THE MYSTERY OF DEATH AND ITS MEANING
By: Muhammad Zuhri
Death as a
Possibility
As something problematical, death is in a class by itself, and to most human beings death is filled with hidden mysteries. The intellect can see death only as something that might happen, a possibility which, when it comes, will snatch away all our other possibilities and abscond with them.
The way religious authorities deal with death is to exploit it as a kind of warning—a powerful tool for making their followers live a better life, and in this way they make death the central issue in their teachings. There is no religion which does not hold out the promise of a perfect death.
Death as a Fact
Death is really nothing more than the reverse side of life. Without the one, there cannot be the other. Death and life are inseparable, and so it can be said that every Creature has always carried on its back its own future demise. Nevertheless, death still arouses fear.
The question then becomes, "Which is the mystery: death or human beings?" Tasawuf teaches that humankind is Allah’s secret, or, in other words, conceals mysteries, while death is merely another milestone on the journey, quickly followed by the next stages of death’s reverse side—life.
A More Meaningful Definition of Death
The Sufis consider death to be each individual’s moment to be crowned the king he really is. In this way, the meaning of death in tasawuf teachings is that it represents the individual’s moment to begin acting out the role of divinity upon the face of the earth. Physical demise is not considered death, because it offers no changes meaningful to life. A criminal does not become good as a result of physical death.
The holding out to life of a more meaningful definition of death for the followers of tasawuf shows itself much more clearly in this saying: "If we live, Allah dies, and, if we die, Allah lives."
Witnessing the Face of Allah
For the Sufis, that which is called reality is the field of struggle where the Most Real displays His Divine Reality. In His role as Lord of the Worlds, He reveals Himself in serving, developing, and protecting His Creatures. Reality in the form of objects, human beings, and happenings is always two-faced—one is the face of the Creature and the other the face of the Command. When an individual comes face to face with reality, and what shows in him is his Creaturely aspect, he will approach life enthusiastically and try to express all the faculties concealed within. If, on the other hand, what shows in him is the aspect having to do with the Command of Allah, the individual will already have lost all right to deal with that reality according to his own will.
To witness the Command behind each Creation is what is called witnessing the Divine Face, and by the Sufis this is regarded as a glorious death, implying eternity.
The state of a person who has beheld the Face of Allah is precisely the same as that of someone who has left this life. He will show no tendency to cling to position or prestige and will no longer place any trust in belongings, wealth, knowledge, deeds, or accomplishments. He will no longer see the slightest charm in anything. Nor will he ask for anything. Indeed, he will even give up complaining about anything whatsoever. As a result, nothing and no one will be capable of taming him, because he will already have encountered Allah.
That is when it becomes possible to understand the call of Allah in the "My servant, obey Me in all that I command you to do. Do not try to teach Me how to make you good." (Hadith qudsi)
The Commands of Allah
How can we read Allah’s Commands contextually? By "contextually" we mean the Commands that are not written down in the Holy Qur’an. We need to be able to read these others as they occur so that we can respond appropriately.
Before death no one will ever be able to read His Commands or witness His Face—and by "death" here we mean having finished dealing with one’s own personal affairs, or, in other words, being called to deal with higher affairs, those of the community and their universe.
"Rest from your efforts, because it is unnecessary for you to make efforts to establish for yourselves those things which have already been established by Allah, by Him Who is Other than yourselves," says Ahmad bin ‘Athoillah As-Sakandari.
In the Holy Qur'an this group are called the mutawakkilin (those who have surrendered all their affairs to Allah and made Him their Proxy).
Carrying out Allah’s Commands is different from taking action out of any sort of personal interest or being motivated by any kind of general values. The Commands of Allah have the nature of maf'ula (inevitable) and need not fall into line with any existing moral vision or system of logic, a truth mirrored in the Holy Qur’an in the narratives about the meeting between the Prophets Moses and Kidhr as well as the life of the Prophet Abraham.
And, besides that, behind the "factual reality" of a person who carries out the commands of Allah, we encounter the "conceptual reality" which contains that person’s significance for life. The deeds of the Prophet Abraham in obeying Allah’s commands totally has become a concept that rends the veil of human nature concealing His commands from our sight. That is the great mystery hidden within the self of any servant of Allah who has already met his death.
"O My servant, obey Me until I create within you the attribute of Lordliness. Then, if you say, "Be!" it shall be as You command." (Hadith Qudsi)
The Immanence of Allah’s Compassion (Rahimiyah)
A human being who is no longer tame in the face of anyone or anything will have changed into a person of consummate courtesy and loving-kindness toward his fellow human beings. Once this personal revolution has taken place, it will be time for his Lordliness to begin playing out its role on the face of the earth.
His self will no longer be his own self, but that of a person whom the Lord possesses and whom He guides and protects wherever he goes and at all times.
In carrying out divine commands, he will no longer expect or hope for anything except Allah’s good-pleasure. In the Qur'an Allah’s good-pleasure is always symbolized by Heaven, and Heaven can be entered only by the Merciful, those who are consummately courteous toward the whole of life and full of loving-kindness in assisting in the development of the Creation. (Hadith.)
It was no mistake for a prostitute in the middle of the desert to have borne witness to Allah before a thirsty dog by offering it the water she had obtained with great effort. And it was no mistake that at that moment her steps led her through the very gates of Heaven. All she was capable of doing was approaching a dog with the possession that was on that day the most valuable thing she had been able to obtain. In her eyes there was nothing more precious to be found.
And she was right. When all that was precious was gone, then the Most Precious was there with her.
Truly!
Pati, 17 August 1999
