A careful study of death as a physical command which was opposed to life, revealed the view that was supported by the Qur’an:

الَّذِي خَلَقَ الْمَوْتَ وَالْحَيَاةَ

“It is God Who has created death and life...” (67:2).

Since the phrase “created” has been used by the Qur’an for death, therefore, it must have a physical reality because emptiness or a void was not a pure creation1. However, the other scholars called it a decree by default (Amr al-Adami) because according to them the absence of life was called death.

The word “definition” had two facets to its meaning - Real and Literal. The real definition of a thing was derived from an object that gave immediate meaning to identify it, and differentiated it from the rest. The literal definition, on the other hand, was to elucidate the object and distinguish it from others, which could also be achieved by showing the signs and essentialities of a thing. The learned author defined death from its signs and that was its literal definition. Therefore, objection could not be raised against the author that he titled his discussion as being the reality of death, but ended up expressing its signs only. It was because the author was not writing a book of logic to remain within those limits to express the principles of his religion.

Discussion On The Philosophy Of Life And Death

After this simple beginning, it was appropriate to express some views on the philosophy of life and death. It was evident that the Creator of the universe had shackled all His creatures in the cycle of life and death, in a manner that they were under compulsion to live or die, and they had no right to choose their beginning or end. Amir Al-Mu’minin (‘a) asked what did a man have to do with pride and greatness, when his beginning was from a drop of an unclean liquid, and he was so weak and fragile that he could not exercise his right to begin or end his life or to revive himself after death.

The question, which we have to address now was to find the secrets about why this chain of life and death was initiated? The first reply to this query was that when we had already concluded that the Creator and the administrator of the universe was the holder of absolute knowledge and we also knew, as a fact, that a judicious being could not commit anything illogical, therefore, we must conclude that there must be a reason behind this demonstration, although we did not understand its motives now.

The second answer to this question could be that life and death was not that complicated problem that human mind could not reach its depths. Humans already knew some of advantages of this process, which were aided by the word of God and the statements of the Imams.

Second Reason Of The Chain Of Life And Death

Imam Al-Husayn (‘a) says that death was an ornament for the sons of Adam just as a necklace adorned a woman. This showed that in order to enhance human characteristics, the exposure to death was essential.

We did not appreciate the value of death because we had not observed or experienced the problems of the longevity of life in this domain. An Ummah of a Prophet, had committed this mistake. We needed to ask them what price they had to pay for this request. The story was like this - people asked their Prophet to request God to halt the process of death for them. The Prophet made that request to God, and his supplication was acknowledged, and death was suspended for them.

After some time, every other person was amid his earlier generations, where the elders were lying like infants. They could neither talk nor walk to the toilet to answer the call of nature. Their relatives were busy caring for them and their working routine was shattered. This permanence of life proved to be a calamity for them and they regretted their original request. They went to their Prophet again and requested him to ask God for the reversal of their original plea. There was no value of life for a man, once he became redundant and useless.

Third Reason

If death was not there in the world, its charm and appeal would have vanished, because all of its hustle and bustle were due to the fact that people were confident of their departure, therefore, they wanted to achieve maximum in this limited time. On the contrary, longevity of life made people lazy, because they saw plenty of time at their disposal to accomplish their routine acts.

Fourth Reason

With the concept of death, one would find great assistance in acquiring the reasons for his presence in the world. It also helped to remove ills of bigotry and self-praise from his mind. A moral desire sprang forth that made him bow before his Lord. It was our observation that the greatest despots, rebels and avengers shuddered when faced the question of their own death. This showed that death was an instrument, which helped bringing people to the path of God and refrain them from disobeying the Lord. This was what was called Lutf (Grace) in the idiom of theologians. This was why the true guides suggested that death should be remembered more often.

Benefits Of Frequent Remembrance Of Death

The Prophet has said, “It is important for you to remember death to seek admonition and reproach.”

Amir al-Mu’minin said, “Remember death - it helps wipe out pleasures and delights of life as frequently as you can do so.”

Shaykh As-Saduq quoted Imam ‘Ali (‘a) in his book Al-Khisal, “If you frequently remember the day of resurrection and standing in front of God, then you can easily battle with trials and tribulations of this life.”

Abu Daud narrated that he asked Imam Muhammad Al-Baqir (‘a) to teach him something that should be beneficial for him. Imam replied, “O Abu Obadiah! anyone who remembers death more often, he would become free of worldly appeal.”

