The Wise Creator created man for a purpose He has shown in His Book, but the unbeliever claims that man was created in play! Thus he accuses his Creator of jest and playfulness. Exalted be Allah (SWT), Who is free from what the unbelievers say.

Should the unbelievers be told that their physicians just play in their practices, they would ridicule such assertion and would say: “Can it be that we accuse of playfulness and jest one who treats your eyes, mouths, intestines and hearts when they are infected or diseased? Our physicians are too wise to behave jokingly and in vain.”

We would agree, for he who mends defects and cures diseases in the body organs does not play or joke. But how do you claim that the Creator of the eyes, mouths, intestines and hearts jut creates all that in play? He is too Superior and Great to accuse of futile deeds.

Allah (SWT) says: “Did you think that we have created you in play (without any purpose), and that you would not be brought back to us? So Exalted is Allah, the true King. None has the right to be worshipped but He, the Lord of the Throne of Honor.” (XXIII: 115-116)

Physiology, the science which every medical student should study, shows clearly that every organ in the human body, but rather every cell or tissue has been created by Allah for a specific purpose and a specific function which are different from those assigned to the other tissues and organs.

Physiology also bears witness that the purposes of creating the cells, tissues and organs are collectively related to the purpose of creating the human body as a whole. Cells aggregate to form a tissue; the tissues aggregate to form an organ; the organs together form a system; and the systems co-operate to form the human body.(Figure 47a) ,  (Figure 47b) ,   (Figure 40c)   &   (Figure 40d)

So, physiology manifests that:

Physiology tells us that the structure of a certain cell, tissue, organ or system determines its unique constant function. Difference in structure entails difference in function.

Therefore, the purpose of creating all human beings is one and the same. The structure of the human eyes is the same, whether their owner is poor or rich, a boss or an employee, a learned person or an ignorant one, whether now or in the time of the Messenger (Peace be upon him) or Moses or Adam (Peace be upon them). So the purpose of creating any part of the human body is the same for the human species in general regardless of time or place.

The physical, psychological, spiritual and mental structures of human beings are and have been the same for all generations regardless of time of place. Human innate nature is one and the same for all people and has undergone no change. Therefore, the purpose of creating them must be one and the same regardless of time or place, reputation, richness, poverty, knowledge or ignorance. The purpose is related to human innate nature and human entity. Allah (SWT) says: “ The pattern of Allah on which He has made mankind: no change (let there be) in the work (wrought) by Allah: that is the standard religion, but most people do not know.” (XXX: 30)

So, he who imagines that he has been created to practice a craft or assume a position to earn a living and dedicate his life thereto is mistaken, for the professions and crafts of people, whether governmental, commercial, industrial, or agricultural, are numerous and of various types while their creation is one and the same; therefore, the purpose of their creation is the same; otherwise, their created structures would have been as different as the various purposes of creating them.

The purpose of creating man is related to both this life and the Hereafter; therefore, it is hidden from those whose interests are confined to this life. A century ago we were non-existent and a century from now we will be non-existent again. Similarly previous generation and future generations are not destined to be immortal on this earth, which is just a temporary station to be left sooner or later.

As we have developed in our mothers’ wombs in stages till we were born, we will pass through this life in stages also, starting with infancy and ending with old age. Man cannot understand the purpose of his existence in the stage of this life unless he knows the stages preceding and following it.

What has preceded this life is unknown and what will follow it is unknown either. Those who restrict their interests and concerns to the stage of this life exclusively, and fancy certain objectives for the human life confined to this life, get frustrated and bewildered and all their philosophies perish when they die.

To those who claim that the purpose of creating man is to live and work, enjoy life, establish civilizations, or compete for the better, we say: “If the purpose of creating man is what you have said,

Why is there death after life?

Why is there disability after power and ability, and why is death?

Why is there distress after joy, and why is death?

And why is there deterioration to the worst, and why is death?”

You would find them express their embarrassment and perplexity, as one of them say:

They are as Allah (SWT) describes them: “They know but the outer (things) of the life of this world, but they are heedless of the Hereafter.” (XXX: 7)

The purpose of creating man in this life cannot be known without knowing what precedes it and what follows it, which is known to Allah only.

The purpose of any product is known to the manufacturer and is not known to others save through him or through that who has received his instructions from him.

