Death is Coming Closer – Are you Prepared for it ???

 بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

 Allah says,

"Every soul shall have a taste of death,and only on the Day of Judgment shall you be paid your full recompense.

 Only those who are saved far from the Fire,

and admitted to the Garden will have succeeded.

 For the life of this world is but goods and chattels of deception."

 [3:185]

 When death approaches, the close family and friends try to support and comfort the dying person through supplication as well as remembrance of Allah and His will. The attendance is to help the dying person to iterate his commitment to unity of God.

 Sahih Muslim, Book 042, Number 7064:

Anas b. Malik reported Allah's Messenger (way peace be upon him) as saying:

Three things follow the bier of a dead man.

Two of them come back and one is left with him:

the members of his family.

wealth and his-good deeds.

The members of his family and wealth come back and the deeds alone are left with him.

Death is the reality from which none of us can escape. It draws nearer every day, every hour, every minute. So I had to ask myself, if I were to die today, would I have done all that I could to ensure Allah's Favor, and to evade His Wrath? Unfortunately for me, the answer was a resounding NOOO.

Muslims believe the life on this earth is only a transition period that precedes the latter life. Winning the latter life is the goal of every Muslim. This is achieved through gaining Allah's satisfaction through believing in Him and following His commands and prescriptions. The reward for those who gain Allah's satisfaction and forgiveness is Heaven, and that for those who strayed is Hell.

 "And they say:

'What is there but our life in this world ?

We shall die and we live,

and nothing but time can destroy us.'

But of that they have no knowledge:

they merely conjecture:

And when Our Clear Signs are rehearsed to them,

their argument is nothing but this:

they say,

'Bring (back) our forefathers, if what ye say is true!'"

 (45:24-25 )

 "The Unbelievers say,

'Never to us will come the Hour':

Say,

'Nay! but most surely,

by my Lord, it will come upon you;-

by Him Who knows the unseen,-

from Whom is not hidden the least little atom in the heavens or on earth:

nor is there anything less than that, or greater,

but is in the Record Perspicuous:

That He may reward those who believe and work deeds of righteousness:

for such is Forgiveness and a Sustenance Most Generous.'

But those who strive against Our Signs,

to frustrate them,-

for such will be a Chastisement,-

of painful wrath."

(34:3-5)

The Quraan also states that this worldly life is a preparation for the eternal life after death. But those who deny it become slaves of their passions and desires, make fun of virtuous and God-conscious persons. Such persons realize their folly only at the time of their death and wish to be given a further chance in the world but in vein. Their miserable state at the time of death, and the horror of the Day of Judgment, and the eternal bliss guaranteed to the sincere believers are very beautifully mentioned in the following verses of the Holy

Quraan:"Until,

when death comes to one of them,

he says: 'O my Lord!

Send me back (to life),-

In order that I may work righteousness in the things I neglected.'

- 'By no means! It is but a word he says.'-

Before them is a Partition till the Day they are raised up.

Then when the Trumpet is blown,

there will be no more relationships between them that Day,

nor will one ask after another !!!

Then those whose balance (of good deeds) is heavy,-they will be successful:

But those whose balance is light, will be those who have lost their souls,

in Hell will they abide.

The Fire will burn their faces, and they will therein grin, with their lips displaced." (23:99-104)

This life is fleeting. Death is coming. Let us get ready.