Imam Ja’far As-Sadiq (‘a) has said, “Remembrance of death destroys worldly desires (of the self), deracinates negligence, strengthens heart with divine promises, softens mind, lowers the flags of desire and greed, extinguishes the fire of voracity and lust, and belittles the life of this world.”

It was mentioned in the books of Hadith that when the dark clouds of felony start shadowing your body and the world commenced to attract you with its thrills and glamour, then go to the graveyard and seek wisdom and insight to disperse the clouds of felony and wrongdoing (from your life). This would save you from the treachery and duplicity of life.

The Standard Of Truthfulness Is To Desire Death

The persistence of death taught us that this world was not our final destination. Rather, it was a bridge for us to cross to reach our destination. God said:

وَمَا هَٰذِهِ الْحَيَاةُ الدُّنْيَا إِلَّا لَهْوٌ وَلَعِبٌ وَإِنَّ الدَّارَ الْآخِرَةَ لَهِيَ الْحَيَوَانُ لَوْ كَانُوا يَعْلَمُونَ

“And this life of the world is nothing but a sport and a play; and as for the next abode, that most surely is the life - did they but know!” (29:64).

That is why the Prophet had said, “World is a prison for a believer and a paradise for the unbelievers.”

As a sanction of nature, man would want to be liberated from the prison and would strive to reach its destination. That is why to test one’s assertions of faith and belief, God made the desire of death a test for the people. This was also the reason that those who had the faith in the allure and charm of the hereafter, played with death instead of being afraid of it, and so often did not use any protection in the battles. It had been said that when Imam Ali (‘a) decided to enter the battle of Siffin, without wearing the protective armour, one of his companions then said that it was not the right approach to go into the battlefield without any bodily protection. Listening to his advice, the Imam said, “By God, the son of Abu Talib is more intimate with the death than a child is friendlier with the breast of his mother.”

This was the precise reason that when his wretched assassin struck him with the sword, the first sentence that he uttered (which remained preserved on the pages of history) was, “I swear by the God of Kaaba that I have succeeded”.

Imam Ali was a graceful old man, who had experienced the lows and highs of this life, but history remained witness to the fact that the children of this family preferred death more than a mouthful of honey.

Reasons For The Ordinary People To Fear Death

The reasons for those amongst us who feared death, were the same as that described by Abu Dharr earlier in the text of this book i.e., we have cultivated our world and corrupted our hereafter. It is for this reason that it was difficult to journey from populace to the unknown of the hereafter.

Imam Al-Husayn (‘a) gave a better and more refined answer to one of his companions, when he asked him why the Imam was happy with death, while they were afraid of it? Imam replied that its reason was that the people had cultivated their worldly targets but had demolished their final abode. That is why they were not prepared to abandon their flourishing earthly habitat with the ruined territory of the hereafter. They (Ahl al-Bayt), on the other hand, had transferred all of their assets to the house of the hereafter. In this way, they had dented their worldly abode but promoted their hereafter. This was the reason why they preferred to go to the thriving gardens of the hereafter, rather than remain in the ruins of this world.

How Capacity And Agreement Can Be Developed For Death

We pray that God might give us strength and readiness to face death. This attitude cannot be developed without putting some efforts. Imam Ali was asked about how one could build this capacity. Imam replied, “By fulfilling religious duties, keeping away from the prohibitions and developing a sound character. When these three stages are attained, then one must not care that either he stepped on death or death stepped onto him.”

The Way To Supplicate For A Longer Life

From these realities, we learned that it was not good to pray for a longer life. This should only be done, if we had to devote our life for noble causes and in service of religion. Such supplications were conditional to the moment and until God’s help was available for one to perform righteous deeds. If God’s assistance was withdrawn and man was at the brink of God’s wrath, then one should request God to take him away from this world.

Our Imams have shown us the way; how to supplicate for this ending in front of God. Imam Zayn Al-’Abidin (‘a) prayed to the Lord,

“My God keep me alive, till my life is available for your service and don’t let me breathe, if my life becomes a grazing ground for the Satan, before I deserve your wrath.”

On the other hand, there were some Qur’anic Verses and Prophetic narrations that were apparently conflicting. Some indicated for the request of death and to be in the presence of God, while others were recommended against calling for death. The explanation for this conflict was that if someone took life as a means of worldly enjoyment and hated death as a hideous entity then such was an abominable act, but if this was asked to be in the service of God and to seek His pleasure, and to collect as much resources for the hereafter then such appeals for a longer life were an act of submission.

