What is Death? | From The Islamic Perspective | Paul Williams (2021-09-09) ​

0:00:01 if we watch the western media we see an
0:00:03 ever increasing pressure to accept
0:00:06 euthanasia and so-called assisted
0:00:09 suicide
0:00:10 and i want to share with you some very
0:00:12 insightful comments by a distinguished
0:00:14 psychiatrist mustafa al-badawi in his
0:00:17 book man and the universe an islamic
0:00:20 perspective
0:00:21 he's a consultant psychiatrist and
0:00:23 member of the royal college of
0:00:25 psychiatrists
0:00:27 and in this book on page 122 he writes
0:00:32 we have said earlier that death is
0:00:34 nothing more than the passage from one
0:00:36 dimension of existence into another
0:00:39 and the believer knows that as the
0:00:42 hadith states the world is the prison of
0:00:45 the believer and the garden of the
0:00:48 disbeliever such an interesting haditha
0:00:51 those who long to meet their lord in the
0:00:54 perfection of the life to come
0:00:57 experience the world's distractions and
0:00:59 pleasures as so many obstacles standing
0:01:03 between them and their goal
0:01:06 they struggle against their own egos and
0:01:09 feel their brother's sufferings as
0:01:11 acutely as they feel their own
0:01:15 they are constantly resisting the
0:01:17 downward pull of the world and are
0:01:19 offended and aggrieved by deviant
0:01:21 behavior in others
0:01:24 they also know that quote those who love
0:01:27 to meet god god loves to meet them
0:01:30 that's a hadith in muslim
0:01:33 and they know of the peace and delights
0:01:36 of the garden and the beatific vision of
0:01:39 the divine countenance
0:01:42 the weaker a man's faith and the greater
0:01:44 his ignorance of these matters
0:01:47 the greater will be his attachment to
0:01:49 the world and reluctance to separate
0:01:52 from it this is why we are strongly
0:01:55 encouraged to remember death frequently
0:01:58 remember often the defeater of death
0:02:01 remember often the defeater of pleasures
0:02:04 death that's a hadith in eternity said
0:02:07 the prophet
0:02:08 may god's blessings and peace be upon
0:02:10 him
0:02:12 and when asked
0:02:13 who among believers are the most
0:02:15 sagacious sagacious means wise he
0:02:19 replied
0:02:20 those who remember death most often and
0:02:23 are the best in preparing for what
0:02:25 follows it
0:02:26 those are the sagacious
0:02:29 that's hadith
0:02:33 he encouraged regular visits to the
0:02:36 cemetery for the same reason
0:02:38 the remembrance of death detaches one
0:02:41 from the world reduces everything in it
0:02:43 to its proper proportions and renders
0:02:46 death and the events that are to follow
0:02:49 it familiar and much less frightening
0:02:53 this makes death itself much easier
0:02:57 most muslims nowadays however are
0:03:00 ignorant of these things and others
0:03:02 horrified by the mere mention of death
0:03:06 their attitude is thus the exact
0:03:08 opposite of what it ought to be
0:03:11 they come that much closer to the
0:03:13 disbelievers stance
0:03:16 who because they know of no paradise
0:03:19 apart from this life
0:03:21 are exceedingly reluctant to leave it
0:03:23 and can never understand that someone in
0:03:26 his right mind should be eager to do so
0:03:31 one of the obvious mercies that god
0:03:33 bestows upon his nation
0:03:36 is that many of those muslims who live
0:03:39 in forgetfulness of their lives to come
0:03:42 are made to suffer a long illness before
0:03:45 their death
0:03:46 when i read this sentence by the way
0:03:48 when i first read it i was
0:03:50 wow that's such an extraordinary thing
0:03:52 to say and so
0:03:54 you know it's a paradigm shift in how we
0:03:56 perceive illness and death just read it
0:03:58 again i think it's such an amazing
0:04:00 statement one of the obvious mercies he
0:04:02 says
0:04:03 that god bestows upon his nation in
0:04:05 other words the ummah the worldwide
0:04:07 group of muslims is that many of those
0:04:09 muslims who live in forget in
0:04:11 forgetfulness of their lives to come
0:04:15 are made to suffer a long illness before
0:04:18 their death
0:04:20 the result is that detachment from the
0:04:22 world and meditation on the hereafter is
0:04:25 gradually forced on them
0:04:27 so that when the time comes they are
0:04:30 thoroughly prepared so that's why this
0:04:33 psychiatrist says it's a mercy long
0:04:35 illness because it makes you face the
0:04:37 realities rather than a quick end
0:04:40 that is why the notion he writes of
0:04:42 euthanasia
0:04:44 does not arise in a muslim climate
0:04:48 some of the west's current attitude that
0:04:50 life must be prolonged at any cost has
0:04:53 crept in
0:04:55 however especially among muslim medical
0:04:58 practitioners of course this author is a
0:05:00 doctor himself so he's talking about his
0:05:02 colleagues
0:05:04 and by the same token the islamic
0:05:05 concern in providing the muslim with a
