FAQ in the category of Death

The act of killing a person and ending his/her life is the task of the judiciary. 

No one can kill a person or end one’s life claiming that s/he deserves death, judging by his/her own criteria and opinion. If s/he does, s/he becomes a murderer and deserves the punishment for that murder. S/he is treated as a murderer both in the world and in the Hereafter. S/he undertakes the sins of the person s/he killed and compensates for it by going through severe punishment. 

However, there are some obligatory situations, in which resisting becomes lawful due to obligation and killer can be freed from punishment. 

Let us list some of those exceptional situations: 

1-      If one takes action to kill another and the other person cannot escape though he has tried every possible way and eventually has to kill the aggressor; neither retribution nor blood money is necessary. 

This is because the murdered person took the first action to kill the other and there was no other option which could dissuade him from killing; and here the obligation of self-defense emerged. However, if it was possible to send the aggressor away by shouting and calling people around for help and the person killed the aggressor without trying this option, it is not self-defense but murder. 

2-      If an armed conflict occurred while someone was fighting a man who entered his shop, house or a store where he kept his possessions with the purpose of burglary and the owner killed the burglar who wanted to steal his possessions, it is called the right to defend one’s property. The owner of the property who killed the burglar is not considered a murderer; he is regarded to have made a lawful defense of property. It requires neither retribution nor blood money. The burglar shed his blood for nothing. 

3-      If a person resists someone who tends to rape his/her honor in his/her house or somewhere else and kills the aggressor while trying to protect his/her honor, it does not require retribution or blood money as defending one’s honor is a lawful defense. This is because s/he had no other choice than killing the aggressor in order to defend his/her honor. 

In conclusion, it an indisputable right of everyone to defend their life, property and honor. If one kills the aggressor while defending those, s/he is not murderer and if s/he is killed by the aggressor, s/he is considered a martyr. 

(See. Abdulkâdir Üdeh, et-Teşrîu'l-Cinâî'l-İslâmî, Kâhire 1959, 1/473, 489; Abdulkerîm Zeydan, Hâletu'd-Darûra fi'ş-Şerîatil İslâmiyye (Mecmûatu Buhüsil-Fıkhiyye, along with his 8 articles), Beyrut 1986, s. 184-195)

Death is the incident that spirit departs from body. What dies is not spirit but body. Essentially human being means spirit. Body is his residence or his dress. That his dress is changed, destroyed, or vanished does no harm to his existence. The One who puts this dress on us and sets up our relation with the universe, takes our spirit back from our dress and takes us away from this residence is Our Sustainer. After the life in our grave what we call the Intermediate Realm, when humans are resuscitated anew for an eternal life, spirits shall be given bodies proper to that realm. Death is not nothingness. Death is not nonentity.

In this matter, we would like to present this lesson of wisdom from the Risale-i Nur Collection:

Through the light of belief, it shows to the heart of a believer that death is not execution, but a change of abode; that the grave is not the mouth of a dark well, but the door to light-filled worlds; and that for all its glitter, the world is like a prison comparing to the Hereafter. For sure, to be released from the prison of this world and enter the gardens of Paradise, and pass from the troublesome turmoil of bodily life to the world of rest and the arena where spirits soar, and to slip free from the vexatious noise of creatures and go to the Presence of the Most Merciful is a journey, indeed, a happiness, to be desired with a thousand lives. (Words, p. 204)

Here is good news for you! Death is not destruction, nothingness, or nonentity; it is not cessation, or extinction; it is not eternal separation, or non-existence, or an event based on chance; it is not authorless obliteration. Rather, it is being discharged by the Author Who is All-Wise and All-Compassionate; it is a change of abode. It is being dispatched to eternal bliss, to your true home. It is the door of union to the Intermediate Realm, which is where you will meet with ninety-nine per cent of your friends." (Bediuzzaman, The Letters, 226)

Just as life comes into the world is through a creation and a determining, so too departure from the world is through a creation and determining, through a wise and purposeful direction. For the death of plant life, the simplest level of life shows that it is a more orderly work of art than life. For although the death of fruits, seeds, and grains appear to occur through decaying, rotting, and dissolution, their death is in fact a kneading which comprises an exceedingly well-ordered chemical reaction and well-balanced combining of elements and wise formation of particles; this unseen, well-ordered and wise death appears through the life of the new shoots. That is to say, the death of the seed is the start of life of the shoot; indeed, since it is like life itself, this death is created and well ordered as much as is life.

