No one else will prepare for you

It is narrated that ‘Uthmân b. Áffân – Allâh be pleased with him –said in a sermon:

Son of Adam! Know that the angel of death who has been assigned to you has not ceased to pass you and move on to others, ever since you have been in this world. But it is as if he is about to pass someone else and move on to target you, so be careful and prepare for him (by correcting your deeds). And do not forget him, for he does not forget you. And know o son of Adam, if you are heedless about yourself and do not prepare, no one else will prepare for you. You must meet Allah the Mighty and Majestic, so take for yourself and do not leave it to someone else. Peace be on you.

Abû Bakr Al-Daynûrî, Al-Mujâlasah wa Jawâhir Al-Ílm 2: 73, 74.

Living to Die or Dying to Live!

Living to Die or Dying to Live!

In the Name of Allâh, the Most Merciful, the Bestower of Mercy
Al-Istiqaamah News Letter
Dhul-Hijjah 1416H / May 1996CE	Issue No.1

"Death is a harsh and fearful reality faced by everyone who lives. No one has the power to avoid it, nor does anyone around a dying person have the ability to prevent it. It is something that happens every moment and is something encountered by the young and the old, the rich and the poor, the strong and the weak. They are all the same in that they have no plan, nor any means of escaping it, no means of intercession, no way to prevent it, nor to delay it." 1 Allâh - the Most High - says:   "Say: Indeed, the death from which you flee will surely meet you, then you will be sent back to Allâh, the All-Knower of the unseen and the seen. And He will then tell you what you used to do." [Sûrah al-Jumu'ah 62:8]. "Every soul shall taste death. And We shall make a trial of you with evil and with good, and to Us will you be returned." [Sûrah al-Anbiyâ 21:34-35]. Indeed it is death: "which causes fear in the souls, and with it one's actions are sealed, and what comes after is even more fearful and fear-inducing. For is there a place one can flee to in order to escape from the constrictions suffered in the grave? What will our reply be when we are questioned in the grave? Indeed, not a single one of us knows where we will end up. Will it be Paradise whose width is like the heavens and the earth, or shall it be the Fire whose fuel is of men and stones?" 2 Ibrâhîm ibn Adham (d.160H) - rahimahullâh - said, when he was asked about the verse: "Call upon Me and I will respond to you." [Sûrah Ghâfir 40:60] They said: We call upon Allâh, but He does nor respond to us. So he said: "You know Allâh; yet you do not obey Him. You recite the Qur'ân; yet you do not act according to it. You know Shaytân; yet you continue agreeing with him. You claim to love Allâh's Messenger 'alayhis-salâm; yet you abandon his Sunnah (guidance and way). You claim to love Paradise, yet you do not work for it. You claim to fear the Fire; yet you do not stop sinning. You say, Indeed death is true; yet you have not prepared for it. You busy yourselves with the faults of others; yet you do not look at your own faults. You eat the sustenance that Allâh provides for you; yet you are not grateful to Him. And you bury your dead; yet you have not heeded its lesson." 3 So this - O noble reader - is the reality which must be firmly established in one's heart; the reality that life in this world is limited and has an appointed end, and that this end will surely come ... "The righteous will die; And the wicked will die. The warriors who fight jihâd will die; And those who sit at home will die. Those who busy themselves with correct beliefs will die; And those who treat people as their slaves will die. The brave who reject injustice will die; And the cowards who seek to cling to this vile life will die. The people of lofty-goals and ambitions will die; And the wretched who live for cheap enjoyment will die." 4 "Every soul shall taste death." [Âl-'Imrân 3:185]. "So keep in mind the point of death, and of one's passing on to the next life, and the number of sins that one has committed and the small amount of good that one has done. Think of the good that you would earnestly like to do at that time - then bring that forward and do it today. And think of all those things which you would desire to clear yourself of- then clear yourself from them now."5 1. Al-Mawt (p.9) of Shaykh 'Alî Hasan al-Halabî. 2. As-Salât wa Atharahu fî Ziyâdatil-Îmân (p.10) of Shaykh Husayn al-Awâishah. 3. Al-Hâfidh Ibn Rajab related it in al-Khushû' fis-Salâh (p.62). 4. Al-Mawt (p.10). 5. Al-Mawt (p.16).

The Reality of Death

By Dr. Saleh As-Saleh
Published Daar Al-Bukhari     

Life in this world has an appointed term, and the end of the term will definitely come... 

The righteous will die and the wicked will die...
The worriers for just causes will die and those who run from death will die
Those who busy themselves with correct belief will die...
and those who treat people as their slaves will die...
The brave who rejects injustice will die, and the coward who seeks to cling o­n to the life at any price will die...
The people of great concern and lofty goals will die, and wretched people who live o­nly for cheap enjoyment will die...
Wherever we will be, in a fortress or in a tent, we will die...