Clarification Of A Common Misconception

It was important to clear a common misconception that existed among all ranks of people that it was better to die with a quick and sudden disease, without pain, instead of suffering with a prolonged excruciating disease. This concept was wrong and against the teachings of Imams. It was reported that a disease was also a blessing in disguise, due to the following reasons:

Many a time, even sensible people would become negligent about God. When someone fell ill, God’s remembrance was revived and he got a chance to seek His forgiveness. That is why in the Hadith of the Prophet, illness was termed as an ambassador of death.

During his healthy days man was usually careless or slack about making his will, when it was important to write a will, in order to balance his credit and debit account with the community, as well as money that was due to God for public services. There was much stress in religion to write a will. Mohaddas Jazairi quoted a Hadith of the Prophet in his book Rawdhat Al-Wahidin. It said, “Anyone who dies without writing a will has died a death of ignorance.” The Prophet also said, “It was imperative for a Muslim to sleep at night with his will kept under his pillow.”

Illness was also considered a compensation for one’s sins and a reason to enhance his station with God. It was related from the Prophet (S) that an illness of a day (of a believer) was considered to be the compensation for his whole year sins. Imam Muhammad Al-Baqir (‘a) said that illness of a day for a believer was counted equivalent to his prayers of one year. This blessing was multiplied many folds with the length of his suffering. Naturally a person who died suddenly was deprived of this asset.

As a result of illness, the people who visited a patient were also rewarded by God. It was related from the Prophet (S), who said, “When a person left his house to ask the wellbeing of a sick believer, thousands of virtues were credited to his account and numerous misdeeds are wiped out from his register of performance. A sudden death (of a person) deprived people from this graceful act.”

A New Kind Of Benefit

It was reported that diseases were not present up to the time of Prophet Abraham. People used to die with a sudden death. Abraham supplicated to the God and asked him to send a sign through which the people who were departing could benefit and their families could also profit. As a result of it the illness was sent to the mankind.

This suggested that illness was sought by the Prophets for the believers and they should not be afraid of it and nor should they complain to the God, instead they should bear it with patience. God would wish to send every faithful to the Paradise but his soul might be soiled with the sins. Therefore, illness could become a compensation for those sins. If sins were excessive, then clutching of the grave was their compensation, or suffering in Barzakh may account for that. If, however, sins were even beyond the cleansing of Barzakh, then intercession of the Prophet and Imams would pay for the rest of the sins to clear him for the paradise.

Similarity Between Sleep And Death

In order for us not to be afraid of death, the Prophets and Imams made the understanding of death easier for us. There were several examples quoted in the text of this book, but suggestion of Imam Baqir (‘a) of comparing death with deep sleep was very famous.

According to that tradition, spirit had a dual relationship with the body, one that of sensation and the other that of planning and execution. In sleep, the relationship of sensation was terminated, therefore, brain was freed of the perception of happenings in his surroundings. However, its other relationship remained sound and the spirit was busy with the continuation of its job of servicing and promoting body functions. In death, both of these connections were terminated and therefore, at this moment neither any kind of sensation nor activity was left with the body. God had described this situation in the following words:

اللَّهُ يَتَوَفَّى الْأَنفُسَ حِينَ مَوْتِهَا وَالَّتِي لَمْ تَمُتْ فِي مَنَامِهَا فَيُمْسِكُ الَّتِي قَضَىٰ عَلَيْهَا الْمَوْتَ وَيُرْسِلُ الْأُخْرَىٰ إِلَىٰ أَجَلٍ مُّسَمًّى إِنَّ فِي ذَٰلِكَ لَآيَاتٍ لِّقَوْمٍ يَتَفَكَّرُونَ

“God captures souls at the time of their death, and those upon whom death has not been imposed are detained in the sleep. Those spirits whose death is ordained are confined and the rest are released to continue their function for the appointed time. There are signs in it for the people who ponder” (39:42).

At another place in the Qur’an it is said,

وَهُوَ الَّذِي يَتَوَفَّاكُم بِاللَّيْلِ وَيَعْلَمُ مَا جَرَحْتُم بِالنَّهَارِ ثُمَّ يَبْعَثُكُمْ فِيهِ لِيُقْضَىٰ أَجَلٌ مُّسَمًّى

“He is God, Who captures your (souls) in the sleep and knows what you do during the day, and then awakens you (during the day) so that the appointed time may pass” (6:60).

