Life and Death

“(He is the One) Who created death and life in order to test which of you is best in deeds. And He is the Almighty, All-Forgiving.” (Al-Mulk, 2)

The commandments and decrees of the Lord of All Worlds are based on His infinite wisdom and the countless benefits He confers upon His creations therewith. He has created death and life. And He has assigned a time for them, which is known only to Him.

“Every soul will taste death, then to Us, you will (all) be returned.” (Al-Ankabut, 56)

Every living being will one day draw their last breath. One cannot deny this. Death occurs when signs of life cease or the soul leaves the body. It is logically imperative that those living in this world are mortal and impossible for living beings to be immortal. Everyone that is born will eventually die. Death is as natural as birth.

Just like the earth would be meaningless without life, the world would be meaningless without death. What makes life meaningful is death. For the believer, death is as much a divine gift as life is. The universe belongs to Allah Almighty, Who does as He wills in what belongs to Him. He is the One Who gives life. And He is the One Who will take back the life He has given at a time and in a fashion of His choosing.

The human being is composed of spirit and body. He is attached to the spiritual world with his spirit and to the material world with his body. The spirit is of divine origin, while the body is a physical form that comes from the earth and returns to it. The spirit is what matters. The Qur’an says: “From the earth, We created you, and into it, We will return you, and from it, We will bring you back again.” (Taha, 55)

Makhul Al-Shami (rahmatullahi alayh) was a scholar of the Tabi’in generation. Even though he was generally a somber person, he was seen smiling on his deathbed. When asked the reason, he replied: “Why would I not smile? I am leaving the world I’ve been trying to avoid and going to the world I have longed for.”

Death is a reality that teaches us a sobering lesson. It allows one to see the truth and the temporariness of this world. A person who contemplates death should be able to restrain his greed, ambition, and selfishness. Since this is the biggest benefit of death, it is said in a hadith, “death is adequate as a preacher.” (Tirmidhi, Qiyamah, 24; Ajluni, Kashfu’l-Hafa, II, 112) It is said that the great caliph Umar bin Khattab (radiyallahu anh) had this hadith written on his ring and looked at it frequently to remind himself of death.

Death is not annihilation

To create means to decide on an action and to bring something into existence. The act of deciding is related to the prelude and aftermath of bringing something into being. That is to say, it is related to what exists and what doesn’t. In this regard, creation is an expression of the existence of what doesn’t yet exist.

The expression “(He is the One) Who created death and life” tells us that death and life have been created together. For this reason, the scholars of Ahlu’s-Sunnah consider death not as annihilation but as something that has an existence like life does and is the opposite of life within its distinct existence.

Unlike what one might think after initial consideration of the concepts, death and life are not opposites in the sense of existing versus not existing, being created versus not being created, or positive versus negative. Their oppositeness is more similar to motion versus stillness, togetherness versus separation, obviousness versus subtlety, or coming versus going.

A dying person does not completely sever their ties from existence. Depending on their deeds, they are transferred to a different life, which can be good or bad, sweet or bitter, and then return to their Creator.

Therefore, death should not be thought of as annihilation. It should be viewed as an eternal existence that can be, for some, an agony that destroys all pleasures of life and, for others, a gift of Allah Almighty that relieves all suffering and sadness.

As the verse indicates, the wisdom in the creation of death and life is to test who will shine like a diamond and who will reveal a darker side to be the prevalent facet of their identity when weighed and measured against Islam’s many codes and principles of understanding, action, reason, worship, and obedience. A believer will obey the commandments and prohibitions of Allah Almighty, try to serve Him, and seek to accomplish things that will please Him the most. But those in denial or heedlessness forget death and get involved in sins and misdeeds. A human being has the potential for either of these. Allah Almighty has left humans free to choose and tests them in this way.

Allah Almighty does not need to test His servants to see how they will behave. In His infinite and eternal knowledge, He knows all that is in the past and the future. His knowledge is not limited by time and space. The wisdom behind this test is to show the servants their own behavior and for divine justice to be done. This test is administered to prevent anyone from having an excuse or making a challenge. As a result of this test, it will become clear who deserves reward and who deserves punishment. (Hulasatu’l-Bayan)

Which comes first?

In the verse at the beginning, death is mentioned before life. Qadi Baydawi explains the following about this sequence:

The reason for death to be mentioned before life is that death existed in the material world before life, for everything was lifeless at first. Then all beings were given life, including humans. The following verse explains this: “How can you deny Allah? You were lifeless, and He gave you life, then He will cause you to die and again bring you to life, and then to Him, you will (all) be returned.” (Al-Baqarah, 28)

A prominent scholar of tafsir and hadith, Muqatil bin Sulayman (rahmatullahi alayh), said the following: “By lifelessness, Allah Almighty referred to nutfah, alaqa, and mudgha (the first stages of an embryo’s development as referred to in the Qur’an) and by life, the breathing of the soul into the human body.”

A second reason for death to be mentioned before life is that it is more effective in encouraging someone to do good deeds and exercise self-restraint to keep their desires in check. There is a direct correlation between the actions of people who do the most good in life and the outlook on life of those who contemplate death and the consequences that having such a monumental point of no return as an inevitable part of their existence brings. A person who remembers death constantly reaches salvation. That is why death has been mentioned first.

