Every Soul Shall Have a Taste of Death

In the end to Us shall you be brought back. (29:57)

The subject of death scares us beause we don't know much about it nor the life in the grave and the life after death. We all know we will one day die but few are willing to discuss the details of what happens thereafter. We are afraid because of our own ignorance; because what is to come is unseen and unfamiliar...and we are unprepared.

Say: "The Angel of Death, put in charge of you, will (duly) take your souls: then shall you be brought back to your Lord. (32:11)

Our biological make-up on this planet is not fit for the place of our roots - namely Heavan or Hell. There is no way we can enter Heavan with the flesh we are made of. Hence, the grave is a centre of transformation: a center of preparation and resynthesis of the body of the individual to be ready for recreation.

It should be stated here that everyone one of us is to die even if we hide ourselves anywhere in the world; or even if we try to protect ourselves.

Death is a fact of life.

Allah sends a special Angel i.e. Angel of Death whose nickname is 'Izraeel' to take the soul out of the flesh. Refer to Surah Al-Sajdah:
Say: The Angel of Death, put in charge of you, will (duly) take your souls: Then shall you be brought back to your Lord. (32:11)

This angel knows us better than our parents know us. He knows where we are and how we are to die. His main responsibilities is extracting the soul out of the flesh. He can enter any and every place where a person is to die, in order to perform his duty, even if we hide ourselves in fortresses. In Surah Al-Nisaa' (The Women) Allah says the following:
Wherever you are, death will find you out, even if you are towers built up strong and high. (4:78)

As far as the removal of the soul from the flesh is concerned, the Angel of Death will extract it from good people with ease. For those who are bad, the removal of the soul is tough and difficult. The Qur'anic expression for the removal of the soul from hypocrites and disbelievers is horrifying: More than one angel are to work together. They beat the face and back of the deceased while extracting the soul, otherwise, it will come out with difficulty. Allah says in Surah Al-Anfal (The Spoils of War) the following:
If you could see, when the angels take the souls of the unbelievers (at death), how they smite their faces and their backs, saying: taste the penalty of the blazing fire. Because of the deeds which your own hands sent forth: For God is never unjust to his servants. (8:50-51)

The Hadith of the Prophet about extracting the soul from the flesh of bad people is summarized as follows: Al-Baraa'Ibn 'Azib narrated that the Prophet (pbuh) said:

If an unbelieving servant is more concerned with the worldly life than he is about the other life, tarfaced angels descend from the sky. These angels, who are carrying bad smelling fragrance, sit in near proximity tot he dying unbeliever. Then the Angel of Death descends and places himself near the head of the unbeliever. The Angel of Death says: 'O bad soul! Come out to Allah's curse and anger.' The Prophet (pbuh) said: The soul disperses in the dying person's body. The Angel of Death grabs the soul like a sufud (a piece of metal stuck in wet wool). The Angel of Death takes the soul without letting it stay in his hand for even an instance. Then the angels put a rough garment that smells bad on the deceased's soul. The soul comes out having a very foul smell.

For those who are good, the Quran informs us that the extraction and pulling out the soul from flesh is very easy. The dying person will not feel the pain from the removal of the soul from his body. It will be as easy as pulling a strand of hair out of some dough. The Hadith of the Prophet (pbuh) narrated by Al-Baraa'Ibn 'Azib states the following:
If the believing servant refrains from coverting material things in his temporal life and desires the hereafter, white-faced angels descend from the sky. Their faces shine as brightly as the sun. They carry with them funeral garb and hanut (fragrance) from Heavan. They sit in near proximity to the dying person. The Angel of Death (may Allah bless him) comes and sits near the dying person's head, saying: O good soul, come out to Allah's mercy and forgiveness.

The Prophet (pbuh) said, The soul comes out like a drop of water being poured out. Then the Angel takes the soul, without letting it stand in his hand; releases it like a blink. The other angels take the soul and clothe it in funeral gard and hanut. From that soul comes the best smell, one resembling the best musk on earth.

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The 'Shade of Allah'

It is narrated by Hadhrat Abu Hurayrah (Radi Allahu anhu) that Rasulullah (sallallahu 'alahi wasallam) said:
"Seven people will be shaded by Allah under His shade on the day when there will be no shade but His. They are:

01. A just ruler

02. A young man who has been brought up in the worship of Allah (alone) sincerely from childhood.

03. A man whose heart is attached to the mosque (ie, who offers the five fardh salats in jama'at in the mosque).

04. Two persons who love each other only for Allah's sake, and they meet and part in Allah's cause only.

05. A man who refuses the call of a charming woman of noble birth for illegal sexual intercourse with her, and says: 'I am afraid of Allah'

06. A person who practises charity so secretly that his left hand does not know what his right hand has given (ie, nobody knows how much he has given in charity).

