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| A Comforting Face of Death (Illustration Only) |
Sufyan Thauri (Allah be pleased with him) is reported to have said that when the angel of death touches the artery of the heart of a person, he is deprived of perception, he becomes mute and forgets everything belonging to this world. The pangs of death are so severe that if a person is not overwhelmed by the hypnotic influence of death he is likely to bite those who would come to his grip. According to some traditions, when the breath reaches the throat, satan tries his best to lead him astray.
According to tradition, the angel of death keeps them under observation when they say their prayers. If he finds someone observes consistently in saying his prayers, he instructs him before his death too.
لا إله إلا الله محمد رسول الله
“‘There is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is His servant and His prophet’, - and thereby keep satan away from him.
Mujahid (mercy of Allah be upon him) is reported to have said that when a person is at death’s door, the faces of his companions are brought before him. If he had an association with pious men, they are conjured before him and if he had an association with transgressors, the same are shown to him. Hadrat Yazid b. Shajara (may Allah be pleased with him) is also reported to have said the same thing.
Rabi‘a b. Bazah (mercy ce’ Allah be upon him) who was a God-fearing man of Basra, is reported to have said that a man who was at death’s door, was instructed by the people to recite: “There is no god but Allah,” but he continued to mutter repeatedly ‘drink and let me drink a cup of wine”. Similarly, there was a man in Ahwaz, who when he was about to die, was advised by the people to say: ‘There is no god but Allah” but he continued counting coins only.
On the contrary, those persons who made preparations for death remembered it during their lifetime and performed good deeds, for them, death was like a gift as told by the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). When Hadrat Bilal (blessings of Allah be upon him) was on the verge of death, his wife was aggrieved to learn that he was parting company with her but at the same time, she expressed delight to think that Bilal would meet the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and his noble companions (may Allah be pleased with all of them).
Hadrat Mu‘adh (Allah be pleased with him) when he was leaving for his heavenly home he is reported to have prayed to God to prolong his life in the world not because he had a love for it or intended to dig canals and plants gardens but because of the fact that he had a longing for deriving pleasure from that thirst which he would feel in the noon of the hot season as a result of keeping fast, and wanted to devote his time to the religious preaching and move in those circles only wherein Allah was remembered much.
Hadrat Salman (blessings of Allah be upon him) is reported to have wept at the time of his death. Someone wanted to know the reason of his weeping at a time when he expected to meet the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) who had died being well-pleased with him. He stated that he had wept not because he was afraid of death or was worried about severing connections with the world but because of the fact that he had made a covenant with the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) that he would benefit from the world like a wayfarer only and he was sorry that he could not honor his pledge.
On his death, it was noticed that his property was a bit more than the value of ten dirhams. It was that excess that had made him weep:. After that, he ordered a small quantity of musk to be brought to him and said to his wife to dissolve it and sprinkle it on his bed because a group of living beings was coming to him which constituted neither of human beings nor of jinns. Hadrat ‘Abdullah b. Mubarak (may Allah be pleased with him) started laughing at the time of his death and said that one should do something for the attainment of such and such objects (he might have visualized the delights of the next world). He is also reported to have said to his servant Nasr at the time of his death to place his head on the ground. The servant began to weep. He asked the servant the reason of his weeping. The servant said that he had lived a comfortable life but was dying like a beggar. He ordered the servant to keep silent and informed him that he had prayed to Allah that He should cause him to live like a rich person but die as a beggar.
‘Ata b. Yasar (may Allah have mercy upon him) says: Aman was about to die. Satan came to him and said: You escaped me—you did not come under my clutches. He told him: I do not feel secure from you.
Jariri (may Allah have mercy upon him) said: “I was sitting beside Hadrat Junaid at the time of his death. He was reciting the Holy Qur’an.”” Someone said: ‘It is an awful moment. This time is not fit for reading the Holy Book. He asked: Will there be any better time for me to read the Holy Qur’an than the present moment—the moment when the last entry is going to be made in any scroll.”
Someone told Hadrat Junaid (may God show mercy to him) that Hadrat Abu Sa‘id Khazaz seemed to be in a very happy mood at the time of his death. ‘What was the matter?” It was inquired of him. He told him: ‘*Had he, at that moment, courted death in a state of happiness it would have been delightful for him.”
When Hadrat. Zunun Misri (may God show mercy to him) was dying, and somebody asked him: ‘‘Do you wish to say something? Have you any: desire to express?” He said: “I crave only for one thing and that is to know Allah before I die.”
A person says that he was sitting with Mumshad Danuri (may God show mercy to him) and that a beggar came there and said: ‘Is there a clean and_ holy place to die?’ He made a sign towards a place nearby where a fountain was also playing. The man went to that place, performed ablution, and then prayed. After that, he slept at ease and died.
| Fatima, the daughter of Abu ‘Ali Roudbari (may God show mercy to him) said: ‘‘When his brother was dying, his head was in her lap. He opened his eyes and said: ‘The doors of the heavens are opened and the paradise is decorated, and a voice is being heard: O Abu ‘Ali! Although you were not ambitious for such an elevated place, We have bestowed upon you a place of great honor” After that he recited two verses, the translation of which is given below :
By God! I have never cared to fall in love with anyone else save Thee. I am experiencing that Thou art making me anxious by Thine indisposed eyes and also by Thine cheeks seeming to be red due to extreme modesty.
READ ALSO;
[CONCERNING THE DEATH OF GOD-FEARING MAN]
[THE STORY OF TWO SLAVE GIRLS.]
[THE STORY OF MUSA BIN MUHAMMAD AL HASHIMY]
[THE STORY OFRASHID BIN SULAIMAN]
[THE STORY OF A CHRISTIAN MAN]
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