Orders of Allah Almighty regarding Death The angels who have been assigned different tasks are given orders for the whole. year in one night that such and such action is to be taken in regard to such and such person. Opinions differ on whether these orders are given on Laila-tul-Qadr or on Shab-iBarat. Whatever may be the night it has been reported that on this night a list of those who are to die is handed over to the angels. In this material world, a person is carelessly engaged in such activities that warrant his arrest in. heaven. Order for his death is given wherein there is neither any provision for influence nor for an appeal nor the time fixed for his death can be altered for a minute. Ibn ‘Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) said: ‘‘All these things 1.e., how much subsistence will be given to a person how he will die, who will be born, how much will +: rain, who will perform Hajj—all these things are copied from Divine tablet on Laila-tul-Qadr..
In another tradition, Ibn ‘Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them) said: “You will see a man working in the bazaar but his name would be included in the list of those who would die during that year. Abu Nadra (may Allah bless him) said: ‘‘On this night, the tasks required to be performed during the year are assigned to the angels. The good and bad deeds, subsistence and death, hardships, high and low rates of things are prescribed for the whole year.”
‘Ikramah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “On Shab-i-Barat orders for the year are given and duties are assigned. The lists of the dead and those who will perform pilgrimage are handed over to the angels. Neither any addition nor any reduction can be made init. Ina tradition the Prophet (peace and _ blessings of Allah be upon him) says: ‘‘The persons who must die from one Sha‘ban to the other Sha‘ban, their times of death are given in writing, so much so that a man marries in this world, a child is born to him but his name is included in the list of the dead.”” ‘Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) says: ‘lhe Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) used to fast frequently during the month of Sha‘ban since the list of those who have to die during the year is prepared during this month. A man is engaged in getting himself married but his name is recorded amongst the dead. A person is going to perform Hajj but his name is included in the dead.”
It has been reported in another tradition that ‘Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) asked the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) for his fasting much during the month of Sha‘ban. The Prophet replied : ‘A list of the dead is prepared in this month and he wished that his entry in that list should be made while he was in the state of fasting.”’ It has been reported in another tradition that on the night of the middle of Sha‘ban Allah Almighty gives orders to the angel of death regarding the persons who are to die during the year.
In another tradition God’s Messenger (may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) is reported to have said : “The sun rises daily with an announcement that an opportunity is being afforded to you for doing good deeds, for this will never come to you again in your life.”” Two angels make a declaration from heaven. One of them says : ‘“O Ye who aspire for good deed, make full use of this opportunity.” The second one says Fe) ye who is doing bad deed, control yourself and desist from doing it.”” (Do not contribute towards your destruction). Two angels make an announcement. Out of those one says, ““O God, reward him who spends money in the cause of Allah.” The second says, “O God, one who refrains from spending it, destroy his wealth.”
‘Ata b. Yasar (may Allah bless him) says that on the night of Sha‘ban a list is provided to the angel of death with instructions that he should ceprive those of their lives during the year who are included in the list. Here a man is busy in the mundane pursuits of life, he is taken to wedding and is engaged in getting his house constructed whereas his name is included in the list of the dead.
Imam Ghazali says that a humble man even if he remains immune from calamity, hardship, accident, worry, has the fear of death and its agonies haunting his mind and this makes him indifferent to the worldly pleasures, and it is enough for him to cast away his unmindfulness. The thing is itself so severe that a man should always keep himself busy in its preparation especially when no one knows, when it will come. It is the saying of a learned man that the string is in the hand of another one, no one knows, when he will draw it. Hadrat Luqman (peace be upon him) said to his son : “Death is a thing which no one knows whenit will come. Prepare yourself before it comes suddenly.” It would very strange ifa man given to the worldly pleasures when suddenly comes to know that a constable is on his track and will punish him with five lashes would not abandon the pleasures. The fact is that the very awareness of the fact will spoil all his sensuous delights and comforts that the constable has a warrant of his arrest and that he will apprehend him in a day or two.
How sad it is that despite man’s conscious of the fact that the angel of death will overpower him sooner or later inflicting upon him the tortures of death and causing him more pain than sustained by the flogging of a thousand. whips, remains indifferent to the impending danger. Is it not the extreme end of pride and ignorance ? ‘ff crux of the - matter is that it is only the sufferer who knows what hardship is acc‘ mpanied by death. No other person can have any knowledge of it. He may base his knowledge on analogy or may judge to some extent from the condition of the dying person. It is evident that when a dead part of the body is cut off, no pain is felt (just like the dead skin of the body). But when the vital part or limb of the body is chopped or a needle is pricked into it, feels intense pain. A limb of the body which sustains injury or is cut off or burns, feels pain because the soul and life have direct relations with each other.
It is because of this close relationship that the soul feels the agony of the affected limb. Since soul permeates the whole body and runs in each limb, the affected limb feels pain in proportion to the part of soul permeated in it. How much the pain the whole soul will have to bear at the time of death, one can well imagine. Death draws out the whole soul direct which is spread in each limb of the body. There is no part of the body which feels so maich pain as at the time of cutting alimb. The Teason why pain is so acutely felt on that occasion is due to the fact that the soul severes its connection with the affected limb. If the limb is lifeless, no pain is felt when it is chopped off. If the mere separation of a part of the soul causes so intense pain, what pain a person will feel when the whole soul will be drawn out from all parts of the body. When a limb of the body is severed, the remaining soul survives in the whole body.
