Death
﴿كُلُّ نَفْسٍ ذَآئِقَةُ الْمَوْتِ ۗ وَنَبْلُوكُم بِالشَّرِّ وَالْخَيْرِ فِتْنَةً ۖ وَإِلَيْنَا تُرْجَعُون ﴾
Every soul will taste death. And We test you with bad and good as a trial;
and to Us you will be returned. [21:35]
Sometimes you will see prosperity in your life, but every so often Allah f will test you with difficulties and hardships. Ultimately, we will return to Allah f which is an inevitable fact. Why then do we engross ourselves in the materialistic aspect of this world? We need to constantly remind ourselves of this fact, otherwise we will lose sight of the reason of our creation, which is to obey Allah f. After all, this world is a temporary place of abode.
THE STORY OF THE ANGEL OF DEATH, A KING & A PIOUS MAN
Wahb b. Munabbih r says that there was a king who intended to visit and inspect the condition of the land of his kingdom. He ordered a royal dress which was brought. He disliked it. A second one was brought, which he did not like either. In short, after many refusals, he wore a very fine dress.
He also ordered a conveyance. An excellent horse was presented, which he disliked. The horse was returned. A second and third horse was ordered all of which he disliked. Then all the horses were brought forward. Amongst them he chose the finest horse and mounted it.
At this time Shaiṭān, the accursed, blew even more pride into him. He mounted the horse with a lot of pride. A train of servants and soldiers walked with him but, out of pride and haughtiness, he did not even look at them.
Enroute, a very distressed person clad in old rags met him. He greeted the king, but the king paid no attention to him. The distressed person caught the reins of the horse whereupon the king reprimanded him:
“Leave the reins! How dare you catch hold of my horse’s reins?” The person said,
“But I have work with you.” The king replied:
“If that is the case then have patience. When I dismount, you can mention it to me.” The person insisted:
“No, I have to mention it now.” Saying this he forcefully grabbed the reins. The king said:
“Mention what you have to say.” He replied:
“No, it is a secret. I will say it in your ear.” The king lowered his ear. He said:
“I am Malak al-Mawt (the Angel of Death). I have come to take your life.”
Hearing this the king’s face turned pale and his tongue began to stutter. The king said:
“Give me some time to go home to arrange my goods and to meet my family.” The Angel of Death replied:
“There is no respite. Now you will never see your house nor your wealth.”
After saying this the Angel of Death pulled-out his soul and he fell down from his horse like a dry piece of wood.
Thereafter, Malak al-Mawt went to a pious Muslim. This pious Muslim was also travelling towards a certain place. The Angel of Death greeted him. The pious man replied by saying:
“Wa ‘Alaikum Al-Salām.” The Angel of death told him:
“I want to tell you something in your ear.” He replied:
“Say it.” The Angel of Death said:
“I am Malak al-Mawt.” He replied:
“Very well, welcome. Blessed is the arrival of him whose separation was very lengthy. Of all those who are distant from me I did not desire to meet them as I desired to meet you.” The Angel of Death told him:
“Complete that work quickly for which you have left your home.” The pious person replied:
“I do not like any work more than my meeting with Allah f.” The Angel of Death informed him:
“I will extract your soul in whatever condition you wish to die.” The person replied:
“I give you the choice.” The Angel of Death says:
“I have been ordered to follow your desire.” The person said:
“Very well, let me make Wuḍū’ and pray Ṣalāh. When I go into Sajdah, then you can extract my soul.”
The person began offering his Ṣalāh and when he went into Sajdah, his soul was extracted. [1]
Allah f says:
﴿ إِذَا جَآءَ أَجَلُهُمْ فَلَا يَسْتَـْٔخِرُونَ سَاعَةً ۖ وَلَا يَسْتَقْدِمُونَ ﴾
When their term comes, then they do not remain behind an hour,
nor can they precede it. [10:49]
We should take this story as an inspiration and a means of reflection to enable us to prepare ourselves in such a way that our death is like this.
IMĀM AḤMAD B. ḤANBAL r AND SATAN
At the time of death, Shaiṭān comes to deceive us in many ways. We would assume that Imām Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal r, one of the greatest scholars of his generation, would be saved from Shaiṭān’s trickery and deception due to his piety and asceticism. However, this was not the case as the following story exemplifies:
His son, ‘Abd Allah b. Aḥmad r said:
“When death approached my father, I sat with him and in my hand was a scrap of cloth with which I wanted to tie his beard, and he began to drift in and out of consciousness. Then he opened his eyes and said, indicating with his hand:
“No, not yet. No, not yet” And he repeated it three times. After the third repetition, I said to him:
“Oh, my father! What is this thing which you have said at this time? You fall into unconsciousness so that we say that you have gone, then you return (to consciousness) and say: “No, not yet. No, not yet.”
He said to me: “Oh, my son! Do you not know?” I said: “No.” He said,
“Satan stood before me, lowered himself on his knuckles and said to me: “Oh, Aḥmad! You have eluded me.” But I replied: “No, not yet, not yet until I die.” [2]
May Allah f grant us all death in the state of Imān. May He enable us to recite the Kalimah, Lā ilāha illallāhu Muḥammadur Rasulullāh at the time of death. Āmīn.
[1] Ghazālī, A.H, Iḥyā’ ‘Ulūm Al-Dīn, 4:464.
[2] ‘Abdul Mawjood, S.A. The biography of Imām Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal, pp.141-142
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“The best among you (Muslims) are those who learn the Qur’an and teach it.”
The Prophet (peace be upon him)
