The Reality of Death

Bismillahir-Rahma-nir-Raheem
Imagine this. You are on your way home from a friend's house. The
streets are deserted and it's dark. All of a sudden, a car from out of
nowhere, smashes into your sideof the car, piercing your ribs into
your heart, killing you instantly. Your whole family, your parents,
your siblings, your friends, are all grief-stricken by this totally
unexpected tragedy. Death has taken you from them. Your money couldn't
buy it off, your popularity, your loved ones--none of it helped you
when you needed it most. Your home now, is the soil; a home of
solitude, a home of poverty, a home of wilderness, the dwelling place
of worms and reptiles, a dungeon for the sinners, a pit of Hell forthe
disbelievers and rejecters of Faith.
When the angel of death takes your soul, you see that he has brought
with him, 500 other angels, each carrying a piece of copper, huge
embers of the fire of Hell, and scourges of burning fire. The leader
of the angels carries a forked mace made of fire, the fire which is
seventy times hotter than that on earth. And they torture the body
with these instruments until the soul is completely extracted from the
body. Your soul says to the body,"Let the Almighty pay you the same
way! Youwere prompt in disobeying the commands of Allah and scorned to
obey Him. You have ruined yourself and have ruined me too!" And the
body utters the same to the soul. Those places where you committed
sins, curse you. The associates of Shaytaan rejoice and bring the news
to their leader, Iblis, that they had caused someone to suffer eternal
torment.
Now that you are dead,your wealth and money walk away. Youhave been
buried six feet under, and your family walks away. All you have with
you are your deeds, good and bad, as narrated by theProphet
(sallallahu alaiyhi wa sallam). Thetwo angels, Munkar and Naakir, who
have twelve eyes that glitterlike lightening, voices as loud as
thunder, teeth as canine as the horns of a cow, hair that drags to
their feet,shoulders as broad as a distance of a journey of several
days, will command you to sit up, holding the heaviest of hammers in
their hands. These hammers are so heavy and full of might that ifall
human beings wereto try to pick it up, theywould be unsuccessful.They
ask you: "Who is your Lord? What is your religion? Who is your
Prophet?" You remain speechless. One, because you're utterly
frightened by the appearance of the angels. Two, in the world, you had
forgotten Allah, disobeyed His Messenger (sallallahu alaiyhi wa
sallam), andlived your life oppositeof what Islam taught. So, you have
an inappropriate answer:"I know nothing about anything! I only
repeated what I heard!" Upon hearing this, the angels strike you with
the mace so violently that the sparks of the mace spread around the
whole grave.
Then the gates of Paradise open and all its riches and adornment and
elegance is visible to you. The angels say,"This was your
originaldwelling place." Then the gates of the Hellfireare opened and
you are told by the angels,"This is your abode because during your
life, you were entertained in doubts and disobedience to Allah." The
grave tells you, "Of all those who visited me, I hated you most!" And
it squeezesyou so hard that your ribs on either side pierce into one
another so much so that only one inch of space is left in your grave.
The torment of the grave appears. It stretches its evil neck and
strives to reach each corner of the dead body. It goes to the right
side of the body; there are no prayers to protect it. It goes to the
left side; there are no sincere fasts to thwart off its attempt to
cause you pain. Then it goes to your head and there is no sign of
recitation of the Holy Qur'an and dhikr (remembrance ofAllah) to repel
the attack. It goes to your feet, but you never made the effort to
stand in congregational prayer and in times of distressand
misfortunes, you never had patience, so it wasn't there to aid you.
You are hopeless and alone. There is none that can help you now. No
one to take away the numerous and various torments you are
experiencing. The animals can hear your horrible cries in the grave
and they, in turn, howl back in terror.
This is the deceit of this wonderful world and if we allow ourselves
to fall into the trap of Satan, this is exactly where we are headed.
Would yousay it's a beautiful place to be?
Lastly, imagine this. You get up in the morning at Fajr, go into the
bathroom, come out with fresh ablution (wudu), and stand in the
worship ofyour Lord, to thank andglorify your Creator, Who loves you
more than your own parents.You hear the adhan caller shout out in a
beautiful tone:"Assalatu khayru minannowm," meaning, "prayer is better
than sleep." Andindeed it is!
You supplicate (make du'a), asking Him, the All-Mighty, for the
forgiveness of your sins and for His infinitebounty and mercy
withtears gushing out of your eyes. And, in fully depending on Allah,
His mercy, and by crying to Him, you find peace and comfort in your
heart. After your morning prayer, you pick up the words of Allah, the
Guidance, the Holy Qur'an, kiss it, sit facing the Holy Ka'bah and
begin reciting the most beautiful words of Allah, opening the line of
communication between Him and you. You eat breakfast in the name of
Allah, you leave your house and drive off to work or school in the
name of Allah, your Trustee, and you spend every action in the
striving ofAllah's pleasure (refraining from what He has forbidden and
doing what He has permitted). Every moment you obtain, you ponder
about He, Whose hands hold your life. You glorify and praise Him with
love, fear, and hope. Heis your sole Cherisher, Guardian, Master, and
Provider.
