Man and Universe

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Man and Universe

Man and Universe

Author:
Publisher: Islamic Seminary Publications
English

This book is corrected and edited by Al-Hassanain (p) Institue for Islamic Heritage and Thought

Chapter 3: Religious Faith

The foregoing discussion has made it clear that without having an ideal and faith man cannot pass a healthy life nor can he render a fruitful service to humanity and human culture. A man not having an ideal and faith will either be submerged in self-seeking or will be converted into a lifeless robot groping in darkness and not knowing his duty in respect of the moral and social questions of life. He will perforce show queer reaction to such questions.

A man who adheres to a school, an ideology or faith, knows his responsibility clearly. But a man whose responsibility is not made clear by a school or a system, will pass his life in bewilderment and will sometimes be drawn to this direction and sometimes to that. He will become an incongruous being. In, fact there cannot be two opinions about the necessity of being attached to a definite school or an ideology.

It is important to note that it is religious faith alone that can convert a man into a true believer and can suppress his selfishness and self-seeking under the impact of a doctrine and an ideology. Religious faith creates in the individual a sort of unqualified submission so that he can no longer entertain any doubt even about the most trivial doctrines of his school. He holds his school dear to his heart, regards his life without it as meaningless and absurd and supports his ideology with zeal and fervour.

Distinctions of Religious Faith

Religious tendencies impel man to make efforts even at the cost of his natural and individualistic feelings. He sometimes sacrifices his life and his social position for the sake of his faith.

This is possible only when the ideal of a man attains an aspect of sanctity and gains absolute control of his existence. It is religious force alone which imparts sanctity to an ideal and imposes its authority on man.

It is true that often people sacrifice their life, their property and all that is dear to them not for the sake of any ideal or religious faith but under the pressure of psychological complexes, malice, revenge or as a severe reaction to the feeling of being oppressed and suppressed. Such cases are common in every part of the world.

But there is a difference between a religious and a non-religious ideal. As the involvement of religious belief imparts sanctity to an ideal, sacrifices are made for the sake of it most voluntarily and naturally. A task performed voluntarily shows a sort of choice, but a task performed under the influence of complexes and perturbing inner pressures, means a sort of explosion. Evidently there is a vast difference between the two.

Furthermore, should the world conception of a man be purely material and based exclusively on perceptible realities, he will find every kind of social and human idealism contrary to the perceptible realities of his relations with the world as felt by him on any particular occasion.

The American psychologist and philosopher of the early 20th century, William James says: "The outcome of a perceptional conception is only selfishness, not idealism. Idealization will not go beyond the limits of fantasy if it is not based on a world conception whose logical result is the ideal in question. Man should make a world of his own ideas, consisting of the realities existing within himself, and live with it happily. Anyhow, if idealism stems from a religious belief, it will be based on a conception of the world, the logical result of which will be the espousal of social ideals. Religious faith is a sort of friendly relationship between man and the world, or in other words, a sort of harmony between man and universal ideals. In contrast, non-religious beliefs and ideals are a sort of breaking away from the external world and building an imaginary world which in no way finds any support from the former".

Religious belief not only prescribes for man a number of duties irrespective of his natural inclinations, but also completely changes his view about the world, in the structure of which he begins to discern new elements. The dry, cold, mechanical and material world is transformed into a living and conscious world. Religious belief changes man's impression about the universe and the creation. William James says: "The world which the religious thinking presents to us is not only this very material world in a changed form but also includes many features of which a materialist cannot think". (Psychoanalysis and Religion p. 508)

Besides all this, every human being has an innate tendency to believe in truth and sacred and adorable realities. Man has many hidden capabilities ready to be fostered and promoted. All his inclinations are not material. He has spiritual tendencies so which are innate and not acquired. This is a fact which is supported by science.

William James has said: "Let any number of our motives and incentives have their source in this world, but as most of our desires and inclinations are not in keeping with any material calculations, it is evident that they spring from the metaphysical world". (Psychoanalysis and Religion, p. 508. New York, 1929)

As spiritual inclinations do exist, they should be fostered and fostered well and carefully. Otherwise they are likely to deviate from the right course and cause irreparable loss.

Another psychologist, Erich Fromm says: "There is none who is not in need of a religion and does not want limits for his orientation and a subject for his pastime. A man himself may not distinguish between his religious and non-religious beliefs and may believe that he has no religion. He may regard, his attachment to the apparently non-religious objectives, such as wealth, power or success as simply a sign of his interest in practical affairs and a pursuit of his own welfare. The question is not ,whether a man has or has not a religion. The question is what religion he has". (Psychoanalysis and Religion, p. 508)

What this psychologist means is that a man cannot live without hallowing and adoring something. If he does not acknowledge and worship only Allah, he is bound to recognize something else as a supreme reality and to make it the object of his faith and worship.

As man is in need of an ideal and a faith and by his instinct seeks something which he may hallow and adore, the only way open to us is to augment our religious faith, which is the only faith which can really bring man under its sway.

The Holy Qur'an is the first Book which has described religious faith as a sort of concord between man and the entire creation:

"Do they seek anything other than the religion of Allah? But to Him submits whosoever is in the heavens and the earth." (Surah Al-e-Imran, 3:83)

The Holy Qur'an has also described religious faith as a part of the innate nature of man:

"Be devoted to the upright religion. That is the nature in which Allah has created man." (Surah ar-Rum, 30:30)

Effects and Advantages of Faith

We have already referred to the effects of religious faith. But in order to explain the advantages of this valuable asset of life and a spiritual wealth in a better way, we propose to discuss them more elaborately.

Tolstoy, the Russian writer and philosopher says:

"Faith is that thing with which people live".

An Iranian poet and thinker, Hakim Nasir Khusrow addressing his son says:

"I have turned to religion because to me the world without faith is like a prison. I would never like the domain of my heart to be ruined".

Religious faith has many pleasant effects. It creates happiness and delight, promotes better social relations and reduces and relieves worries which are an essential feature of this world. Now let us explain the effect of religious faith from all these three angles:

I. Happiness and Delight

Optimism is the first effect of religious faith from the viewpoint of the creation of happiness and delight. A faithful man is optimistic about the world, the life and the creation. Religious belief gives a particular shape to man's attitude towards the world. As religion maintains that creation has a goal and that its goal is nothing but betterment and evolution, naturally religious belief affects the outlook of man and makes him optimistic about the system of the universe and the laws governing it. The attitude of a faithful man to the universe is similar to the attitude of a man living in a country about which he is sure that its systems, laws and formations are just and fair, that those who are at the helm of its affairs are sincere and well-intentioned, and that in it opportunities of making advancement are available to everyone including himself. Such a man will naturally maintain that the only thing which may keep him or anyone else backward, is the lethargy and inexperience of the person concerned, and that he and all others owe a responsibility and are required to do their duty.

A faithful man will hold himself responsible for his backwardness and will not blame his country and its administration for that. He believes that if there is anything wrong, that is because he and others like him have failed to discharge their duty properly. This feeling will naturally arouse his sense of self-respect and impel him to move forward hopefully.

In contrast a disbeliever is in the universe like a man living in a country about which he believes that its system, laws and formations are unjust and corrupt, and that he has to accept them against his will. The heart of such a man will always be full of malice. He will never think of improving himself. He will think that where everything is wrong, his own uprightness will be of no use at all. Such a man never shall enjoy the world. For him the world will always be like a dreadful prison. That is why the Holy Qur'an says:

"He who turns away from remembering Me, his life will be burdensome." (Surah Ta Ha, 20:124)

Indeed it is faith which expands our life internally and saves us from the pressure of spiritual factors.

From the viewpoint of the creation of happiness and delight the second effect of religious faith is the illumination of heart. As man sees the world illuminated by the light of truth, his heart and soul are also illuminated. Faith is a lamp, which illuminates his inmost. In contrast, a disbeliever finds the world dark, dingy and meaningless, and as a result his own heart remains dark in his supposedly dark world.

The third effect of religious faith from the angle of happiness and delight is the expectation that good efforts produce good results.

From purely material point of view, the world is indifferent as to who goes along the right and just path and who goes along the wrong and unjust path. The result of a deed depends only on one thing, namely the amount of the effort put in it.

But according to the viewpoint of a faithful man the world is not indifferent and neutral in regard to the effort of those who do what is right and those who do wrong. The world's reaction to the effort of these two groups is not the same. The system of the creation supports those who make efforts for the cause of truth, justice and integrity.

The Holy Qur'an says:

"If you help Allah, He will help you." (Surah Muhammad, 47:7)

"Allah does not deprive the righteous of their reward " (Surah at-Tawbah, 9:120; Surah Hud, 11: 115; Surah Yusuf, 12:90)

The fourth effect of religious faith from the viewpoint of the creation of happiness and delight is mental satisfaction. Man by nature seeks success and the very idea of achieving it delights his heart. The apprehension of dark future frightens him and disturbs his peace. There are two things which make man happy and satisfied:

(i) Effort

(ii) Satisfaction in regard to the conditions prevailing in his environment.

The success of a student depends on two things: firstly, his own effort; and secondly, the suitability of the atmosphere of the school and the encouragement he receives from the school authorities. If a hard-working student has no confidence in the atmosphere of his school and in his examiners, he will all the year round be apprehensive of an unfair treatment and will be seized by a sense of anxiety.

Man knows his duty to himself. This aspect does not cause him any worry because what disturbs a man is a sense of doubt and uncertainty. Man is sure about all that concerns himself. What disturbs him and is not clear to him is his duty to the world.

The questions which perturb him most are: Are good deeds of any use? Do truth and honesty serve any useful purpose? Is deprivation the end of doing one's duty? These are the questions which cause anxiety and concern in the most dreadful form.

Religious faith restores man's confidence in the world and allays his distrust about its behaviour towards him. That is why we say that one of the effects of religious faith is mental peace.

Another effect of religious faith from the angle of delight and happiness is the better enjoyment of the pleasures known as spiritual pleasures. There are two types of pleasures that man can feel. Those of the first type are related to one of the five senses and are felt as the result of a contact between an organ of human body and an external object. The eye gets pleasure through seeing, the ear through hearing, the mouth through tasting and the sense of touch through touching. The other type of pleasures are those which are related to the spirit and the inner senses of man. They have no connection with any particular organ and are not obtained through contact with any external object. Such is the case with the pleasures which one gets from doing good or rendering service to others, from enjoying respect and popularity, or from one's success or the success of one's child. These pleasures are neither especially related to any organ nor are they under the direct influence of any external and material factor.

Spiritual pleasures are stronger and more lasting than material pleasures. The pleasure which the true worshippers of Allah get from their worship which they perform with humility and in which they are fully absorbed, is of this nature. In the language of religion it has been described as the 'taste of faith' and the 'flavour of faith'. Faith has a flavour which is better than and superior to every other flavour. Spiritual pleasure is enhanced when a virtuous act such as the acquisition of knowledge or rendering service to others is performed or success is achieved in a task actuated by religious sense. Any act which is performed for the sake of Allah is an act of worship and is Pleasurable.

II. Role of Faith in the Improvement Of Social Relations

Like some other animals man is gregarious. No individual can by himself meet all his needs. It is essential that life should be led on somewhat cooperative basis. Gains and obligations should be shared and a sort of division of labour should be established. Anyhow, there is one difference between man and other gregarious animals like bees etc. Other animals follow the principle of the division of labours by instinct. They have no power not to abide by this law. In contrast, man is a free agent. He has a Power of choice and performs his work of his own accord and regards it as his duty. In other words, social instinct has been forced on other gregarious animals. But though man's needs are social, no such instinct has been imposed on him. Man's social instinct exists within him in the form of an urge which can be fostered and promoted by means of education and training.

A sound social life means that all individuals respect the laws as well as the rights of each other, show friendly feelings to each other and consider justice to be sacred. In a healthy society everyone should like for others what he likes for himself and should dislike for others what he dislikes for himself. All should have confidence in each other, and their mutual confidence should be based on their spiritual qualities. Everyone should consider himself to be responsible to his society, should show the same qualities of piety and chastity in privacy and in public alike, and should do good to others without affectation of kindness. All members of society should resist tyranny and injustice and should not allow any oppressor to create any mischief. All should respect moral values and live together in complete unity and harmony like the organs of one body.

It is religious faith alone which, above all, respects truth, honours justice, encourages kindness and mutual confidence, inculcates the spirit of piety, acknowledges moral values, emboldens the individuals to resist tyranny and unites them into a homogeneous body.

Most of the outstanding men who have shed luster on the world and have shone on the firmament of history, were inspired by religious feelings.

III. Reduction of Worries

Human life consists of successes and achievements, joys and delights as well as failures, afflictions, grief and worries. Many afflictions and failures can be forestalled or remedied, though only after considerable effort. Evidently it is man's responsibility to fight nature and convert the misfortunes of life into good fortunes. Anyhow, many of the bitter events cannot be forestalled, nor can they be counteracted. For example, take the case of old age. One has to become gradually aged and to advance towards decay. Old age, debility and concomitant diseases and disabilities make the life of an aged man difficult. Fear of death and the apprehension of leaving the world to others is always painful.

