It Will Find Us
Ring Ring. The phone rang right after I gave my taslim for my fajr prayer. I reached for the phone and looked at the number.
“Hello, As Salaamu ‘alaykum dad” I answered the phone, recognizing his number on my mobile
“ ‘Alaikum salaam dear. Have you waken up for fajr?” questioned my father
“Yes, actually, I just finished my prayer, alhamdulillaah. How are you dad?” I asked
“I am fine dear. Alhamdulillaah. I have got to inform you of something” he replied
“What is it?” my heart pounded as I sensed that something was wrong
“Its about your cousin, Noni. Her husband just passed away a few minutes ago”
“You mean, Aca? Inna lillaahi wa inna ilaihi raaji’un. Really? What happened, dad?” I asked in disbelieved
“He just collapsed while waiting for his turn to use the bathroom. He was just about to perform his ablution for the fajr prayer”
I cannot believe my ears. Aca was my cousin’s husband, only aged 32, had died of what is known famously as the number one killer in this modern world - the heart attack.
These past few weeks, my family circle and friends have been struck with multiple events of death. The first death was my cousin’s husband, aged 32. The second was my neighbour’s son, aged 4 and the third death was my distant relative, aged 80. All these death happened within a span of a month.
No matter how many times Allaah has reminded us with His warnings of our deaths that might just be lurking around the corner, we still, as human, cannot overcome the grief and shocked when faced with this reality of life.
Allaah has stated numerous times in His Holy Book, the Quran Al-Kareem, reminding us all about death.
Every soul shall have a taste of death: in the end to Us shall ye be brought back. [Surah 29 (The Spider) : Verse 57]
The death of her husband has left my cousin, Noni, who is still so young and is 8-months-pregnant, in a state of shocked. Why wouldn’t she? Her husband suddenly collapsed and died in the wee hours in the morning in her lap. He was a very healthy young man, active and was full of life. My neighbour was devastated when she received a phone call from home relaying the news that her son, Aniq, age 4, died suddenly after happily chasing around his younger brother around the coffee table. Aniq had developed sudden difficulty in breathing and was rushed to the hospital where he was pronounced dead upon arrival. And my distant relative, a grandmother to ten beautiful grandchildren, died from old age and the incurable disease called cancer.
I knew all of these people personally. They are of different age, are in different stages of their lives, died from very different reason, and all died at different time. But, their endings were all the same. They went to face their Lord, their Creator at the appointed time as per agreed with their Lord. Not a day delayed. Not even a second postponed from the appointed time.
I remembered Allaah’s warning to us…
He is the Irresistibly Supreme over His servants, and He sets guardians over you. At length, when death approaches one of you, Our angels take his soul, and they never fail in their duty. [Surah 6 (The Cattle) : Verse 61]
They never fail in their duty…These very words kept on humming in my mind
as I thought about death and my own life.
I looked around me and realized how short lives are for all of us. We lived our moments everyday, thinking that we are able to see the next day’s sunrise, or thinking that we are able to ride the train we took daily to school or work, or we are going to make it to the next meeting scheduled by our office, or maybe perhaps winning that critical qualifying game in our soccer tournament next week.
Rarely that we realized that maybe, just maybe, this day is our last day on this earth. This day is the last day we are going to make that train ride. This is the last sun rise that we are going to see. This is the last sip of drink that we are ever going to have. Or this is the last phone call we will ever make to a loved one.
Ibn ‘Umar used to say, “In the evening, do not anticipate the morning, and in the morning do not anticipate the evening. Take from your health for your illness and from your life for your death.” [al-Bukhari] Taken from Riyad as-Salihin
Though I know, in my subconscious mind, life is short, but the occurrences that are happening in front of my eyes coupled with the many news of death in the newspaper nowadays, made me realized more than ever that the reality in life is obvious - life is swift and is not worth for us to love it unconditionally.
As I was reflecting on my cousin’s death, whom I last met just a few months back during a family gathering, I cannot help but felt deeply saddened. He was full of zest in life. He was talking about the new business that he just ventured into and his intention of buying some properties for his wife. And to top it all up, he mentioned his excitement over the baby his wife was about to deliver. Nobody thought that he would leave us all so suddenly.
Some people might say that his death was premature or an untimely death. Is that really the case? Is there any such thing as pre-matured death?
“Wherever ye are, death will find you out, even if ye are in towers built up strong and high!” If some good befalls them, they say, “This is from Allah”.; but if evil, they say, “This is from thee” (O Prophet). Say: “All things are from Allah.” But what hath come to these people, that they fail to understand a single fact? [Surah 4 (Women) : Verse 78]
Death will find us. No matter where we are. Even if we built tower strong and high, it will not help us. This is the reality. And maybe someone should tell Mr. James Bond how very wrong he was in one of his blockbuster movie - “Die Another Day” because we can never negotiate our timing of death.
So, in the end, it all boils down to this fact. Our life here in this world is temporary in nature. If this is temporary, it means we would not be here for long. Just like the reminder left by our beloved Prophet Muhammad SAW to us…
Ibn ‘Umar said, “The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, took me by the shoulder and said, ‘Be in this world as if you were a stranger or a traveller on the road.” Riyad as-Salihin
And a traveler, we all must be…
Allaahu ‘alaam.
