Preparing for death

Preparing for Death It is amazing how a lot of our own “confusions,” frivolous arguments, excuses or plain laziness can melt away when we visualise ourselves in our grave. “Suppose you learn today that you have only one more day to live; you’ll die tomorrow. How will you spend your last day?” This interview question was posed long before the age of the mass media. The interviewer approached prominent scholars and people known for their “virtuous” lives with the idea that he would compile their answers in a book. Such a book would provide the readers with inspiration for the most important virtues. But the most inspiring response came from the person who did not provide a wish list of virtuous deeds. He was the great muhaddith, Abdur Rahman ibn abi Na’um and he replied: “There is nothing that I could change in my daily schedule learning, that it is my last day. I already spend everyday in my life as if it is going to be my last.” Death is the most certain aspect of life. We see it happening all the time. Yet it is amazing how we feel that it won’t happen to us. At least not anytime soon. We bury our own friends and relatives, but think that we will live forever. Our attitudes about death defy all logic. In a way we recognise it and even plan for it. We take out life insurance policies. We may do estate planning. Businesses and governments have contingency plans to carry out their operations in case of sudden loss of their leaders. But this is recognition of death as an end point of this life. “Where we fail is in recognising it as the beginning of another life that will never end and where we’ll reap what we sow here. A central teaching of Islam is that it is our recognition of and preparation for that eternity that must separate those who are smart from those who are not. There is a moving story about Bahlool, who, in his innocence seems to be on the opposite end of the scale of worldly-smartness. Khalifah Haroon-ur-Rashid had given him access to his court probably because his naivete was a source of entertainment to him. Once the Khalifah gave him a walking stick saying, “It is meant for the most foolish person in the world. If you find a person more deserving of it than yourself, pass it on.” Several years later, Haroon-ur-Rashid fell seriously ill and no medical treatment seemed to work. Bahlool visited him and inquired about his condition. The conversation went something like this: Haroon: “No treatment is working. I see my final journey ahead of me.” Bahlool: “Where are you going?” Haroon: “I am going to the Other World.” Bahlool: “How long will you stay there? When will you come back?” Haroon: “No one ever comes back from that world.” Bahlool: “Then you must have made special preparations for this journey. Did you send an advance group to take care of you once you arrive? Haroon: “Bahlool, you have to go there alone. And no I did not make any preparations.” Bahlool: “Ameer-ul-Momineen! You used to send troops to make extensive preparations for you for even short trips of only a few days. Now you are going to a place where you’ll live forever, but you have made no preparations! I think I have found the person more deserving of the stick that you had given me some years ago.” It is amazing how a lot of our own “confusions,” frivolous arguments, excuses (for why we cannot do this or avoid that), or plain laziness can melt away when we visualise ourselves in our grave!