It's Over

     Yesterday, October 1st, 2020, my grandmother had passed away. I wasn't able to attend her funeral, so it was just my father and brother who were able to go. They performed the funeral prayer, buried her and later came home at around night time. While they were away and I had some quiet time to mourn and pray for her, I also had time to reflect and process everything that was happening that same day. 


    In Islam, we believe that death is completely not the end; it is merely the end of our stay in this dunya (world), and every time someone passes away, they have reached their turn to go back to Him. Hence, every time someone passes away, we would say, in Arabic, "To Him we belong, and to Him we will return." It serves as a reminder that we will all pass away and go back to our Creator, and that the deceased has completed his/her test in this dunya and has left this world that is full of grief, disease, bloodshed and hardship. So, as for my grandmother, to Him she belonged, and she has returned to Him. Her life in this world is over. For every hardship she had faced in this world, it's over. Soon, it would be my turn as well. I will meet my Creator, and so will everyone else. May He be pleased with us all when the time comes. 


    For about two years, I was always confused as to why people would act as though death is a painful subject to talk about. I think everyone in this world understands that death is completely inevitable. In my faith, it's promised, so I honestly am still genuinely confused as to why people get too uncomfortable when it came to discussing the subject. I understand, however, that maybe the method in which someone will die may be too catastrophic. However, we must all fully understand that it will happen either way eventually. It's a natural process, so to be afraid is completely pointless as it is something that will happen to anyone at any age, at any time and of any religious faith. Nobody is immune to death. 


    In my faith, we are taught to detach ourselves from this world and to remember that this world is not our home; it is merely a place where we will be tested with hardships of all kinds. So, I really think that perhaps part of the reason why some of us are maybe too afraid to die or talk about death is because we actually forget that this world is NOT our permanent home. We forget that we are all here as part of our own unique trials. We get too attached to this place that we weren't supposed to be attached to in the first place! 


    Reclaim Your Heart by Yasmin Mogahed explains this all very well. The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), has instructed us well on this too. The following hadith, also found in Mogahed's book, states: 


Ibn Umar reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Be in this world as if you were a stranger or a traveler along a path.”


- Source: Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 6053

Grade: Sahih (authentic) according to Al-Bukhari


  

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