{"id":136889,"date":"2019-12-19T02:25:25","date_gmt":"2019-12-19T02:25:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.iium.edu.my\/?p=136889"},"modified":"2019-12-19T02:25:27","modified_gmt":"2019-12-19T02:25:27","slug":"death-is-created-and-will-perish","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.iium.edu.my\/?p=136889","title":{"rendered":"Death is Created and will Perish"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Spahic Omer<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Death is often described as lifes greatest\nmystery and the biggest fear of all. That is certainly true for those who fail\nto understand both life and death, and who live their lives wrongly and are eventually\novertaken by death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A sage has said that he has problems\nunderstanding a wretched persons life and how at all he can be happy. As a\nbottomless pit, he spends his entire life chasing and trying to get hold of\nthis fleeting world, while at the same time he is being chased by death.\nWhereas his catching of the world will never come to pass, it is just a matter\nof time before death snatches such a person and thus brings the whole chase to\nan abrupt end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On that score, Prophet Muhammad (peace and\nblessings be upon him) described death as \u0153the destroyer of pleasures\u009d (Jami\nal-Tirmidhi).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, for a true believer, death is\nneither the greatest mystery nor the biggest fear in life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Death is just another life reality \u201c albeit\nan extra complex, elusive and impactful one \u201c which a person must face and\ngrapple with. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Death is an integral part of existence at\nthe centre of which stands man as Almighty Allahs vicegerent on earth. For the\nfulfilment of a heavenly ontological purpose, it is as essential and meaningful\nas the phenomenon of life itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Death is lifes twin. They operate\ntogether, complementing one another. There can be no life without death in this\ntransitory world, just as there can be no death without life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Death and life are two sides of the same\ncoin. They make up the full existential reality of this earthly lifecycle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Allah created death <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Almighty Allah reveals in the Quran that\nhe had created death as well as life \u0153in\norder to test which of you is best in deeds. And He is the Almighty,\nAll-Forgiving\u009d (al-Mulk, 2).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Death has been created and it came before life.\nThat means \u201c and Allah knows best – that death is not a negative state\nidentifiable with the notion of utter nothingness or non-existence. It is a subtly\npositive state, or actuality, without which there could be no life as we know\nit. Existence without death would be unimaginable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Death in its capacity as a life-less\npositive state, or reality, is mentioned as created before life because Allah\nas the Absolute Creator and Originator of existence created life ex nihilo<\/em>,\nthat is, out of nothing. The \u0153nothing\u009d here might connote the \u0153death\u009d mentioned\nbefore life in the preceding verse. It also might indicate the absolute\nnothingness or non-existence from which both death and life have been created.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At any rate, the concept of death is very\nimportant. It is crucial for understanding life in its totality. The same goes\nfor the nothing-something dialectics, making the concepts of nothing and\nnothingness in philosophy, emptiness and empty space in quantum mechanics, and\nzero in mathematics, of equal significance. So important are they that without\nthem life today will be hollow and virtually untenable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Believers and death<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Every true believer – whose worldview is\nbased on a synthesis of the revealed and conventional or acquired knowledge –\nknows that death is part of the heavenly plan for existence. Death is a created\nthing and the angels of death are but instruments of Allahs Will. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Death is one of the most powerful and\nundeniable realities, as powerful and undisputable as life itself. Just like\nthe latter, death is everywhere around us, perennially and clearly manifested\nas much in the smallest and least significant as in the grandest and most\ntreasured. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Death signifies an inevitable state of\ntransition from one plane, or dimension, of existence to another: from life as\nwe know it in this world to another condition referred to in the Quran as the\n\u0153life to come\u009d or the \u0153hereafter\u009d. Death is a door through which everyone must\nexit this world and enter the hereafter. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Death signifies no end, but a change. Nor\nis it a termination or an expiry, but rather a movement and progress. It\ncharacterises the most consequential aspects of life and its divine purpose. In\na way, it is a microcosm of truth. Yet, it is truth itself. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That is why in Islam, whenever death as the\nmother of all adversities strikes, Muslims are invited to peacefully and with\nresignation declare: \u0153Surely we belong to Allah and to Him we shall return\u009d\n(al-Baqarah, 156). This proclamation encapsulates truth in much the same way as\ndeath, as a concept and sensory reality, does.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Death has nothing to do with the Creator\nand Lord of the universe and the life in it. Almighty Allah is its creator; death\nis but one of His creations. Death likewise has nothing to do with the eternity\nof the hereafter. It is only associable with this world because \u0153all that lives\non earth or in the heavens is bound to perish, but forever will abide the\nSustainers Self (Face or Countenance) full of majesty and glory\u009d (al-Rahman,\n26-27).