The Hereafter and the Here and Now
It is with sadness that I write this entry into my blog as I am just leaving Texas having buried my maternal grandmother. But, it is not a sadness of “I will never see her again”, but rather one of “I might not hear from her in a long time”.
She died on Nov. 25, 2006 at approx. 9:00 pm.
For those not familiar with how Muslims bury their dead, it is a fairly quick process. Within less than 24 hours, my grandmother was washed, wrapped in three pieces of white cloth, prayed for, and buried. The grieving process for family members is definitely much longer. However, as I sit on the plane on my return, I have no sense of sorrow. It might sound very cold if you misinterpret what I am saying. It is in times like these that one should not feel sad about death, but rather celebrate life. Celebrating her life is rather easy because she accomplished so much.
Her death, and anyone’s for that matter, from a Muslim’s perspective, should be seen as a temporary separation. Like, for example, when someone close to you moves away and might not be able to contact you for a while. You feel sorrow that you will not be in touch, but are comforted in the fact that they will be safe where they are and that you will eventually see them again. And so for the deceased the same perspective should be taken. That they are leaving us for a time, and we might not be in touch, but in a relatively short period of time, we will be together again. Leaving is not a choice so we should also be comforted in the fact that, as long as they were good Muslims, they will be in a safe place.
Death should be seen as a transitory moment when a person passes from one life to another life. This passing occurs a few times in the life of mankind. For example, it occurs when one is born: leaving the life of the womb and entering into this life; and it will occur even after one dies when one passes from the life of the grave to the life of the hereafter. So just as when a child is born and the family and others pray for the newborn’s success in this life, to make it easy for them, to bless them, we do the same for the dead as they are going to experience a life in the grave. We pray for them with prayers of ease, of blessings, and of mercy from Allah.
Death of a close one should also be used as an opportunity to reflect on your own mortality. Too often we get so caught up in our lives that we forget what we are living for. Our next breath, our next footstep, might be our last; and if it is our last, then what have we done to prepare for it. But when death comes and we are not prepared, it is too late. One cannot negotiate with the Angel of Death to come back another time, and yet when he does take our souls, our actions save a few, are sealed and the preparation is over.
In closing, my advice to myself and to the ones who are reading this, is to not forget about death. Make it a constant reminder and thus an instigator of you doing good works. And when a close one dies, celebrate their life and don’t mourn their death. And we will meet again. Until then, they can’t carry on doing good works, but you can, so take hold of the opportunity. Remember them often, but not merely in the mind. Realize the remembrance of them by doing a good deed on their behalf. This way, you are helping them in the hereafter and helping yourself in the here and now.