Religious faith creates in man a power of resistance and makes the bitterness of life sweet. A faithful man knows that everything in this world has a method. Should it not be possible for him to get rid of the bitterness of life, he would be compensated by Allah in some other way, provided he shows right reaction to his misfortune. To a faithful and pious man old age is pleasant and more enjoyable than young age for two reasons: firstly, he does not believe old age to be the end of everything and secondly, he spends all his spare time with great relish in adoring and remembering Allah. The attitude of a faithful man to death is different from that of a disbeliever. To a faithful man death does not mean annihilation and total destruction. It is only shifting from the transient and little world to the everlasting and big world. Death is moving from the world of action to the world of obtaining results. As such a faithful man counteracts his fear of death by engaging himself in good deeds called by religion "good work".

It is admitted as an indisputable fact by the psychiatrists that most of the psychic diseases resulting from mental worries and bitterness of life are more commonly found among the non-religious men. The religious men having strong faith are comparatively immune from these ailments. A malady of our modern times which has emerged as the result of the weakening of religious faith is the increase in the incidence of the psychic and neural diseases.

Chapter 4: School of Thought or Ideology

Definition and Necessity of Ideology

What is ideology and how is it to be defined? Is it necessary for a man as an individual and as a member of society to adhere to a school and believe in an ideology? Is the existence of an ideology necessary for an individual or a society? Before answering these questions some introductory remarks are necessary.

There are two kinds of human activity: enjoyable and politic.

The enjoyable activities are those simple activities which man undertakes in order to secure some pleasure or to escape from some pain under the direct influence of his instinct, nature or habit, which is also a second nature. For example when man feels thirsty he stretches his hand to a water-container, when he sees a biting animal he takes to his heels, and when he feels an urge to smoking, he lights a cigarette.

Such acts are in keeping with man's own yearnings and have a direct bearing on pleasure and pain. A pleasurable act pulls man towards it and a painful act repels him.

Politic activities consist of the acts which in themselves are neither attractive nor repulsive. Man's instinct or his nature neither pulls him towards them nor pushes him away from them. Man performs these acts or avoids them of his will because he thinks that it is in his interest to do that. In other words, in this case the root cause and the force which drives man to do or not to do something is his interest and not pleasure. Pleasure is determined by nature and interest by reason. Pleasure stimulates desire and interest arouses will.

As for enjoyable acts man takes pleasure in them while performing them. But as for politic acts, he does not take pleasure, though he may feel happy because of the idea that he is doing something that is right and good for him in the long run. There is a difference between a pleasurable and enjoyable act and an act which does not give pleasure and even may cause some pain and hardship, although man may be performing it willingly and happily. Politic acts are not pleasurable because, they do not produce immediate results. Anyhow they give satisfaction. Pleasure and pain are common to man and animals. But happiness and unhappiness and satisfaction and dissatisfaction are peculiar to man. Similarly to desire something is also peculiar to human beings. Satisfaction, dissatisfaction and desiring are mental functions. They lie within the sphere of human thinking, not within the area of sense perception.

We have said that man performs his politic acts with the help of his intellect and his will-power. On the other hand, the enjoyable acts are performed by him at the command of his feelings and inclinations. That an act is done at the command of intellect means that the calculating intellectual power perceives some remote benefit, pleasure or perfection, discovers the way of attaining of it, which occasionally may be a tedious one, and then plans to attain it. The accomplishment of an act with the help of will-power means that man has a faculty, the role of which is to execute the actions approved by intellect. These acts may sometimes even be opposed to his natural tendencies and inclinations.

The young nature of a student calls him to eat, drink, be merry, and to enjoy sleep and sex, but his calculating mind warns him against the evil consequences of these acts and urges him to keep awake, do hard work and shun indulgence in luxurious living and the lusts of the flesh. At this time man prefers to obey the command of intellect, which is to his advantage and ignores the command of his nature which implies pleasure only. Similarly a patient dislikes to take a bitter medicine of bad taste, but he still takes it at the command of his rightly directing intellect or by the force of his will which can overpower his natural inclination.

The stronger the intellect and the will, the better they can impose their command on nature, despite its tendencies to the opposite.

In the course of his politic activities man at every stage puts into practice some theory or plan. The more a man is developed from the angle of his intellect and will, the more his activities are politic rather than enjoyable, and the more he is close to the horizon of animality, the more his activities are rather enjoyable than politic, for the enjoyable activities are mostly animal activities.

Among animals also we see certain activities directed to achieve a remote object, such as making nests, migration, mating and reproduction. But the animals do not carry out these activities consciously and of their own choice after determining what they want to achieve and how it should be achieved. On the other hand, they carry out these activities as a result of a compulsory and instinctive inspiration from beyond.

It is possible that the scope of man's politic activities gets so expanded that it may include some enjoyable activities also. Therefore all human activities should, as far as possible, be so planned that pleasure-giving activities also become useful and beneficial besides being pleasurable. Every natural activity while responding to the command of nature, should obey the command of intellect also. If politic activity takes the enjoyable activity under its cover, and if the enjoyable activity becomes a part of the general politic plan of life, nature will become compatible with intellect and the desire with will.

As politic activity revolves round a set of remote objects and aims, it naturally requires a plan, a method and the selection of means to secure the object. As this activity has an individualistic aspect, for it is planned by an individual for himself, it is individual intellect which determines its method and means. The choice, of course, depends on one's knowledge, information and power of judgement.

Though politic activity of man is essential for his humanity, it alone, whatever be its quality, is not enough to humanize all his activities. It is true that intellect, knowledge and planning form one half of man's humanity, but yet they are not enough to make human activity human. Human activity can be called human only if it, besides being rational and intentional, is in keeping with the higher tendencies of humanity or at least is not in conflict with them. Otherwise even the worst type of criminal activities are sometimes very cleverly planned and executed. The fiendish imperialist plans bear witness to this fact. In religious terms of Islam any planning or effort made to secure a material and beastly goal not in keeping with human and religious tendencies is called abominable and fiendish. Politic activity is not necessarily human. If it is beastly, it is far more dangerous than a purely pleasurable activity. For example an animal in order to fill its belly tears another animal or a man into pieces. But man who can calculate and plan, to secure a similar object ruins so many cities and puts millions of innocent people under fire.

We leave aside the question whether the goals suggested by intellect are or are not enough to meet individual interests. In other words we leave the question as to what is the limit of the effectiveness of individual intellect or reason in regard to pointing out the individual interests. Yet in any case there is no doubt that thinking power is necessary and useful for making partial and limited arrangements of life. In his life man faces many problems such as the selection of friends, selection of an educational line, selection of a spouse, selection of a profession, travel, behaviour in society, recreation, virtuous activities, fight against immoral and vicious practices and so on. In regard to all these things man is certainly in need of thinking and planning. The more he will think, the more success he is likely to gain. In some cases he even requires the help of others' thinking and experience also (the principle of consultation). In all these particular cases man makes a plan and then carries it out.

Anyhow, the question remains whether on a wider scale also man is capable of making a general plan which may cover all the problems of his personal life and which may be applicable to all situations, or his ability is limited to handling some particular cases on a limited scale only and it is beyond the power of human intellect to cover all situations and to ensure all round success.

We know that certain philosophers believe in the theory of 'self-sufficiency'. They claim that they have discovered the way of being happy and unhappy, and can pass a happy life relying on their own intellectual power and will. But we also know that no two philosophers can be found who have unanimity of opinion as to what is this way.

Happiness itself, which is the ultimate goal, is of the most ambiguous things, although its conception appears to be very clear at first glance. It is still unknown what happiness is and what factors cause it. Man himself and his capabilities and potentialities are not known yet. So long as man himself is unknown, how is it possible that we may be able to find out what his happiness is and how that is to be obtained?

Furthermore, man is a social being. His social life creates thousands of problems for him which he has to resolve. His duty in every case should be clear. As man is a social being, his happiness, his aspirations, his standards of good and evil, his way of life, his selection of the means of leading his life are inter-linked with the happiness of others, their aspirations, their standards of good and evil, their way of life and their selection of the means. Man cannot select his way independently of others. He should seek his happiness on the road which leads society to happiness and perfection.

If we take into consideration the question of the eternity of soul and the inexperience of reason in regard to the life Hereafter, the problem becomes far more difficult.

Now, here appears the need of a school, an ideology, a general theory or a comprehensive and harmonious system whose fundamental aim is the human perfection and the happiness of all. This system should specify the fundamental principles, methods, do's and don'ts, good actions and bad actions, aims and means, requirements and their solutions, responsibilities and obligations. It should be the source of the inspiration of duties for all individuals.

From the very beginning or at least from the time the developed social life has led to so many dissensions,1 man has been in need of an ideology or in the Qur'anic terminology, Shari'at. As the time passed and man became more developed, this need also became more intense. In the past, racial, national and tribal tendencies ruled over human societies like a collective spirit. This spirit in its turn brought into existence a series of ambitions (though inhuman) which united each society and gave it a particular orientation. Now scientific and intellectual progress has weakened these bonds. It is a characteristic of science that it tends towards individualism, weakens sentiments and dulls the bonds based on sentiments. It is only a consciously selected rational philosophy of life or in other words, a comprehensive and perfect ideology which may unite the humanity of today or rather of tomorrow, give it an orientation, a common ideal and a common standard to judge what is right and what is wrong.

Today more than ever man requires such a philosophy of life, a philosophy capable of attracting him to the realities beyond the individual and individual interests. There is no longer any doubt about the fact that a school or an ideology is one of the necessities of social life.

Now the question is: who can lay down such an ideology? Undoubtedly the intellect of any single individual cannot do so. Can the collective intellect do that? Can man with the help of his total experience and his past and present information lay down such an ideology? If we admit that man does not know himself, then how can we expect him to know human society and social weal. Then what to do? If we have a right conception of the universe, and believe that the world has a balanced system and there is nothing wrong or absurd in it, we must admit that the great creative machinery has not left this big question unattended and has already specified the fundamental outlines of an ideology from a horizon above the horizon of human intellect, that is from the horizon of revelation (the principle of Prophethood). The job of intellect and knowledge is to move along these outlines.

How nicely has Avicenna put this question when, while describing the need of mankind to the Divine law (Shari'at) revealed through a man, he said in his book, Najat: "The need of a Prophet and exponent of the Divine law and human ideology for the continuity of human race and man's attaining perfection of his human existence is far greater than the growth of hair on his eyebrows, the concavity of his soles or other such things, which are at the most useful for the continuity of human race, but not essential".

In other words, how can the great creative machinery which has not left small and superfluous needs unattended, leave the most essential need uncared for?

But if we lack the right conception of the universe and creation, we may accept the idea that man has been condemned to bewilderment and error and any human ideology is no more than an interesting pursuit or pastime.

The above discussion not only makes the need of the existence of a school or an ideology clear, but also shows the necessity of an individual's adhesion to it.

The true adherence to an ideology means to have faith in it, and evidently a true faith cannot be imposed by force nor can it be acquired as a matter of expediency. One can be made to submit to a thing by force, but ideology does not demand submission. It demands faith. It is to be accepted and assimilated.

A useful ideology, on the one hand, must be based on a sort of world conception that may convince reason and feed thinking, and on the other hand, must be able to derive attractive goals from its conception of the universe. Conviction and zeal are the two basic elements of faith which go hand in hand and remould the world.

However there are some questions which we must discuss briefly. Their detailed discussion we leave to a better opportunity,

Kinds of Ideologies

I. There are two kinds of ideologies: human ideology and class ideology.

Human ideology is that which is addressed to all mankind, not to any particular class, race or community. The proclaimed aim of a human ideology is the emancipation of human race, not of any particular group or class. Its plan covers all strata of society and does not remain confined to any particular stratum or group.

Class ideology, in contrast, is addressed to a particular class, group or a stratum of society, and its proclaimed aim is the emancipation or supremacy of a particular group. The plan that it puts forward is confined to that group only, from which alone it recruits its supporters and defenders.

Each of these two kinds of ideologies is based on a particular conception of man. Every general and human ideology like Islamic ideology has that attitude towards man which may be called natural. From Islamic point of view man has been created to be superior to historical and social factors. He has a special existential dimension, and has been endowed with high qualities which distinguish him from animals. According to this view, man's creative design is such that all human beings have been endowed with a sort of consciousness and intuition, which makes them fit to be addressed and enables them to respond to a call. Human ideologies base their preachings on the natural intuition peculiar to mankind and infuse a spirit of action in man.

Some ideologies have a different view of man. According to them, the human species is not fit that a call be addressed to it, nor can it respond to a call. They maintain that the consciousness and the tendencies of man are determined by the historical factors of his national life and the social factors which fire his class status. Should we overlook historical and social factors, then man in the absolute sense has neither consciousness nor any intuitive power nor is he fit to be called upon to perform a mission. In that case he will not be a concrete man and his existence will be merely conceptual. Marxism and similarly national philosophies are based on such a view of man. These philosophies aim at class benefits or are based on national and racial sentiments or at the most on national culture.

There is no doubt that the ideology of Islam is of the first kind, and is based on true nature of man. That is why Islam addresses its message to the 'common people',2 and not to a particular group or class. Islam was able to draw its supporters practically from all groups, even from those to fight against which it had risen, namely the groups which it termed the luxuriously living. It was a great achievement of Islam that it was able to draw recruits from a class to fight against that very class and from a group to fight against the interests of that very group, and even to arouse the individual to fight against himself.

