Death: The inevitable, inescapable and unavoidable journey!, By Muqademi Mallam Tahiru

In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful

All praise is due to Allah. I testify that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad (Peace be upon him) is His servant and Messenger.

Dear brothers and sisters! I enjoin you and myself to fear Allah, for it (the fear of Allah) is the provision and safety in this world and the Last Day:

“The day when neither wealth nor sons will avail, except him who brings to Allah a clean heart.”

Dear brothers and sisters! Allah Almighty says:

“Everyone shall taste death. And only on the day of Resurrection shall you be paid your wages in full. And whoever is removed away from the fire and admitted to Paradise he indeed is successful. The life of this world is only the enjoyment of deception (a deceiving thing).” [Qur’an, 3:175]

Such is the reality of death and what comes after it. Every one of us shall taste it whether poor or rich; healthy or sick, old or young; leader or led and none of us can escape it. Allah the Most High says:

“Wheresoever you may be, death will overtake you even if you are in a fortress built up strong and high"

[Qur’an, 4:78]

Respected servants of Allah! Death, as manifested in its character and effects is one of the mysteries that dazzles human intelligence because it has to do with the soul. Allah Almighty says:

“And they ask you (O Muhammad) concerning the spirit (soul). Say: ‘The spirit (soul) is one of the things, the knowledge of which is only with my Lord. And of knowledge, you (mankind) have been given only a little.” [Qur’an, 17:85]

One of it’s mysteries is that you see a youth who was full of health and energy suddenly falls dead without warning; thereby making that youthfulness and energy fade away, bringing all his senses to a complete standstill. That youth might even be an erudite scholar, an eloquent author, a skilled physician or brilliant inventor but it is absolutely out of the question that this quality should prevent death from overtaking him when his time is due. Allah Almighty says:

“When their term is reached, neither can they delay it nor can they advance it an hour (or a moment).” [Qur’an, 10:49]

Amr Bin Abdullah used to mount the pulpit (mimbar) and say:

“Many a person who has seen the beginning of a day but would not see it’s end. And many a person who has expected morning but would not live to see it. If only you had known your appointed time and how it comes to pass, you would have detested nursing hope for worldly materials and its deception.”

Dear brothers and sisters! While man enjoys his good health, playing and merrymaking, moving about in haughtiness, commanding and forbidding, death and illness suddenly attacks him, weakens his body, makes his limbs lifeless and then closes his record.

My beloved people! How near is death! Every day it becomes closer to us and no sooner has the book reached its appointed time that we belong among the dead. Then it becomes clear that life is really like flowers that bloom then afterwards wither or like a lamp that illuminates then afterwards dies down.

Let those who crave for this world and its pleasures ponder over these scattered graves all over the place and realise that the way to pleasures and lustful things, though decorated with beautiful roses inevitably leads to the present condition of those buried in these graves. Happiness is for him whom a messenger of death has opened his eyes to reality before he died, and whoever does not heed to the warning of the Qur’an and death, even if mountains were to thrust one another in front of him, he would not heed.

Dear brothers and sisters! What we witness in the cemeteries is a great lesson for us. The carrier of the bier to the cemetery today is taken back there tomorrow (as a dead person) and is left there only with his deeds either good or evil.

It is also very unfortunate that in these days we see some people among those who escort the deceased laughing and playing or attending the funeral for showing off. This phenomenon is due to the heedlessness that has hardened people’s hearts and made them forget the Last Day and the frightening conditions of the grave. May Allah awaken us from this heedlessness, ameen!

Respected brothers and sisters! It is expected of him who knows that he will die, be buried, raised up on the day of Resurrection and enter Paradise or Hell to always remember death, prepare for it and reflect on it. He is in fact expected to regard himself among the dead. This is because all that is coming is near and when the angel of death comes neither your wealth nor your people or your position can prevent him from taking your soul.

Please, where are those people who achieved their aims and none were comparable to them in that? They collected and gathered but could not eat what they collected; they built mansions but could not live there! We on our part are still swimming in the pool of life as if we are meant to live here forever. Uways Al-Qarni said:

“Remember death when you sleep and always think of it when you are awake.”

Fellow servants of Allah! It is a fact that this world and its tribulations appear insignificant in the eyes of him who always remembers death, for, he has lofty aims and strong resolutions; he is far from hypocrisy and always yearns for the everlasting bliss in the eternal Paradise.

Dear brothers and sisters! Remembering death does not in any way make one’s life loathsome to him; forcing him to sit in his home and leave all means of sustenance. It is rather meant to deter him from committing sins and soften his hard heart. We remember death in order to have good preparation for it and for all that follows it by doing righteous deeds, obeying Allah and increasing one’s efforts in all acts of worship. Imam Abdur-Rahman Ibn Mahdi said:

“If Hammad Bin Salamah is told, ‘You will die tomorrow.’ He will not be able to increase anything in his deed, because his time is full of worship and remembrance of Allah.”

Now please, how do we prepare for death? We prepare for death by shunning all abominable things and returning trusts to their rightful owners. We prepare for death by eliminating hatred and enmity from our hearts. We prepare for death by being good to the kith and kin. Ibn al-Mubarak said that Salih Al-Mariy used to say:

“If the remembrance of death leaves me for an hour my heart becomes spoilt.”

It is also said that:

“Whoever frequently remembers death is honoured with three things: quick repentance, self-contentedness and energy in doing acts of worship; and whoever forgets death is punished with three things: delaying repentance, lack of contentedness and laziness in acts of worship.”

Respected servants of Allah! When will one who always follows his lustful desires and moves wantonly in his heedlessness remember death? When will one who has no regard for Allah’s injunctions in Halal or Haram remember death? When will one who deserts the Qur’an, prays not Fajr in congregation, usurps people’s property unlawfully, takes usury, and commits fornication, remember death? How can one whose habit is slandering others and backbiting, whose heart is full of rancour and envy remember death?