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IN short, the "heap of flesh and bones" to
which we assign an identity faces a quite nasty end. On the other hand,
you – or rather, your soul – will leave this body as soon as you breathe
your last. The remainder of you – your body – will become part of the
soil.
Yes, but what is the reason for all these things happening?
If Allah willed, the body would never have decayed in such a way. That it
does so actually carries a very important inner message in itself.
The tremendous end awaiting man should make him acknowledge that he is not
a body himself, but a soul "encased" within a body. In other words, man
has to acknowledge that he has an existence beyond his body. Furthermore,
man should understand the death of his body which he tries to possess as
if he is to remain eternally in this temporal world. However, this body,
which he deems so important, will decay and become worm-eaten one day and
finally be reduced to a skeleton. That day might be very soon.
Despite all these facts, people's mental process is inclined to disregard
what they do not like or want. They are even inclined to deny the
existence of things they avoid confronting. This tendency seems to be most
apparent when death is the issue. Only a funeral or the sudden death of an
immediate family member brings this reality to mind. Almost all of us see
death far from ourselves. The assumption is that those who die while
sleeping or in an accident are different people, and what they face will
never befall us! Everybody thinks it is too early to die and that there
are always years ahead to live.
Yet most probably, people who die on the way to school or hurrying to
attend a business meeting shared the same thought. They probably never
thought that the next day's newspapers would publish news of their deaths.
It is entirely possible that, as you read these lines, you still do not
expect to die soon after you have finished them or even entertain the
possibility that it might happen.
Probably you feel that it is too early to die because there are many
things to accomplish. However, this is just an avoidance of death and
these are only vain endeavors to escape it:
Say (O Muhammad, peace be upon him to these hypocrites who ask your
permission to run away from you): "Flight will not avail you if you flee
from death or killing; and then you will enjoy no more than a little
while!" (33:16)
Man who is created alone should be aware that he will also die alone. Yet
during his life, he lives almost addicted to possessions. His sole purpose
in life becomes to possess more. Yet, people cannot take their goods with
them to the grave. The body is buried, wrapped in a shroud made from the
cheapest of fabrics. The body comes into this world alone and departs from
it in the same way. The only asset people can take with them when they die
is their belief or disbelief. (Concluded)
Compiled from various
sources.
Shahid Khan
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