This is a deed which Islam has performed and is still performing. Islam being a religion which relies on the innate nature of man and infiltrates into the inmost traits of his existence, can arouse the individual to fight and bring about a revolution against himself. This revolution is called penitence. The revolutionary power of a class or group ideology is limited to the instigation of an individual against another individual or a class against another class, but it cannot persuade an individual to revolutionize himself, nor can it put the inner sentiments and passions of man under his own control.

Islam, being a religion, and for that matter the final religion, has come, more than any other religion, to set up a system of social justice.3 Naturally it aims at the emancipation of the oppressed and the underprivileged. But it does not direct its message to the oppressed and the underprivileged alone. Islam has not recruited its supporters from this class only. As history bears witness to it, relying on the force of faith and the innate nature of man, Islam has been able to draw its supporters even from among those classes to fight against which it had risen. Islam presents a theory of the triumph of humanity over animality, of knowledge over ignorance, of justice over tyranny, of equality over discrimination, of virtue over depravity, of piety over sensuality, and of monotheism over polytheism. The success of the oppressed people against the tyrants and the despots is a manifestation of this triumph.

II. In consequence of the foregoing discussion a question arises whether the genuine human culture is of a uniform character or there exists no human and uniform culture; and all that exists and will exist in future is a series of many cultures each of them having national, communal or class characteristics?

This question is linked with another question. Has or has not man a genuine and uniform innate nature, giving uniformity to human culture? If human nature is uniform, it should impart uniformity to human culture also. Otherwise it will be reasonable to believe that culture is a product of historical, national and geographical factors or a product of class financial interests. Islam, because of its particular world conception, believes in the uniformity of human nature. It supports the idea of the uniformity of ideology and culture also.

III. Evidently it is only a human, not class ideology, a uniform ideology, not one based on the division of mankind, and a natural ideology, not one inspired by profiteering interests, that can be established on human values and can have human characteristics.

IV. Does the nature of every ideology depend on its time and place? Is it necessary for man to have a different ideology with every change in times, circumstances and environment? Is ideology subject to the principle of a change with a variation in place, and subject to the principle of cancellation with a variation in time? Is human ideology uniform or multiform?

In other words, is it absolute or relative?

The question, whether an ideology from the viewpoint of time and place is absolute or relative depends on another question: whether its source is human nature and its goal is the prosperity of human race, or its source is group interests and national and class feelings?

From another angle this question depends on what we think about the nature of social changes. When society undergoes a change and enters a new era, does its nature change so essentially that it is no longer governed by the laws by which it was governed previously, as for example, when water with the increase in its temperature, turns into steam, it is governed by the laws of gases and not by those of liquids. Or do we believe that this is not the case with social changes and developments, and that social changes constitute only a stage in the evolution of society and do not affect the fundamental laws or the course of evolution, just as we find in the case of animals that as they develop, their way of life changes, but the laws of their development remain fixed and constant?

From another angle the question whether an ideology is absolute or relative to time and place, is dependent on whether its conception of the world is scientific, philosophical or religious. Scientific conception of the world being transient, an ideology based on it cannot be lasting. On the contrary the philosophical conception of the world is based on self-evident truths and the religious conception on Divine revelation and Prophethood.

This not being the proper occasion, we skip over the discussion of the pure state of human nature, which is one of the most important topics of Islamic science. Similarly we skip over the discussion of changes in society. Anyhow, we propose to take up the question of social changes and their relation with pure state of human nature when we discuss the topic of history and society later.

V. Now the question is whether an ideology itself is governed by the principle of constancy or the principle of change. In the foregoing we have discussed whether human ideology is different in different periods and places. There the question was that of the abrogation and cancellation of an ideology. Now we take up a different question, namely that of the development of an ideology. Irrespective of the fact whether it is absolute or relative and whether in regard to its content it is general or particular, an ideology is a phenomenon. As all phenomena are subject to changes, development and evolution, naturally a question arises whether the same is true of the ideology also. Is the reality of an ideology at the time of its birth different from that during its growth and during the period of its maturity?

In other words, should an ideology be constantly revised, improved and modernized by its leaders and ideologists, as we find in the case of the materialistic ideologies of our time? If the modern ideologies are not constantly revised, they soon lose their vitality and become obsolete and outdated. Anyhow, the question is whether it is possible to have an ideology, which may be in complete harmony with the course of the development of man and society so that there should be no need of its further revision and improvement. In the case of such an ideology the role of its leaders and the ideologists will be confined to the interpretation of its meaning and content, and the ideological development will be in the field of interpretation, not in the text of the ideology itself.

Notes

1. According to the Qur'an, these dissensions rose in Prophet Nuh's time.

2. The term 'common people' is often misunderstood and considered to by synonymous with 'masses' as distinguished from higher classes. As Islam addresses the common people, it is claimed that Islam is the religion of the masses. Incidentally, this is considered to be a merit of Islam. But we must remember that Islam does not address its message to the masses only, nor is its ideology a class ideology. The real merit of Islam lies in the fact that it advanced with the support of the masses, not that it was addressed to them only. What is more meritorious is that Islam has worked up the sentiments of the well-to-do classes among the Muslims for the benefit of the underprivileged classes.

3. "Surely We sent Our messengers with clear proofs, and revealed with them the Book and a criterion so that people may observe justice." (Surah al-Hadid, 57:25)

"Say: My Lord has ordered me to be fair." (Surah al-A'raf, 7:29)

The Returning (Ma’ad)

Ma’ad is derived from the root word Aud, which means to return. Hence, the returning of the spirit (rooh) back to its body is called Ma’ad. Ma’ad is one of the fundamental principals of Islamic faith and belief in it is incumbent upon all Muslims. After death every soul shall arise to see the reward or retribution (as the case may be) of their deeds.

Ma’ad consists of stages Death (Maut), Grave (Qabr), Intermediate Stage (Barzakh), Resurrection (Qayamat) and Paradise (Jannat) or hell (Jahannam). Ma’ad cannot be perceived by the five senses of man, but can be comprehended by reasoning alone.

What happens after death? The Holy Prophet (s) through the medium of Revelation (Wahy) has explained it to us in detail. Man’s senses have their own limitations beyond which it is not possible for him to understand. For example a child in the mother’s womb cannot perceive the vastness of the outside world. In the same manner, a soul captivated by the influences of matter cannot easily understand the hidden world and its realities.

The knowledge of this unseen world is concealed from man and he can only understand it through the medium of the Holy Prophet (s) and his Vicegerents, the Holy Aimmah (a.s.). Hence to have a better comprehension of the hereafter, we have to rely totally upon them, because they are the inheritors of the knowledge of Allah and His Hidden Wisdom.

Is a person’s body affected after death?

Many are of the opinion that after death man’s body becomes an absolute nothing like a dry wood; hence the question of reckoning in the grave does not arise. Such doubts are the outcome of sheer ignorance and lack of belief in the unseen (Ghaib). Speech is the effect of the tongue and movements are impressions of a living body. However, the spirit (Rooh) is motionless. Hence it is independent of movements, as a man’s tongue or lips do not move during a dream. A person who is awake will bear witness to it. After awakening the person will narrate the discussions he had with people, he will also claim to have traveled far off cities, but his body in reality lay motionless on the bed all throughout the night.

Dreams (Ru’ya)

Imam Moosa al-Kazim (a.s.) states that in the former part of creation, man did not dream. Allah sent upon the people His Apostle to guide them towards virtue and warn against evil. The Prophet advised them that if they followed the Right Path as preached by Him, they would be successful and be rewarded in Paradise. And, if they erred and did not avoid sin, they would face tribulation in hell. They asked the Prophet as to how could they rely on something, which they had never seen. They said that they observed that after death a man’s body became motionless and turned into dust; how could then he be rewarded or chastised for his actions.

It is after this incident that they started having dreams in which they witnessed Allah’s rewards in Paradise and His wrath in Hell. They went to the Prophet and narrated this to him. The Prophet replied that same as in the dreams they were able to mete people, converse with them, and visit far off places, after death too they would still taste chastisement or reward (as the case may be) in Paradise or Hell, even if their bodies would have been reduced to dust.

Death (Maut)

Scholars differ regarding the explanation of death. Some call it a continuous phenomenon (Amre Wujoodi - not the end of life), while others opine that it is terminal one (Amre Adami - the end of life). However, generally it is accepted that this is purely a bodily affair.

Regarding death it is said that, “It is a continuous process and the vice versa to life.” The Holy Qur’an says.

“Blessed is He in whose hand is the kingdom (of the heavens and the earth), and He has power over all things, Who created death and life that He may try you, (to prove) which of you is best in deeds.” (Surah al Mulk, 67: 1-2)

The above verse (Ayah) refers to the purpose of the creation of life and death. Non-existence is not the essence of creation. If death had been an ending process, the word “Khaliq” (Creation) would not have been used. Death in reality is the divorce of the spirit (rooh) from the body, and can be illustrated by many examples. It can be compared to a sailor estranged from his wrecked ship.

The spirit is a light, which illuminates the dark body and its components derive benefit from it. Whereas death is the estranger of this light from the body, leaving it again in darkness. It is not true that the spirit enters the body, because it is free to enter and exit. It shares a limited relation with the body, after which it leaves the body for immortality.

In short, the detachment of the spirit (Rooh) from the body is called death (Maut). It is incumbent upon us to believe that death is a phenomenon solely governed by the will and command of Almighty Allah only, and He maintains the relation of the spirit to the body from mother’s womb till the end. He is the Creator (Khaliq) of all things, and the Giver of life and death. The Holy Qu’ran says:

“Allah takes the spirits (Rooh) at the time of their death.” (Surah az-Zumar, 39:42)

Some ignorant people are of the opinion that the Angel of death (Izraeel) is an evil demon and an enemy who estranges us from our children and orphans them. But the reality is that he acts in accordance to the command of Allah only and has no personal choice in the matter.

Separation of the Spirit from the body

It is narrated in the tradition of Me’raj that a plank is placed in front of Izraeel, on which names of all creatures are written. When Allah wills death of any one of His creatures, the name on the plank disappears, and Izraeel does the needful. It is possible that at one time death of more than one creature may be ordained. Just as many candles can be extinguished in a single puff, more than one spirit can be removed together. Surely Allah is the giver of death as stated in the Qur’an,

“Say (O Prophet) the Angel of death who is given charge of you shall cause you to die. (Surah as-Sajdah, 32:11)

In another verse it is stated.

“Those whom the Angels cause to die while they are unjust to them selves.” (Surah an-Nahl, 16:28)

Izraeel and his comrade Angels have been assigned the job of removing the spirits of creatures. When an army follows the commands of their king and conquers cities, it is said that the said army has conquered the said cities, but in reality conquest is a result of the king’s military tacts and warfare. Many examples can be given to prove the above, but the fact is that this event is beyond comparison.

As Allah has created this world as a house of causes (Darul Asbab), He has also created a cause for death. Disease, murder, accident etc. are some of its causes. These act as reasons for the approach of death, if not there are instances of persons who recover even after a serious illness, while some die in a blink of an eye. These causes also do not have an independent option, unless attested by the command and will of the Almighty.

Spirits of some men are removed with ease while some experience severe difficulty. It is narrated in traditions (Ahadees) that during death some people feel as if their body is being cut asunder by scissors, or are being grinded in a mill, while some feel as if they are smelling the fragrance of a rose. It is stated in the Qur’an:

“Those whom the Angels cause to die in a good state, saying - Peace be on you, enter the garden (of Paradise) for what you did.” (Surah an-Nahl, 16:32)

It is not necessary that the spirits of all believers (Mo’mineen) will be removed easily. Even a believer who has done good deeds in his lifetime can experience difficulty during death. This acts as the punishment for sins he committed for which he is atoned for in this very world. While for a non -believer this difficulty is an extra punishment of Allah followed by the ones to come in the Hereafter.

“But how will it be when the Angels cause them to die smiting their backs.” (Surah al-Muhammad, 47:27)

It is also possible that a non-believer may not experience difficulty during death, this acts as reward for the good deeds he has committed which is compensated in this very world, leaving their scrolls of deed of any reward. In reality death is an unfortunate event for a non-believer even though he dies in comfort, while it is a blessing and felicity for a believer even though he experiences difficulty during it.

Love of world

Hatred towards death and love of the world is the outcome of an ignorant person’s mind that thinks that the happiness of this world is from his prosperity and good fortune. The world sated with numerous troubles and anxieties is out to end in misery and does not enjoy eternity, perpetuity and sincerity.

A poet has referred to this in the following words - “Do not give your heart to this world, for its example is of an unfaithful bride who has never loved you, even for a night.” The Holy Qur’an says that the love of this world is one of the characteristics of the disbelievers.

“[the disbelievers] are pleased with this world’s life and are content with it.” (Surah -Yunus, 10:71)

In another verse, it is stated,

“Are you contended with the life of this world instead of the Hereafter” (Surah al-Bara’at, 9:38).

For the Jews it is said,

“Every one of them loves that he should be granted a life of a thousand years.” (Surah a1-Baqarah, 2:96)

There are many traditions detesting the love of world. The Holy Prophet(s) has said, “Verily the love of this world is the root cause of every evil.”

