In life, nothing is permanent, your strength, wealth, position, fame, everything. In life nothing is sure to come too. Nobody owns tomorrow in order to truly promise or expect anything. In all these truths about the fleeting nature of things, everything is uncertain they say, except death and taxes.
But let us talk about the first thing because taxes were not even heard of by our ancestors. It is pretty much a recent invention by human society in order to facilitate services rendered by a central government in one form or another. But death, death has been known by humans ever since. From the earliest human, each one has tasted death or shall taste death. Even Prophet Jesus – peace be upon him, although he may have been raised by Allah to the heavens alive, he will be back on Earth in the last days to establish God’s law, live a normal life, have a family and die.
Allah said in the Quran,
“Everyone shall taste death.” Quran 3:185
In many different ways, people prepare for death differently. Because they see it as the end of things for them so they save the best for last so to speak. Some ready their wills so that their properties get transferred to their heirs properly. Some avail of lavish memorial plans to make sure that they get the best coffin, the best suit, the best graves or mausoleums they could afford. But the Muslim, death is prepared for our whole lives because death is not an end.
People have different feelings about death. Many fear and hate it. Many see it as the end of all misery or the end of all pleasures as well. For the Muslim death is just the beginning. The beginning of our eternal life. A life which will be that of eternal bliss in Paradise or eternal damnation in Hellfire.
Self-righteous people who are of the atheist or agnostic kind will easily dismiss this as superstitious but to each his own belief. Muslims believe that in death, Allah takes away the spirit that is the real basis of the life of humans. That is why humans can’t simply give life back to the dead or make a living person out of dead human body parts like Dr. Frankenstein did by charging it with electricity. The living human body is simply more than the sum of all its parts or the product of all its parts multiplied with each other. God’s work is so complex that the knowledge of the whole human race put together will never match his. Allah said in the Quran,
“And they were never given any knowledge except for what Allah has allowed them to be given.” Quran 2:155.
Death is the beginning of the Afterlife. For in it, all his worldly functions and abilities disappear and he will be simply waiting in a state called Barzakh, or a barrier between the world and the Afterlife. He will be waiting for the establishment of Judgment day. Upon death, no one could do any more harm or benefit to one’s self and every deed he has done while being alive will pretty much dictate what outcome he would end up with in the rest of his Afterlife after Judgement day.
That is why a Muslim burial is the simplest of all. Muslims who are buried Islamically are buried in simple dirt holes in the ground covered by soil which is left unmarked without any structure above it. It neither has lights nor candles. Neither tombstones nor flowers. Because for a Muslim none of it will benefit him in the grave. In fact, nothing material he ever had in this world will be benefit of him except for what Prophet Muhammad said,
“When the son of Adam dies, all his deeds will be cut off except from these three. Charity that was given which are people continually benefit from, knowledge which was shared and benefit the people and a good child that prays for him.” Narrated by Imam Muslim.
In the grave, the human will be questioned of who was his Lord, his prophet and his religion and there he will be punished for giving the wrong answer. He will also be given a taste of Paradise if he is amongst the righteous as a window showing Paradise will be opened for him in the grave or a window showing hellfire if he is amongst the sinners even if he is a Muslim. While in the Barzakh, the human will remain there without his consciousness and he will regain his consciousness only at the time of resurrection.
And when the time of resurrection comes, that would be a day of horror as each one of us rise from the grave and we are all gathered together in an unfamiliar place. That is something that no horror movie could ever replicate. Prophet Muhammad said,
“You will be gathered barefoot, naked and uncircumcised.” The wife of the Prophet asked, “O Messenger of Allah, the men and women will be looking at each other?”
Prophet Muhammad said, “The situation will be so terrible that he will not be concerned with that anymore.” Narrated by Imam Al Bukhari.
And after the resurrection, the measuring of good and bad deeds will begin. The best of good deeds is to worship Allah alone without partners while the worst of bad deeds is to worship others other than Allah. Then all the other good deeds and sins shall be measured too.
After the recompense, one may be entered into Paradise or thrown into Hellfire and the ultimate justice is served by the most just of all judges, Allah himself. And upon entering Hellfire or Paradise, the human will stay there forever except in the cases of sinning Muslims who did not worship any other gods besides Allah. He may stay in Hellfire for some indefinite time to purify him and he shall be allowed entry to Paradise later on.
Thus, the Muslim prepare for death and gladly welcome it by doing as much good deeds as he could.
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