Time for the second salah of the day. You make your ablution and stand
in prayer, in the worship of your Lord, with the raging fires of Hell
on your left, the Gardens of Paradise on your right,Allah in front of
you, the angel of death hanging over your head, and the Siraat (bridge
we will cross on the Day of Judgement) under you,at the parking lot of
your work or school. Why there? Because your love, fear, and devotion
to Allah is so strong that nothing and no one can prevent you from
worshipping He, Who is worthy of all worship. In short, you spend your
whole life, whether it is 20 years or 200, in the obedience, worship,
and in the striving of Allah's pleasure, the Owner of the heavens and
the earth.
Death suddenly approaches you, while you are doing the dhikr of Allah
on your way home from your friend's house. The angel of death, in the
company of 500 other angels, approaches you. Each angel carries a
coffin of Paradise and a bouquet of sweet-smelling flowers, containing
twenty different colors, each color diffusing a diverse smell. In
addition, they each carry a white, silky handkerchief, which emits the
fragrance of musk. The angel of death sits by the side of your head
and the others surround you, touching your limbs and keeping the
musk-scented handkerchiefs below your chin and the gate of Paradise is
opened before your eyes. The Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wa sallam)
swore by the Divine Power and Omnipotent that the dead body feels
immense pleasure, which can never return. They keep you amused with
the pleasures of Paradise and elegant garments. The angels then tell
you to look at your feet, where you see a gate of Hell opened and you
see your condition there. The angels say to you, "Youare safe from
that." After that 70 gates open towards Paradiseand the angel says, "O
suspicious soul! Go where there are thornless lote trees, clustered
plantains, spreading shades, and gushing water springs." Your soul
says to the body, "May Allah reward you for your good deeds. You were
prompt in worshipping Him and obeying Him. You scorned to disobey Him.
May this day be good to you! You have escaped the pangs of death and
have kept me safe from it." And the body wishes the soul the same.
Places where you worshippedAllah weep at your loss. And Shaytaan weeps
even more bitterly and curses his legion for sparing you.
Hundreds of Muslims pray for you at your Janazah prayer and thegrave
tells you, "Of all those who visited me, Iloved you most!" And it
extends its boundaries to as far as you can see and the window of
Paradise opens for you to smell its sweet fragrance! Your grave offers
you silken couches and the best treatment. The Prophet (sallallahu
alaiyhi wa sallam) saidthat if the people only knew the
punishmentsthat Allah has in store, they would never feel safe from
the Hellfire and if the people only knew of Allah's mercy, they would
never despair in attaining Paradise.
What did you enjoy imagining more? The life of this deceitful world or
the life of the eternal world? Which one would you choose?
"Beautified for mankind is the love of the joys that come from women
and offspring and stored up heaps of gold and silver and horses
branded with their marks and the cattle and land. That is the comfort
of the world. Allah! With Him, is a more excellent abode. For those
who keep from evil, with their Lord, are Gardens underneath which
rivers flow and pure companions and contentment from Allah. Allah is
Seer of His bondsmen." (Suratul Ali Imran 3:14-15)
The Prophet (sallallahualaiyhi wa sallam) said, "The world was made
for you, but you were made for the Hereafter.
What is more promising and beneficial?
A. Living life as if we will never leave it, meaning, living each day
in the pleasure andpursuits of this world, the dunya?
OR
B. Living life as if we are strangers and travelers in it, who
willleave it some day and return to our original destination, meaning,
living each day as if it were our last, in preparation for the eternal
world?
YOU DECIDE..
Glory be to Allah, Who has created all that is in the heavens and all
that is in the earth, Who causes the night to pass into the day and
the day into the night, Who brings the living from the dead and the
dead from the living. All praise be to Allah, Lord of all the worlds.
"Truly my Lord casts the (mantle of) Truth over (His servants), He
that has full knowledge of all that is hidden. If I am astray, I only
stray to the loss of my own soul, but if I receive guidance, it is
because of the inspirations of my Lord to me; it is He, Who hears all
things and is ever near (34:48, 50). Our Lord! Cause not our hearts
togo astray after You have guided us and bestow upon us mercy from
Your presence. You, only You, are the Bestower (3:9)." And protect us
from the punishment of the grave and from the calamities of the Last
Day and from the Fire prepared for the disbelievers and hypocrites.
"You alone we worship and You alone we ask for help. Show us the
Straight Path, the Path of those of whom you have favored, not those
whoearn your anger, nor those who go astray." (1:6, 7) Ameen.
Alhumdulillahi Rabbil Alameen--All praise be to Allah, Lord of all the
worlds.