Moreover, since the death of the fruits of living beings and animals in the human stomach is the beginning of their rising to the level of human life, it may be said such a death is more orderly and created than their own life.

Thus, if the death of plant life, the lowest level of life, is thus created, wise, and ordered, so also must be the death that befalls human life, the most elevated level of life. And like a seed sown in the ground becomes a tree in the world of the air, so too a man who is laid in the earth will surely produce the shoots of an everlasting life in the Intermediate Realm. (Bediuzzaman, The Letters, 8)

No living creature is there moving on the earth but its provision depends on God (Hud Surah, 11:6).

How many a living creature there is that does not carry its own provision (in store), but God provides for them, and indeed for you. He is the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing. (Al-Ankabut Surah, 29:60)

In accordance with the expression of the verses above, Allah (SWT) gives provisions to all living beings all their lives long. He (SWT) gives them their foods as long as they live; the provisions are under the guarantee of Allah (SWT).

Allah Almighty, Who is infinitely merciful, has set the world like a dining table and invited the living beings to this feast. Everything from the tiniest microbe that is invisible by eyes to tons of heavy whales benefits from this feast. According to the findings that biology points out there are over two million kinds of plants and animals on earth. In addition, each kind has individuals in infinite numbers. Just as each has different stomachs, tastes, nutrition, they also have different foods. Who satisfies their hunger every single day perfectly?

The best example to the fact that food is given to the living beings by Allah (SWT) is that the incapable feed themselves better. For example, the baby in her mothers womb is completely deprived of strength. But through umbilical cord, it is fed most perfectly. When s/he opens his/her eyes to the world, s/he gains a bit of strength and that door is closed. Again, this time, s/he is fed on the pure and nutritious milk from the taps of breasts. Not only does milk contain iron and copper, but also all nutrients that are necessary for the babys life such as fat, protein, carbohydrate. In addition, these elements are stored in his/her mothers womb by Allah Almighty Who has undertaken his/her food even before s/he was born. And this process continues for six months.

Is this rule only the case for human babies? Of course not. It is possible to see similar rules in all living beings. When a lion, which has a reputation of being the king of the forest, finds its food, it does not eat it but gives it to its hungry cub. A hen first feeds its chicks whenever it finds something to eat.

The law of Sustenance continues universally. Whereas human beings inhale oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide, plants take carbon dioxide in and give out oxygen. These plants form some organic matters through sunlight by receiving some matters out of soil. Just as plants might be foods for animals, likewise, some animals become foods to some other and to human beings. This law in this food chain keeps continuing and thus there remain no beings without food.

We have already stressed above that Allah Almighty undertakes the food of the living beings. But one may think, How is it that some people die of starvation? It is possible to handle this point from different perspectives. Some of the nutrition that human beings take is stored as glycogen and fat. In case of hunger, these stores are consumed. The nutrition in the stores keeps man alive longer. The research that Doctor Dewey conducted is quite remarkable on this point.

Two four-year-old children carelessly took medicine overdose, and in their stomachs and alimentary canals, occurred burns and they could not eat their foods. The first child, who was weak and delicate, managed to survive 75 days by using the reserve in his body. The other boy, who was relatively stronger, endured 90 days.

Doctor Bertholet did researches about the hungers of long duration and obtained striking results. According to these results, the loss of weight resulting from the long-term hunger takes place in tissues and organs, which are not vitally important such as fat and spleen. In addition, this research showed that in long-term hunger, the body uses 97% of fat, 63% of spleen, 56% of liver, 30% of muscles, and 17% of blood. However, the same research showed that there is no loss of weight in brain and nerves, which are vitally important. And this indicates that during hunger there is consumption not on vitally important organs, but on others. In such a hunger case, as recent researches have pointed out, fats are transformed into ketones and sent to the assistance of the brain cells.

The findings in relation to this issue have showed that one can survive around 80 days without eating anything. But the food supply must not be cut off immediately. Otherwise, the body may grow weak since the usual habit of eating is deserted, and this may lead to death. Ibn-i Khaldun expresses this as follows: Those who eat more suffer more than those who eat less in the places of famine. What kills them is not famine they are facing, but the satiety they had been used to. (2)

It is stated that the total number of those who die of starvation is constituted by the children below one year old with 20% in India and 35% in Africa. The microbes are ready to take hold of the body and assault it at the moment it is weak. Especially children are more vulnerable to this situation and it is mostly they who die of hunger. Then, those who are told to have died of hunger are not dying because of lack of food, but because of the diseases originating from the scarcity of food.