All will die:

Allah (God) says:

Everyone shall taste death...
[Quraan 3: 185]

No o­ne will escape death. Allah says:

Say: Verily, the death from which you flee will surely meet you, then you will be sent back to (Allah), the All-Knower of the unseen and the seen, and He will tell you what you used to do.
[Quraan 62: 8]

This life is a period of trials and tests. Allah says:

He (Allah) has created death and life, that He may test which of you is the best in deed. He is the All-Mighty, the Oft-Forgiving.
[Quraan 67:2]

Man is called to exert the right efforts to achieve the true success in this life and in the hereafter. When exerted according to Allah's way, the outcome is:

Whoever works righteousness whether male or female, while he (or she) is a true believer (in the o­neness of Allah), verily to him (or to her) We will give a good life (in this world with respect, contentment and lawful provision), and We shall pay them certainly a reward in proportion to the best of what they used to do (i.e. Paradise).
[Quraan 16: 97]

But those who disbelieve and belie Our Ayaat (proofs, evidences, verses, signs, revelations, etc.) such are the dwellers of the Fire, they shall abide therein forever.
[Quraan 2: 39]

Those who invoke other than Allah even if they call themselves "Muslims", o­nce evidences are established upon them that they are setting up rivals with Allah, and they die insisting o­n that, they exit the fold of Islam because they have committed shirk (worshipping or associating others with Allah). Prophets, themselves, are warned to keep away from Shirk in all its forms. In fact after mentioning the names in the good ranks of eighteen Prophets

Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Noah, David Solomon, Job, Joseph, Moses, Aron, Zachariah, John, Jesus, Elias, Ishmael, Elisha, Jonah, and Lot together with thier fathers, their progeny, and their brethren.

in Surat (Chapter) of Al-An'aam (Chapter 6 in the Quraan), Allah warned that:

But if they had joined in the worship others with Allah, all that they used to do would have been of no benefit to them.
[Quraan 6:88]

A similar note was made clear to the last Messenger of Allah, Muhammad , in which Allah says:

And indeed it has been revealed to you (O Muhammad ), as it was to those (Allah's Messengers) before you: "If you join others in worship with Allah, (then) surely (all) your deeds will be in vain, and you will certainly be among the losers.
[Quraan 39:65]

One of the close and learned companions of the Prophet Muhammad by the name of Abdullah bin Mas'oud, may Allah be pleased with him, said: The Prophet said o­ne statement and said another. The Prophet said: "Whoever dies while still invoking anything otherthan Allah as a rival to Allah, will enter Hell (Fire)." An I said "Whoever dies without invoking anything as a rival to Allah, will enter Paradise."
[Shahih Al Bukhari Volume 6 Hadeeth 24]

When the appointed term of each soul is concluded, the o­nly thing that counts then, is its stand towards its Creator. At the time when the soul examines the actual death it will be too late for anyone to repent:

And Allah will never grant reprieve to any soul when its appointed time has come, and Allah is aware of all that you do.
[Quraan 63: 11]

Until, when death comes to o­ne of them (those who join partners with Allah and those who persist in their rejection of the Resurrection), he says: " My Lord! Send me back (to life) so that I may work in righteousness regarding things left behind!" But no! It is o­nly a word he says; and behind them is Barzakh (a barrier) until the day they are raised up.
[Quraan 23: 99-100]

Before it is too late, all people are called to reflect o­n their way of life, about the purpose of existence and the end. Certainly to Allah will be the return. He made His Message clear and said:

There is no compulsion in religion. Verily, the Right Path has become distinct from the wrong path. Whoever disbelieves in Taghut (all froms of false deities) and believes in Allah, then he has grasped the most trustworthy handhold that will never break. And Allah is All-Hearer, All-Knower
[Quraan 2: 256]

In his Farewell Pilgramage to Makkah, Prophet Muhammad  addressed the people o­n Friday, the 9th day of the 12th month of the 10th year of the Islamic Hijrah calendar, corresponding to the year 632 of the western calendar: He said:

"... I have left you among you the Book of Allah and if you hold fast to it, you will never go astray. And you will be asked about me (on the Day of resurrection), (now tell me) what would you say? They ( the audience) said, conveyed (the Message), discharged (the ministry of prophethood) and given wise (sincere) counsel."

The Prophet then raised his forefinger towards the sky and pointing at the people (said):

"O Allah be withness, O Allah, be witness, saying it thrice."
[Sahih Muslim V.2 pp. 611-617]