Life and Death Maulana Wahiduddin Khan Sunday, December 08, 2013 Podcast Excerpt: In his talk, the Maulana explains the importance of thinking about death and re-organising the priorities of life in relation to that. He explains why despite witnessing countless deaths, people lack its consciousness and do not like to talk about it. Present-day man while being caught in the culture of right here, right now is unable to think about death. If he is able to do so, a new thinking would emerge within him and he would strive to prepare himself for the eternal world of life hereafter. Death would become a reminder for the life to come. He explains that death is not the end of life but a door, on either side of which there exists a world. One side has an incomplete and temporary world and the other side has a complete and permanent world. On one side, you have a problem-world and on other side, you have a problem-free world. Unfortunately, people take death only in negative sense, which brings about despair and hopelessness. The positive definition of death is much higher in meaning one that gives you a ray of hope and courage. The lesson: Actively thinking about death helps man to reorganise his life s priorities. It arouses introspection (muhasba) about the pattern on which life is being led. Not only does it widen our thinking ability, it also broadens the horizon of our thoughts and becomes instrumental in allowing our potential to unfold.
Introduction A senior CPS team member is no longer with us. Dr. Nasim Siddiqi passed away on December 4, 2013 at the age of eighty. A sincere member of the team, Dr. Siddiqi was fully involved and participated in all activities in a very regular manner. He was a big asset for our mission however God has pre-ordained the age of every man and when the end comes, it cannot be altered. The Quran says, When the time appointed by God arrives, it cannot be postponed (71:4) While unwell and bed-ridden, he used to tell his family members that if God grants him health, he would devote himself fully to the Al-Quran Mission. He left this world with this intent and through his example, we learn a great lesson. Intention survives after death According to an Islamic teaching, when a person dies, he is completely cut off from this world; the only thing that survives is his intention (niyyah), which remains alive even after death. For example, when a person passes away, who wished to perform Hajj but could not, often the heirs appoint another person to perform Hajj on the behalf of the deceased. It is referred to as Hajj-e-badal. Such an act is rewaradable for both the one who performs Hajj and also the deceased who intended to perform it. Unfortunately, people have a very limited understanding of this Islamic teaching as they do not realise that no teaching of Islam has a limited purview. The intent of Dr. Nasim Siddiqi should be analysed in this light. His wanted to be a part of Al-Quran Mission and the fulfilment of this intention now devolves upon his heirs. This case made me realise that instead of the common practice of performing Quran recitation (Quran khaani) after death, the task should be to engage in Quran distribution. This would be no ordinary matter because not only those who distribute the Quran but also the departed soul, to honour whose intent the distribution is engaged in, would become worthy of God s reward! Muslims should initiate the practice of Quran distribution instead of Quran recitation. In their hearts, whether consciously or unconsciously, Muslims seek to become instrumental in Quran distribution. In case of Dr. Siddiqi, his intent was manifest and so his heirs should carry it forward and engage themselves in the work of Quran distribution.
The departed soul left a new message - of doing the task of Quran distribution so that he continues to receive its reward. Indeed, the biggest well-wishing for the deceased is to work towards the fulfilment of his intent and to engage in Quran distribution and supporting literature, as much as possible. Till this work continues to be done, he shall receive its reward. Whatever we seek, we would lose The final rites of Dr. Siddiqi were performed at the burial ground in Dilshad Garden, New Delhi. As the burial was being undertaken, I was shaken by the realisation that a person we had so much affection for is going away - is this world only for losing and not for receiving? Will we lose whatever we seek? The idea of losing whatever we seek did not seem to corroborate with the wisdom of the meaningful creation of God. I felt that there had to be a receiving in the loss and I was reminded of the following verse of the Quran Every human being is bound to taste death (3:185) According to a Hadith Frequently remember death, the destroyer of all pleasures. (Tirmidhi: 2307) The above Hadith further expounds the Quranic verse. While Quran gives the ideological version of death, the Hadith illustrates its applied version. The Hadith urges us to remember death often but it does not mean that we keep uttering the word death. Countless people die around us every day yet people lack the consciousness of death. They do not talk about death. In America, a companion of ours visited a family to express his condolences at their bereavement. While talking to them, he mentioned how all of us would die too. At this, the relative of the deceased became angry! His reaction conveys that the relative did not think about his own death as an impending reality. This is the case of everyone. They see death but fail to be reminded of their own death. Even in graveyard, people do not recall death they talk about their business, exchange calls etc.