In this respect, Prof. Dr. Sabahattin Zaim writes as follows, Even in Far East, South America, and Africa where food production is rather insufficient, the amount of food production does not fall but remain stable in the last 30 years, as for the other regions, it rises between 16% and 50%. The existence of people who could be regarded without food in some places of the world is explained with the insufficient human employment. In these countries, he writes, the capital is abundant, which is one of the production factors. The developments, which are seen in sources and other possibilities for a progress, in all countries, are fit to enable the national revenue increase more than population. (3)

According to the results of a research conducted in England, with the ample use of fertilizers, food production is possible to increase tenfold. This means that around 31.5 billion people could be fed. (4)



1. Tekman, Ş. and Ömer, N., General Biochemistry, Fatih Printing Press, İstanbul, 1981
2. Canan, İ.; Hz.Peygamber' in Sünnetinde Terbiye (The Good Manners In the Sunnah of The Prophet Muhammad) Third Edition, 1984.
3. Zaim, S.; Siyasi, İktisadi ve Sosyal Yönleriyle Türkiye' de Nüfus Meselesi (The Queston of Population In Turkey From Economic And Social Aspects), 1973
4. Ergüllü, E.; Geleceğin Büyük Sorunu Açlık (The Starvation; The Great Danger of The Future), Milliyet Newspaper, 21.12.1982.

The Holy Quran clearly prohibits killing any person; it announces Nor take life - which Allah has made sacred - except for just cause. (Al-Israa Surah, 17:32)

Causes that read in the verse are the situations like:
-warfare
-self-defense
-execution of somebody by the state when his guilt is confirmed.

Apart from these occasional events, to kill somebody is one of the greatest sins. In another verse, the Quran announces:

If anyone slew a person - unless it be for murder or for spreading mischief in the land - it would be as if he slew the whole people: and if any one saved a life, it would be as if he saved the life of the whole people. (Al-Maidah Surah, 5:32)

That is to say, to kill an innocent person is a crime as horrible as killing the whole people. In the verse, there is no distinction between Muslims or non-Muslims in this respect; the verse refers to any person, which is remarkably important.

Murdering of an innocent person on purpose requires retaliation (qisas), namely killing the murderer. If the inheritors of the murdered person forgive the murderer, in this case, he needs to give blood money.

There is a great truth that we must never forget but do everything necessary in order to forget: Death.

The most effective cure to our heedlessness is the Hadith, which reads, Contemplate the death often, which dispels pleasure and makes it bitter.

In this hadith, we are advised to recall death often and attach importance to it. It is not sensible to turn a deaf ear to this advice. For closing eyes can never hide any truth. People who turn their back on death and refusing to think about it do nothing but go backwards to their graves.


Wisdom requires not forgetting the death; ... rather knowing that this life journey is towards to grave and will be terminated by death. By this way, one can overcome the difficult concept of the death and leave it behind.

A patient might be relieved for a while by forgetting about his illness. However, this heedlessness causes him to aggravate his illness. A momentary relief brings a long-lived pain.

To forget about exams may give students a transient occasion of entertainment. However, the consequence of this heedlessness becomes distress and grief. Likewise, a tradesman who spends his capital extravagantly leads a deceiving pleasure. Finally, he ends up in bankruptcy.

We can make an analogy with regard to the point: While in your room or having some rest in a park, you watch an insect on its own. With the intention of having, some fun you bend down and bring your hand near it. The insect immediately turns back and runs away with an utmost speed. You watch it is running away with pleasure. It hides behind a matchbox. You keep on watching it. You seem to sensing its breathing with fright. Then another insect comes near it. You seem to hear the former insect saying to the other I just got over a great danger. I came across a silhouette in front of me. I got away at once. Thanks God, I got rid of it now.

Our situation in the face of the angel of death is no different from this one. Wherever we may go, whatever we may hide ourselves behind, whatever pleasure we may have, whatever to do to forget it, the consequence is the same. The angel of death any moment watches us and waits for Allahs (SWT) order to take our lives.

Then to try to run away from death is not a clever thing to do. What is clever is to love death and try to submit our spirits to the angel of death without dirt and spot. Not to think about the future, to forget about death is not a philosophy of life which befit to a man.