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The death of death<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like everything else, death is bound to die.\nIt will not be resurrected to have a role in the hereafter. It seems that since\nfor man this very truth will be hard to comprehend and fully come to terms\nwith, the matter will be rendered convincible in a rather dramatic fashion. The\nspectacle of the death of death will be commensurate with the impact and\nauthority it enjoyed while in this world. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon\nhim) said: \u0153Death would be brought on the Day\nof Resurrection in the form of a white-coloured ram. Then it would be made to\nstand between the Paradise and the Hell. It would be said to the inmates of\nParadise: \u0153Do you recognise this?\u009d They would raise up their necks and look\ntowards it and say: \u0153Yes, it is death.\u009d Then it would be said to the inmates of\nHell-Fire: \u0153Do you recognise this?\u009d And they would raise up their necks and\nlook and say: \u0153Yes, it is death.\u009d Then command would be given for slaughtering\nthat and then it would be said: \u01530 inmates of Paradise, there is an everlasting\nlife for you and no death.\u009d And then (addressing) to the inmates of the\nHell-Fire, it would be said: \u01530 inmates of Hell-Fire, there is an everlasting\nliving for you and no death\u009d (Sahih Muslim).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No fear of death<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Furthermore, true believers not only believe in death, but also\ndeal with and prepare for it as much as they do for life. They face it\ncourageously and head-on. They see both life and death as necessary phases\ntowards what they actually live and prepare themselves for. Both are tests in\ntheir own ways. Believers live to die, and die in order to live. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said that the wisest\npeople are those who \u0153remember death often and have best prepared for\nit with good deeds\u009d (Sunan Ibn Majah). <\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

He also said that one of the main reasons for\nthe Muslim Ummahs decline will be the (excessive) love of this world and the\nhatred for death (Sunan Abi Dawud).<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thus, trying to deny and run away from the inevitable connotes neither\nwisdom nor courage. It is a serious aberration. That is so because wisdom is\nnever to be connected with misguidance and confusion, nor courage with rampant\nrecklessness, foolishness and cowardice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It follows that there is nothing unduly mysterious or scary about\ndeath. Like life, it is a gift from Allah that nevertheless requires a strength\nof character and soul to be appreciated. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Believers do not fear death, except for that amount of natural fear\nas is embedded in the soul and psyche of all humans. They do not attempt to run\naway from it either, for they know only too well that there is no escape from\nAllah except to Him. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What believers worry about is what and how much they have done, and\nwhether that will be enough for securing Allahs pleasure and His Paradise.\nTheir lives unfold at the convergence of relative fear and unconditional hope.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If truth be told, so profound and momentous is the life of a\nbeliever that in spiritual terms he can transcend the created and imposed parameters\nof time and space, and with them the parameters of the created life and death.\nEternity and infinity are the ultimate goals of a believer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a form of encouragement, Almighty Allah keeps emphasising in the Quran that in doing so there will be no fear on believers, with reference to the forthcoming and \u0153uncertain\u009d stages of their extraordinary journey, the immediate one of which is death and everything it entails; nor shall they grieve, with reference to that which they leave behind trapped in the confines of time and space, and by extension, in the confines of the created life and death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who fears death?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Uncertain about and afraid of death are\nonly such people as are ignorant about themselves and about life as an all-pervading\nmiracle. Since the other half of existence is death, it is hardly surprising\nwhy those who in vain try to ignore and suppress death are never truly content or\nat peace. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Definitely, without death on-board, neither life can be fully optimised and enjoyed. No genuine existential victories can be associated with half-life. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those backward people, as a result, will\nnever stop inventing myriads of untruths and superstitions about dying and\ndeath, and of course about life as a whole. Believers should never fall prey to\nsuch follies. Believers God-given providence, dignity and worth are so exalted\nthat they in no way can be reconcilable with the ideological nonsenses of the\nmodern nihilistic and hedonistic man. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, life without death would be\nmeaningless and incomplete. Moreover, it would be fake and unnatural. Only\ndeath can make life valuable and truly enjoyable. It can make it real. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A sage has said that he cannot understand how a bad person who knows will die soon can be happy, and how a good person who also knows will die soon can be unhappy.***<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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