Death 101

In a day and age when the world is gripped with dispute; and disagreement is at its peak, there remains one fact that is undisputed, moreover is accepted by each and everyone:

Death.

No matter what religion, group or sect one may be attached to, the fact of dying is not refuted.

In the Holy Qur'an, we see that Allah SWT has described death; and that there remains no doubt in the matter of death.

So after having realising that death is inevitable, one has to turn his / her attention to the eternal life which awaits him / her after death. But sadly, we see today that instead of preparing for the Hereafter, we have turned our attention to this futile and worthless world which too will one day come to an end.

Allah says in the Qur'an in Surah Al-A'laa:

"You give preference to the worldly life whereas the life of the Hereafter is better and eternal."

After establishing that death is inevitable, and life which succeeds is better and everlasting; then we have to live a life which pleases our Lord till the day we die. All Praise is for Allah Almighty who gave us the perfect example to gain His everlasting bounties, by sending to us the best of mankind: Muhammad SAW.

If we mould our lives around the life of the Holy Prophet SAW, then we can look forward to death and meeting our Lord. Otherwise, death will find us when we will be trying to avoid it.

And Allah SWT states:

"Wherever you may be, death will reach you even though you may be in fortresses built up high and strong." (Surah An-Nisaa)

It is through the infinite blessings of Allah that he has made us Believers and not from amongst the disbelievers, Alhamdulillah; and Inshallah through the blessing of this Imaan, we will one day enter Paradise. Whereas those who die as non-believers will never enter Paradise.

One may raise an objection here as to why the foundation of the eternal life lies on a mere sixty to seventy years. The answer is quite simple because death merely underlines the INTENTION of a believer or a disbeliever to remain as he or she would if they were to remain forever.

After having been given the blessing of being from amongst the believers, we have to spend our lives in obeying Allah which means doing all those good deeds which will please Allah SWT and avoid all those evil deeds which incur Allah's wrath and displeasure.

As we look into the lives of our pious predecessors, we see many narrations, describing about them, while they were lying waiting for death.

The Prophet SAW's Muazzin: Bilal bin Rabah RA was on his death bed. His wife was crying. Bilal RA says to his wife:

"Why are you crying? Tomorrow I am going to meet the Holy Prophet (SAW) and his companions (RA)."

Why shouldn't every Muslim be lying in wait for death as this is the bridge to meeting his or her Creator?

This yearning however does not come without effort - as with everything in life.

We have to lead our lives in such a way that when death comes, we receive it with open arms.

Death is inevitable. There is no hiding and the life that succeeds it is eternal. So why not give up the temporary pleasures of this world for the eternal bounties of the Hereafter?

Verily the Prophet Muhammad SAW has taught us on the method to achieve this desire. All we need to do is increase our remembrance of death, as this will make us turn our intentions towards the Hereafter. And this in turn will make it easy for us to live our lives accordingly and perform those actions which will make death easy upon us and make the day that we meet Him the happiest day ever.