Friendship with death

It is of utmost importance that man should hold death dear and consider it an opportunity of meeting with his Almighty, and not hate it and consider it as evil, but should take lessons from it. He should ask forgiveness from Allah for his sins and tame the rebellious self (nafs).

When the call of his Lord comes, he should welcome it with open arms accepting it to be a blessing from Allah. He should be contented with the decree (Qadr) of Allah. He should rejoice that shortly he would be taken to the presence of Ahlulbait (a.s.) and meet his deceased companions and other believer brothers. He should also not be disheartened by the delay in death but should consider it as an opportunity afforded by Allah to him to repent. This delay would give him a chance to gather provisions useful for his journey to the other world, for the journey is tiresome and full of dangerous valleys and difficult paths.

Relating to the removal of the Spirit and its hardships (Sakarat)

“And the stupor of death will come in truth, that is what you were trying to escape.” (Surah Qaf, 50:19).

This stage is full of difficulties & troubles. On one hand a man feels pain, his tongue becomes motionless, his bodily components cease to function, while on the other hand there is weeping and wailing of relatives, grief of their separation, orphaning of children, and the sorrow of leaving behind hardly earned wealth and enormous property for others to feast upon - the wealth which was sometimes gathered by usurpation or through illicit means. The dying man remembers his sins and regrets, but alas, the time (to repent) has passed and accounts closed.

Amirul Mo’mineen (a.s.) has said, “He (the dying person) regrets over his wealth which he gathered bearing hardships, and now he is being separated from it, leaving it to be feasted upon by his inheritors. His hard earned wealth is left for the use of others.” The dying person feels scared, for he is about to enter an unknown and unexplored world, and is all the more frightened when he witnesses the things which are totally new to him. The Holy Qur’an says,

“Certainly you were heedless of it, but now we have removed from you your veil, so your sight today is sharp.” (Surah Qaf, 50:22)

He feels the presence of Angels around him and wonders about what is in store for him. It has been narrated in traditions (Ahadees) that at the time of death, the Holy Prophet (s) and the Holy Aimmah (a.s.) come near the head of the dying person, who is able to see them.

It is narrated in third volume of ‘Bihar-al-Anwar’ that once Imam Ali ar-Ridha (a.s.) went to meet one of his companions (Sahabi) who was about to die. He looked towards the Imam (a.s.) and said, “I see the radiant faces of your Grandfather (the Holy Prophet), your Father (the Commander of the faithful), your Mother (Hazrat Fatema), and the other Imams in your Ancestry. I also see your luminous face along with them.”

It is a fact that dying men have a glimpse of the Aimmah (a.s.), according to his love for and knowledge of them. For a believer (mo’min) their sight is a blessing from Allah, and for a hypocrite (munafiq) and disbeliever, it is a sign of Allah’s wrath. In the Salutation (Ziarat) of Amirul Mo’mineen Ali (a.s.) we utter these words:

السَّلاَمُ عَلَى نِعْمَةِ اللهِ عَلَى الأَبْرَارِ وَنِقْمَةِ اللهِ عَلَى الْجَبَّارِ

Peace be upon Allah’s grace for the upright and Allah’s chastisement on the tyrants.

The dying man is confused, because on one hand Satan (Shaitaan) with his companions tries hard to spoil his faith (Eeman), and on the other hand the thought of the arrival of the Angel of death makes him all the more puzzled. He wonders as to in what state would he (the Angel of death) come and how would his spirit be removed. The Commander of the faithful Ali (a.s.) says, “And when the signs of death approache, he knows not what will befall him.”

Shaikh Kulaini narrates from Imam Ja’far as-Sadiq (a.s.) who said that once Hazrat Ali (a.s.) was suffering from the ailment of the eye. The Holy Prophet (s) came to inquire about his health. He saw that Ali (a.s.) was in intense pain and was restless because of it. The Prophet asked him, “Is this anxiety the outcome of the ailment”? Hazrat Ali (a.s.) replied that, “I had never witnessed such a pain before.”

The Holy Prophet, in order to console him, said “O Ali! when the Angel of death comes to take the spirit of the disbeliever, he brings along with him a club of fire, by which he removes his spirit and the flames of hell scream at the dying man.”

The Commander of the believers sat upright and said, “O Prophet! Please explain to me the tradition (hadees), for I do not fell the pain anymore. Will the spirit of anyone from among your ummat be removed in the same manner”? The Holy Prophet replied, ‘Yes, three types of persons from among my ummat too will be subjected to this punishment (1) An oppressive (Zalim) ruler, (2) Those who unjustly usurp the rights of orphans, and (3) The bearer of false witness.”

Man due to difficulty or ease during death also sees the effects of his good or bad deeds, which he committed. There are also some who turn apostate during death due to some of their bad deeds.

“Then evil was the end of those who did evil, because they rejected the communications of Allah and used to mock them.” (Surah ar-Rum, 30:10)

It has also been narrated that during death (Sakarat) or afterwards, the following persons should not be near the dying man: a woman in menses (Haiz) or irregular period (Istahaza), and a polluted (Junoob) person, because the Blessed Angels leave and the dying man falls into trouble. Shaikh Sadooq in his book Ilalush Sharaye’ quotes Imam Ja’far as-Sadiq (a.s.) as saying, that woman in menses (Haiz) or a polluted person (Junoob) should not remain near the dying person, because the Angels feel disgusted because of it and go away.

In the book ‘Darus Salaam’, the great scholar Sayyed Murtaza Najafi quotes: Once an extreme epidemic broke in Iraq and Arabia. I was seated in the courtyard of the Shrine of the Commander of the faithful Ali (a.s.) with a distinguished Scholar (Aalim) Sayyed Muhammad Baqir Qazwini. He was distributing work among us for serving the people affected, when we saw a youth who was standing in the last rank and was struggling to come near the Sayyed, but could not do so because of immense crowd.

Suddenly the young man started wailing aloud, the Sayyed looked at him and told me to inquire the matter from him. I went to him and asked him the reason for weeping. He replied, “I desire that if I die in the epidemic, the Sayyed should recite the Prayer (Namaze Mayyit) over my dead body individually and not as combined with others as he does (due to many deaths in the epidemic). I returned to the Sayyed and narrated the matter to him. He promised to fulfill his desire.

Next day we saw an infant child who came crying to us. When we inquired of him he answered that he was the son of the youth who had come to us yesterday with a desire. He told us that he had become a victim of the epidemic and was about to die, and he was desirous of meeting the Sayyed. Some of us accompanied Sayyed Muhammad Baqir to meet the dying man.

On the way we met a pious man who was coming out of his house. When he saw us he saluted us, and asked us, as to where we were going. We answered that we were going to visit a believer who was in his last moments. With permission he accompanied us in order to share the reward (sawab). When we came to the house, Sayyed Muhammad Baqir entered the room first, then one after the other we entered there in. The dying man was pleased and signaled us to sit.

As soon as the pious man who had met us on the way entered, the dying man’s color changed. His face turned pale and in rage signaled him to go away. He became restless as if some trouble had befallen him. We were all the more surprised when we learnt that the dying man did not even know him, whom we could assume to be his enemy. The man excused himself and went out but returned back after sometime.

This time when he entered, the dying person was pleased and welcomed him. After sometime we took permission to leave. On the way we asked the pious man the reason for the sudden change in the attitude of the dying man. He replied that he was in the state of pollution (Junoob), and was leaving his house with the intention of performing ceremonial bath (Ghusle janabat) in the public bath. He met us on the way, and not wanting to miss the opportunity of performing this noble task accompanied us. He said that when he first entered the house and saw the dying man’s restlessness, he understood and left.

To make himself sure he returned back after having performed the ceremonial bath (Ghusle Janabat). He concluded that the dying man had come to know about his impurity because the blessed Angels had left him and he felt immense pain. (Khazeenatul Jawaher)

Those deeds whose performance eases death

Shaikh Sadooq quotes from Imam Ja’far as-Sadiq (a.s.) that he said, “1f a person wishes that his last moments should be easy, he should maintain cordial relations with his kith and kin, and be kind to his parents. Whoever does so, death will be eased, and he will never fall prey to misfortunes in his lifetime.”

It is narrated that once the Holy Prophet (s) went to see a youth who was in his last moments of life. He told him to recite Kalamae Tawheed (There is no God but Allah), but the youth could not utter it because his tongue had turned speechless. The Prophet repeated his order but with no awail. He repeated it twice but the youth could not answer.

The Prophet turned towards a woman who was sat near the youth’s head and asked her if she was his mother. She replied in affirmative. He then asked her if she was unhappy with her son. She answered that she was certainly unhappy, but would forgive him if the Prophet commanded her to do so. The Prophet told her to forgive him. As soon as she forgave, the youth’s speech returned and he recited the ‘Kalema’. The Prophet asked him as to what he saw. He answered that he saw an ugly looking man who had held him by the neck, and was trying to strangle him. The Prophet told him to recite the following:

O He Who accepts the little (deed) and overlooks the much (wrong)

يَا مَنْ يَقْبَلُ الْيَسِيرَ وَيَعْفُو عَنِ الْكَثِيرِ

Accept my little (deed) and overlook my much (wrong)

اقْبَلْ مِنِّي الْيَسِيرَ وَاعْفُ عَنِّي الْكَثِيرَ

You are certainly the All-merciful, the All-forgiving,

إنَّكَ أَنْتَ الرَّحِيمُ الْغَفُورُ

When he did so, the Prophet asked him as to what he saw now. He answered that he saw that a handsome man had come to his rescue while the ugly man had turned back. The Prophet ordered him to recite the above du’a again and after having done so asked him what he saw. He replied that the ugly man had left, and the handsome youth was there by his side comforting him. He uttered these words and breathed his last.

The above narration should be understood well, and lesson should be learnt that parent’s displeasure becomes the reason for anguish in death. Even after being a companion (sahabi) of the Prophet, and the Prophet being present besides him, the youth could not recite the ‘kalema’ and was in agony till his mother forgave him.

Imam Ja’far as-Sadiq (a.s.) says, “For a person who gives clothes to his brother believer during the summer or in winter, it is incumbent upon Allah to present the dress of Paradise to him, make his end easy, and save him from the narrowness of the grave.” The Holy Prophet (s) has said, “A person who offers to eat something sweet to his brother believer, the pangs of death will be easy on him.”

Those A’mal which prove beneficial during death and eases its tribulations

Reciting Surah al-Yaseen, Surah as-Saffat and the following supplication (du’a) eases the tribulation during death:

لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ اللَّهُ الْحَلِيمُ الْكَرِيمُ

There is no god save Allah, the All-forbearing, the All-generous.

لاَ إِلهَ إِلاَّ اللَّهُ الْعَلِيُّ الْعَظِيمُ

There is no god save Allah, the Most High, the All-great.

سُبْحانَ اللَّهِ رَبِّ السَّمَوَاتِ السَّبْعِ وَرَبِّ الأَرَضِينَ السَّبْعِ

All glory be to Allah, Lord of the seven heavens and Lord of the seven layers of earth,

وَمَا فِيهِنَّ وَمَا بَيْنَهُنَّ وَمَا تَحْتَهُنَّ

and whatever is in, between, and beneath them,

وَرَبِّ الْعَرْشِ الْعَظِيمِ

and Lord of the Great Throne.

وَالْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعالَمِينَ

All praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds.

Shaikh Sadooq narrates from Imam Ja’far as-Sadiq (a.s.) that he said, “For the person who fasts on the last day of the month of Rajab, Allah will save him from the after effects of death.” Fasting on the 24th of Rajab carries great reward (sawab). One of its merits is that when the Angel of death comes to remove his spirit (rooh), he comes in the form of a handsome youth carrying a bowl of the pure drink (Sharabe Tahoora) and offers him to drink. The dying person does so and dies in peace.

The Holy Prophet (s) says that if a person recites four units (Rak’at) of Namaz on the night of 7th Rajab in a manner that in each unit (Rak’at) after Surah al-Hamd recites thrice Surah at-Tawheed, once Surah al-Falaq, and once Surah an-Naas. After finishing the Namaz, sends Salawat on Us:

اَللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلَى مُحَمَّدٍ وَآلِ مُحَمَّدٍ

O Allah; (please) bless Muhammad and his Household,

and recites ten times Tasbeehate Arba.

سُبْحانَ اللهِ

All glory be to Allah;

وَالْحَمْدُ للهِ

all praise be to Allah;

وَلا إِلهَ إلاَّ اللهُ

there is no god save Allah;

وَاللهُ أَكْبَرُ

and Allah is the Greatest

Almighty Allah will offer him shelter under the Throne (Arsh), and give him reward of a person fasting in the month of Ramazan. Till the time he finishes the prayers, the Angels pray for his forgiveness. Allah will ease the pangs of death on him, and save him from the squeeze in the grave (Fishare Qabr). He will not die until he sees his place in Paradise, and will be safe from the hardships of Resurrection (Qay’amat)

Shaikh Kafami quotes from the Holy Prophet (s), that he said that a person who recites the following supplication (Du’a) 10 times daily, Allah will forgive four thousand major sins (Gunahane Kabeera) of his, offer him refuge from calamities at the time of death, the squeeze in the grave (Fishare Qabr) and Qayamat. Allah will also save him from Satan (Shaitaan) and his army and, will pay off his dues and save him from troubles and anxieties.

