Tareek Alhedaya – Episode 4 – Death 1/part 2

The Audience’s Questions

      Question – A viewer said that his father died a year and a half ago, on the 12^th of Ramadan, after a tough battle with cancer that lasted for two years. The question is whether his father’s suffering would atone for his previous sins.

Answer – We ask Allah to bless him with His mercy for his long suffering since Prophet Muhammed (PBUH) said that “even being pierced by a throne is a penance for wrong doings and sublimation”. Whoever dies, is left with his deeds?[2]. However, we should learn from this question and observe how the son grieves his father and is eager to know about his father’s fate; and we hope it would be a good one insha’ Allah. Yet, in spite of the awareness of the inevitability of death, some people are unmindful of it till they abruptly face it exactly as Allah (SWT) says in this verse “Until, when death comes to one of them (those who join partners with Allah), he says: “My Lord! Send me back” The moment of death could neither be hastened or postponed and we have previously given an example of that in the story of Musa (Moses) (AS) when he was visited by the Angel of death. Consequently we learn that we should be prepared with our good deeds and worshipping because the moment of death will catch us wherever we are as Allah (SWT) says: “Wherever you may be, death will overtake you even if you are in fortresses built up strong and high!”

      Question – A viewer said that righteous men will have Hur (Companions with beautiful, big beautiful eyes) in Heaven – Will righteous women have that too?

Answer – This is another common misconception because the Hur are not for males only. Moreover, we cannot specify their gender as females since it is not stated in Qur’an; just like angels are not and should not be described as females. This will be further explained in next episodes of Paradise. [3]

      Question – A viewer said that she did not know that the slapping and tearing of clothes, as extreme expressions of grief, are forbidden – What is the punishment in that case? And are the dead tortured for these forbidden acts done by the living?

Answer- I cannot blame anybody since Allah’s mercy includes everyone as Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said “When Allah completed the creation, He wrote in His Book which is with Him on His Throne, “My Mercy overpowers My Anger.” Nevertheless, a Muslim should not do what might lead to Allah’s anger. Prophet Mohamed (PBUH) teaches us that true patience is when the first shock is received as in the story of the woman who slapped her cheeks that Prophet Mohamed (PBUH) told her that she should endure with patience. Not knowing who he was, she asked him to go away. When she realized that he is the Prophet she went to him apologizing and asking for Allah’s forgiveness. He told her that patience should be at the first shock.

Death is a true test for everybody, except for the dead himself as Allah (SWT) says in Surat Al-Molk: “Who has created death and life that He may test you which of you is best in deed. And He is the All-Mighty, the Oft-Forgiving” In other words, life is a test for every one while death is one for the living only. I ask Allah to make us all endure it with patience. Many Muslims have gone through the calamity of having a loved one die, yet true belief in Allah makes them thank Allah for his decree and say as stated in Qur’an: “Who, when afflicted with calamity, say: “Truly! To Allah we belong and truly, to Him we shall return.”

As mentioned before, psychologists explain that crying after the dead implies a dormant fear of death. Nevertheless, crying should not be accompanied with loud bewailing since Prophet Mohamed (PBUH) teaches us that “The eyes are shedding tears and the heart is grieved” to indicate that real grief is in the heart. And we say to the sister, may Allah (SWT) forgive you, which necessitates repentance on your part and deep regret of what you have done. Moreover, you should ask for Allah’s forgiveness. A true Muslim grieves more than an ordinary person, as he inclines to hide grief in his heart rather than showing it in a way that may displease Allah (SWT), that some might even die out of it themselves.  Sublime yielding to Allah is a must and that is why Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) explained that the heart grieves while submitting to Allah’s Will. Whether the dead person senses[4]  these wrong doings or not is sufficiently explained in this verse “Nor can a bearer of burdens bear another’s burden”.  Yet the need to ask Allah (SWT) for forgiveness persists because of what we see in some funerals that some, out of unbearable grief, may get to the extent that they might not believe in Allah (SWT) any more – may Allah forbid. And we cannot claim that the dead person suffers from what goes on around him since it does not make sense that a pious person for example would suffer for the mistakes of others.

      Question – What do you say in the case of a person who buys his own coffin damping it with Zamzam (a well in Mecca) water?

Answer – This has no ground and there has been a dispute among the interpreters about that matter, yet being certain of death is what counts, when any other action becomes pointless.

      Question – Could a person (clinically dead) who lives on life support machines be considered dead? [5]

Answer – Though life support machines could never bring him back, he cannot be considered dead as long as he is still in the hospital and not actually buried.

      Question– Is magic real?

