Khandaker Nazneen Sultana
All the prophets of Allah called their people to worship Allah and to believe in life after death. Surely Allah will raise all the dead. Allah will shower His Mercy on those who suffered for His sake in the worldly life, believing that an eternal bliss was awaiting them. But those who abused the bounties of Allah, caring nothing for the life to come, will be in the most miserable state.
Narrated Anas (RA) The Prophet (SAW) said, "When a human being is laid in his grave and his companions return and he even hears their foot steps, two angels come to him and make him sit and ask him: 'What did you use to say about this man, Muhammad?' He will say: 'I testify that he is Allah's slave and His Apostle.' Then it will be said to him, 'Look at your place in the Hell-Fire. Allah has given you a place in Paradise instead of it.' " The Prophet (SAW)added, "The dead person will see both his places. But a non-believer or a hypocrite will say to the angels, 'I do not know, but I used to say what the people used to say! It will be said to him, 'Neither did you know nor did you take the guidance (by reciting the Quran).' Then he will be hit with an iron hammer between his two ears, and he will cry and that cry will be heard by whatever approaches him except human beings and jinns." -- (Sahih Bukhari, 2:422)
Narrated Abdullah ibn Abbas (RA), The Prophet (SAW) said: Wear your white garments, for they are among your best garments, and shroud your dead in them. -- (Abu Dawud)
In death we surrender our physical life, but our soul does not die; it goes back to a plane of existence in which it is more conscious of the realities of the spiritual world: “ allah takes the soul”
A day will come when the whole universe will be destroyed and then again the dead will be resurrected to stand before Allah. That day will be the beginning of the life that will never end, and that Day every person will be rewarded by Allah according to his or her good or evil deed.
The Quran also states that, this worldly life is a preparation for the eternal life after death. But those who deny it become slaves of their passions and desires; make fun of virtuous and Allah-conscious persons. Such persons realize their folly only at the time of their death and wish to be given a further chance in the world but in vain. They fall in miserable state at the time of death, and in the horror of the Day of Judgement.
Allah has also described about Death of human being in many places in the Qur’an, so let us now take a look at what He has in store for the believers.
Death of human being is very much important in Islam—
From the view of The Al-Qur’an:
In Surah Al-i-Imran verses no. 185 Allah informs:
3.185. Every soul shall have a taste of death: And only on the Day of Judgment shall you be paid your full recompense. Only he who is saved far from the Fire and admitted to the Garden will have attained the object (of Life): For the life of this world is but goods and chattels of deception.
In Surah Al-An’am verses no. 61, 93 Allah states:
6.93. Who can be more wicked than one who inventeth a lie against Allah, or saith, "I have received inspiration," when he hath received none, or (again) who saith, "I can reveal the like of what Allah hath revealed"? If thou couldst but see how the wicked (do fare) in the flood of confusion at death! - the angels stretch forth their hands, (saying),"Yield up your souls: this day shall ye receive your reward,- a penalty of shame, for that ye used to tell lies against Allah, and scornfully to reject of His signs!"
In Surah Al-A’raf verses no. 37, 38 Allah announces:
7.37. Who is more unjust than one who invents a lie against Allah or rejects His Signs? For such, their portion appointed must reach them from the Book (of decrees): until, when our messengers (of death) arrive and take their souls, they say: "Where are the things that ye used to invoke besides Allah." They will reply, "They have left us in the lurch," And they will bear witness against themselves, that they had rejected Allah.
In Surah Al- Anfal verses no. 50 Allah notices:
8.50. If thou couldst 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-
In Surah At- Tawba verses no. 84 Allah express:
9.84. Nor do thou ever pray for any of them that dies, nor stand at his grave; for they rejected Allah and His Messenger, and died in a state of perverse rebellion.
In Surah An-Nahl verses no. 29 - 32 Allah reports:
16.29. "So enter the gates of Hell, to dwell therein. Thus evil indeed is the abode of the arrogant."
16.31. Gardens of Eternity which they will enter: beneath them flow (pleasant) rivers: they will have therein all that they wish: thus doth Allah reward the righteous,-
16.32. (Namely) those whose lives the angels take in a state of purity, saying (to them), "Peace be on you; enter ye the Garden, because of (the good) which ye did (in the world)."
In Surah As-Sajda verses no. 11 Allah remarks:
32.11. Say: "The Angel of Death, put in charge of you, will (duly) take your souls: then shall ye be brought back to your Lord."
