you! EnterParadise for what you did."(Surat an-Nahl: 32)
Death in a Virtuous State
Up to this point, we have seen that sincere believerslive a good life
in this world, are not overcome with fear or pessimism, and have a
healthy and comfortable spiritual life. Since those who believe seek
Allah's pleasure, we learn from the Qur'an that they have won His
special assistance, support, and protection; their misdeeds will be
removed from them and that they will berewarded according to thebest
of what they did; andthey will not be wronged. Since they "purchase"
the next life in exchange for this life, they have made what the
Qur'an calls a"good bargain." Allah is pleased with them, and they are
pleased with Him.
But what will happen to them at the end of their lives? Where and when
will Allah meet them at the hour He has appointedfor their death?
Neither believers nor unbelievers know where and when they will die.
This fact is explained in Surah Luqman in these words:
Truly Allah has knowledgeof the Hour, sends down abundant rain, and
knows what is in the womb. And no self knows what it will earn
tomorrow, and no self knows in what land it will die. Allah is
All-Knowing, All-Aware. (Surah Luqman, 34)
Together with this, the Qur'an informs us how death will come to
believers, how their souls will be taken, and what will happen at the
moment of death. As far aswe know, believers experience death as a
verygentle passage, like a momentary change in dimension. Just like
the person whom Allah causesto be "as dead during his sleep" (Surat
az-Zumar, 42) and wakes up the nextmorning to a new day, when
believers die, they will be taken out of the worldly dimension and
pass to the next dimension (Certainly Allah knows the truth.)
Allah announced this gentle and easy passage inSurat an-Nazi'at, 2,
where He points to the appointedangels and says "those who draw out
gently."
Another verse tells about the angels' conversation when they come to
take a believer's soul:
Those the angels take in a virtuous state. They say:"Peace be upon
you! EnterParadise for what you did." (Surat an-Nahl, 32)
The following verse describes a believer's death:
The greatest terror will not upset them, and the angels will welcome
them:"This is your Day, the one that you were promised." (Surat
an-Anbiya', 103)
Clearly, believers who have led a good life in thisworld will have a
beautifuland easy death, and their life in the next world will begin
when they are met by angels. From that moment on, all of their
relations with this world will cease, and they will besent to an
appointed placewhere they will come before Allah's Presence. As it was
from the beginning,so it continues: comfort and ease await all
believers.
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