Allah (SWT) states he created death in this world with his might pursuant to his wisdom by saying in his book, the All-Wise Qur'an:

"He Who created Death and Life, that He may try which of you is best in deed: and He is the Exalted in Might, Oft-Forgiving..."(al-Mulk, 67:2)

From this, it is realized that this life and death have reasons behind their creation and they are not futile and aimless. This world is a place of responsibility and deed and afterlife is a place of reckoning and reward. The religion orders this; the minds confirm this and believers believe that it is so.

The wisdom of death is hidden in the testing of human beings. Man will face the results of whatever he does, good or bad. However, this reckoning will be in the afterlife, not here. According to this explanation in the Holy Qur'an, death has a purpose defined by Allah (SWT). However, a person who lives without this consciousness in mind fears reaching Allah (SWT); he or she fears and cries out as his or relatives and friends die.

Actually, the real reason why death frightens people is its unknown nature, its preventing people from realizing their aims, and separating people from the people they love. All divine religions were sent in order to save people from this troubled situation and with the idea of "belief in resurrection after death"; and they unanimously agree on it. Moreover, the prophets' calls were about faith in Allah (SWT), then faith in the afterlife and to get ready for the afterlife.

Allah (SWT) states that it is He Who gives life and death and also states that every human's death is  determined and it is with His permission. Nobody is created without a purpose and no one will be able to escape from death. Allah (SWT) states this as follows:

"Truly thou wilt die (one day), and truly they (too) will die (one day)." (az-Zumar 39:30)

Human beings who are equal in terms of death will be treated justly:

"Then shall anyone who has done an atom's weight of good, see it!, and anyone who has done an atom's weight of evil, shall see it. "(az-Zalzala 99:7,8)

In Ghazali's view, people can be classified into four categories with regard to their reactions to death:

1. The people who have not realized that life is mortal and temporary and consider that life consists of worldly desires only. According to them, death means end of enjoyment and experiencing the feared doom. The following verse from Qur'an tells about their situation:

"Say: The Death from which ye flee will truly overtake you..." (al-Jumua,62:8)

2. The people who know the outcomes of their actions and try to return to worshipping and obeying Allah by repenting. Death is a unwanted and unpleasant event for them too because they are not ready for it. Death may catch them off guard. They want to reach Allah (SWT), but they want death to delay.

3. The people who know Allah (SWT) and who are connected to Him with divine love. They push for reaching Allah (SWT) and complain about the delaying of death.

4. The people who leave affairs to Allah (SWT). For them, whatever He wants, it is to be wanted and to be liked.

What a servant needs to do is not to forget death, get ready for it and feel hopeful about the mercy of Allah (SWT). It is not appropriate to wish to die no matter how harsh the conditions are.

The truth of death is not frightening or threatening, but the beginning of the eternal life, therefore, it is unnecessary to be afraid of death. In addition, because it is only way to reach afterlife, which is a blessing in every respect, death is a blessing for us. Something that leads to a blessing is also a blessing.

Everyone, will leave this mortal world and will go to afterlife when the time determined for him or her comes. The determination is valid for everybody including prophets,. The impossibility of escaping from death is stated in the Holy Qur'an as follows:

"Every soul shall have a taste of death..." (al-Anbiya 21:35)

"Say: The Death from which ye flee will truly overtake you: then will ye be sent back to the Knower of things secret and open: and He will tell you (the truth of) the things that ye did!" (al-Jumua 62:8)

"Wherever ye are, death will find you out, even if ye are in towers built up strong and high!..." (an-Nisa 3:78)

"To every people is a term appointed: when their term is reached not an hour can they cause delay, nor (an hour) can they advance (it in anticipation)." (al-Araf 7:34)

Although this is the truth, many people forget death and cling to this world as if they will not die. In fact, recalling death, as stated in a hadith, blocks the charming effects of desires; so it decreases the love of this world and causes people to love afterlife. Every Muslim must prepare for the eternal life in this world when they have the chance. As a matter of fact, Allah (SWT) states the following in the Holy Qur'an:

"...And take a provision (with you) for the journey, but the best of provisions is right conduct. So fear Me, O ye that are wise.!"(al-Baqara 2:197)

In afterlife, people will reap what they sow in this world and see their actions. The Holy Qur'an describes the people who live however they want in the world and follow their desires as follows:

"(In Falsehood will they be) until, when death comes to one of them, he says:

"O my Lord! send me back (to life)―"In order that I may work righteousness in the things I neglected."―

"By no means! it is but a word he says Before them is a Partition till the Day they are raised up." (al-Mumenoon 23:99,100)

No one’s time of death is certain; therefore, as there are people who live consciously and prepare for death, there are also people who fall into heedlessness from time to time.