Allah (SWT) has sent His Messengers to us to teach us what we are ignorant of. He has supported them with Signs and Miracles and created for us the means of acquiring knowledge, i.e. hearing, seeing and understanding.

So, if we learn what is unknown to us through the Messengers Allah has sent to us, we attain guidance and come out of the life of disorientation and blindness, which the unbelievers lead, to the life of light and guidance. Allah (SWT) says: “Indeed, there has come to you from Allah a light and a plain Book, wherewith Allah guides all those who seek His Good Pleasure to the ways of peace, and He brings them out of darkness by His will into light and guides them to the straight way.” (V: 15-16)

With this guidance we have learned from our Glorified Creator that He has divided our life into two stages:

The life in this world, which is the abode for testing us as to how we deal with what He has put us in charge of.

The Hereafter, which is the abode of enjoying our due.

Allah (SWT) tells us that death is just transition from the abode of testing to the abode of reward or retribution.

The status of man on the earth is that of one authorized or deputized by its real owner, for man has created nothing on this earth which he can benefit by or use or which has been subjected to his interests and for his sake. Allah (SWT) says: “It is He who created for you all that is on earth.” (II: 29)

Moreover, man owns nothing of himself; he does not own his hands, tongue, eyes, legs, a single vein, a bone, skin, flesh, a nerve, or even a drop of blood, for he has created none of such things.

Allah (SWT) says: “It is We Who have created you: why do you not believe? Then what would you say about the semen that you emit? Is it you who create it, or are We the Creator?” (LVI: 57-59) Allah (SWT) also says: “ Were they created of (by) nothing, or were they themselves the creators?” (LII: 35)

Although man is not the real owner of anything of himself or of what is surrounding him, he practically behaves as if he were the owner, for has been given the authority and talents and abilities that entitle him to subject everything on earth to his own interests and benefit by all the powers and bounties of the earth and the other created beings so much so that he is called “The master of earth.”

Allah (SWT) says: “And He has subjected to you, as from Him, all that is in the heavens and on earth…” (XLV: 13)

The potential capacities, talents and capabilities Allah (SWT) has bestowed on him,

Subjecting everything on earth to him, and

Creating no other creature that may compete with him, defeat him, or oppress him.

Thus the status of man on earth is that of a temporary owner in it, although he has not created anything of it. He is then authorized by its Real Owner and the Owner of man himself to behave as if he were the owner.

Allah (SWT) says: “Behold! Your Lord said to the angles: ‘I will Create a vicegerent on earth.’ They said: ‘Will you place therein one who will make mischief therein and shed blood? Whilst we do celebrate Your Praises and glorify Your Holy Name?’ He said: ‘I know what you know not.’” (II: 30) Allah (SWT) also says: “and makes you (mankind) inheritors of the earth? Can there be another god besides Allah? Little it is that you heed.” (XXVII: 62) Allah (SWT) also says: “It is He who has made you (His) agents, inheritors of the earth. He has raised you in ranks, some above others; that He may try you in the gifts He has given you; for Your Lord is quick in punishment. Yet He is indeed Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” (VI: 164)

Although man is an agent and inheritor on this earth, he is controlled by and subjected to what Allah (SWT) has ordained for him. He cannot choose his parents, his sex (male or female), his shape, his age, the time or place of his birth or his death, his talents, his society or his children.

Man departs from this world as he came into it; delivering all the things trusted to him and leaving behind all that he has been keen to possess, for man is just a slave authorized on the earth by the ordinance of his Master, Owner, Creator and the Creator of everything.

The Creator (SWT) deputizes or authorizes man on this planet for a limited period of time and a specified term to find out whether he is obedient of disobedient; and to distinguish between the believer and the disbeliever; so that his retribution in the Hereafter will be based on his performance in this life.

Do you not see that He who created you brought you to this life owning nothing and then gave you the talents, wealth, children, knowledge and repute that He wills, and then death will retrieve all these trusts and you will get out of this world as you entered it. Allah (SWT) says: “And behold! You have came to Us alone as We Created you the first time. You have left behind you all that which We have bestowed on you.” (VII: 94)

Then Ponder:

All that Allah (SWT) has bestowed on you is not intended to be permanent ownership, for He will retrieve what He has given you. When Allah takes back what He has given you, He does not want to usurp it, for it was He Who gave it to you for the first time. Therefore, this temporary ownership of what Allah has given you is intended for testing or examining you. Everything in this world is an item of this examination.