أَعْدَدْتُ لِكُلِّ هَوْلٍ لاَ إِلهَ إِلاَّ اللَّهُ

I am preparing “There is no god save Allah” to face any horror;

وَلِكُلِّ هَمٍّ وَغَمٍّ مَا شاءَ اللَّهُ

and “Only that which Allah wills shall come to pass” to face any grief and angset;

وَلِكُلِّ نِعْمَةٍ الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ

and “All praise be to Allah” to face all graces;

وَلِكُلِّ رَخاءٍ الشُّكْرُ لِلَّهِ

and “All thanks be to Allah” to face all items of luxury;

وَلِكُلِّ أُعْجُوبَةٍ سُبْحانَ اللَّه

and “All glory be to Allah” to face any astonishing matter;

وَلِكُلِّ ذَنْبٍ أَسْتَغْفِرُ اللَّهَ

and “I pray Allah’s forgiveness” to face any sin;

وَلِكُلِّ مُصِيبَةٍ إِنَّا لِلَّهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ راجِعُونَ

and “We are Allah’s and to Him shall we return” to face any misfortune;

وَلِكُلِّ ضِيقٍ حَسْبِيَ اللَّهُ

and “Allah is sufficient unto me” to face any distress;

وَلِكُلِّ قَضاءٍ وَقَدَرٍ تَوَكَّلْتُ عَلَى اللَّهِ

and “In Allah do I trust” to face any unexpected matter;

وَلِكُلِّ عَدُوٍّ إعْتَصَمْتُ بِاللَّهِ

and “In Allah do I take shelter” to face any enemy;

وَلِكُلِّ طاعَةٍ وَمَعْصِيَةٍ لاَ حَوْلَ وَلاَ قُوَّةَ إِلاَّ بِاللَّهِ الْعَلِيِّ الْعَظِيمِ

and “There is neither might nor power except with Allah, the Most High, the All-great” to face any act of obedience or disobedience.

The recitation of the following du’a seventy times carries great reward. The least of which is that he will be given glad tidings that he will enter Paradise:

يَا أَسْمَعَ السَّامِعِينَ

O most Hearing of all those who can hear.

يَا أَبْصَرَ النَاظِرينَ

O best Seer of all those who can see.

يَا أَسْرَعَ الحَاسِبِينَ

O swiftest in taking account.

يَا أَحْكَمَ الْحَاكِمِينَ

O Justest of all those who judge.

Shaikh Kulaini relates from Imam Ja’far as-Sadiq (a.s.) that he said that the one who recites Surah az-Zilzal in the Supererogatory Prayers (Nafela), Allah will save him from earthquake, lightening and the calamities of the land and sky. And during death He will send this Surah in the form of a handsome youth who will sit besides him and request the Angel of death (Malekul Maut) to remove his spirit with ease.

Turning away from the Right Path at death

It means that a person could turn away from the Right Path (Sirat al-Mustaqeem) during death. At the time of death Satan (Shaitaan) comes to the dying man and tries his best to deceive him and puts him in doubt, so as to turn him away from faith (Eeman). Fakhr Muhaqqeqeen says that, ‘A person who wishes to remain safe from the mischief of shaitaan at the time of death should preserve five proofs regarding the fundamental principals of faith (Usoole Deen) in his mind, and present it to Allah’s custody, so that during death these may come as a handy against shaitaan’s deceit. Then he should recite the following supplication (du’ a):

اللَّهُمَّ يَا أَرْحَمَ الرَّاحِمِينَ

O Allah; the most Merciful of all those who show mercy;

إِنِّي أَوْدَعْتُكَ يَقِينِي هَذَا وَثَبَاتَ دِينِي

I am depositing with You this faith of mine and my firmness on this belief;

وَأَنتَ خَيْرُ مُسْتَوْدَعٍ

And You are the ever-best of all those who keep deposits.

وَقَدْ أَمَرْتَنَا بِحِفْظِ الْوَدَائِعِ

And You have commanded us to keep safe deposits that are put with us;

فَرُدَّهُ عَلَيَّ وَقْتَ حُضُورِ مَوْتِي

So, (please) keep for me this deposit to give it back to me at the time of my death.

Fakhrul Muhaqqeqeen also says that those who wish to remain safe from shaitaan’s mischief of abandoning faith during death, should recite Dua’e Adeelah with a pure mind and heart. (Du’ae Adeelah is found in all the renowned books of du’as, and also in the first volume of Mafateehul Jinaan by the same author).

Shaikh Toosi relates from Muhammad b. Sulayman Daylami that I asked Imam Ja’far as-Sadiq (a.s.) that, “Some of your faithful followers (Shi’ahs) say that faith (Eeman) is of two types: (1) permanent and firmly established, and (2) One which has been given to us as a trust, and also can be ruined. Please give me a du’a through which my faith may also become permanent and firmly established.” Imam (a.s.) told him to recite the following du’a after every obligatory prayer (Wajib Namaz):

رَضِيتُ بِاللهِ رَبّاً

I have submitted to Allah being my Lord;

وَبِمُحَمَّدٍ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وآلِهِ نَبِيّاً

and to Muhammad - may Allah send blessings upon him and his Househod - being [my] Prophet;

وَبِالإِسْلاَمِ دِيناً

and to Islam being my religion;

وَبِالْقُرْآنِ كِتَاباً

and to the Qur’an being my book;

وَبِالْكَعْبَةِ قِبْلَةً

and to the Ka`bah being my direction;

وَبِعَلِيٍّ وَلِيّاً وَإِمَاماً

and to Ali being my guardian and leader;

وَبِالْحَسَنِ وَالْحُسَيْنِ

and to al-Hasan and al-Husayn

وَعَلِىِّ بْنِ الْحُسَيْنِ وَمُحَمَّدِ بْنِ عَلِيٍّ

and Ali ibn al-Husayn and Muhammad ibn Ali

وَجَعْفَرِ بْنِ مُحَمَّدٍ وَمُوسى بْنِ جَعْفَرٍ

and Jafar ibn Muhammad and Musa ibn Jafar

وَعَلِىِّ بْنِ مُوسَى وَمُحَمَّدِ بْنِ عَلِيٍّ

and Ali ibn Musa and Muhammad ibn Ali

وَعَلِىِّ بْنِ مُحَمَّدٍ وَالْحَسَنِ بْنِ عَلِيٍّ

and Ali ibn Muhammad and al-Hasan ibn Ali

وَالْحُجَّةِ بْنِ الْحَسَنِ

and the Argument [of Allah], son of al-Hasan,

صَلَوَاتُ اللهِ عَلَيْهِمْ أَئمَّةً

Allah’s blessings be upon them, being my leaders.

اَللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي رَضيتُ بِهِمْ أَئِمَّةً

O Allah: I submit to them as my leaders;

فَأَرْضَنِي لَهُمْ

so, make me accepted in their sight.

إِنَّكَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيء قَديرٌ

Verily, You have power over all things.

Those acts which prove beneficial at death

The best deed is to perform Prayers (Namaz) on time. It is related that there is no person in the east or the west on whom the sight of the Angel of death (Malekul Maut) does not fall at least five times during the time of Prayers. Whenever the time of death of that person comes, the Angel of death (Malekul Maut) recognizes him and helps him to recite Kalema and shuns away Satan (Shaitaan) from him.

It is narrated that once Imam Jafar as-Sadiq (a.s.) wrote to a person: “Do you wish that you may face death while on the Right path? And do you wish that your spirit (Rooh) may be removed from your body while you be performing good deeds? Then hold Allah’s orders dear to yourself and obey them, and do not waste the bounties offered by Him by being disobedient to Him, and do not take undue advantage of His Mercy, nor become arrogant. Honor those who follow Us and respect those who love Us.”

The recitation of Dua-e-Tamjeed (Du’a No. 11) of ‘Saheefae Kamelah’ is beneficial, so as to die while on the Right path and to be saved from turning away from it.

To recite the following supplication (dua) in the Namaz of Sundays in the month of Zilqad:

رَبَّنَا لاَ تُزِغْ قُلُوبَنَا بَعْدَ إِذْ هَدَيْتَنَا

Our Lord! make not our hearts deviate after You have guided us aright,

وَهَبْ لَنَا مِنْ لَدُنْكَ رَحْمَةً

And grant us mercy from You;

إِنَّكَ أَنْتَ الْوَهَّابُ

surely, You are the most liberal Giver.

The other beneficial acts are: To always recite Tasbeehe Fatema (a.s.) (34 times Allaho Akbar, 33 times Alhamdo Lillah, and 33 times Sub-hanallah), to wear ring of Carnelian (Aqeeq, specially of red color), it is better if the following is engraved on it:

مُحَمَّدٌ نَبِيُّ اللهِ وَعَلِيٌّ وَلِيُّ اللهِ

Muhammad is the prophet of Allah and Ali is the friend of Allah.

To recite Surah al-Mo’menoon every Friday, to recite the following supplication (du’a) seven times after morning (Subh) and evening (Maghrib) Prayers:

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ

In the Name of Allah; the All-beneficent, the All-merciful.

وَلاَ حَوْلَ وَلاَ قُوَّةَ إلاَّ بِاللهِ الْعَلِيِّ الْعَظيمِ

There is no might and no strength save with Allah, the All-high the All-great.

To recite 8 units (Rak’at) Namaz on the night of 22nd Rajab, in each unit (Rak’at) after Surah al-Hamd recites 7 times Surah at-Tawheed. After ending Namaz, recite 10 times ‘Salawat’, and 10 times ‘Istighfar’:

أَسْتَغْفِرُ اللهَ رَبِّي وَأَتُوبُ إِلَيْهِ

I seek the forgiveness of Allah, my Lord, and I repent before Him.

Sayyed ibne Tawoos quotes the Holy Prophet(s) as saying, that if a person recites 4 units (Rak’ats) Namaz in the month of Sha’ban, such that in each unit (Rak’at) after Sura-al-Hamd recites 50 times Surah at-Tawheed, then during death his spirit will be removed with ease, and his grave will become spacious, and on the day of Qayamat when he comes out of his grave, his face will be shining bright like a full moon and Kalmae Shahadat will be on his lips.

The following incidents will prove helpful for further explanation:

Incident 1

Fuzail bin Ayaz who was one of the great Sufi Saints, says that he had a pious and virtuous student. The student once fell ill, and when his death approached, Fuzail came to visit him and started reciting Surah al-Yaseen. The student requested Fuzail to stop reciting it. Fuzail then requested him to recite the Kalema, but he refused to do so and said that he was sick of it (Allah’s refuge).

Fuzail was shocked and felt sad at the attitude of his pious student; he returned home and did not come out for some days. One night he dreamt that the angels of wrath were dragging the same student to the fire of hell. Fuzail stopped them and inquired of his student as to why was he being treated in that manner, when he was always a pious and devout student of his. He asked him about what was the reason behind his painful end. The student replied that he had three bad habits in him:

1. Slander, (Woe be on every slanderer & defamer) Surah al-Humazah, 104:1

2. Jealousy, (Verily jealousy destroys faith (Eeman) in the same manner as fire destroys wood - Usoole Kafi), and

3. Creating mischief, (creating mischief is graver than murder) - (Surah al-Baqarah, 2: 217).

The student also told Fuzail that he once committed an act, which also proved harmful for his hereafter. He said that once he had a disease, and the doctor had prescribed him to drink wine for its cure. The doctor told him that if he did not do so he would never be cured. He did as the doctor said. Because of this and the other 3 bad habits his end was this painful, and he died in the state of shame.

For further explanation of the above narrative, I state below an incident quoted by Shaikh Kulaini, who quotes Abu Baseer as saying that, Once I was seated in the presence of Imam Jafar as-Sadiq (a.s.), when Umme Khalid binte Ma’badiyyah came and told the Imam (a.s.) that since she knew the prohibition of its use, she had come to the Imam (a.s.) to take advice regarding it. Imam Sadiq (a.s.) asked her, “What stopped you from using it”? She said that being one of His devout followers, she wished to be saved from shame, and on the day of Qayamat if she be questioned about it she could reply that its use (or prohibition) was ordered to her by the Imam (a.s.) himself.

The Imam (a.s.) turned towards me and said, “O Abu Muhammad! (referred to Abu Baseer), do you pay heed to what this woman says”? Then Imam Sadiq (a.s.) answered: By Allah I never give you permission to consume even a drop of it, for if you do so, you shall have to regret when your spirit reaches here.” and Imam (a.s.) pointed towards his neck and repeated the sentence thrice, and took the woman’s assurance that she had understood it well.

Incident 2

Shaikh Bahai states in his book ‘Kashkol’ that there was a person who had spent his entire life in pleasures and luxuries of this world. When he was about to die, the people gathered around him and requested him to recite the ‘Kalema’. But instead of the ‘Kalema’ the dying man said: Where is that woman who in a state of exhaustion came to me and asked me the way to the public bath (named Manjab).

He said so because one day a virtuous and beautiful woman had come out of her house to have bath in a famous bathhouse named ‘Manjab’. She forgot her way and was exhausted searching for it. She saw this man standing near a door and asked him the way to it. He pointed towards his house and said that the same was the bathhouse named ‘Manjab’. As soon as the woman entered, the man locked the door and intended to have illicit physical relation with her. The virtuous woman sensed that there was no escape from his lustful fold, and hence pretended to be interested in him. She said that she was a state of uncleanliness and was proceeding for a bath. She told the man to go and get some scent for her so that she may perfume and adorn herself for him, and also to get something to eat as she was exhausted.

