Imam Al-Ghazali said:
"Behold, surely, a man drowning in worldly affairs devised with deception, and loving his pleasures, surely his heart will be remiss to remember death. As a result, when reminded of death, he does not like it, even hates it.
They are, just as those who are insinuated in the Qur'an: "Say: 'Surely the death you run from will surely meet you, and then all of you will be returned to (Allah) the All-Knowing of the unseen and the real. Then, He will tell you what you are doing. "(Surat al-Jumuah: 8).
Humans are essentially divided into 3 groups, namely: people who are drowned in worldly affairs, people who repent, and people who have reached maqam 'wise.
First: A person drowned in worldly affairs will not remember death. And, even if he remembers it, surely he does while remembering his world. This will make it further away from God.
Second: The repentant person will multiply remembering death, so that in his heart born fear and trembling. This will further strengthen the perfection of repentance. He may be afraid of the coming of death, but it is driven more by the fear that death will come when his repentance is perceived as imperfect, and his preparation for the afterlife is not enough. The fear of dying for such a person is still to be known, and he is not included in the group of people mentioned in the words of the Prophet, "Whoever does not like to meet God, Allah does not like to meet him." (Bukhari and Muslim)
People like this do not actually hate meeting with death or meeting with God. But he was only afraid that he might meet God in a less than perfect and inattentive state. He is like a man who is late to meet his girlfriend, because busy preparing for the meeting that brings the love of the lover. So, he is not considered objectionable to the meeting.
The characteristic of a repentant person is to focus on preparing for a meeting with his Rabb and reducing attention to other things. If not, then he is one who is immersed in mere worldly affairs.
Third: The person 'Arif is the one who always remembers death, because for him death is when meeting with the Beloved. And, people who have been love in love will never forget the promise to meet the person he loves. Such a person usually feels the coming of death is so slow, and he is very happy when death comes. For then he can leave the world immediately, where the disobedient people live. He prefers to be on the side of the Rabb of the Worlds.
This is like the hadith narrated by Hudhayfa. Toward his death, Hudzaifah-Al-Yamani said: "The Beloved comes to the poor (weak). And, it is not lucky that the new person regrets at such a time. O God, if you know that poor is more like me than rich, sick more I like than healthy, and die more I like than life, please make it easy for my death so I can meet you soon. "
- Imam Al-Ghazali in the book of Dhik al-Maut wa Ba'dahu, Ihya Ulumuddin.