Since the purpose of this life is this examination, Allah (SWT) does not oblige people to worship Him, but He has given them authority on this earth, sent to them Messengers and Messages and told them to submit to His Orders, obey Him and worship him voluntarily and willingly during the respite they are given on this earth. Allah (SWT) says; “Then whosoever wills, let him believe; and whosoever wills, let him disbelieve.” (XVIII: 29)

Allah (SWT) has made this perishable world pleasant in our eyes; He, on the other had, describes the Eternal Life in the Hereafter in His Book and His Prophet’s Sunnah as much more pleasant, so that our Faith may be tested. Allah (SWT) says: “And whatever you have been given is the convenience of this life and the glitter thereof, but that which is with Allah is better and will remain forever. Have you then no sense?” (XXVIII: 60)

We have understood that whatever on earth will not last and has no value and it beguiled those who came before us, and they competed over it and were later forced to leave it unwillingly. Allah (SWT) says: “And this life of the world is only amusement and play. It is verily the home in the Hereafter that is the real life, if they but knew.” (XXIX: 64) Allah (SWT) also says: “Know that the life of this world is only play and amusement, pomp and mutual boasting and multiplying among you, (in rivalry) in respect of wealth and children. (It is) compared to rain that brings forth vegetation that delights the tillers. Soon it writhes and you see it grow yellow and then it becomes dry and crumbles away. But in the Hereafter there is a severe torment and forgiveness from Allah and (His) Good Pleasure. And the life of this world is only a deceiving enjoyment.” (LVII: 20) Allah (SWT) also says: “How many were the gardens and springs they have left behind, and corn fields and noble buildings, and wealth (and convenience of life) wherein they had taken such delight. Thus (it was) and we made other people inherit (those things). And neither heaven nor earth wept over them; nor were they given a respite.” (XLIV: 25-29)

If you take a view of your life, you will find the authenticity of this fact that reflects the truth of this world. Whatever has passed in your life will be valueless when you die; nothing will remain except your good. Only a few years will pass when you will discover this fact in the whole of your life, and even in the life of your generation and the life of all humanity. Allah (SWT) says: “On the Day they will see the (punishment) they weer promised, (It will be) as if they had not tarried more than an hour in a single day.” (XLVI: 35)

He whose Faith is strong and whose fear from Allah is great will follow the path prescribed by his Lord to enjoy life. He will follow his Creator’s guidance and resist whims and obsessions. He will not be beguiled by the glitter of this world. Such is the examination and such is the result: Success, escaping from the Fire and winning Paradise. Allah (SWT) says: “And whoever is removed away from the fire and entitled to Paradise, is indeed successful. The life of this world is only the enjoyment of deception.” (II: 185)

He who rebels and disobeys will go astray and in the Fire he will stay. Allah (SWT) says: “Those before them (also) rejected (revelations) and so punishment came to them from directions they did not perceive. So Allah gave them a taste of humiliation in the present life, but greater is the punishment of the Hereafter, if they only knew.” (XXXIX: 25-26)

As for the person whose Faith is weak and who does not fear his Lord, the glitter of this life will easily deceive him. He will set out to obtain as much worldly pleasures and ornaments as possible through any means available: homicide, destruction, and corruption, through tricks or deception, rejecting his Creator’s Guidance. Thus he will show his disbelief or rebellion. Such is the examination and failure therein. Allah (SWT) also said: “Those who rest not their hope on meeting with Us, but are pleased and satisfied with the life of the present world and those who are heedless of Our Signs, their abode will be the Fire, because of what they used to earn.” (X: 7-8) Allah (SWT) also said: “Then, for such as had transgressed all bounds, and had preferred the life of this world, the abode will be Hell-fire.” (LXXIX: 37-39) Allah (SWT) also says: “Those who love the life of this world more than the Hereafter, who hinder (people) from the path of Allah and seek therein something crooked: they are astray by a long distance.” (XIV: 3) Allah (SWT) also says: “Such as took their religion to be mere amusement and play, and were deceived by the life of the world. That day shall we forget them as they forgot the meeting of this day of theirs, and as they were wont to reject Our Signs.” (VII: 51)

From the previous discussion we understand that

Man was created for a purpose.