As it is strong at that time, the man screams and writhes. If the entire soul is extracted, the man is de-energized and as a result of weakness cannot heave even a sigh of relief. However, if the body is strong, the sound varying with the vigour of the body, is produced out of it at the time when breathing becomes difficult. As soon as the vigour declines, the sound fades away and every limb of the body begins to congeal gradually. Since the soul first of all, leaves the feet and the body is gradually deprived of it, till it leaves the mouth, it is for this reason that at first feet are benumbed and then shanks and thighs are frozen.
Similarly, every limb becomes insensible and suffers pain as much as is undergone when it is cut off. When the soul. reaches the throat, eye-sight is lost. It is for this reason that the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) used to pray to God for relieving him of the pangs and agonies of death. His followers also make this supplication but since they are ignorant of the pangs of death, they pray in a casual manner. This is the reason why the Prophets and saints have a dread of death.
Jesus Christ (may peace be upon him) is reported to have said to his apostles to pray for him to the effect that God should relieve him of the agonies of death as the fear of death had brought him close to death. It is said that a group of God-fearing men of Israelites came to a graveyard and after consulting with one another they concurred in praying to God for reviving a° dead body in order to enable them to ask him about the agonies of death. They prayed and a dead body was converted into living person with a mark of prostration on his forehead. He told that he had died fifty years ago and had been still feeling the pangs of death.
The Holy Prophet is reported” to have said : “O Allah, Thou extract the soul from the sinews and bones and fingers, relieve me from the pangs of death.”
According to Hadrat Hasan (may Allah be pleased with him) the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Aliah be upon him) is reported to have said that the pangs of death are as much painful as the wounds received by three hundred swords. Hadrat ‘Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) used to persuade the fighters in the cause of Allah by saying that if they were not slain in the battlefield, they would die on beds. BOne in Whose Hand is my life the agonies of death are more severe than the suffering caused by the infliction of a thousand strokes of sword.
Hadrat Auzair (mercy of Allah be upon him) is reported to have said that the effect of the pangs of death is felt by the dead up to the Day of Resurrection. According to Hadrat Shaddad b. Aus (mercy be upon him) death is the most severe of all the sufferings experienced during the span of life in this world or the next. It is more sharp than the teeth of saw, more piercing than the edge of the blades of scissors and more _torturing than being baked ina cauldron. If the dead rise from the grave and give a description of the pangs of death sustained by them, no person would be able to pass the time comfortably in this world or enjoy a sound sleep.
It is said that when Moses (peace be upon him) died, Almighty God asked him how did he feel the agonies of death. He replied that it seemed to him as if an alive sparrow was being roasted in such a way that its soul lingered in the body and it found no way to escape. He is also reported to have said that his condition was just like an alive goat which was being flayed.
Hadrat ‘Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) _is reported to: have said that when the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was going to leave this mortal world there was lying near him a cup full of water. He dipped his hand into the cup again and again and then moistened his face, prayed to God for relieving him of the agonies of death. Hadrat ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) asked Hadrat Ka‘b (may Allah be pleased with him) to describe the
condition when a man isin the throes of death. He replied: “Commander of the Faithful, the withdrawal of the soul from the body could be compared to the pulling out of a thorny twig after thrusting it into the human body in such a way that the whole body is in ihe grip of terrible pain.”’
This is a brief description of agonies of death. Besides this, there is impending dread of the horrible appearance of angel of death and his associates. The form they assume while taking the life of the sinners is so dreadful that even the strongest men cannot endure to see them.
Hadrat Ibrahim (peace be upon him) desired the angel of death to show him the shape he assumed at the time of extracting the soul of the transgressors. The angel of death toid him that he would not stand this dreadful sight but Hadrat Ibrahim (peace be upon him) insisted on that. Then the angel of death requested him to turn his face and so he did. After a moment the angel of death allowed him to see. When Hadrat Ibrahim (peace be upon him) looked up, he beheld a dark black man (like a ghost) with long and bristled up hair, clad in black apparel, emitting filthy smell, his mouth and nostrils leaping out the flames. No sooner did Hadrat Ibrahim (peace be on him) see the apparition than he fainted. When he regained consciousness after a long time, the angel of death had restored his appearance. At this he said that even if there was no calamity in store for a transgressor, the dreadful appearance of the angel of death was sufficient to cause his death.
This is what falls to the lot of transgressors. But when the soul of God-fearing persons is extracted the ang.. of death appearsin a comely shape. Hadrat Ibrahim (peace be upon him) also expressed his desire before the angel of death to show him that comely appearance also. He saw before him a very beautiful young man dressed in a precious and immaculate attire and diffusing fragrance. Thereupon Hadrat Ibrahim (peace be upon him) said: <‘Ifall the pleasures are denied to a believer at the time of his death, the appearance of such a comely shape is an adequate compensation for him.”
READ ALSO:
[THE STORY OF KING HARUN AL RASHID SON’S]
[THE STATEMENT OF HASSA BASRI ON DEATH]
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