The experience made me realise that because the idea of death rests in man s unconscious mind, he is unable to think about it. This is because the ideas stored in unconscious mind are not a part of one s living memory and therefore not talked about. It is alluded to in the above Hadith that when a believer includes death in his thinking process, the idea is brought forward to the conscious mind and consequently he is able to discover it. Present-day man is caught in the culture of right here, right now but if he is able to actively think about death, a new thinking would emerge within him and he would strive to prepare himself for the eternal world of life hereafter. Death would become a reminder for the life to come. The law of pairs Scientists assert the presence of dark matter, which is neither visible like the sun or moon and nor can be seen through telescopes. Its presence has been interpreted and inferred on account of their effect on the visible world. Research has concluded that the world of dark matter is much more than the known world. According to another theory of science, everything in this world is in pairs. Every atom has a positive particle and a negative particle. Logically therefore, our world should also have a pair. This was told in the Quran in 6 th century A.D. and We created pairs of all things so that you might reflect (51:49) As per the law of nature everything in this world is complete in pairs and this law should hold true for our world also. It is therefore possible that this dark matter is actually a pair of our world! It may be that our world has two pairs visible (the world we know) and invisible (the dark matter). This explanation makes the theory of hereafter more understandable. The present world is a problem world. One of our CPS members, Mr. Rajat Malhotra is not present today because of back problem. Despite being a boon, all amenities have a problem aspect to them. For example, mobile phone may lead to ear problem and computer may affect eyes and backbone.
Man wants to be in a problem-free world, where he is neither afflicted by disease nor death. Together with his complete existence, man seeks another world which is problem free, where extremes of weather are not felt, where eternity is achieved and man is able to achieve his full potential. It may well be that this dark matter is where man would be after his death. The Creator has created the world on such a pattern that one part is visible and the other is invisible. Even our body has dual personality one which is visible (body) and one which is invisible (personality). It becomes understandable that the world we are desirous of is in the invisible world problem-free life, ailmentfree living and fulfilment of desires! What is death? Dictionary defines death as permanent end of life. Death is a reminder, which opens the door to higher realities. When we think in this manner, death no longer remains unwanted; it becomes a transfer from the visible world to the invisible world. Death is not the end of life but a door, on either side of which there exists a world. One side has an incomplete and temporary world and the other side has a complete and permanent world. On one side, you have a problem-world and on other side, you have a problem-free world. People take death only in negative sense that is why the dictionary definition is so negative. The positive definition of death is much higher in meaning. The negative definition gives you despair whereas the positive definition gives you a ray of hope and courage. On several occasions it is alluded to in the Quran that death is not the end of man s personality and Science confirms this assertion. The study of human physiology shows that our body is composed of several living cells, which keep transforming themselves. In this way the body is renewed at regular intervals. It is regenerated just like the water in a running stream. Yet the body eventually dies but the spiritual personality, or the soul, remains unchanged and lives on. This is because the soul can exist even independent of the body. The transformation of all cells in a human body takes, on an average, ten years. A ninety year old person therefore has undergone nine such transformations but his personality remains the same. Sigmund Freud found out in his research that during each such transformation, man s memory remains intact. I distinctly remember how a wound of mine was surgically operated when I was still very young. Not only do I vividly remember the process but also what I spoke.
The question is where this memory gets lodged because my body has been replaced several times since then! It has been commonly accepted that memory exists independently of our body. A philosopher described this in the following words, Personality is changelessness in change In other words, even today we experience the eternal part of our personality and it is worth understanding where this eternal part of our personality goes after we die and the body is buried. It can be said that the eternal being goes from the visible world into the vastness of the invisible world. According to the Quran And vie with one another for your Lord's forgiveness and for a Paradise as vast as the heavens and the earth, which has been prepared for the God-fearing (3:133) Dark matter is believed to be spread across the universe. I am not suggesting that dark matter is what has been referred to in the Quran but I am making this assumption to understand what has been said in the Quran. God alone knows the reality! Conclusion I would like to emphasize that negative definition of death is wrong. Quran and Hadith outline a positive definition of death. Unfortunately, despite seeing death, people are unable to think about their own death! If death is understood in this sense, it would serve as a positive reminder that would lead to higher realisation. The idea of death is a part of the unconscious mind and only active thinking can make it a part of man s living memory. Such a thinking helps re-set the priorities of life and arouses introspection (muhasba) about the pattern on which life is being led. This is not a simple matter because our mind does not think in isolation. When our mind thinks about death, as a result it widens our thinking ability and the horizon of our thought. It transforms us into a superman! May God grant us the ability to think positively so that we develop ourselves spiritually and intellectually. May we discover the creation and the Creator and make our lives more meaningful. May a new thinking process ensue to increase wisdom and make understandable newer aspects of Quran and Hadith.