In Surah Az-Zumar verses no. 42 Allah notices:
39.42. It is Allah that takes the souls (of men) at death; and those that die not (He takes) during their sleep: those on whom He has passed the decree of death, He keeps back (from returning to life), but the rest He sends (to their bodies) for a term appointed verily in this are Signs for those who reflect.
56.83. Then why do ye not (intervene) when (the soul of the dying man) reaches the throat,-
56.84. And ye the while (sit) looking on,-
56.85. But We are nearer to him than ye, and yet see not,-
56.86. Then why do ye not,- If you are exempt from (future) account,-
56.87. Call back the soul, if ye are true (in the claim of independence)?
In Surah Al- Munafiqun verses no. 10 -11 Allah explains:
63.10. And spend something (in charity) out of the substance, which We have bestowed on you, before Death should come to any of you and he should say, "O my Lord! why didst Thou not give me respite for a little while? I should then have given (largely) in charity, and I should have been one of the doers of good".
63.11. But to no soul will Allah grant respite when the time appointed (for it) has come; and Allah is well acquainted with (all) that ye do.
Some hadith of mourning after Death in Islam:
1. A funeral procession passed in front of the Prophet (SAW) and the people praised the deceased. The Prophet (SAW) said, "It has been affirmed (Paradise)." Then another funeral procession passed by and the people talked badly of the deceased. The Prophet (SAW) said, "It has been affirmed (Hell)." Allah's Apostle (SAW) was asked, "O Allah's Apostle! You said it has been affirmed for both?" The Prophet (SAW) said, "The testimony of the people (is accepted), (for) the believers are Allah's witnesses on the earth."Hadith – (Sahih Bukhari 3:810)
2. Narrated Um 'Atiyya (RA), Allah's Apostle (SAW) came to us and we were giving a bath to his (dead) daughter and said, "Wash her three, five or more times with water and Sidr and sprinkle camphor on her at the end; and when you finish, notify me." So when we finished, we informed him and he gave us his waist-sheet and told us to shroud her in it. Aiyub said that Hafsa narrated to him a narration similar to that of Muhammad in which it was said that the bath was to be given for an odd number of times, and the numbers 3, 5 or 7 were mentioned. It was also said that they were to start with the right side and with the parts which were washed in ablution, and that Um 'Atiyya also mentioned, "We combed her hair and divided them in three braids." (Bukhari 2:345, 2:350, 352)
3. Narrated Muhammad bin Sirin (RA), “One of the sons of Um 'Atiyya died, and when it was the third day she asked for a yellow perfume and put it over her body, and said, "We were forbidden to mourn for more than three days except for our husbands." (Bukhari, 2:369)
4. Narrated Um 'Atiyya (RA), “We were forbidden to mourn for more than three days for a dead person, except for a husband, for whom a wife should mourn for four months and ten days, (while in the mourning period) we were not allowed to put kohl in our eyes, nor perfume ourselves, nor wear dyed clothes, except a garment of 'Asb (special clothes made in Yemen). But it was permissible for us that when one of us became clean from her menses and took a bath, she could use a piece of a certain kind of incense. And it was forbidden for us to follow funeral processions.” (Bukhari 7:254)
5. Yahya (RA) related from Malik (RA) from Nafic (RA) that “Saffiyya bint Abi Ubayd(RA) suffered from an eye-complaint while she was in mourning for her husband, Abdullah ibn Umar. She did not apply kohl until her eyes almost had ramas (a dry white secretion in the corners of the eye).” -- Hadith - Muwatta 29.107
6. Malik (RA) said, "A woman whose husband has died should anoint her eyes with olive oil and sesame oil and the like of that since there is no perfume in it."
7. Malik (RA) said, "A woman in mourning for her husband should not put on any jewellery - rings, anklets, or such-like, neither should she dress in any sort of colourful, striped garment unless it is coarse. She should not wear any cloth dyed with anything except black, and she should only dress her hair with things like lotus-tree leaves which do not dye the hair."