The purpose of creating all human beings is the same.

The purpose of creating man is related to this life and the Hereafter.

The purpose is not known except through the Creator.

The Creator (SWT) has made man as an agent on this earth.

Taking him as an agent is for the sake of testing and examining him.

The subject of the examination is the worship of Allah (SWT).

Worship means behaving according to what the Creator (SWT) wills.

Do you not see that any product is produced to be used according to the desire of its manufacturer? Similarly man has to behave according to the desire of his Creator (SWT). Man’s behavior that conforms to his Creator’s Desire is the worship (required). Allah (SWT) says: “I have not created jinn and human beings but to worship Me.” (LI:56)

So the purpose of creating man is that he be a slave to Allah, Who has made him an agent on the earth, to examine him and see if he obeys and worships Him or disobeys and disbelieves in Him. He then transfers him through death from the abode of examination and work to the abode of retribution for his performance. This purpose of creating man is constant and does not vary regardless of time and place. Every person, whatever his status may be, is being examined in what Allah has authorized him. The Prophet (Peace be upon him) said: (All of you are guardians and all of you are responsible for your subjects.)

Every human being should, then, worship his Lord because:

He has been created only to behave according to the Will of his Creator (SWT).

It is Allah who has authorized him and empowered him, so he must behave according to the Will of the One Who authorized and empowered him.

He is owned in all his affairs, so he has to behave according to the Will of his Owner (SWT)

He will be called to account before his Lord, so he has to behave according to the Will of the Owner of the Day of Judgment.

Worship is a general term that covers all that Allah likes and approves of, as the scholars say; and authorizing man as an agent in the earth is involved in the meaning of worship, for worship is the ultimate goal of human existence; it is man’s first duty whatever his status. There is no Lord in this Universe but One to Whom all people are slaves who should direct all their deeds, feelings, and consciences towards worshipping him sincerely without ascribing any partners to Him.

If somebody tried to use something for a purpose other than that for which it has been manufactured, we would say to him: “By doing so you would spoil it.” If he should want to use a pencil as a siwak (toothbrush) he would oppose the purpose for which the pencil has been made. If he should use the car as a permanent place for sitting, he would oppose the purpose for which it has been manufactured. If he should use a book as a pillow, he would oppose the purpose of writing it. That is because the thing manufactured should satisfy the purpose for which it has been manufactured. If the purpose is changed, the product should be changed in order to meet the new purpose of the manufacturer.

People would not use things for purposes other than those for which those things have been made, lest they should spoil and corrupt them. Yet they dare imagine a purpose for their creation other the one that Allah has created them for and interpret it willfully, and whimsically. Among such people may be:

The heedless person who is indifferent to that and would not ask about it. Allah (SWT) says: “And surely, We have created many jinn and men for Hell; they have hearts wherewith they understand not, eyes wherewith they see not, and ears wherewith they hear not. They are like cattle—nay, more misguided: for they are heedless (of warning).” (VII: 179)

The atheist who claims that he has been created purposelessly. Allah (SWT) says: “And they say: ‘There is nothing but our life in this world: we die and we live and nothing destroys us but time.’ They have no knowledge of it; they only conjecture.” (XLV: 24)

The polytheist who mixes up things and worships something along with Allah (SWT). Allah (SWT) says: “Do they attribute as partners to Allah those who create nothing but are themselves created?” (VII: 191)

The rebellious and disobedient person who knows the purpose of his Creation but yields to his desires and emotions and disregards the purpose of his creation. Allah (SWT) says: “And whoever disobeys Allah and His Messenger has indeed strayed into a plain error.” (XXXIII: 36)

If you were to ask an atheist about the purpose of creating the organs of his body, he would admit that each organ has a wise wonderful purpose.

If you asked him about the purpose of relating each organ to the whole body, he would say that the purpose of each organ depends on its relation to the whole body.

However, if you asked him about the purpose of the whole body, the purpose for which the organs have been created and harmonized, he would say there is no purpose!

If you should ask one of such people to use one of his organs for a purpose other the usual one, like eating with his ear or eye, he would protest and ridicule your suggestion, be cause that would spoil the organ as a result of changing the function for which it has been created. Yet, he misinterprets the purpose for which he has been created as a complete entity and thus he spoils his life and loses himself.