The man was deceived by her words and went to the market to buy things. As soon as he stepped outside, the woman thanked Allah for preserving her chastity and ran away. When the man returned, he understood his mistake and regretted. Now when his end neared, her remembered this indecent act and instead of reciting the ‘Kalema’ said the above words.

The incident is to be reflected upon that when the person was about to die, the sin (even though he had not committed it, but had intended) stopped him from reciting the ‘Kalema’. Shaikh Kulaini quotes Imam Ja’far as-Sadiq (a.s.) as saying that, “One who does not pay even one Qeerat of Zakat due on him (Qeerat is equal to 21 dinars), will die the death of a Jew or a Christian.” The same tradition (hadees) is also said about the person who intentionally does not perform Hajj even after being capable of doing so.

From Death till Grave

After the spirit (Rooh) is separated from the body, it lingers on the top for sometime. There after the Spirit of the believer is taken to the Heavens, while that of a non-believer below. When a believer’s bier is being carried, he calls out: “Hasten me to my eternal destination,” while non-believer calls out: “Do not make haste to bury me in my grave, making way for my chastisement.” During bath of the believer’s dead body, the Angels ask him if he desires to return to the world back to his kith and kin, to which he replies that he does not intend to go back to the world of miseries and misfortune.

The Spirit of the dead remains present and witnesses the bath given to his body. It is also narrated that when the bath is being performed, the dead person feels as if he is being thrown from height, and the rough hands of the person performing the bath seems to be smiting him. Hence it is necessary that bath should be performed with gentle hands.

The Spirit hears the voices of the people who have come to attend his funeral. Hence it should be borne in mind that one should avoid talking during funeral. A woman in menses or nifaas (blood discharge after childbirth), and a person in the state of pollution should avoid coming near the dead body, because it becomes the reason for the displeasure of the blessed Angels, who turn away in disgust. Such acts should be performed for the dead person which become the reason for Allah’s blessings, viz. remembrance of Allah and Ahlulbait, (a.s.), recitation of Qur’an etc.

It is also narrated that after the dead body is buried, the spirit returns and maintains relation with the body. When it sees that the people are returning back, knows that from now on it is destined to live alone. It becomes restless, and says: “Alas! Those children of mine whom I brought up with love and care have abandoned me, and now my only companions are my deeds (A’amal) which I performed while alive.” The first glad tidings which a believer receives is in the grave: “Oh you who believe! Allah has forgiven your sins and the sins of those who attended your funeral.”

The Returning (Ma’ad)

Ma’ad is derived from the root word Aud, which means to return. Hence, the returning of the spirit (rooh) back to its body is called Ma’ad. Ma’ad is one of the fundamental principals of Islamic faith and belief in it is incumbent upon all Muslims. After death every soul shall arise to see the reward or retribution (as the case may be) of their deeds.

Ma’ad consists of stages Death (Maut), Grave (Qabr), Intermediate Stage (Barzakh), Resurrection (Qayamat) and Paradise (Jannat) or hell (Jahannam). Ma’ad cannot be perceived by the five senses of man, but can be comprehended by reasoning alone.

What happens after death? The Holy Prophet (s) through the medium of Revelation (Wahy) has explained it to us in detail. Man’s senses have their own limitations beyond which it is not possible for him to understand. For example a child in the mother’s womb cannot perceive the vastness of the outside world. In the same manner, a soul captivated by the influences of matter cannot easily understand the hidden world and its realities.

The knowledge of this unseen world is concealed from man and he can only understand it through the medium of the Holy Prophet (s) and his Vicegerents, the Holy Aimmah (a.s.). Hence to have a better comprehension of the hereafter, we have to rely totally upon them, because they are the inheritors of the knowledge of Allah and His Hidden Wisdom.

Is a person’s body affected after death?

Many are of the opinion that after death man’s body becomes an absolute nothing like a dry wood; hence the question of reckoning in the grave does not arise. Such doubts are the outcome of sheer ignorance and lack of belief in the unseen (Ghaib). Speech is the effect of the tongue and movements are impressions of a living body. However, the spirit (Rooh) is motionless. Hence it is independent of movements, as a man’s tongue or lips do not move during a dream. A person who is awake will bear witness to it. After awakening the person will narrate the discussions he had with people, he will also claim to have traveled far off cities, but his body in reality lay motionless on the bed all throughout the night.

Dreams (Ru’ya)

Imam Moosa al-Kazim (a.s.) states that in the former part of creation, man did not dream. Allah sent upon the people His Apostle to guide them towards virtue and warn against evil. The Prophet advised them that if they followed the Right Path as preached by Him, they would be successful and be rewarded in Paradise. And, if they erred and did not avoid sin, they would face tribulation in hell. They asked the Prophet as to how could they rely on something, which they had never seen. They said that they observed that after death a man’s body became motionless and turned into dust; how could then he be rewarded or chastised for his actions.

It is after this incident that they started having dreams in which they witnessed Allah’s rewards in Paradise and His wrath in Hell. They went to the Prophet and narrated this to him. The Prophet replied that same as in the dreams they were able to mete people, converse with them, and visit far off places, after death too they would still taste chastisement or reward (as the case may be) in Paradise or Hell, even if their bodies would have been reduced to dust.

Death (Maut)

Scholars differ regarding the explanation of death. Some call it a continuous phenomenon (Amre Wujoodi - not the end of life), while others opine that it is terminal one (Amre Adami - the end of life). However, generally it is accepted that this is purely a bodily affair.

Regarding death it is said that, “It is a continuous process and the vice versa to life.” The Holy Qur’an says.

“Blessed is He in whose hand is the kingdom (of the heavens and the earth), and He has power over all things, Who created death and life that He may try you, (to prove) which of you is best in deeds.” (Surah al Mulk, 67: 1-2)

The above verse (Ayah) refers to the purpose of the creation of life and death. Non-existence is not the essence of creation. If death had been an ending process, the word “Khaliq” (Creation) would not have been used. Death in reality is the divorce of the spirit (rooh) from the body, and can be illustrated by many examples. It can be compared to a sailor estranged from his wrecked ship.

The spirit is a light, which illuminates the dark body and its components derive benefit from it. Whereas death is the estranger of this light from the body, leaving it again in darkness. It is not true that the spirit enters the body, because it is free to enter and exit. It shares a limited relation with the body, after which it leaves the body for immortality.

In short, the detachment of the spirit (Rooh) from the body is called death (Maut). It is incumbent upon us to believe that death is a phenomenon solely governed by the will and command of Almighty Allah only, and He maintains the relation of the spirit to the body from mother’s womb till the end. He is the Creator (Khaliq) of all things, and the Giver of life and death. The Holy Qu’ran says:

“Allah takes the spirits (Rooh) at the time of their death.” (Surah az-Zumar, 39:42)

Some ignorant people are of the opinion that the Angel of death (Izraeel) is an evil demon and an enemy who estranges us from our children and orphans them. But the reality is that he acts in accordance to the command of Allah only and has no personal choice in the matter.

Separation of the Spirit from the body

It is narrated in the tradition of Me’raj that a plank is placed in front of Izraeel, on which names of all creatures are written. When Allah wills death of any one of His creatures, the name on the plank disappears, and Izraeel does the needful. It is possible that at one time death of more than one creature may be ordained. Just as many candles can be extinguished in a single puff, more than one spirit can be removed together. Surely Allah is the giver of death as stated in the Qur’an,

“Say (O Prophet) the Angel of death who is given charge of you shall cause you to die. (Surah as-Sajdah, 32:11)

In another verse it is stated.

“Those whom the Angels cause to die while they are unjust to them selves.” (Surah an-Nahl, 16:28)

Izraeel and his comrade Angels have been assigned the job of removing the spirits of creatures. When an army follows the commands of their king and conquers cities, it is said that the said army has conquered the said cities, but in reality conquest is a result of the king’s military tacts and warfare. Many examples can be given to prove the above, but the fact is that this event is beyond comparison.

As Allah has created this world as a house of causes (Darul Asbab), He has also created a cause for death. Disease, murder, accident etc. are some of its causes. These act as reasons for the approach of death, if not there are instances of persons who recover even after a serious illness, while some die in a blink of an eye. These causes also do not have an independent option, unless attested by the command and will of the Almighty.

Spirits of some men are removed with ease while some experience severe difficulty. It is narrated in traditions (Ahadees) that during death some people feel as if their body is being cut asunder by scissors, or are being grinded in a mill, while some feel as if they are smelling the fragrance of a rose. It is stated in the Qur’an:

“Those whom the Angels cause to die in a good state, saying - Peace be on you, enter the garden (of Paradise) for what you did.” (Surah an-Nahl, 16:32)

It is not necessary that the spirits of all believers (Mo’mineen) will be removed easily. Even a believer who has done good deeds in his lifetime can experience difficulty during death. This acts as the punishment for sins he committed for which he is atoned for in this very world. While for a non -believer this difficulty is an extra punishment of Allah followed by the ones to come in the Hereafter.

“But how will it be when the Angels cause them to die smiting their backs.” (Surah al-Muhammad, 47:27)

It is also possible that a non-believer may not experience difficulty during death, this acts as reward for the good deeds he has committed which is compensated in this very world, leaving their scrolls of deed of any reward. In reality death is an unfortunate event for a non-believer even though he dies in comfort, while it is a blessing and felicity for a believer even though he experiences difficulty during it.

Love of world

Hatred towards death and love of the world is the outcome of an ignorant person’s mind that thinks that the happiness of this world is from his prosperity and good fortune. The world sated with numerous troubles and anxieties is out to end in misery and does not enjoy eternity, perpetuity and sincerity.

A poet has referred to this in the following words - “Do not give your heart to this world, for its example is of an unfaithful bride who has never loved you, even for a night.” The Holy Qur’an says that the love of this world is one of the characteristics of the disbelievers.

“[the disbelievers] are pleased with this world’s life and are content with it.” (Surah -Yunus, 10:71)

In another verse, it is stated,

“Are you contended with the life of this world instead of the Hereafter” (Surah al-Bara’at, 9:38).

For the Jews it is said,

“Every one of them loves that he should be granted a life of a thousand years.” (Surah a1-Baqarah, 2:96)

There are many traditions detesting the love of world. The Holy Prophet(s) has said, “Verily the love of this world is the root cause of every evil.”

Friendship with death

It is of utmost importance that man should hold death dear and consider it an opportunity of meeting with his Almighty, and not hate it and consider it as evil, but should take lessons from it. He should ask forgiveness from Allah for his sins and tame the rebellious self (nafs).

When the call of his Lord comes, he should welcome it with open arms accepting it to be a blessing from Allah. He should be contented with the decree (Qadr) of Allah. He should rejoice that shortly he would be taken to the presence of Ahlulbait (a.s.) and meet his deceased companions and other believer brothers. He should also not be disheartened by the delay in death but should consider it as an opportunity afforded by Allah to him to repent. This delay would give him a chance to gather provisions useful for his journey to the other world, for the journey is tiresome and full of dangerous valleys and difficult paths.

Relating to the removal of the Spirit and its hardships (Sakarat)

“And the stupor of death will come in truth, that is what you were trying to escape.” (Surah Qaf, 50:19).

This stage is full of difficulties & troubles. On one hand a man feels pain, his tongue becomes motionless, his bodily components cease to function, while on the other hand there is weeping and wailing of relatives, grief of their separation, orphaning of children, and the sorrow of leaving behind hardly earned wealth and enormous property for others to feast upon - the wealth which was sometimes gathered by usurpation or through illicit means. The dying man remembers his sins and regrets, but alas, the time (to repent) has passed and accounts closed.

Amirul Mo’mineen (a.s.) has said, “He (the dying person) regrets over his wealth which he gathered bearing hardships, and now he is being separated from it, leaving it to be feasted upon by his inheritors. His hard earned wealth is left for the use of others.” The dying person feels scared, for he is about to enter an unknown and unexplored world, and is all the more frightened when he witnesses the things which are totally new to him. The Holy Qur’an says,

“Certainly you were heedless of it, but now we have removed from you your veil, so your sight today is sharp.” (Surah Qaf, 50:22)

He feels the presence of Angels around him and wonders about what is in store for him. It has been narrated in traditions (Ahadees) that at the time of death, the Holy Prophet (s) and the Holy Aimmah (a.s.) come near the head of the dying person, who is able to see them.

It is narrated in third volume of ‘Bihar-al-Anwar’ that once Imam Ali ar-Ridha (a.s.) went to meet one of his companions (Sahabi) who was about to die. He looked towards the Imam (a.s.) and said, “I see the radiant faces of your Grandfather (the Holy Prophet), your Father (the Commander of the faithful), your Mother (Hazrat Fatema), and the other Imams in your Ancestry. I also see your luminous face along with them.”