07. A person who remembers Allah in seclusion and his eyes get flooded with tears."

Sahih al-Bukhari (english trans.) vol.1, p.356, no.629 & Sahih Muslim (english trans.) vol.2, p.493, no.2248

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A King with Four Wives

Once upon a time...
there was a rich King who had 4 wives.

He loved the 4th wife the most and adorned her with rich robes and treated her to the finest of delicacies. He gave her nothing but the best.

He also loved the 3rd wife very much and was always showing her off to neighboring kingdoms. However, he feared that one day she would leave him for another.

He also loved his 2nd wife. She was his confidante and was always kind, considerate and patient with him. Whenever the King faced a problem, he could confide in her to help him get through the difficult times.

The King's 1st wife was a very loyal partner and had made great contributions in maintaining his wealth and kingdom. However, he did not love the first wife and although she loved him deeply, he hardly took notice of her.

One day, the King fell ill and he knew his time was short.

He thought of his luxurious life and pondered, "I now have 4 wives with me, but when I die, I'll be all alone."

Thus, he asked the 4th wife, "I have loved you the most, endowed you with the finest clothing and showered great care over you. Now that I'm dying, will you follow me and keep me company?"

"No way!" replied the 4th wife and she walked away without another word.

Her answer cut like a sharp knife right into his heart.

The sad King then asked the 3rd wife, "I have loved you all my life. Now that I'm dying, will you follow me and keep me company?"

"No!" replied the 3rd wife. "Life is too good! When you die, I'm going to remarry!"

His heart sank and turned cold.

He then asked the 2nd wife, "I have always turned to you for help and you've always been there for me. When I die, will you follow me and keep me company?"

"I'm sorry, I can't help you out this time!" replied the 2nd wife. "At the very most, I can only send you to your grave."

Her answer came like a bolt of thunder and the King was devastated.

Then a voice called out:

"I'll leave with you and follow you no matter where you go." The King looked up and there was his first wife. She was so skinny, she suffered from malnutrition.

Greatly grieved, the King said, "I should have taken much better care of you when I had the chance!"


In Truth, we all have 4 wives in our lives ...

Our 4th wife is our body. No matter how much time and effort we lavish in making it look good, it'll leave us when we die.

Our 3rd wife is our possessions, status and wealth. When we die, it will all go to others.

Our 2nd wife is our family and friends. No matter how much they have been there for us, the furthest they can stay by us is up to the grave.

And our 1st wife is our Soul,

often neglected in pursuit of wealth, power and pleasures of the ego. However, our Soul is the only thing that will follow us wherever we go.

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DEATH & DYING

Qur'an 45:24-25
They say, 'There is nothing but our present life; we die, and we live, and nothing but Time destroys us. Of that they have no knowledge; they merely conjecture. And when our revelations are recited to them, their only argument is that they say, 'Bring us our fathers, if you speak truly.'

Qur'an 36:78-81
And he has coined for Us similitude, and has forgotten the fact of his creation, saying: Who will revive these bones when they have rotted away? Say: He will revive them Who produced them at the first, for He is the knower of every creation, Who has appointed for you fire from the green tree, and behold, you kindle from it. Is not He who created the heavens and the earth, able to create the like of them? Yes, and He is indeed the Supreme Creator, the All-knowing.

Qur'an 34:3-5
Those who disbelieve say: 'The Hour will never come unto us.' Say: 'Nay by my Lord but it is coming unto you surely.' (He is) the Knower of the Unseen. Not an atom's weight, or less than that or greater, escapes Him in the heavens or in the earth, but it is in a clear record, that He may reward those who believe and do good works. For them is pardon and a rich provision. But those who strive against Our revelations, challenging Us, theirs will be a painful doom of wrath.

Qur'an 23: 99-104
Until, when death comes unto one of them, he says, 'My Lord send me back, that I may do right in that which I have left behind. ~ But nay! It is but a word that he speaks; and behind them is a barrier until the day when they are raised. And when the Trumpet is blown there will be no kinship among them that day nor will they ask of one another. Then those whose scales are heavy, they are successful. And those whose scales are light are those who lose their souls, in hell abiding, the fire burns their faces and they are alum therein.

There are very convincing reasons to believe in life after death.

First: All the prophets of God have called their people to believe in it.

Second: Whenever a society is built on the basis of this belief, it has been the most ideal and peaceful society, free of social and moral evils.

Third: History bears witness that whenever this belief has been rejected collectively by a group of people in spite of the repeated warning of the prophet, the group as a whole has been punished by God even in this world.

Fourth: The moral, aesthetic, and rational faculties of man endorse the possibility of life after death.

Fifth: God's attributes of justice and mercy have no meaning if there is no life after death.

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