Answer – We will discuss the concept of magic in Qura’n and Sunnah in later episodes. Believing that a magician could carry out anything against Allah’s Will is blasphemous. Magic exists, but it could not lead to the marriage, or divorce of somebody for example. Magicians are the most helpless of all people simply because they cannot help themselves, let alone helping others. Allah (SWT) says in Surat Al-Tawbah: “Say: “Nothing shall ever happen to us except what Allah has ordained for us.” Magicians often fool the dim-witted and as long as idiots turn to them, magicians would thrive. The question now is could someone be healed from a spell by a spell? Answering that would take some time. Yet,  our belief in Allah should guide us amidst all the delusion and falsehood that take place nowadays.

      Question – Was the name of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) written on Allah’s Throne before the creation of Adam?

Answer – This claim has no origins in both the Qur’an and Sunnah.

      Question – which was created first: Heavens or Earth?

Answer – In Qur’an, Heavens were mentioned before Earth and this will be explained and discussed later through verses of the Qur’an.

      Question – When were the angels created?

Answer – They were created before Adam as described in the Qur’an.

      Question – There are requests by the audience to specify an episode on Paradise?

Answer – This will be discussed in detail through Qura’n and Sunnah after finalizing the episodes of Death and Judgment and the tranquility or torture that might follow them.

 Question – What is the world of posterity?

Answer – Allah said in Surat Al-Aaraf: “And (remember) when your Lord brought forth from the Children of Adam, from their loins, their seed (or from Adam’s loin his offspring) and made them testify as to themselves (saying): “Am I not your Lord?” They said: “Yes! We testify,” lest you should say on the Day of Resurrection: “Verily, we have been unaware of this.” Allah created the posterity and made them testify as to themselves of the Oneness of Allah, i.e, the man testified the Oneness of Allah before his being on earth as stated before in last episode.

      Question – How can we differentiate between Satanic temptation and self insinuation?

Answer – If the insinuation urges one to carry out a specific misconduct then it is from one’s self.  On the other hand, Satanic temptation insinuates one to indulge in various forms of sin like stealing, killing, or not praying.

      Question – Is Man endowed with free will or is he deprived the choice of option?

Answer – Allah’s Will dominates Man’s life, but when it comes to issues of Faith and worshipping, it is Man’s free will at play here. Allah (SWT) says “There is no compulsion in religion” and “Then whosoever wills, let him believe; and whosoever wills, let him disbelieve.”

      Question – Are Satan and Jinn the same kind of creatures?

Answer – Shaitan (Satan) and Jinn are different. There is also Ifrit, which is the smartest, strongest, and fastest of Jinn. Allah (SWT) says “An ‘Ifrît (strong jinni) from the jinn said: “I will bring it to you before you rise from your place (council). And verily, I am indeed strong, and trustworthy for such work.” While in describing Satan Allah (SWT) says “Ever feeble indeed is the plot of Shaitân (Satan).”

      Question – Does supplication alter our destiny?

Answer – It is destiny when supplication wards off calamities. Thus it is essentially Allah’s destiny for us, and supplication cannot change that. It takes firm belief on the Muslim’s part to believe that Allah’s destiny cannot change.  

      Question – Allah (SWT) created Satan; the core of Man’s troubles. Why would he be going to Hell if he was doing his job?

Answer – We cannot question why Allah (SWT) created Angels, Jinn, or Man since Allah (SWT) stated clearly in Qur’an “And I (Allah) created not the jinn and mankind except that they should worship Me (Alone).”

      Question – What is the difference between “Qaber” and “Lahed”?  (being both Arabic synonyms for grave).

Answer – A “qaber” is the place where the dead body is, be it on a crashed plane or in the sea, it is a “qaber” as long as the body, or its remains are in it. A “lahed” on the other hand, is the place that you actually dig in order to bury the dead body that nothing of it would remain “on” the surface of earth.

      Question – Is eternal Paradise where Adam lived?

Answer– No. The paradise where Adam lived was a garden on earth. People misinterpret the verse where Allah (SWT) says: “Then the Shaitan (Satan) made them slip from (the Paradise), and got them out from that in which they were. We said: “Get you down, all, with enmity between yourselves. On earth will be a dwelling place for you and an enjoyment for a time.” “To go down” is the same expression used in a different verse in which Allah (SWT) addressed the Jews saying “Go you down to any town and you shall find what you want!” Thus “going down” here is merely moving from one place to the other that is less in worth but not necessarily lower. And the fact to validate that is that when Adam was first mentioned in Qur’an Allah (SWT) says: “Verily, I am going to place (mankind) generations after generations on earth”

      Question – It is said that in Ramadan Paradise’s gates are opened and Hell’s gates are closed. Does that mean that whoever dies in Ramadan goes to Paradise?

Answer – It is not accurate to claim that Hell’s gates are closed in Ramadan.[6]

      This episode was broadcasted on 14^th March 2004.

Comments by the translator:

1.     The translation in English was divided into sections, though this is not clearly marked in the Arabic reciprocal, so that division was discarded.

2.     When there is somehow a lack of logical order, or unnecessary repetition, as is sometimes the case in spoken speech as contrary to written one, does the translator have the liberty to bring back order to the text?