tradition says:Imam Muhammad Baqir (pbuh) was questioned as to what is death? The Holy Imam (pbuh) replied:

"Death is the very same sleep that comes to you every night. However this is a sleep, which is very long, and man shall not wake up from it until the Day of Judgment. Thus one who sees different types of pleasure and happiness in his sleep over which he, (in his wakefulness) has no power and similarly he sees the different types of fear-instilling things, while he has no power over them. Thus, how is the state of happiness and fear in the sleep? (The affairs shall be similarly so in the state of death too). This is death. So be ready and prepared for it."

Sayings on Death:

Holy Prophet Mohammed (pbuh) 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 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."