According to these two interpretations, death is mentioned before life, firstly to encourage people to be grateful for the gift of life and do good deeds and secondly to deter them from bad deeds by reminding them of death. (Abu’l-Lays Samarqandi, Tafsiru’l- Qur’an; İsmail Hakkı Bursevi, Ruhu’l-Bayan; Elmalılı Hamdi Yazır, Hak Dini Kur’an Dili; Fakhruddin ar-Razi, Tafsir al-Kabir; Ibn Ajiba al-Hasani, Bahru’l-Madid)

One should consider the following. Thinking of death by itself does not encourage one to do good deeds. If one does not believe in a life after death, one could fall into the woefully mistaken assumption that this life is the only one  and think they should do everything possible to get the most out of every opportunity in this world. Therefore, the contemplation of death that will effectively guide one to do good deeds is one that involves the belief that there is a life after death.

The meaning behind the words “death” and “life” in the expression “(He is the One) Who created death and life” and the order in which these words are mentioned constitute a parallelism with the verse “He will cause you to die and again bring you to life” (Al-Baqarah, 28). In this sense, death refers to death in this world, and life refers to the eternal life after death.

Both are gifts

A person’s primary purpose is neither death nor a temporary worldly life that will end in death. It is to know that one is responsible for doing good deeds as much as possible as one moves from one life to another. It is to know that death is the ultimate, inevitable truth that withers all pleasures of this temporary worldly life, devastates families, turns all the wealth in the world into a painful memory that holds less value than a handful of earth in their newfound reality, and separates people from everything they hold dear on this side of the six-feet deep gateway into the Afterlife. It is also the truth that ends the suffering of those who have firm, unwavering iman, toil their lives away to do good, spread good on this earth, and endure countless hardships and daunting ordeals. For such people, death is a door to bliss that will lead to the pleasure of Allah Almighty and will open with “So join My servants, and enter My Paradise.” (Al-Fajr, 29-30)

Allah Almighty, the sole ruler of death and the life that will follow it, has created life and death “in order to test which of you is best in deeds.” That is, Allah Almighty has created death and life so that it will be clear who is worthier of the true blessing and benefaction, who deserves to be elevated to the attainment of divine pleasure by virtue of their good deeds and acts of worship that are favored by Him, and who worships Him with sincerity. (Hak Dini Kur’an Dili)

One should know that life is the most fundamental gift of Allah. If there were no life, there would be no one to benefit from the blessings in this world. Life is the first among the gifts in the Hereafter. There would be no eternal reward, if there were no life in the Hereafter. (Ruhu’l-Bayan; Tafsiru’l-Kabir)

Death is also a blessing of Allah. Death separates a state of responsibility for good deeds and a state of receiving rewards for good deeds. In this respect, it is a gift. Just as life is a gift that makes all perfection and pleasure possible, death, too, is a gift that makes the transition from this world to the Hereafter possible. The greatest blessings in this world exist in the Hereafter in their ultimate, perfect form. A person who transitions into the Afterlife through death will go from this world, a domain of toil and hardship, to the Hereafter, where no such thing exists for those Allah grants a life of eternal reward.

After the meanings of death and life have been clarified sufficiently, Allah Almighty tells us the reason for creating these two things: “in order to test which of you is best in deeds.”

One should not forget the following. The “test” mentioned in this verse is not meant in a literal sense. A test is done by someone who does not know what the  results will be. The “test” Allah the Almighty administers is not like this. This testing refers to a truth Allah Almighty already knows, manifesting itself in a servant.

The deed that makes death beautiful

Deeds are not limited to physical form and action. For this reason, the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said: “Allah Almighty has created death and life to reveal which one of you is more intelligent, abstains more from what is forbidden, and strives more to obey Him.” ( Baghawi, Ma’alimu’t-Tanzil, 8/175)

When the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) was asked who the most intelligent person was, he answered: “The most intelligent one of the believers is the one that remembers death the most and prepares for it the most.” The preparation for death and the Hereafter consists of ensuring one has an abundance of sincere good deeds. (Ruhu’l- Bayan; Tafsir al-Kabir)

The best of good deeds are done with sincerity. The best way to attain sincerity is to follow the sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam). Pure deeds are those done for the sake of Allah, and righteous deeds are those done according to the sunnah. A wali once said: “Doing a good deed means forgetting it after the fact and instead seeing only the generosity and benevolence of Allah.” This means the servant must strive to do good deeds but not count on them. Instead, the servant must turn to the Lord and put their trust in His mercy.

In this verse, Allah Almighty does not say that He created death and life “to test who will do the most deeds.” Deeds done without sincerity, deeds with bad intentions, and those done incorrectly are worthless. The benchmark that each deed will be tested against is Islamic law. Virtuous or wicked, honorable or detestable, the true nature of a thing or action lies precisely where the laws of Islam place it.

All of this indicates one should refrain from actions that will bring divine punishment and persist in doing good deeds that will bring divine rewards.

After Allah Almighty mentioned the “test,” He said, “He is Al-Aziz (The Almighty), Al-Ghafur (The All-Forgiving).” This means that Allah is All-Powerful and All-Victorious such that He cannot be thwarted or weakened no matter who transgresses against Him and what means they employ to do so, and He is forgiving of those who sin and then repent. In summary, in this verse, Allah Almighty shows the clearest signs of His power and tells us that He created death and life to encourage people to compete in good deeds and obey His commandments and prohibitions while they live in this world.

Allah Almighty has given His servants life as an opportunity to do good deeds and death as a reminder to renounce sins and embrace that which is righteous, virtuous, and upright in His sight. He is the Almighty Who makes those who turn to Him triumphant. He is the absolute victor in all His acts. A person who commits an atrocity, sin, or infringement cannot thwart Him. He is Most Forgiving and covers people’s flaws in His shroud of mercy. Those who sin should not abandon hope of finding a place in His vast, incalculable mercy. ( Ruhu’l-Bayan; Bahru’l-Madid; Tafsir al-Kabir)

Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) knows best.

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