Friday, April 29, 2005

How Will We Die?

As Salaamu Alaykum


"As you live, so shall you die; and as you die so shall you be raised"


During my reading, I came across the above Hadeeth; a Hadeeth which is short in words but holds immense meaning for the people who ponder and wish to understand.

It is one of the greatest concerns of every believer as to how he will die, how will he be treated in the hereafter, will he be successful or will he be disgraced? All these worries are answered in this short Hadeeth of our beloved Prophet Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam.

How Will We Die?

The first half of this Hadeeth mentions the way in which man will acquire his death. The Hadeeth mentions that a person will die in the manner in which he lived his life.

If a person, throughout his life, lived in accordance to the Shari'ah and the will of Allah Ta'ala then it will be most like that his life will end in a manner where he is following the Shari'ah and upholding the religion of Islam. To the contrary, if he lived his life displeasing Allah Ta'ala and whilst walking the path of Shaytaan then it is likely that his life comes to an end in a state where he is committing a sin and Allah Ta'ala is displeased with him.

The belief of every Muslim is that death can strike at any time. Death is something which does not come to a person at a specific time, age or during a certain act. It is the order of Allah Ta'ala and His wish that he takes the soul of any person when he wishes. Therefore, the justice of Allah Ta'ala is such that He will not sadden his true believers, those who walked upon his path during their lifetime.

As with any person, who walks on any path, a time comes when sometimes a person may trip over, stumble or fall. However, after his fall he does not remain on the floor and give up hope of moving on. Instead, he stands up as quickly as he can, at times looking around to save himself from embarrassment, and then continues on his path. The path of Islam is identical to this path. Any person walking upon it is guaranteed to fall or stumble at some time. Shaytaan will always be lurking on the path of those who follow the road to Jannah so that he can trip them over; his ultimate goal and lurking hope is that once a person falls over he will give up hope or not have enough courage to stand up.

But if we continuously pick ourselves up, seek forgiveness from Allah Ta'ala for our shortcomings whilst heading towards Him, whilst on His path, then surely the mercy of Allah Ta'ala will not let death fall upon us while we are fallen on His path. Surely He will be aware that my servant has stumbled many a times, but he has always stood up and embraced me thereafter and after knowing this surely His mercy will not let death come upon us while we are on the floor. Surely He will give us a chance to stand and embrace Him once more before He orders death to break the barrier between us and our Lord, Allah Ta'ala.

But, if a person, whilst treading on this path takes a fall and does not make the effort to stand, instead he changes his path and goes contrary to the path of Allah Ta'ala. Then is there not the possibility that Allah Ta'ala will take his soul without any consideration? Is there not a chance that the time of death will be shadowing above our heads whilst we are far from the path of Allah Ta'ala?

This is a brief explanation of the first part of the Hadeeth mentioned by our beloved Prophet Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam. Indeed, this Hadeeth is filled with pearls of knowledge and wisdom.

May Allah Ta'ala give us all the ability and inclination to walk upon His path. And may He give us courage to be able to stand after every fall so that we can once again embrace Him and make Him pleased with us. May He also give us death only when He is pleased with us and whilst we are on His path.

Aameen.

Wasalaam.

(Insha-Allah the second part of this Hadeeth will be posted some time this weekend)


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