8. Graves should not be marked or built. –(Muslim)
9. Yahya (RA) related from Malik (RA) from Yahya ibn (RA) Said that al-Qasim ibn Muhammad (RA) said, "One of my wives died and Muhammad ibn Kab (RA) al Quradhi came to console me about her. He told me of one among the Bani Israil who was a diligent, worshipping, knowing and understanding man who had a wife that he admired and loved, and she died. He grieved over her intensely and lamented her until he withdrew into a house and locked himself in, hidden from everyone, and no one visited him. – (Al-Muwatta 16.43 )
10. A woman heard about him and went to him, saying, 'I need him to give me an opinion. Nothing will satisfy me except what he says about it.' Everyone went away, but she stuck to his door and said, 'I must see him.' Someone said to him, 'There is a woman who wishes to ask your opinion about something,' and she insisted, 'I will only talk to him about it.' When everyone had gone away, and she still had not left his door, he said, 'Let her in.' So she went in and saw him and said, 'I have come to ask your opinion about something.' He said, 'What is it?'
11. She said, 'I borrowed a piece of jewellery from a neighbour of mine, and I have worn it and used it for a long time. Then they sent to me for it. Should I let them have it back?' He said, 'Yes, by Allah.' She said, 'I have had it for a long time.' He said, 'It is more correct for you to return it to them, since they have lent it to you for such a long time.'
12. She said, 'Yes. May Allah have mercy on you. Do you then grieve over what Allah has lent you and then taken from you, when He has a greater right to it than you?' Then he saw the situation he was in, and Allah helped him by her words."
13. Abu Hurairah (RA) narrated that the messenger of Allah said:" Let him who believes in Allah and the Last Day either speak good or keep silent, and let him who believes in Allah and the Last Day be generous to his neighbour, and let him who believes in Allah and the Last Day be generous to his guest."-- (Bukhari and Muslim)
14. Narrated Usama bin Zaid:
We were with the Prophet when suddenly there came to him a messenger from one of his daughters who was asking him to come and see her son who was dying. The Prophet said (to the messenger), “Go back and tell her that whatever Allah takes is His, and whatever He gives is His, and everything with Him has a limited fixed term (in this world). So order her to be patient and hope for Allah’s reward.” But she sent the messenger to the Prophet again, swearing that he should come to her. So the Prophets got up, and so did Sa’d bin ‘Ubada and Mu’adh bin Jabal (and went to her). When the child was brought to the Prophet his breath was disturbed in his chest as if it were in a water skin. On that the eyes of the Prophet became flooded with tears, whereupon Sa’d said to him, “O Allah’s Apostle! What is this?” The Prophet said, “This is mercy which Allah has put in the heart of His slaves, and Allah bestows His mercy only on those of His slaves who are merciful (to others).” (See Hadith No. 373, Vol. 2)-- Volume 9, Book 93, Number 475:
15. Narrated ‘Ata’ bin Yazid Al-Laithi:
On the authority of Abu Huraira: The people said, “O Allah’s Apostle! Shall we see our Lord on the Day of Resurrection?” The Prophet (SAW) said, “Do you have any difficulty in seeing the moon on a full moon night?” They said, “No, O Allah’s Apostle.” He said, “Do you have any difficulty in seeing the sun when there are no clouds?” They said, “No, O Allah’s Apostle.” He said, “So you will see Him, like that. Allah will gather all the people on the Day of Resurrection, and say, ‘whoever worshipped something (in the world) should follow (that thing),’ so, whoever worshipped the sun will follow the sun, and whoever worshiped the moon will follow the moon, and whoever used to worship certain (other false) deities, he will follow those deities. And there will remain only this nation with its good people (or its hypocrites). (The sub-narrator, Ibrahim is in doubt.) Allah will come to them and say, ‘I am your Lord.’ They will (deny Him and) say, ‘We will stay here till our Lord comes, for when our Lord comes, we will recognize Him.’ So Allah will come to them in His appearance which they know, and will say, ‘I am your Lord.’ They will say, ‘You are our Lord,’ so they will follow Him.
Then a bridge will be laid across Hell (Fire)’ I and my followers will be the first ones to go across it and none will speak on that Day except the Apostles. And the invocation of the Apostles on that Day will be, ‘O Allah, save! Save!’ In Hell (or over The Bridge) there will be hooks like the thorns of As-Sa’dan (thorny plant). Have you seen As-Sa’dan? “They replied, “Yes, O Allah’s Apostle!” He said, “So those hooks look like the thorns of As-Sa’dan, but none knows how big they are except Allah. Those hooks will snap the people away according to their deeds. Some of the people will stay in Hell (be destroyed) because of their (evil) deeds, and some will be cut or torn by the hooks (and fall into Hell) and some will be punished and then relieved. When Allah has finished His Judgments among the people, He will take whomever He will out of Hell through His Mercy. He will then order the angels to take out of the Fire all those who used to worship none but Allah from among those whom Allah wanted to be merciful to and those who testified (in the world) that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah. The angels will recognize them in the Fire by the marks of prostration (on their foreheads), for the Fire will eat up all the human body except the mark caused by prostration as Allah has forbidden the Fire to eat the mark of prostration. They will come out of the (Hell) Fire, completely burnt and then the water of life will be poured over them and they will grow under it as does a seed that comes in the mud of the torrent.
