D.E.A.T.H

               Death. It is a just a word, isn’t it? The question is: how many people are fully prepared for it? Are you having the guts to face it?

              I am not trying to scare you and make you afraid of it, but I want to state my point of view about it.

             It is a process of life. That’s a fact. Everyone, male or female, young or old, rich or poor, king or citizen, will soon, dies. Even the most powerful and influential person in the world, dies.

                When I looked films, movies, and dramas, I always seen one, or more than one, died. That’s a common scene. One movie made me feeling sick. There is a lot of blood ooze out, corpse laying everywhere, screaming witnesses. The westerners think that they can make death as a joke. For me, they didn’t deserve the award they got. Lots of methods they use to replicate ‘how-to-die’ manuals. CGIs. Thank to technology, all imaginations from the directors become realities. That includes this film. Falling down from a high building, accidents, being hit by logs, vehicles, explosions, fires, glass, and laser. Did I mention choking foods and acid? Yup, humans can ‘created’ death, but none of them can be compared to the power of The Giver of Death. Allah created us, and to Him we will return. The film may indicate the ability of human to act and create something beyond norm circumstance. For me, it’s just a proof that the film reckons and makes the viewers believe that ‘we can escape from death’. We cannot cheat death. It is surely happened to each and every of us. Where? When? How? Allah knows better.

                     Again, tech tools implement the capability of humans nowadays to ‘create’ death. When I visited a cafe, I saw several teenagers playing computer games. According to them, these games are connected to other computers via LAN connection. Online gaming. I saw weapons, equipments and armoury that being use by the virtual characters. First-player shooting (FPS) games and Role-playing (RPG) games. Next, a gamer sitting beside me screaming sadly: “Shoot, I’m down”. Curiously, I watch the status on screen. “You’re dead”. Curiosity kills the cat, remember? Luckily, I’m not a cat. I’m a human, same as you.  This scene makes me have a thought:  game always ended by a death. Am I right? Either the main character or the badass dies, gamers enjoy it. Respawning. That’s a term to define death in a gaming world. Even if ‘you’ die, you can still press the CONTINUE icon and replay the game. Yay! Keep playing the game until you have satisfied yourself. Until the calling of the death come besides you, there’s nothing to do. No more repentance can be done. It can’t be delayed. No more second chance.

                     As long as you keep track on what you do and how did you spend your daily activities, there is no need to worry. We have own our ‘life-tracking bookkeepers’; the right side and the left side, haven’t we? I am just a merely normal human, a spectator. I am a watcher, from televisions to published presses, remember?

In the Holy Quran, Allah has given us a fact:

كُلُّ نَفْسٍ ذَائِقَةُ الْمَوْتِ ۗ وَإِنَّمَا تُوَفَّوْنَ أُجُورَكُمْ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ ۖ فَمَن زُحْزِحَ عَنِ النَّارِ وَأُدْخِلَ الْجَنَّةَ فَقَدْ فَازَ ۗ وَمَا الْحَيَاةُ الدُّنْيَا إِلَّا مَتَاعُ الْغُرُورِ 

Every soul shall have a taste of death: And only on the Day of Judgment shall you be paid your full recompense. Only he who is saved far from the Fire and admitted to the Garden will have attained the object (of Life): For the life of this world is but goods and chattels of deception.

                                                                        ( 185:3, سورة آل عمران) 

May Allah bless us and give us signs before it’s too late.

Peace.
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Credits to:-

1)      Main Source - “The Holy Quran” by Allah, The Compassionate God

2)      Movie - ‘Final Destination 4’

3)      Game - ‘Counter-Strike v.10’

4)      Game – ‘Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3’

5)      My friend who played the game

Invitation to Understanding Islam: Part 9

TOO LATE FOR TEARS

Death knocked on a bedroom door. “Who is there?” the sleeping one cried. “I’m Angel Izrael, let me inside.” At once, the man began to shiver as one sweating in deadly fever. He shouted to his wife, “Don’t let the Angel take my life.” “O Angel of Death, I’m not ready yet. My family, on me depend, give me a chance to go back and mend.” The Angel knocked again. “O man, it’s your soul that I require, I come not with my own desire.” Bewildered, the man began to cry: “O Angel, I’m so afraid to die.” “Let me remain here as your slave, don’t send me to the grave.” “Let me in, O man”, the Angel said. “Open the door, get up from your bed, you can’t stop me from coming in, Angels can go through objects, thick and thin.” The man held a gun in his right hand, ready to defy the Angel’s stand. “I’ll point my gun towards your head. You dare come in – I’ll shoot you dead.”  By now the Angel was in the room, saying, “O man, prepare for your doom, foolish man – Angels never die, put down your gun and do not sigh. Why are you afraid – Tell me O man – to die according to Allah’s plan?” “O Angel. I bow my head in shame, I had no time to remember Allah’s name. From dawn till dusk, I made my wealth, not even caring for my spiritual health. Allah’s commands I never obeyed, nor five times a day I ever prayed. A Ramadan came and a Ramadan went, But no time had I to repent. The Hajj was already obligatory upon me, but I would not part with my money. All charities I did ignore, taking usury more and more. Sometimes I sipped my favorite wine, with flirting woman I sat to dine. O Angel I appeal to you, spare my life for a year or two. The laws of The Qur’an, I will obey, I’ll begin Salat – this very day. My Fast and Hajj I will complete, and keep away from self-conceit. I will refrain from usury and give all my wealth to charity Wine and unlawful woman, I will detest, Allah’s oneness I will attest.” “We Angels do what Allah demands, we cannot go against His commands.  Death is ordained for everyone – father, mother, daughter and son. I’m afraid, this moment is your last, now be reminded of your past.  I do understand your fears but it is now too late for tears. You lived in this world, two score or more, Your parents you did not obey, hungry beggars, you turned away. Your two ill-mannered, female offspring, in nightclubs, for livelihood they sing. Instead of making more Muslims, you made your children non-Muslims. You ignored the Adhan (Call to prayer) nor did you recite The Holy Qur’an. Breaking promises all your life, backbiting friends and causing strife. From hoarded goods, great profits you made, and your poor workers – you underpaid. Horses and cards were your leisure, money-making was your pleasure. You ate and ate and grew more fat, with the very sick, you never sat. A little donation, you never gave that could a little baby save. You thought you’re cleaver and strong, but O man, you’ve done enough wrong. Paradise for you? I cannot tell, the disbeliever will dwell in hell. There is no time for you to repent, I’ll take your soul for which I am sent.” By Dr Y Mansoor Marican, Ph. D