What is death? Why someone whom we are so close to , our loved ones, we have touched them , have seen it moving, have heard the breathing and suddenly it becomes, what we call lifeless.And at that moment we being to call it a corpse , a dead body …. what is this state?The life after death is a completely unknown world ,it scares every single human. Is this the end or its another beginning? Should we be scared or should we be prepared? Let’s try to find it together.
To begin with, I don’t know what this state feels like, because I’m still breathing and I am still moving , i am alive. But while searching for the answers, I came across something interesting.In the islamic tradition , it is explained well ,infact so clearly that we can all have some understanding of how death feels like? It is explained that the sleep is infact half death.The only difference between half and complete death is that we still are given the opportunity and time to wake up in the first state. It is the creator’s clever way of giving us humans some clue and warning about the real death , as a matter of fact we are being prepared.As i mentioned earlier that he gives us opportunity and time, it is his mercy on us if we have the ability to comprehend that. He returns our soul in the morning so we can do better for ourselves before it returns to its creator forever, before it leaves the body forever and our time is over in this world.And he say ““When their specified time arrives, they cannot delay it for a single hour nor can they bring it forward.” (Quran, 16:61)
Naturally every single human thinks about one question, Where does the soul goes ? What is that world ? These are some deep questions, and certainly unsettles many.These questions are the reason some find faith and others get scared at the idea of unknown, due to their ignorance and confusion, or due to pride and arrogance. Yet many believes that they’re immortals , they are going to be here forever .They refuse to accept that their previous generations are gone , and they’ll be aswell. But only if they have the courage, they can use this golden opportunity to find eternal peace in this life and the hereafter. As he says in the Quran “And this worldly life is not but diversion and amusement. And indeed, the home of the Hereafter – that is the [eternal] life, if only they knew.” (29:64)
The most important question should be , what should be our state when we are ordered to take that journey back to the other world?For the believers it’s simple, be in the state of acceptance and surrender, be in the state of anxiousness and excitement to meet their lord.Infact the believers yearn to be with him , for them this wordly life is a prison.The human body suffocates them , they live here like a traveller, performing their duties and trying to fullfill their promise . For them its not the darkness of the grave they angst about, or the unknown world force them to rebellion. But the desire to meet their creator is bigger than anything . A believer prayers for the last day of his life be the best day of his life , to be in a state that even the angels envy. Prophet Muhammad said ““Be in this world as though you were a stranger or a wayfarer.”
By Khuş Editor-at-large WEDA