Allah has created him to follow the path of worship and obedience in this life so that he may be among the winners of Paradise, but he insists on following the path of disobedience and thus loses himself in the Hell-fire. What a gross crime and abominable disaster that one rebels against his Creator and loses himself forever in the Hell-fire! Allah (SWT) says: “Say: ‘The losers are those who will lose themselves and their families on the Day Resurrection. Verily, that will be a manifest loss!” (XXXIX: 15)

Allah (SWT) says: “Everyone is going to taste death…”(XXI: 35) Allah (SWT) also says: “When their term is reached, neither can they delay it, nor can they advance it an hour.” (X: 49)

So, death cannot be kept away from you by your wealth, children, knowledge or reputation. It overwhelms kings in their castles, picks up doctors from their hospitals, takes the rich and the businessmen from their treasures and deprives youths and children of their souls when the time of their death is due. But a believer surrenders to this fate and prepares himself to what follows so that he may enjoy the perpetual life and prosper in a Paradise as wide as the heavens and the earth prepared for the righteous and Allah-fearing.

Allah (SWT) assigns to every human being his life-term, his subsistence, his work and whether he will be miserable or happy (in the Hereafter). Such assignment is made on the day the soul is blown into his body while still a fetus in his mother’s womb, as the qudsi (Divine) Tradition illustrates: (…Then Allah sends an angel to him with the permission to write down four words; he will write his subsistence, his instant of death, his work and whether he will be miserable or happy (in the Hereafter), and then the soul is blown into him.)

Thus, this life is a test or an examination that ends with the departure of the soul from the body, whereupon man moves from this life to the barzakh (intermediate interval preceding the Day of Judgement).

Death is the departure of the soul from the body; it is the transfer from this life to the Hereafter.

Al-Qurtubi said: “Scholars say that death does not mean turning into nothingness or complete annihilation. It is rather the termination of the state of coupling the soul with the body and the departure of the soul from the body, with something that keeps them separate. It is a change of state and transfer from one abode to another.”

Biologists, on the other hand, think that death means the cessation of life activities; a dead person does not eat, drink, hear, feel or perceive anything; he does not breathe, reproduce, move, or grow. A living being does all that. Such difference between living and dead organisms has been concluded through long studies and observations to find out the difference between the dead and the living.

Clinical death is a kind of death in which the heart and the lungs stop operating, but the person recovers his consciousness after the heart and the lungs resume their work. Such a situation makes ignorant people wrongly believe that a dead person has been resurrected. In fact that person has not died, but some of the features of life have temporarily stopped working, while the soul has not deserted the body.

Death is the inevitable decreed fate of every creature. All living organisms, whether plants, animals or human beings will die. But even tiny organisms such as alga, fungi, germs, bacteria, viruses and all organisms in the deep sea or high in the air or hidden in rocks all will die.

The Universe as a whole has a fixed specific term at the end of which it will perish. The mountains have a specific term; the sun, the moon, the planets and the stars similarly, each has a limited appointed term.

Allah (SWT) says: “Do you not see that Allah merges Night into Day and He merges Day into Night; that He subjected the sun, and the moon, each running its course for a term appointed; and that Allah is well acquainted with all that you do?” (XXXI:29).

Decrepitude and weakness because of old age that befall the various parts of the body are warning signs of death. At old age a person becomes hard of hearing and weak-sighted; his muscles atrophy, his skin wrinkles, his memory weakens, his teeth are shed and his hair grows gray. Allah (SWT) says: “And he whom we grant long life--we reverse him in creation. Will they not then understand?” (XXXVI: 68) Allah (SWT) also says: “…Then we bring you out as babies, and then (foster you) that you may reach your age of full strength, and some of you are called to die, and some are sent back to the feeblest old age, so that they know nothing after having known (much).” (XXII: 5)

All people will die, whether male or female, young or old, rich or poor, doctors or patients, leaders or nations, bosses or employees, not excepting kings, tyrants, arrogant people and oppressors. Allah (SWT) says: “Everyone shall taste death, and then unto Us you will be returned.” (XXIX: 57)

Allah starts creating man as a zygote that is invisible to the naked eye. He nourishes it with lifeless materials from the mother’s blood. These dead materials change into living viable cells that grow into a leech-like blood clot that changes into chewed substance that becomes bones to be finally clothed with flesh. Thus the inanimate food turns into a living embryo. Then the embryo grows and moves and the soul is blown into it. Allah (SWT) then makes it into another from: a normal human being.