Difference Between The Death Of A Kafir And A Mu’min

The difference between the death of a believer and that of a Kafir was described by Imam Al-Hasan (‘a), which was well in line with the Qur’anic description. The time of death was a moment of great crisis, particularly for an unbeliever, who would see his complete past life facing him with the veil of negligence being torn apart. The Qur’an described this state:

كَلَّا إِذَا بَلَغَتِ التَّرَاقِيَ

“When [the soul] will come to the collar bone” (75:26).

وَقِيلَ مَنْ ۜ رَاقٍ

“And it will be asked; who is there to make an effort to save you [from this death]” (75:27).

وَظَنَّ أَنَّهُ الْفِرَاقُ

“He will then realise that this is the time of departure” (75:28).

وَالْتَفَّتِ السَّاقُ بِالسَّاقِ

“A thigh will slip on to a thigh” (75:29).

إِلَىٰ رَبِّكَ يَوْمَئِذٍ الْمَسَاقُ

“And that will be the instance when you are herded towards your Lord” (75:30).

The description of the death of evil people was given in the following words in the Qur’an:

وَلَوْ تَرَىٰ إِذِ الظَّالِمُونَ فِي غَمَرَاتِ الْمَوْتِ وَالْمَلَائِكَةُ بَاسِطُو أَيْدِيهِمْ أَخْرِجُوا أَنفُسَكُمُ الْيَوْمَ تُجْزَوْنَ عَذَابَ الْهُونِ بِمَا كُنتُمْ تَقُولُونَ عَلَى اللَّهِ غَيْرَ الْحَقِّ وَكُنتُمْ عَنْ آيَاتِهِ تَسْتَكْبِرُونَ

“...If you can see the wicked in the thick of the severity of death, while, the Angels will be calling them with open arms, to handover their souls. This day you will receive a degrading chastisement for the statements you had made about God, and prided against His signs” (6:93).

وَلَقَدْ جِئْتُمُونَا فُرَادَىٰ كَمَا خَلَقْنَاكُمْ أَوَّلَ مَرَّةٍ وَتَرَكْتُم مَّا خَوَّلْنَاكُمْ وَرَاءَ ظُهُورِكُمْ

“You have now returned to Him bear and alone, as We have created you for the first time, and all the wealth that We had given you is now left behind...” (6:94).

Again, it was mentioned in Surah Al-Anfal:

وَلَوْ تَرَىٰ إِذْ يَتَوَفَّى الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا الْمَلَائِكَةُ يَضْرِبُونَ وُجُوهَهُمْ وَأَدْبَارَهُمْ وَذُوقُوا عَذَابَ الْحَرِيقِ

“If you could only see the state when Angels capture the souls of infidels, when they are hitting them on their backs and faces and tell them to taste the punishment” (8:50).

ذَٰلِكَ بِمَا قَدَّمَتْ أَيْدِيكُمْ وَأَنَّ اللَّهَ لَيْسَ بِظَلَّامٍ لِّلْعَبِيدِ

“As it is a return of their deeds. God does not do injustice to His servants” (8:51).

The description of the state of death of the virtuous was totally different. God said,

إِنَّ الَّذِينَ قَالُوا رَبُّنَا اللَّهُ ثُمَّ اسْتَقَامُوا تَتَنَزَّلُ عَلَيْهِمُ الْمَلَائِكَةُ أَلَّا تَخَافُوا وَلَا تَحْزَنُوا وَأَبْشِرُوا بِالْجَنَّةِ الَّتِي كُنتُمْ تُوعَدُونَ

“Those who said that God is their Lord and they remained steadfast (with this covenant), the Angels are sent down on them and they will be telling them; do not be afraid or nervous. We give you the good tiding of Paradise that had been promised for you” (41:30).

At another place in the Qur’an it was said:

فَلَوْلَا إِذَا بَلَغَتِ الْحُلْقُومَ

“So, when soul has reached the throat” (56:83).

وَأَنتُمْ حِينَئِذٍ تَنظُرُونَ ‎

“And you [helplessly] witness that state” (56:84).

وَنَحْنُ أَقْرَبُ إِلَيْهِ مِنكُمْ وَلَٰكِن لَّا تُبْصِرُونَ

“We are nearer to the [deceased] than you but you cannot visualise” (56:85).

فَلَوْلَا إِن كُنتُمْ غَيْرَ مَدِينِينَ

“If you were not controlled by anyone” (56:86).

تَرْجِعُونَهَا إِن كُنتُمْ صَادِقِينَ

“Then return the soul to the body of the deceased” (56:87).

فَأَمَّا إِن كَانَ مِنَ الْمُقَرَّبِينَ

“If the deceased is one of those who are nearer to God [Muqarrabeen]” (56:88).