Then Allah will finish the judgments among the people, and there will remain one man facing the (Hell) Fire and he will be the last person among the people of Hell to enter Paradise. He will say, ‘O my Lord! Please turn my face away from the fire because its air has hurt me and its severe heat has burnt me.’ So he will invoke Allah in the way Allah will wish him to invoke, and then Allah will say to him, ‘If I grant you that, will you then ask for anything else?’ He will reply, ‘No, by Your Power, (Honor) I will not ask You for anything else.’ He will give his Lord whatever promises and covenants Allah will demand.
So Allah will turn his face away from Hell (Fire). When he will face Paradiseand will see it, he will remain quiet for as long as Allah will wish him to remain quiet, then he will say, ‘O my Lord! Bring me near to the gate of Paradise.’ Allah will say to him, ‘Didn’t you give your promises and covenants that you would never ask for anything more than what you had been given? Woe on you, O Adam’s son! How treacherous you are!’ He will say, ‘O my lord,’ and will keep on invoking Allah till He says to him, ‘If I give what you are asking, will you then ask for anything else?’ He will reply, ‘No, by Your (Honor) Power, I will not ask for anything else.’
Then he will give covenants and promises to Allah and then Allah will bring him near to the gate of Paradise. When he stands at the gate of Paradise,Paradise will be opened and spread before him, and he will see its splendor and pleasures whereupon he will remain quiet as long as Allah will wish him to remain quiet, and then he will say, O my Lord! Admit me into Paradise.’ Allah will say, ‘Didn’t you give your covenants and promises that you would not ask for anything more than what you had been given?’ Allah will say, ‘Woe on you, O Adam’s son! How treacherous you are! ‘
The man will say, ‘O my Lord! Do not make me the most miserable of Your creation,’ and he will keep on invoking Allah till Allah will laugh because of his sayings, and when Allah will laugh because of him, He will say to him, ‘Enter Paradise,’ and when he will enter it, Allah will say to him, ‘Wish for anything.’ So he will ask his Lord, and he will wish for a great number of things, for Allah Himself will remind him to wish for certain things by saying, ‘(Wish for) so-and-so.’ When there is nothing more to wish for, Allah will say, ‘This is for you, and its equal (is for you) as well.”
‘Ata’ bin Yazid added: Abu Sa’id Al-Khudri who was present with Abu Huraira, did not deny whatever the latter said, but when Abu Huraira said that Allah had said, “That is for you and its equal as well,” Abu Sa’id Al-Khudri said, “And ten times as much, O Abu Huraira!” Abu Huraira said, “I do not remember, except his saying, ‘That is for you and its equal as well.’” Abu Sa’id Al-Khudri then said, “I testify that I remember the Prophet (SAW) saying, ‘That is for you, and ten times as much.’ ‘ Abu Huraira then added, “That man will be the last person of the people of Paradise to enter Paradise.” -- Volume 9, Book 93, Number 532c:
6. Narrated Abu Huraira:
The Prophet (SAW) said, “(There are) three (types of persons to whom) Allah will neither speak to them on the Day of Resurrections, nor look at them (They are):--(1) a man who takes a false oath that he has been offered for a commodity a price greater than what he has actually been offered; (2) and a man who takes a false oath after the ‘Asr (prayer) in order to grab the property of a Muslim through it; (3) and a man who forbids others to use the remaining superfluous water. To such a man Allah will say on the Day of Resurrection, ‘Today I withhold My Blessings from you as you withheld the superfluous part of that (water) which your hands did not create.’ “ -- Volume 9, Book 93, Number 538:
7. Narrated Abu Huraira:
Allah’s Apostle said, “We (Muslims) are the last (to come) but will be the foremost on the Day of Resurrection.” The narrators of this Hadith said: Allah said (to man), ‘Spend (in charity), for then I will compensate you (generously).’ “ -- Volume 9, Book 93, Number 587:
(This article have published in the
--‘Editorial page’ of ‘The News Today’ on February 27, 2007.)
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