Both the processes of death and life work simultaneously in the bodies of living organisms. While some cells die in these bodies, other living cells are produced in them. This double-sided process goes on continuously in our bodies and the bodies of all living organisms. Thus cells are produced from lifeless matter and others die after being alive at the same time. This law recurs to see some living generation off and receive new generations created from lifeless matter. This applies to nations and generations as it applies to the cells of a single body.

Allah, the Glorified says: “He brings out the living from the dead, and brings out the death from the living. And He revives the earth after its death. And thus shall you be brought out (resurrected).” (XXX: 19)

The highest degree of controlling living organisms involves giving them life of depriving them of it. Such authority belongs to the Owner of Death and life, Allah, the Almighty. Although every living creature hates death, he will die in the end, against his will, as he has not come to this life at his will. Allah (SWT) says: “His is the Kingdom of the heavens and the earth. It is He who gives life and causes death; and He is able to do all things.” (LVII: 2) Allah (SWT) also says: “And it is He Who gives life and causes death, and His is the alteration of night and day. Will you not then understand?” (XXIII:80)

In a qudsi (Divine) Tradition which the Messenger (Peace be upon him) narrates from his Lord, Allah (SWT) says: “…I have never hesitated to do something I intended to do as I hesitate to terminate the life of the believer, for he hates to die and I hate to bother him.)

Whatever image man imagines for his life and chooses to justify and explain his existence, death comes to destroy that image. Whether man chooses as a goal for his life such things as the acquisition of knowledge, fame, reputation, wealth, pleasures or leadership, death comes to destroy all these wishes that are confined to this life.

Is the purpose of death, then, just destroying these wishes and goals, or must there be a purpose that is related to all the stages of life before death and after it, as it is a ring in the chain of the stages of human existence?

Allah (SWT) says: “And Verily We created man from a quintessence (gentle extraction) of clay. We then placed him as a drop (Nutfah) in a place of settlement firmly fixed, then we made the drop into an ‘Alaqah (leech-like substance) and then we changed the leech-like structure into a Mudgha (chewed-like substance), then we made out of that Mudgha bones (skeleton), then we clothed the bones with flesh (muscles), then we developed out of him another creation. So blessed be Allah, the best to create. After that, at length you will die. Again, on the Day of Judgement, will you be raised up” (XXIII:12-16)

The Glorified Creator, Who transferred us from one stage to another, tells us of the purpose of the death stage showing that it is transfer from an abode of work to the abode of recompense where everyone will get his due. Allah (SWT) says: “Everyone shall taste death, and only on the Day of Resurrection shall you be paid your wages in full.” (III:185)

A healthy person may die suddenly and nobody can prevent that person’s death. Allah (SWT) says: “…when their term is reached, neither can they delay it nor can they advance it an hour.” (VII: 34)

Some patients may be on the verge of death and doctors may have no hope of their recovery, and suddenly they recover to live as long as Allah wishes.

Those who witness military battles realize this fact. They may see people being bombarded by fighters, or exposed to exploding mines, or pierced with bullets, or subjected to well-planned murderous conspiracy, yet they survive, for the preordained moment of their death is not due. Allah (SWT) says: “And no person can ever die except by Allah’s leave and at an appointed term…” (III: 145)

But if the due moment of death comes nobody can prevent it. Allah (SWT) says: “Say (to them): ‘Verily death from which you flee will surely meet you, and then you will be sent back to (Allah), the Knower of the unseen and the seen, and He will tell you what you used to do.” (LXII: 8)

How can we, then, forget death or pretend to forget it, while it is inevitable and it may overtake us at any moment and at any place unexpectedly.

Abu Bakr Al-Siddiq (May Allah be pleased with him) says in a poetic Verse:

Every person is safe among his family in the morning while death is as close to him as his shoelace.

Therefore, you should prepare yourself for death, O Believer! Get ready for it through repentance, avoiding minor and major sins and pleasing Allah with righteous deeds, as Al-Qa’qa’ ibn Hakim did. He said: “I have been on the alert for thirty years expecting death. If it comes at any time I will not be taken unawares”.

