Question:
Assalamualaikum Dato’ Seri Mufti. Is it true that death is a form of a test and migration?
Answer:
Waalaikumussalam wrt. wbt.
Alhamdulillah, praise and thanks to Allah for the countless blessings He has blessed us all with. Blessings and salutations to the Prophet Muhammad PBUH, his wives, his family, companions and all those that follow his teachings to the day of judgement.
Answering the above question, Allah SWT state:
الَّذِي خَلَقَ الْمَوْتَ وَالْحَيَاةَ لِيَبْلُوَكُمْ أَيُّكُمْ أَحْسَنُ عَمَلًا
“[He] who created death and life to test you [as to] which of you is best in deed,”
Surah al-Mulk (2)
Mustafa al-Kik a Muslim scholar stated in his book Baina ‘Alamain: ‘Alam al-Madah wa ‘Alam al-Ruh, death experienced by humans – whether is sudden death such as heart attack, accident and other, or a normal death that happens over a long period of time through the process of aging – both the sudden and normal death will undergo what is known as sakarat al-maut, which means lost of consciousness that is followed by the separation of the soul from the body.
Death in Islam is not complete destruction as believed by the disbelievers and the divergent. Death is a migration from one place to another, from one stage to another and from one stopover to the next.
Umar bin Abdul Aziz Rahimahullah said:
إِنَّمَا خُلِقْتُمْ لِلأَبَدِ ، وَلَكِنَّكُمْ تُنْقَلُونَ مِنْ دَارٍ إِلَى دَارٍ
“All of you are created for another eternal life. In truth, you are migrating from one place to another.” (See Hilyah al-Auliya’, 5/287)
Abu al-‘Atahiyyah, a renown poet said:
وَما الموْتُ إلاّ رِحْلَة ٌ، غَيرَ أنّهَا مِنَ المنْزِلِ الفَاني إلى المنزِلِ الباَقي
“Death is but a travel, from a place of destruction to an eternity.”
A deceased in his grave lives in barzakh, receiving blessings or punishments as a start of his eternal life in the hereafter, where he will either be rewarded or punished. (See Fatawa Mu’asirah, 1/273)
Hence, let us all repent and remember the truth pertaining to death that we will all face in our life. However, the most important thing is that we should supplicate to Allah SWT to die in husnul khatimah and fill our lives with continuous worship. Amin.