I pray that God gives us the ability to think rightly and enable us to see things in the right manner (baseerat) and may God increase our baseerat and make us such that we can become worthy of divine blessings, in this world and in the Hereafter. Question Answer Q1: In social life, it often happens that differences arise between people. AS a result, should people stop talking to one another or continue to engage in discussions? A: One is right to dissent and as far as relationship is concerned, it is a moral responsibility. You should never strike off relations even from an enemy. Severing moral relationship and not talking is very wrong. According to Hadith It is not lawful for a man to desert his brother for more than three nights. When they meet, one of them turns his face away from the other, and the other turns his face from the former, and the better of the two will be the one who greets the other first (Al Bukhari: 6077) Islam does not believe in striking off relations. No one is allowed to permanently sever relations. Man s opinion changes and it may be that one who has severed relations today may reconnect tomorrow. Therefore according to a Hadith. Don t hate the one who hates. It may be that one day he will be the one you have friendship with (At Tirmidhi: 1997) The teaching of Islam is that you should keep relationship separated from the right to dissent. You should not succumb to negative emotions. If you think, the other person has fallen prey to wrong thoughts, you should pray for him! Q2: I find it a thrilling idea that in the form of dark matter, the concept of aakhirat which was no more than a matter of belief has now become a scientific reality. Please comment. A: When the discovery of dark matter is seen in relation to the Hereafter, a thrilling discovery is made that makes us realise that probably, hereafter is there already! Science gives utmost importance to probability. All ideas of science are based on probability and not certainty. The discovery of dark matter also brings forth the probability of the discovery of the world hereafter!
Q3: What happens after death can be understood by wahy (revelation) or through science? A: What happens after death is not completely understood by wahy either; you have to think still. What has been told in wahy is principle-based. But what happens to an individual after death is known only to God or to the departed soul. The matter of what happens after death is a matter of belief and not a matter of scientific proof. But science itself believes that we can reach probability and here we are getting to probability. Q4: When we talk of death to explain creation plan of God, people say why talk of death and spoil fun of life. Why do people not want to talk about death when it is inevitable and shall happen to all? A: According to Freud, mind has three compartments, conscious, subconscious and unconscious. The idea of death is in our unconscious mind and that s why people don t have a living belief in death. That is why it has been told in the Hadith that you should think much about death so that it becomes a part of your living memory. Q5: You said in a podcast that ghettoism or separate cultural identity is not in Islam but in your book, Hijab in Islam, you advise a believer to wear a costume which does not resemble that of a nonbeliever. Is it not separatism? A: These are two different things. Ghettosim and separatism are different and cannot be equated. For example, a person who lives where it is cold and one who lives in temperate environment will wear different clothes. This is not separatism but is based on need. By way of need, there would be a difference because different things would suit different people but separatist mentality in culture and way of living is wrong and not acceptable in Islam. Q6: It is often believed that all religions of the world can lead man to God and consequently paradise, not only Islam. Please comment. A: This case requires serious study. If you study Islam, you would realise the teaching of Islam is very reasonable in this regard. Paradise according to Quran is an ideal world and this world is a testing ground. In this world, man adopts several ways, sometimes uses and at other times misuses freedom. In paradise, only selected people would be inhabited; if the crowd had to be inhabited, there would have been no need for two worlds. So only when a person proves himself as a deserving candidate, he would be entitled to get into paradise. Who is a deserving candidate? For example, if Paradise is House of Peace (Darus Salaam) then a person with peaceful mind is needed to inhabit it. Similarly, paradise will not have noise so a person who creates nuisance will not be selected for paradise.
A person who would establish in his daily conduct words, dealings and behaviour - that he is worthy of being inhabited in paradise, would be inhabited in it. Q7: Please explain the following Hadith (At Tirmidhi: 3895), The best of you is he who is best to his family, and I am the best among you to my family. A: Family is a unit of society. Society is that which exists outside the family. If one lives in the family rightfully, one can live in the society rightfully. For instance, one is trained when one remains positive, doesn t quarrel and doesn t harbour hatred despite differences. Family acts like a training centre for a person so that when he enters into society, he enters as a trained person. In other words, to make him a good member of society, he is first made a good member of his family.