It is a fact that dying men have a glimpse of the Aimmah (a.s.), according to his love for and knowledge of them. For a believer (mo’min) their sight is a blessing from Allah, and for a hypocrite (munafiq) and disbeliever, it is a sign of Allah’s wrath. In the Salutation (Ziarat) of Amirul Mo’mineen Ali (a.s.) we utter these words:

السَّلاَمُ عَلَى نِعْمَةِ اللهِ عَلَى الأَبْرَارِ وَنِقْمَةِ اللهِ عَلَى الْجَبَّارِ

Peace be upon Allah’s grace for the upright and Allah’s chastisement on the tyrants.

The dying man is confused, because on one hand Satan (Shaitaan) with his companions tries hard to spoil his faith (Eeman), and on the other hand the thought of the arrival of the Angel of death makes him all the more puzzled. He wonders as to in what state would he (the Angel of death) come and how would his spirit be removed. The Commander of the faithful Ali (a.s.) says, “And when the signs of death approache, he knows not what will befall him.”

Shaikh Kulaini narrates from Imam Ja’far as-Sadiq (a.s.) who said that once Hazrat Ali (a.s.) was suffering from the ailment of the eye. The Holy Prophet (s) came to inquire about his health. He saw that Ali (a.s.) was in intense pain and was restless because of it. The Prophet asked him, “Is this anxiety the outcome of the ailment”? Hazrat Ali (a.s.) replied that, “I had never witnessed such a pain before.”

The Holy Prophet, in order to console him, said “O Ali! when the Angel of death comes to take the spirit of the disbeliever, he brings along with him a club of fire, by which he removes his spirit and the flames of hell scream at the dying man.”

The Commander of the believers sat upright and said, “O Prophet! Please explain to me the tradition (hadees), for I do not fell the pain anymore. Will the spirit of anyone from among your ummat be removed in the same manner”? The Holy Prophet replied, ‘Yes, three types of persons from among my ummat too will be subjected to this punishment (1) An oppressive (Zalim) ruler, (2) Those who unjustly usurp the rights of orphans, and (3) The bearer of false witness.”

Man due to difficulty or ease during death also sees the effects of his good or bad deeds, which he committed. There are also some who turn apostate during death due to some of their bad deeds.

“Then evil was the end of those who did evil, because they rejected the communications of Allah and used to mock them.” (Surah ar-Rum, 30:10)

It has also been narrated that during death (Sakarat) or afterwards, the following persons should not be near the dying man: a woman in menses (Haiz) or irregular period (Istahaza), and a polluted (Junoob) person, because the Blessed Angels leave and the dying man falls into trouble. Shaikh Sadooq in his book Ilalush Sharaye’ quotes Imam Ja’far as-Sadiq (a.s.) as saying, that woman in menses (Haiz) or a polluted person (Junoob) should not remain near the dying person, because the Angels feel disgusted because of it and go away.

In the book ‘Darus Salaam’, the great scholar Sayyed Murtaza Najafi quotes: Once an extreme epidemic broke in Iraq and Arabia. I was seated in the courtyard of the Shrine of the Commander of the faithful Ali (a.s.) with a distinguished Scholar (Aalim) Sayyed Muhammad Baqir Qazwini. He was distributing work among us for serving the people affected, when we saw a youth who was standing in the last rank and was struggling to come near the Sayyed, but could not do so because of immense crowd.

Suddenly the young man started wailing aloud, the Sayyed looked at him and told me to inquire the matter from him. I went to him and asked him the reason for weeping. He replied, “I desire that if I die in the epidemic, the Sayyed should recite the Prayer (Namaze Mayyit) over my dead body individually and not as combined with others as he does (due to many deaths in the epidemic). I returned to the Sayyed and narrated the matter to him. He promised to fulfill his desire.

Next day we saw an infant child who came crying to us. When we inquired of him he answered that he was the son of the youth who had come to us yesterday with a desire. He told us that he had become a victim of the epidemic and was about to die, and he was desirous of meeting the Sayyed. Some of us accompanied Sayyed Muhammad Baqir to meet the dying man.

On the way we met a pious man who was coming out of his house. When he saw us he saluted us, and asked us, as to where we were going. We answered that we were going to visit a believer who was in his last moments. With permission he accompanied us in order to share the reward (sawab). When we came to the house, Sayyed Muhammad Baqir entered the room first, then one after the other we entered there in. The dying man was pleased and signaled us to sit.

As soon as the pious man who had met us on the way entered, the dying man’s color changed. His face turned pale and in rage signaled him to go away. He became restless as if some trouble had befallen him. We were all the more surprised when we learnt that the dying man did not even know him, whom we could assume to be his enemy. The man excused himself and went out but returned back after sometime.

This time when he entered, the dying person was pleased and welcomed him. After sometime we took permission to leave. On the way we asked the pious man the reason for the sudden change in the attitude of the dying man. He replied that he was in the state of pollution (Junoob), and was leaving his house with the intention of performing ceremonial bath (Ghusle janabat) in the public bath. He met us on the way, and not wanting to miss the opportunity of performing this noble task accompanied us. He said that when he first entered the house and saw the dying man’s restlessness, he understood and left.

To make himself sure he returned back after having performed the ceremonial bath (Ghusle Janabat). He concluded that the dying man had come to know about his impurity because the blessed Angels had left him and he felt immense pain. (Khazeenatul Jawaher)

Those deeds whose performance eases death

Shaikh Sadooq quotes from Imam Ja’far as-Sadiq (a.s.) that he said, “1f a person wishes that his last moments should be easy, he should maintain cordial relations with his kith and kin, and be kind to his parents. Whoever does so, death will be eased, and he will never fall prey to misfortunes in his lifetime.”

It is narrated that once the Holy Prophet (s) went to see a youth who was in his last moments of life. He told him to recite Kalamae Tawheed (There is no God but Allah), but the youth could not utter it because his tongue had turned speechless. The Prophet repeated his order but with no awail. He repeated it twice but the youth could not answer.

The Prophet turned towards a woman who was sat near the youth’s head and asked her if she was his mother. She replied in affirmative. He then asked her if she was unhappy with her son. She answered that she was certainly unhappy, but would forgive him if the Prophet commanded her to do so. The Prophet told her to forgive him. As soon as she forgave, the youth’s speech returned and he recited the ‘Kalema’. The Prophet asked him as to what he saw. He answered that he saw an ugly looking man who had held him by the neck, and was trying to strangle him. The Prophet told him to recite the following:

O He Who accepts the little (deed) and overlooks the much (wrong)

يَا مَنْ يَقْبَلُ الْيَسِيرَ وَيَعْفُو عَنِ الْكَثِيرِ

Accept my little (deed) and overlook my much (wrong)

اقْبَلْ مِنِّي الْيَسِيرَ وَاعْفُ عَنِّي الْكَثِيرَ

You are certainly the All-merciful, the All-forgiving,

إنَّكَ أَنْتَ الرَّحِيمُ الْغَفُورُ

When he did so, the Prophet asked him as to what he saw now. He answered that he saw that a handsome man had come to his rescue while the ugly man had turned back. The Prophet ordered him to recite the above du’a again and after having done so asked him what he saw. He replied that the ugly man had left, and the handsome youth was there by his side comforting him. He uttered these words and breathed his last.

The above narration should be understood well, and lesson should be learnt that parent’s displeasure becomes the reason for anguish in death. Even after being a companion (sahabi) of the Prophet, and the Prophet being present besides him, the youth could not recite the ‘kalema’ and was in agony till his mother forgave him.

Imam Ja’far as-Sadiq (a.s.) says, “For a person who gives clothes to his brother believer during the summer or in winter, it is incumbent upon Allah to present the dress of Paradise to him, make his end easy, and save him from the narrowness of the grave.” The Holy Prophet (s) has said, “A person who offers to eat something sweet to his brother believer, the pangs of death will be easy on him.”

Those A’mal which prove beneficial during death and eases its tribulations

Reciting Surah al-Yaseen, Surah as-Saffat and the following supplication (du’a) eases the tribulation during death:

لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ اللَّهُ الْحَلِيمُ الْكَرِيمُ

There is no god save Allah, the All-forbearing, the All-generous.

لاَ إِلهَ إِلاَّ اللَّهُ الْعَلِيُّ الْعَظِيمُ

There is no god save Allah, the Most High, the All-great.

سُبْحانَ اللَّهِ رَبِّ السَّمَوَاتِ السَّبْعِ وَرَبِّ الأَرَضِينَ السَّبْعِ

All glory be to Allah, Lord of the seven heavens and Lord of the seven layers of earth,

وَمَا فِيهِنَّ وَمَا بَيْنَهُنَّ وَمَا تَحْتَهُنَّ

and whatever is in, between, and beneath them,

وَرَبِّ الْعَرْشِ الْعَظِيمِ

and Lord of the Great Throne.

وَالْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعالَمِينَ

All praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds.

Shaikh Sadooq narrates from Imam Ja’far as-Sadiq (a.s.) that he said, “For the person who fasts on the last day of the month of Rajab, Allah will save him from the after effects of death.” Fasting on the 24th of Rajab carries great reward (sawab). One of its merits is that when the Angel of death comes to remove his spirit (rooh), he comes in the form of a handsome youth carrying a bowl of the pure drink (Sharabe Tahoora) and offers him to drink. The dying person does so and dies in peace.

The Holy Prophet (s) says that if a person recites four units (Rak’at) of Namaz on the night of 7th Rajab in a manner that in each unit (Rak’at) after Surah al-Hamd recites thrice Surah at-Tawheed, once Surah al-Falaq, and once Surah an-Naas. After finishing the Namaz, sends Salawat on Us:

اَللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلَى مُحَمَّدٍ وَآلِ مُحَمَّدٍ

O Allah; (please) bless Muhammad and his Household,

and recites ten times Tasbeehate Arba.

سُبْحانَ اللهِ

All glory be to Allah;

وَالْحَمْدُ للهِ

all praise be to Allah;

وَلا إِلهَ إلاَّ اللهُ

there is no god save Allah;

وَاللهُ أَكْبَرُ

and Allah is the Greatest

Almighty Allah will offer him shelter under the Throne (Arsh), and give him reward of a person fasting in the month of Ramazan. Till the time he finishes the prayers, the Angels pray for his forgiveness. Allah will ease the pangs of death on him, and save him from the squeeze in the grave (Fishare Qabr). He will not die until he sees his place in Paradise, and will be safe from the hardships of Resurrection (Qay’amat)

Shaikh Kafami quotes from the Holy Prophet (s), that he said that a person who recites the following supplication (Du’a) 10 times daily, Allah will forgive four thousand major sins (Gunahane Kabeera) of his, offer him refuge from calamities at the time of death, the squeeze in the grave (Fishare Qabr) and Qayamat. Allah will also save him from Satan (Shaitaan) and his army and, will pay off his dues and save him from troubles and anxieties.

أَعْدَدْتُ لِكُلِّ هَوْلٍ لاَ إِلهَ إِلاَّ اللَّهُ

I am preparing “There is no god save Allah” to face any horror;

وَلِكُلِّ هَمٍّ وَغَمٍّ مَا شاءَ اللَّهُ

and “Only that which Allah wills shall come to pass” to face any grief and angset;

وَلِكُلِّ نِعْمَةٍ الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ

and “All praise be to Allah” to face all graces;

وَلِكُلِّ رَخاءٍ الشُّكْرُ لِلَّهِ

and “All thanks be to Allah” to face all items of luxury;

وَلِكُلِّ أُعْجُوبَةٍ سُبْحانَ اللَّه

and “All glory be to Allah” to face any astonishing matter;

وَلِكُلِّ ذَنْبٍ أَسْتَغْفِرُ اللَّهَ

and “I pray Allah’s forgiveness” to face any sin;

وَلِكُلِّ مُصِيبَةٍ إِنَّا لِلَّهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ راجِعُونَ

and “We are Allah’s and to Him shall we return” to face any misfortune;

وَلِكُلِّ ضِيقٍ حَسْبِيَ اللَّهُ

and “Allah is sufficient unto me” to face any distress;

وَلِكُلِّ قَضاءٍ وَقَدَرٍ تَوَكَّلْتُ عَلَى اللَّهِ

and “In Allah do I trust” to face any unexpected matter;

وَلِكُلِّ عَدُوٍّ إعْتَصَمْتُ بِاللَّهِ

and “In Allah do I take shelter” to face any enemy;

وَلِكُلِّ طاعَةٍ وَمَعْصِيَةٍ لاَ حَوْلَ وَلاَ قُوَّةَ إِلاَّ بِاللَّهِ الْعَلِيِّ الْعَظِيمِ

and “There is neither might nor power except with Allah, the Most High, the All-great” to face any act of obedience or disobedience.

The recitation of the following du’a seventy times carries great reward. The least of which is that he will be given glad tidings that he will enter Paradise:

يَا أَسْمَعَ السَّامِعِينَ

O most Hearing of all those who can hear.

يَا أَبْصَرَ النَاظِرينَ

O best Seer of all those who can see.

يَا أَسْرَعَ الحَاسِبِينَ

O swiftest in taking account.

يَا أَحْكَمَ الْحَاكِمِينَ

O Justest of all those who judge.

Shaikh Kulaini relates from Imam Ja’far as-Sadiq (a.s.) that he said that the one who recites Surah az-Zilzal in the Supererogatory Prayers (Nafela), Allah will save him from earthquake, lightening and the calamities of the land and sky. And during death He will send this Surah in the form of a handsome youth who will sit besides him and request the Angel of death (Malekul Maut) to remove his spirit with ease.