He who is sure of the inevitability of death would dedicate all his time for obeying Allah (SWT). Why should one be afraid of death, knowing that it comes only at its preordained appointed exact time. Knowing this, a person would be brave in his stance and behavior, fearing none but Allah and not worrying about himself because he knows that his death is determined only by Allah (SWT).

Death is inevitable; no creature can prevent it or escape it or delay it. But lots of people forget it or pay no attention to it, and fail to prepare for what will come after it. They even dislike its mention albeit they will surely meet it; they will not think of it although it will certainly visit them. Allah (SWT) says: “Wherever you may be, death will overtake you even if you are in fortresses built up strong and high!” (IV: 78)

Therefore, O Believer, get ready to meet death, for you may be among the living in the evening to become among the dead in the morning.

Allah (SWT) says: “Nobody knows what he will earn tomorrow, and nobody knows in what land he will die…” (XXXI: 34)

Our remembering death makes us realize the reality of this transient perishable life, the reality that is revealed on death, so that we may avoid being lured by it or confiding in it, and turn our faces towards the permanent everlasting life and hurry to repent and be active in performing deeds of worship. Death is enough Warner that terminates pleasures and interrupts wishes and ambitions.

Allah’s Messenger (Peace be upon him) said: (Remember the destroyer of pleasures as often as possible.) We (the companions) said: what is the destroyer of pleasures, O Allah’s Messenger!” He said: (Death.)

Visiting cemeteries reminds us of death, and it is the practice of the righteous. When we see graves we remember those who used to live prosperously in their castles and mansions and those who had authority, power, and sovereignty and those who commanded armies and nations. Watching graves reminds us of the Hereafter so that the heart keeps continuously alert and awake. Allah’s Messenger (Peace be upon him) said: (…So, visit graves, for they remind (you) of death.)

An Ansari man came and greeted the Prophet (Peace be upon him) and asked him saying: “ O Allah’s Messenger! Who is the best among believers?” He said: (The best in manners.) The man added: “Who is the smartest among believers?” He said: (It is those who remember death the most often and those who are the best prepared for what comes after it. Such are the smart.)

The Poet Abu Al-‘Tahiyah says: “Death is a gate everyone will enter. O would I know what is there behind the gate!

The house will be a Garden of eternity, if you do what satisfies Allah; otherwise it will be Hell.”

Death will inevitably overtake us with all its distress, pain, and horrible fits. The Angel of Death will no doubt take out our souls and we will experience such pains, stress, and agony as Allah alone knows. Even Allah’s Messenger (Peace be upon him), who is dearest to Allah, faced the same situation. ‘Aisha (May Allah be pleased with her) said: Allah’s Messenger (Peace be upon him) on dying, would dip his hand into a container of water and then wipe his face with it, saying: (There is no deity deserving worship but Allah! Death has its own distressful fits of agony.)

In another narration she said: I saw Allah’s Messenger (Peace be upon him) on his death- bed with a glass of water. He would dip his hand into the glass and wipe his face with it (water) and say: (O Allah! help me to cope with the agonies of death!)

Allah (SWT) says: “And the agony of death will bring truth (before his eyes): This is what you were trying to escape!” (L: 19)

Allah (SWT) tells us about the state of the believer on dying in His Saying: “Verily, those who say: ‘Our Lord is Allah,’ and then they stand firm, on them the angles will descend (at the time of their death) (saying): ‘Fear not nor grieve! But receive the glad tidings of Paradise which you have been promised.’” (XLI: 30)

As for the state of the disbeliever, Allah (SWT) says: “And if you could but see when the wrong-doers are in the agonies of death, while the angels are stretching forth their hands (saying): ‘Deliver your souls! This day you shall be recompensed with the torment of degradation because of what you used to utter against Allah other than the truth, and used to reject His Signs with disrespect.’” (VI: 93)

