Recommendation to Die as a Muslim

Death itself is an inevitable matter that every human is destined for: “Every soul will taste death”(325). Therefore, it cannot be commanded or prohibited. However, prohibiting death or commanding it in terms of its voluntary aspect is possible; that is, one can say, “Do not die as a disbeliever” and “Die as a Muslim”: “So do not die except while you are Muslims” [falā tamūtunna illā wa-antum muslimūn]. In explaining this part of the noble verse, two points are highlighted:

The time of death is unknown. No one knows at what time, in what land, or in what intellectual or social context they will die: “And no soul knows in what land it will die”(326). Therefore, a person must always be a Muslim in all aspects and conditions to be protected from death in a state of negligence and without Islam. Thus, the encouragement and emphasis on reciting “Indeed, my prayer, my rites of sacrifice, my living and my dying are for God, Lord of the worlds. No partner has He. And this I have been commanded, and I am the first [among you] of the Muslims”(327) at the beginning of prayer(328) is to teach this point that the life, death, and all aspects of a Muslim are for God and in remembrance of the Truth. It is not that this recitation is specific to the beginning of prayer, and the worshipper can be negligent during, at the end of, or outside of prayer.

A person who asks God to make all their actions and words in the divine direction and purely for God, and to spend all their times and states in servitude and obedience without deviating from this request, will depart from this world as a Muslim in any state: “O Lord, I ask You… to make my times of night and day filled with Your remembrance, connected to Your service, and my deeds accepted by You, so that all my deeds and litanies become one continuous litany, and my state in Your service eternal”(329).

The reminder of death in this recommendation, with the statement not to die without religion: “So do not die except while you are Muslims” [falā tamūtunna illā wa-antum muslimūn], points to the necessity of attaining “established faith” (īmān mustaqirr).

The explanation is that the pressure of death is not like the pressure of illness, which can be endured. If it were bearable, the soul would not leave the body. The pressure of death and the overwhelming event of death are so painful, unbearable, and indescribable that a person surrenders to it. If one’s belief and faith are not firmly established and ingrained, the pressure of death will remove it from the heart and destroy it. Therefore, entrusted faith (īmān mustawdaʿ) that has not penetrated the soul as a permanent attribute, like all other non-established memories, will be stripped away at the time of departure due to the pressure of death. It will not accompany the person migrating towards God and will not enter the intermediate realm (barzakh). Thus, it will not benefit such a person in the afterlife.

The reason why many people are unable to answer the simplest religious questions in the grave is also this: the pressure of death erases all non-established entrusted and acquired memories from a person’s mind. Therefore, in the grave, a person is at the level of a disbeliever and cannot answer the simplest questions about their Lord, Prophet, infallible Imams, and their religion, as well as God’s book and their qibla, even though in conventional tests they ask about difficult and complex issues, not about simple and elementary matters that everyone was familiar with in this world. The point is that both the righteous and the corrupt knew the answers to such questions in this world. However, the pressure of death has taken away the retention of these answers from those who did not have established faith. After many years of torment in the intermediate realm, they may gradually recall the answers.

Based on this, the warning and reminder of death play a significant role in advising the establishment of firmly rooted faith (īmān mustaqarr). This point is also mentioned in the supplication of Prophet Joseph (a.s.)_—which is in accordance with Jacob’s will—_where he said: “My Lord, let me die as a Muslim”(330). This means that Islam should be so ingrained and established in my soul that the pressure of death cannot affect me and make me forget it. The secret behind this point is that death has no pressure for those with firmly rooted faith(331). Therefore, for a believer, no moment is sweeter than the moment of death and surrendering one’s soul to the Beloved. Since he experiences no pressure, the jewel of faith is not released from his mind and soul. However, for one who experiences pressure, this jewel slips from his mind, and it is difficult to recall it again.