فَرَوْحٌ وَرَيْحَانٌ وَجَنَّتُ نَعِيمٍ

“Then luxury and comfort from the scented gardens of Paradise is for him” (56:89).

وَأَمَّا إِن كَانَ مِنْ أَصْحَابِ الْيَمِينِ

“Or if he belonged to the people of right” (56:90).

فَسَلَامٌ لَّكَ مِنْ أَصْحَابِ الْيَمِينِ

“Then greetings and salutations of the people of right would be sent to him” (56:91).

This was the reason why a believer happily embraced death.

Warning To Awaken

In the beginning of this chapter, Amir Al-Mu’minin (‘a)’s statement was an assertion to shake those people out of their state of negligence, who showed their respect for the religion and Imams, verbally - without any practical demonstration, and believed that this was sufficient for their salvation in the hereafter.

He divided people into three groups – one, who were given good tidings, second, who were handed over terrible news of permanent punishment and finally, who had an uncertain end. Imam then cleared the ambiguity that for good tidings two things were essential (apart from the unity of God and the Prophethood of Muhammad (S) - the Wilayat of Ahl al-Bayt and obedience to their commands.

If we dug deep, we would find that the two things were incompatible with each other. One could not become an admirer of Ahl al-Bayt, if his deeds were not in line with their instructions. Amir Al-Mu’minin (‘a) also said this explicitly that those, who were the enemies of Ahl al-Bayt, would be subject to a ghastly punishment and there was no possibility of their salvation.

In the same way Imam had warned the day dreamers and self-deceived friends of the Ahl al-Bayt, who did not strive to follow their Imams, but wanted to go to Paradise with the empty chants of Ali...Ali. Amir Al-Mu’minin (‘a) clearly mentioned that the difference between these two was that the enemy of Ahl al-Bayt would be the fodder of Hell forever, but their inactive friends would be pardoned after paying for their sins, following the intercession of Ahl al-Bayt, and some of these sinners would suffer up to three hundred thousand years.

These issues would be further discussed in the section dealing with the intercession. However, it is time that such abysmal friends of Ahl al-Bayt took heed from these warnings, because faith could not be completed without the fellowship of actions. That is why in the Qur’an, wherever good tidings were given to the believers, it was followed by suggestions to continue with the virtuous deeds. Imam Muhammad Al-Baqir (‘a) said that the Shi’as were those who followed Ahl al-Bayt’s path and did not disobey them.

Presence Of Prophet And Imams At The Time Of Death

This was also a Shi’a concept that for every person, who may be Muslim or a non-Muslim, practicing or inert, saw Prophet Muhammad and his Ahl al-Bayt at the time of their death. This made death comfortable for a devotee and a source of chastisement for the unbeliever. There were lots of traditions in this respect, which are collected by Allama Al-Majlisi, in Bihar Al-Anwar, whose alternative explanation other than what had been stated above was not permissible.

The issue which could be discussed was whether, Imams and Ma’sumin were actually present at their appointed station with the dying person or every dying person just thought that they were with him. This was in the same way that the Sun was felt to be directed towards every person who was in its presence, when in actual fact, it was continuing its journey on its appointed course.

The Imams could be present with the dying man, in their original physical form or in a virtual body. We need not spend too much effort in this respect. Only a simple belief of their presence was sufficient, as suggested by Allama Al-Majlisi. He said: “It is mandatory for us to believe in the appearance of Prophet Muhammad (S) and Imams at the bedside of a dying person, who might have any belief. These personalities help relieve the pain of death from a believer and cause aggravation to a faithless soul.

This was sufficient basis for us to believe in the matter and a further investigation of this issue was not required, particularly about the nature of their presence i.e. whether they were present in their original bodies or in virtual frames. Any other explanation such as the dying person imagined their presence, or anything else was strictly prohibited. This resulted in the twisting and transposition of established religious principles.

Natural And Unnatural Death

There were two types of deaths,

• Natural, which arrived as a consequence of natural mechanisms such as through ailments.

• Unnatural, which came through abnormal and aberrant modes e.g. execution by a dictator or an atrocious enemy or through murder in a minor struggle.

Evidently, the first type of death was ordained by God. The other one, while its knowledge was definitely with the God, it was not sanctioned by Him. In fact, the murderer was taking life against God’s command that is why he was liable for punishment. Nothing however, could be definitively said in answer to the question that if the murderer had spared the victim - how long that person would have survived,

• 1. There were differing views about death i.e. whether it was a physical command or a decree by default.