Al-Bara’ ibn ‘Azib said: (We went out with the Prophet (Peace be upon him) to escort an Ansari deceased man to his final resting place. We arrived at the grave before the deceased was buried. Allah’s Messenger (Peace be upon him) sat and we sat around him silent with awe. He had a stick that he was lightly hitting the ground with. Then he raised his head saying twice or thrice: “Seek refuge in Allah from the torment of the grave.” Then he added: “When a faithful bondman departs from this world and turns towards the Hereafter, a number of white-faced angels descend from the heaven; their

faces being like the sun, carrying one of the shrouds of Paradise and some of the perfume of Paradise. They would sit close next to him as far as an eye can see. The Angel of Death (Peace be upon him) comes to sit at his head and say: ‘O gracious soul! Come out to enjoy Allah’s forgiveness and satisfaction.’ Then his soul comes out flowing as a drop flows from a skin. Then he takes it, but no sooner has he taken it than they take it and put it in that shroud and in that perfume. Then out of it comes the most pleasant smell of musk known on the surface of the earth. Then they go up carrying it. They do not then pass by any group of angels with that soul but they say: ‘What pleasant soul is this?’ They say: ‘It is (the soul of) such and such’, calling him by the best names he used to be named by in this life, till they reach with it the lowest heaven and ask permission to admit it, and the heaven’s gate is opened for them, so that the angels nearest to Allah in every heaven escort it to the next heaven till they reach the seventh heaven, whereupon Allah the Almighty says: “Write the book of My servant among the highest and return him to the earth, for I created them (humans) from it and I will return them into it and bring them out of it once again.” Then his soul is returned to his body and two angels visit him and make him sit up and say to him: ‘Who is your Lord?’ He says: ‘Allah is My Lord.’ They then say to him: ‘What religion is yours?’ He says: ‘My religion is Islam.’ Then they say to him: ‘What did you think of the man who was raised up among you?’ He says: ‘He is Allah’s Messenger (Peace be upon him).’ Then they say to him: ‘How do you know (that)?’ He says: ‘I read Allah’s Book and believed in it as the truth.’ Then a crier from the heaven proclaims [on behalf of Allah]: ‘My bondman has told the truth, so, lay out a carpet for him from Paradise, dress him with a garment from Paradise and open a gate for him leading to Paradise.’ Then there comes to him of its breeze and fragrance; his grave is extended as for as an eye can see. Then a good-looking, well-dressed, sweet-smelled man comes to him and say: ‘Indulge in what pleases you. This is the day you were promised.’ He then says to him: ‘Who are you? Your face conveys what is good.’ He will say: ‘ I am your righteous deeds.’ He then says: ‘O Lord! Let the hour (Day of Judgement) take place, so that I may return to my family and property.’

As for the disbelieving bondman, when he departs from this world and turns towards the Hereafter, a number of black-faced angels descend from the heaven, carrying rough uncomfortable cloth, and sit next to him as far as an eye can see. Then comes the Angel of death and sits at his head and says: ‘O nasty soul! Come out to face Allah’s discontent and wrath.’ Then the soul spreads throughout his body and the angel extracts it as one plucks out barbs from wet wool. He then takes it, but no sooner has he taken it than they take it and put it in that rough cloth. Then out of it comes the nastiest smell of a corpse known on the surface of the earth. They then go up carrying it. They do not, then, pass by any group of angels with it but they say: ‘What is this nasty soul.’ They, then, say: ‘It is (the soul of) such and such; calling him by the ugliest names he used to be called by in this life, till they reach with it the lowest heaven and ask permission to admit it, but no gate is opened to him. (Then Allah’s Messenger (Peace be upon him) recited Allah’s saying: “For them the gates of heaven will not be opened, and they will not enter Paradise until the camel goes through the eye of the needle.” Whereupon Glorified Allah says: ‘Write his Book in prison in the lower earth.’ Then his soul is thrown away. Then the Prophet (Peace be upon him) recited: ‘And whoever assigns partners to Allah, it is as if he had fallen from the sky and the birds had snatched him, or the wind had thrown him to a far-off place.’ Then his soul is returned to his body and two angels visit him and make him sit up and say to him: ‘Who is your Lord?’ He says: ‘Uh! Uh! I don’t know!’ They then say to him: ‘What religion is yours?’ He says: ‘Uh! Uh! I do not know!’ They then say to him: ‘What do you think of the man who was raised up among you?’ He says: ‘Uh! Uh! I do not know!’ Then a crier from the heaven proclaims: ‘He has told lies. Lay out for him a carpet from Hell and dress him with a garment from Hell and open a gate for him leading to Hell.’ Then there comes to him of its heat and scorching wind and his grave is made so narrow that his ribs are mixed up together. Then an ugly, badly-dressed, nasty-smelled man comes to him and says: ‘Indulge in what displeases you. This is the