Turning away from the Right Path at death

It means that a person could turn away from the Right Path (Sirat al-Mustaqeem) during death. At the time of death Satan (Shaitaan) comes to the dying man and tries his best to deceive him and puts him in doubt, so as to turn him away from faith (Eeman). Fakhr Muhaqqeqeen says that, ‘A person who wishes to remain safe from the mischief of shaitaan at the time of death should preserve five proofs regarding the fundamental principals of faith (Usoole Deen) in his mind, and present it to Allah’s custody, so that during death these may come as a handy against shaitaan’s deceit. Then he should recite the following supplication (du’ a):

اللَّهُمَّ يَا أَرْحَمَ الرَّاحِمِينَ

O Allah; the most Merciful of all those who show mercy;

إِنِّي أَوْدَعْتُكَ يَقِينِي هَذَا وَثَبَاتَ دِينِي

I am depositing with You this faith of mine and my firmness on this belief;

وَأَنتَ خَيْرُ مُسْتَوْدَعٍ

And You are the ever-best of all those who keep deposits.

وَقَدْ أَمَرْتَنَا بِحِفْظِ الْوَدَائِعِ

And You have commanded us to keep safe deposits that are put with us;

فَرُدَّهُ عَلَيَّ وَقْتَ حُضُورِ مَوْتِي

So, (please) keep for me this deposit to give it back to me at the time of my death.

Fakhrul Muhaqqeqeen also says that those who wish to remain safe from shaitaan’s mischief of abandoning faith during death, should recite Dua’e Adeelah with a pure mind and heart. (Du’ae Adeelah is found in all the renowned books of du’as, and also in the first volume of Mafateehul Jinaan by the same author).

Shaikh Toosi relates from Muhammad b. Sulayman Daylami that I asked Imam Ja’far as-Sadiq (a.s.) that, “Some of your faithful followers (Shi’ahs) say that faith (Eeman) is of two types: (1) permanent and firmly established, and (2) One which has been given to us as a trust, and also can be ruined. Please give me a du’a through which my faith may also become permanent and firmly established.” Imam (a.s.) told him to recite the following du’a after every obligatory prayer (Wajib Namaz):

رَضِيتُ بِاللهِ رَبّاً

I have submitted to Allah being my Lord;

وَبِمُحَمَّدٍ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وآلِهِ نَبِيّاً

and to Muhammad - may Allah send blessings upon him and his Househod - being [my] Prophet;

وَبِالإِسْلاَمِ دِيناً

and to Islam being my religion;

وَبِالْقُرْآنِ كِتَاباً

and to the Qur’an being my book;

وَبِالْكَعْبَةِ قِبْلَةً

and to the Ka`bah being my direction;

وَبِعَلِيٍّ وَلِيّاً وَإِمَاماً

and to Ali being my guardian and leader;

وَبِالْحَسَنِ وَالْحُسَيْنِ

and to al-Hasan and al-Husayn

وَعَلِىِّ بْنِ الْحُسَيْنِ وَمُحَمَّدِ بْنِ عَلِيٍّ

and Ali ibn al-Husayn and Muhammad ibn Ali

وَجَعْفَرِ بْنِ مُحَمَّدٍ وَمُوسى بْنِ جَعْفَرٍ

and Jafar ibn Muhammad and Musa ibn Jafar

وَعَلِىِّ بْنِ مُوسَى وَمُحَمَّدِ بْنِ عَلِيٍّ

and Ali ibn Musa and Muhammad ibn Ali

وَعَلِىِّ بْنِ مُحَمَّدٍ وَالْحَسَنِ بْنِ عَلِيٍّ

and Ali ibn Muhammad and al-Hasan ibn Ali

وَالْحُجَّةِ بْنِ الْحَسَنِ

and the Argument [of Allah], son of al-Hasan,

صَلَوَاتُ اللهِ عَلَيْهِمْ أَئمَّةً

Allah’s blessings be upon them, being my leaders.

اَللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي رَضيتُ بِهِمْ أَئِمَّةً

O Allah: I submit to them as my leaders;

فَأَرْضَنِي لَهُمْ

so, make me accepted in their sight.

إِنَّكَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيء قَديرٌ

Verily, You have power over all things.

Those acts which prove beneficial at death

The best deed is to perform Prayers (Namaz) on time. It is related that there is no person in the east or the west on whom the sight of the Angel of death (Malekul Maut) does not fall at least five times during the time of Prayers. Whenever the time of death of that person comes, the Angel of death (Malekul Maut) recognizes him and helps him to recite Kalema and shuns away Satan (Shaitaan) from him.

It is narrated that once Imam Jafar as-Sadiq (a.s.) wrote to a person: “Do you wish that you may face death while on the Right path? And do you wish that your spirit (Rooh) may be removed from your body while you be performing good deeds? Then hold Allah’s orders dear to yourself and obey them, and do not waste the bounties offered by Him by being disobedient to Him, and do not take undue advantage of His Mercy, nor become arrogant. Honor those who follow Us and respect those who love Us.”

The recitation of Dua-e-Tamjeed (Du’a No. 11) of ‘Saheefae Kamelah’ is beneficial, so as to die while on the Right path and to be saved from turning away from it.

To recite the following supplication (dua) in the Namaz of Sundays in the month of Zilqad:

رَبَّنَا لاَ تُزِغْ قُلُوبَنَا بَعْدَ إِذْ هَدَيْتَنَا

Our Lord! make not our hearts deviate after You have guided us aright,

وَهَبْ لَنَا مِنْ لَدُنْكَ رَحْمَةً

And grant us mercy from You;

إِنَّكَ أَنْتَ الْوَهَّابُ

surely, You are the most liberal Giver.

The other beneficial acts are: To always recite Tasbeehe Fatema (a.s.) (34 times Allaho Akbar, 33 times Alhamdo Lillah, and 33 times Sub-hanallah), to wear ring of Carnelian (Aqeeq, specially of red color), it is better if the following is engraved on it:

مُحَمَّدٌ نَبِيُّ اللهِ وَعَلِيٌّ وَلِيُّ اللهِ

Muhammad is the prophet of Allah and Ali is the friend of Allah.

To recite Surah al-Mo’menoon every Friday, to recite the following supplication (du’a) seven times after morning (Subh) and evening (Maghrib) Prayers:

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ

In the Name of Allah; the All-beneficent, the All-merciful.

وَلاَ حَوْلَ وَلاَ قُوَّةَ إلاَّ بِاللهِ الْعَلِيِّ الْعَظيمِ

There is no might and no strength save with Allah, the All-high the All-great.

To recite 8 units (Rak’at) Namaz on the night of 22nd Rajab, in each unit (Rak’at) after Surah al-Hamd recites 7 times Surah at-Tawheed. After ending Namaz, recite 10 times ‘Salawat’, and 10 times ‘Istighfar’:

أَسْتَغْفِرُ اللهَ رَبِّي وَأَتُوبُ إِلَيْهِ

I seek the forgiveness of Allah, my Lord, and I repent before Him.

Sayyed ibne Tawoos quotes the Holy Prophet(s) as saying, that if a person recites 4 units (Rak’ats) Namaz in the month of Sha’ban, such that in each unit (Rak’at) after Sura-al-Hamd recites 50 times Surah at-Tawheed, then during death his spirit will be removed with ease, and his grave will become spacious, and on the day of Qayamat when he comes out of his grave, his face will be shining bright like a full moon and Kalmae Shahadat will be on his lips.

The following incidents will prove helpful for further explanation:

Incident 1

Fuzail bin Ayaz who was one of the great Sufi Saints, says that he had a pious and virtuous student. The student once fell ill, and when his death approached, Fuzail came to visit him and started reciting Surah al-Yaseen. The student requested Fuzail to stop reciting it. Fuzail then requested him to recite the Kalema, but he refused to do so and said that he was sick of it (Allah’s refuge).

Fuzail was shocked and felt sad at the attitude of his pious student; he returned home and did not come out for some days. One night he dreamt that the angels of wrath were dragging the same student to the fire of hell. Fuzail stopped them and inquired of his student as to why was he being treated in that manner, when he was always a pious and devout student of his. He asked him about what was the reason behind his painful end. The student replied that he had three bad habits in him:

1. Slander, (Woe be on every slanderer & defamer) Surah al-Humazah, 104:1

2. Jealousy, (Verily jealousy destroys faith (Eeman) in the same manner as fire destroys wood - Usoole Kafi), and

3. Creating mischief, (creating mischief is graver than murder) - (Surah al-Baqarah, 2: 217).

The student also told Fuzail that he once committed an act, which also proved harmful for his hereafter. He said that once he had a disease, and the doctor had prescribed him to drink wine for its cure. The doctor told him that if he did not do so he would never be cured. He did as the doctor said. Because of this and the other 3 bad habits his end was this painful, and he died in the state of shame.

For further explanation of the above narrative, I state below an incident quoted by Shaikh Kulaini, who quotes Abu Baseer as saying that, Once I was seated in the presence of Imam Jafar as-Sadiq (a.s.), when Umme Khalid binte Ma’badiyyah came and told the Imam (a.s.) that since she knew the prohibition of its use, she had come to the Imam (a.s.) to take advice regarding it. Imam Sadiq (a.s.) asked her, “What stopped you from using it”? She said that being one of His devout followers, she wished to be saved from shame, and on the day of Qayamat if she be questioned about it she could reply that its use (or prohibition) was ordered to her by the Imam (a.s.) himself.

The Imam (a.s.) turned towards me and said, “O Abu Muhammad! (referred to Abu Baseer), do you pay heed to what this woman says”? Then Imam Sadiq (a.s.) answered: By Allah I never give you permission to consume even a drop of it, for if you do so, you shall have to regret when your spirit reaches here.” and Imam (a.s.) pointed towards his neck and repeated the sentence thrice, and took the woman’s assurance that she had understood it well.

Incident 2

Shaikh Bahai states in his book ‘Kashkol’ that there was a person who had spent his entire life in pleasures and luxuries of this world. When he was about to die, the people gathered around him and requested him to recite the ‘Kalema’. But instead of the ‘Kalema’ the dying man said: Where is that woman who in a state of exhaustion came to me and asked me the way to the public bath (named Manjab).

He said so because one day a virtuous and beautiful woman had come out of her house to have bath in a famous bathhouse named ‘Manjab’. She forgot her way and was exhausted searching for it. She saw this man standing near a door and asked him the way to it. He pointed towards his house and said that the same was the bathhouse named ‘Manjab’. As soon as the woman entered, the man locked the door and intended to have illicit physical relation with her. The virtuous woman sensed that there was no escape from his lustful fold, and hence pretended to be interested in him. She said that she was a state of uncleanliness and was proceeding for a bath. She told the man to go and get some scent for her so that she may perfume and adorn herself for him, and also to get something to eat as she was exhausted.

The man was deceived by her words and went to the market to buy things. As soon as he stepped outside, the woman thanked Allah for preserving her chastity and ran away. When the man returned, he understood his mistake and regretted. Now when his end neared, her remembered this indecent act and instead of reciting the ‘Kalema’ said the above words.

The incident is to be reflected upon that when the person was about to die, the sin (even though he had not committed it, but had intended) stopped him from reciting the ‘Kalema’. Shaikh Kulaini quotes Imam Ja’far as-Sadiq (a.s.) as saying that, “One who does not pay even one Qeerat of Zakat due on him (Qeerat is equal to 21 dinars), will die the death of a Jew or a Christian.” The same tradition (hadees) is also said about the person who intentionally does not perform Hajj even after being capable of doing so.

From Death till Grave

After the spirit (Rooh) is separated from the body, it lingers on the top for sometime. There after the Spirit of the believer is taken to the Heavens, while that of a non-believer below. When a believer’s bier is being carried, he calls out: “Hasten me to my eternal destination,” while non-believer calls out: “Do not make haste to bury me in my grave, making way for my chastisement.” During bath of the believer’s dead body, the Angels ask him if he desires to return to the world back to his kith and kin, to which he replies that he does not intend to go back to the world of miseries and misfortune.

The Spirit of the dead remains present and witnesses the bath given to his body. It is also narrated that when the bath is being performed, the dead person feels as if he is being thrown from height, and the rough hands of the person performing the bath seems to be smiting him. Hence it is necessary that bath should be performed with gentle hands.

The Spirit hears the voices of the people who have come to attend his funeral. Hence it should be borne in mind that one should avoid talking during funeral. A woman in menses or nifaas (blood discharge after childbirth), and a person in the state of pollution should avoid coming near the dead body, because it becomes the reason for the displeasure of the blessed Angels, who turn away in disgust. Such acts should be performed for the dead person which become the reason for Allah’s blessings, viz. remembrance of Allah and Ahlulbait, (a.s.), recitation of Qur’an etc.

It is also narrated that after the dead body is buried, the spirit returns and maintains relation with the body. When it sees that the people are returning back, knows that from now on it is destined to live alone. It becomes restless, and says: “Alas! Those children of mine whom I brought up with love and care have abandoned me, and now my only companions are my deeds (A’amal) which I performed while alive.” The first glad tidings which a believer receives is in the grave: “Oh you who believe! Allah has forgiven your sins and the sins of those who attended your funeral.”


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