Death
Salaam,
What comes first into your mind when you think of this word...? fear? hope? certainty?
Its an issue that we as people, and often as Muslims, try not to think about. Even the sternest of atheists squirms at having to talk about death. Why? because no matter how powerful and influential we maybe in this world, we will, like any other person, have the same destination; the grave. For many people i suppose thinking deeply about death is uncomfortable as it unveils the real vulnerability and lowly position we have; that the most precious thing to us, our life, is in the "hands" of another supreme being. It also depicts in a clear way how all that has now come to be seen as icons of success; wealth, respect, power, to be nothing in the face of this inevitable juncture in our life and how all this will be useless in trying to fend off this event.
As Muslims we believe that when we die that is the beginning of the "real" life ie that this world is a mere stoppage onto our inevitable and final abode. And so for the believing Muslim death is seen as a gift as the hadith goes, as it frees us from all the constraints and strife that this world presents us. Yet death can be a very difficult thing to deal with.
In the 3 months that iv been in Jordan iv heard the news of the death for 3 people (not a good average..). The first was a guy i knew from uni who committed suicide...i didn't know him too well, although he was in one of my supervision classes, but aH he seemed to be "normal". Academically he was an excellent student - he came top of the management tripos, learnt Japanese on his own and loads of other random things, materially he seemed to be doing well; he was from a well off family and had secured a very good job for after Cambridge. But yet he decided to take his own life. I remember when I got the email telling me about this, the sheer feeling of shock that this person I knew pretty well had committed suicide, and now was not in this world but experiencing all the things we as Muslims read about and need to believe in. Even now, a month after having found out, just thinking about him about where he may be now, about the things he may be going through, about the process in which he dies...just anything to do with the whole issue sends a chill up my spine.
And yesterday I found out 2 people I knew from burnley had passed away - one was a brother of a friend who was only 19, and the other was the father of another friend. Again, the shock at each instance when I found out was something i'll never forget. And again I just ended up thinking about them, about where they may be now, about the things they may be going through etc etc.... And then I thought that im feeling x and y, but what about the families of the people who have passed away, howust they be feeling?
From the Islamic perspective though, there is "good" in the passing away of people that we know. As a Muslims it should remind us about the feeble and vulnerable nature of the life that we have been entrusted with. It also reminds us about the inevitability of death which should hopefully spur us onto thinking now rather than later about how we have been leading our life thus far, whether this is in accordance with how we should be living it wrt what Islam says, and then planning for the future in how we can become better Muslims and prepare for the hereafter. Particularly when people who are young in age pass away it should act as a reminder to all of us that the amount of time we have in this world is already written and could be at any moment - the most certain thing in life is death, the most uncertain thing is the time of it, as someone once said to me. If we always try and think to ourselves that if my life were to end now, what would I have to show for it in the hearafter and what would my fate be? This will inshaAllah motivate us to get a move on and bring Islam into our lives.
May Allah bless the souls of all the deceased, may He give us patience in the face of bereavement, may He bring the reality of the hearafter into our heart and minds, may He enable all of us to make the most of the time we have left in this world and may He allow us to be steadfast in our faith in the face of evil. Ameen.
Salaam
What comes first into your mind when you think of this word...? fear? hope? certainty?
Its an issue that we as people, and often as Muslims, try not to think about. Even the sternest of atheists squirms at having to talk about death. Why? because no matter how powerful and influential we maybe in this world, we will, like any other person, have the same destination; the grave. For many people i suppose thinking deeply about death is uncomfortable as it unveils the real vulnerability and lowly position we have; that the most precious thing to us, our life, is in the "hands" of another supreme being. It also depicts in a clear way how all that has now come to be seen as icons of success; wealth, respect, power, to be nothing in the face of this inevitable juncture in our life and how all this will be useless in trying to fend off this event.
As Muslims we believe that when we die that is the beginning of the "real" life ie that this world is a mere stoppage onto our inevitable and final abode. And so for the believing Muslim death is seen as a gift as the hadith goes, as it frees us from all the constraints and strife that this world presents us. Yet death can be a very difficult thing to deal with.
In the 3 months that iv been in Jordan iv heard the news of the death for 3 people (not a good average..). The first was a guy i knew from uni who committed suicide...i didn't know him too well, although he was in one of my supervision classes, but aH he seemed to be "normal". Academically he was an excellent student - he came top of the management tripos, learnt Japanese on his own and loads of other random things, materially he seemed to be doing well; he was from a well off family and had secured a very good job for after Cambridge. But yet he decided to take his own life. I remember when I got the email telling me about this, the sheer feeling of shock that this person I knew pretty well had committed suicide, and now was not in this world but experiencing all the things we as Muslims read about and need to believe in. Even now, a month after having found out, just thinking about him about where he may be now, about the things he may be going through, about the process in which he dies...just anything to do with the whole issue sends a chill up my spine.
And yesterday I found out 2 people I knew from burnley had passed away - one was a brother of a friend who was only 19, and the other was the father of another friend. Again, the shock at each instance when I found out was something i'll never forget. And again I just ended up thinking about them, about where they may be now, about the things they may be going through etc etc.... And then I thought that im feeling x and y, but what about the families of the people who have passed away, howust they be feeling?
From the Islamic perspective though, there is "good" in the passing away of people that we know. As a Muslims it should remind us about the feeble and vulnerable nature of the life that we have been entrusted with. It also reminds us about the inevitability of death which should hopefully spur us onto thinking now rather than later about how we have been leading our life thus far, whether this is in accordance with how we should be living it wrt what Islam says, and then planning for the future in how we can become better Muslims and prepare for the hereafter. Particularly when people who are young in age pass away it should act as a reminder to all of us that the amount of time we have in this world is already written and could be at any moment - the most certain thing in life is death, the most uncertain thing is the time of it, as someone once said to me. If we always try and think to ourselves that if my life were to end now, what would I have to show for it in the hearafter and what would my fate be? This will inshaAllah motivate us to get a move on and bring Islam into our lives.
May Allah bless the souls of all the deceased, may He give us patience in the face of bereavement, may He bring the reality of the hearafter into our heart and minds, may He enable all of us to make the most of the time we have left in this world and may He allow us to be steadfast in our faith in the face of evil. Ameen.
Salaam
posted by Me at
12:08 PM
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