0:05:08 dignified death has weakened
0:05:11 to insist on saving someone's life at
0:05:15 all costs may mean in many instances
0:05:18 keeping him in intensive care with tubes
0:05:21 coming out of every single orifice
0:05:24 unable to speak or say the shahada
0:05:27 and distracted by the frantic activities
0:05:30 of the staff isn't that a horrible image
0:05:33 you know but seeking to prolong life
0:05:36 what how whatever cost however degrading
0:05:39 it may be for the dignity of the person
0:05:42 this extraordinary um image and that's
0:05:44 where we're at today in hospitals in the
0:05:46 west
0:05:48 it is much more important to allow a
0:05:50 muslim to die as he should
0:05:52 than to try to save his life at the cost
0:05:54 of robbing him of his opportunity to do
0:05:58 so
0:05:59 for dying should be attended by godly
0:06:02 people who will remind him to say allah
0:06:06 by simply repeating it in his ear not by
0:06:09 commanding him to say it
0:06:11 they should also recite yah sin as a
0:06:14 chapter in the quran and other portions
0:06:17 of the quran and continuously pray for
0:06:19 him
0:06:21 the dying should be helped to remain in
0:06:23 a state of ritual purity and to repeat
0:06:26 their wudu
0:06:27 whenever broken and they should be
0:06:29 reminded of the immensity of god's mercy
0:06:33 of the expected intercession by the
0:06:35 prophet upon whom be peace and of other
0:06:38 hopeful things
0:06:39 in this way the dying person may die
0:06:43 hoping for god's mercy and expecting his
0:06:46 forgiveness for god says in the hadith
0:06:49 could see
0:06:50 i am as my servant thinks me to be
0:06:56 that's a hadith by the way in bukhari
0:06:58 and muslim
0:07:00 as for the family of the deceased they
0:07:03 should be attended to by comforting them
0:07:06 and assisting them through their
0:07:07 mourning
0:07:09 the expression of sorrow pain and anger
0:07:12 is encouraged and accepted providing it
0:07:15 does not turn into histrionics which are
0:07:18 strictly forbidden and sometimes you get
0:07:21 these images of people wailing and
0:07:23 screaming and you know basically going
0:07:25 insane when someone pop this in islam is
0:07:28 completely unacceptable
0:07:31 in islam as he says they are allowed to
0:07:33 weep and mourn in full but never to slap
0:07:35 their faces or to rend their clothes
0:07:38 ripping on ripping their clothes
0:07:39 although it obviously happens at times
0:07:42 they are reminded that quote god is more
0:07:45 compassionate to them than a mother is
0:07:48 to her infant that's a quote from ibn
0:07:51 maja hadith
0:07:53 that this is another trial that they
0:07:56 must suffer and that if they would only
0:07:58 allow him that god god will help them
0:08:02 and fortitude and put fortitude in their
0:08:05 hearts forgive their sins and raise
0:08:08 their degrees for it
0:08:10 they are reminded that no loss equals
0:08:12 that of the prophet upon him be peace
0:08:15 and that even he had to suffer the death
0:08:17 of all his children but one
0:08:20 fatima may allah be pleased with her
0:08:23 and of many of his loved ones
0:08:28 all those who come to offer their
0:08:29 condolences are expected to participate
0:08:32 in this assuaging process each in his
0:08:35 own manner
0:08:37 the neighbors and relatives are expected
0:08:39 to take over the task of preparing food
0:08:42 for the visitors seeing to the household
0:08:45 needs and remaining alert for any kind
0:08:47 of practical help that may be required
0:08:50 of them at any time
0:08:53 the family will be encouraged to visit
0:08:55 the tomb give away charity on behalf of
0:08:58 the deceased pray for him recite the
0:09:01 quran and if required perform hajj and
0:09:04 umrah on his behalf
0:09:07 until recently people of both sexes were
0:09:10 encouraged to remarry not very long
0:09:12 after losing their spouse
0:09:14 this resulted in the effective
0:09:16 reorganization of their lives materially
0:09:19 and emotionally and the adequate
0:09:22 fulfillment of the children's needs
0:09:24 isn't that interesting
0:09:26 anger and resentment against heaven and
0:09:29 the possibility of psychological
0:09:31 dysfunction are again more likely to
0:09:34 occur the more remote the bereaved
0:09:37 person's cognitive structure is from the
0:09:40 islamic values and principles outlined
0:09:43 earlier
0:09:45 obviously such people will need more
0:09:48 intensive attention
0:09:50 let's end of that isn't that
0:09:51 extraordinary um
0:09:53 this book is full of most amazing
0:09:55 insights into a different way an
0:09:57 alternative vision of how to live our
0:10:00 lives for those of us who live in the
0:10:01 west we won't hear about this
0:10:03 perspective normally muslims in the
0:10:05 headlines are obviously uh associated
0:10:08 with uh egregious uh activities but here
0:10:11 here we have uh
0:10:13 wisdom deep wisdom from an islamic
0:10:15 perspective so i do recommend this book
0:10:17 until next time