As-Salama
Death’s Inevitability as Motivation
for Amal Salih (Good Deeds)
Death prompts a great deal of soul-searching; there must be a point or points to death because otherwise, human life would be in vain. First, it is the perfect antidote for worldly heedlessness, serving as the most cogent of reminders that there is a force greater than oneself - as the scholar Abu Hurairah narrated, “Prophet Muhammad said, ‘Remember often the destroyer of pleasures’, meaning death”.
Further, what can help the Muslim prepare for death is the notion of ‘shortened expectations’ which means cutting short one’s assumption of a long life, and thereby showing respect and anticipation for the expected meeting with Allah.
From an Islamic angle, a good death is one where the person dies with Allah being pleased with him/her, or engaged in some pious behaviour, or at a time considered propitious. Scholars have written that that religiosity or strong iman and belief in akhirah (the Hereafter) can lower a Muslim’s fear of death.
However, religious individuals may also dread it more because they are afraid of the judgment to be made about how they lived their worldly lives. Hence conversely, the reward expectation of akhirah can contribute to lower death anxiety.
According to the Qur’an the two cardinal requisites for entry into jannah (paradise) are iman (faith) and amal salih (good deeds), which are often collocated to make it plain that they mutually reinforce each other. In its various forms, the latter appears 380 times in the scripture and besides the basic duties of shahadah (declaration of faith in Allah as the only true God), solah, zakat, sawm (fasting) and the Hajj, it can be identified as, inter alia, filial piety, honesty, humility, patience, forgiveness and generosity in one’s relations with family and others, particularly the orphaned and destitute (Surah Aal-i-Imraan, ayat 133-136; and Surah Al-Furqaan, ayat 64-76).
The Qur’an not only stresses the admission requirements of iman and amal salih, but also, so critical is amal that “[Allah] created death and life to test you [as to] which of you is best in deeds” (Surah Al-Mulk, ayat 2).
Wealth is indeed a great blessing from God which He bestows upon His servants. The person who earns it honestly, and spends it properly, and gives it to those deserving it, earns a great reward from Allah. But many people mistakenly assume that financial wealth is the only true or best measurement of richness.
And no matter how much money a person has, eventually at the point of death it will pass on to others. In the Qur’an God teaches that: “Wealth and children are the adornments of the life of this world. But the enduring good deeds are better in your Lord’s sight (to attain) rewards..” (Surah Al-Kahf, verse 46).
So while money and children can bring much comfort and joy in life, amal salih is what will remain permanently. It is such righteous deeds that will bring a person God’s Pleasure, and through which he/she can hope for an ever-lasting reward in the Hereafter.
Again, the Quran states,
“And it is not your wealth or children that bring you nearer to Us, but it is [by being] one who has believed and done righteousness. For them there will be double reward for what they did, and they will reside in the high dwellings (of paradise), safe and secure” (Surah Saba, ayat 37).
