Death is not something which is debatable nor that which is talked about enough in western society. However it is a fact which every soul will taste. As Muslims we know that death is near and this world is not one to long for. If you love this world and wish to cling to it, it will be temporary and certainly will not last.
God Almighty commands in verse 11 of chapter 59 in the holy Quran:
'The Hour will certainly come: Therein is no doubt: yet most men believe not'.
Also in verse 15 of chapter number 99
'And serve thy lord until there come unto thee the hour that is certain'.
We believe that one of Allah’s positive attributes is that he is just beyond all injustice.
he does not treat his creatures without justice, nor does he rule them unfairly or cruelly, he rewards his obedient servants and punishes those who fall into sin. He does not compel his servants to do things which are not within their capabilities, nor does he punish them for more than the sins they have committed as was discussed in the previous issue of Read.
That which does not die and will never die is Allah. Us humans, will one day eventually leave this world. The setting of the sun each day is a poetical metaphor for our passing away. How good it is, if we meet with another day, just like the sun, beaming and bright on the horizon of the resurrection. This is important for the sunset is inevitable; death is a reality which, like it or not, must happen.
Verse 99 of chapter 23 in the holy Quran says of the unbelievers and those who, till the moment of death, continue in unacceptable ways:-
'Until when death overtakes one of them, he says: Send me back, my Lord, send me back'
But their wish is unfulfilled, and verse 100 of chapter 23 confirms this:
'Haply I may do good in that which I have left. By no means! it is a (mere) word that he speaks; and before them is a barrier until the day they are raised'
Some people run away from the remembrance of death, and do not give way to thoughts about it. It is as if they have drunk the water of eternity, and think to remain in this world forever. These people are drunk from the wine of neglectfulness. For they know but do not accept that the only thing that it is eternal and will not die is Allah. From the results of their neglectfulness of death, they will pass their lives aimlessly. They do not think to reform themselves; their time is spent like the hands of a turning clock, turning round and round, and how often will they be polluted with dreadful sins. There is not so much difference between their lives and the lives of animals.
'And when the blast shall sound, upon the day when a man shall flee from his brother,
his mother, his father, his consort, his sons, every man that day shall have business to
suffice him'. Verse 33-37 from Surat ABASA
'Every soul shall taste of death, and you shall only be paid fully your reward on the
resurrection day; then whoever is removed far away from the fire and is made to enter
the garden, he indeed has attained the object; and the life of this world is nothing but a
provision of vanities' Verse 185 from Surat AL-e-IMRAN
'Then how will it be when We shall gather them together on a day about which there
is no doubt, and every soul shall be fully paid what it has earned, and they shall not be
dealt with unjustly?' Verse 25 from Surat AL-e-IMRAN
'Every soul must taste of death and We try you by evil and good by way of probation;
and to Us you shall be brought back' Verse 211 from Surat Al-ANBIYA
The Holy Prophet of Islam (saa) said:
'Remember death very often, so that it may purify you from sins and decrease attachment to a world which is not an introduction to the betterment of the spirit'.
And among the words of Imam Ali, peace be upon him, warning and mentioning death:
'People, we have been created. Therefore be (eager) for eternity and not for transitory
existence. For you will travel from one abode to another. So make provision for where
you are going and where you will dwell for ever. Peace (be with you)'.