We should be ready for death by performing fard worship and avoiding sins.

No. The narration above is not related to women visiting graves, but following the janazah that is being taken to the graveyard.

It is permissible for women to visit graves in a way that is in accordance with Islamic principles and manners.

The narration is as follows:

Umm Atiyya said:

"We (women) were deterred from following a janazah. However, this was not rendered haram for us.” (Bukhari, Janaiz 29, I'tisam 27; Muslim, Janaiz 34, 35; Ibn Majah, Janaiz 50; Ahmad b. Hanbal VI- 408)

This narration is sound.

It is possible that Hz. Prophet himself imposed this prohibition on women or by sending somebody else to the women.

As a matter of fact, the following is stated in a hadith reported by Bayhaqi from Umm Atiyya: "After coming to Madinah, the Messenger of Allah ordered the women to come together and sent Hz. Umar to them to prohibit them from following janazahs."

According to Umm Atiyya, “the prohibition about women from following janazahs“ is not a definite prohibition, but a prohibition stating that it is makruh tanzihi. Although the Messenger of Allah prohibited women from following janazahs, he did not make a clear explanation stating that it is definitely forbidden. In fact, after imposing other prohibitions, the Prophet would make statements to confirm that they were haram.

It is possible that Umm Atiyya perceived that this prohibition of the Prophet meant “haram” from other indications. The prohibitions about which there are no indications showing that they aremakruh tanzihi show that they are definitely haram.

According to Imam Qurtubi, the prohibition in the hadith reported by Umm Atiyya expresses that it is tanzihi, not tahrimi. For, the following hadith reported from Abu Hurayra indicates this: "When Hz. Prophet saw Hz. Umar scolding a woman who was crying after a janazah, he said, ‘O Umar! Leave her. For, the eye sheds tears.’" (Ibn Majah, Janaiz 53).

It is understood from the apparent meaning of the hadith that it is makruh for women to follow a janazah. This is the view of Shafiis. It is also narrated from Ibnul-Mundhir that the following people also hold this view: Ibn Mas'ud, Ibn Umar, Abu Umama, Hz. Aisha, Masruq, Hasan al-Basri, an-Nahai, Awzai, Imam Ahmad, Ishaq and ath-Thawri.

Ibn Hazm, Abud-Darda, Zuhri and Rabia say it is permissible for women to follow janazahs.

According to Hanafis, it is makruh tahrimi for women to follow janazahs. For, the Prophet once addressed the women who followed a janazah as follows: "Return by having committed sins, not having gained thawabs."

We can say the following in conclusion:

The disagreement whether women can follow janazahs or not is about the women living during the time of the Prophet who were dressed in accordance with tasattur (hijab) rules, who did not wear make-up and who followed a janazah without crying or shouting. It is unanimously agreed that it is haram for women who do not care about the issues above to follow a janazah. (see Sünen-i Ebu Davud Terceme ve Şerhi, Şamil Publications: 12/23-24)

When man dies, he hardly recognizes the people around him or does not recognize them at all. The reason for this is thought to be the weakening of his mental power, but it is not. Some things that living people cannot and will not understand become clear to him and his existence is drawn into himself. The facial expressions that are seen in a person who is about to die and that cannot be understood by the people around and the words heard from him are related to this deep state. That is, they are related to the things that he sees but the people around him do not see.   

According to what Ibn Abid-Dunya (d. 327/938) writes, Abu Jafar Muhammad b. Ali (d. 117/ 735), who was one of the most famous fiqh scholars of Tabiun (the generation that came after the Companions), said man would be shown his good and bad deeds and that man would turn toward his good deeds and close his eyes to his bad deeds at the time of death. The following is stated in the chapter of al-Qiyama: "That Day will Man be told (all) that he put forward, and all that he put back."1 Suyuti (d. 911/1505) writes that Hasan al-Basri (d. 110/728) states the following related to the interpretation of the verse above: "At the time of death, the hafaza angels of man come and show him whatever he did, good and bad. When he sees a good deed, he looks at it happily, stares at it and his face brightens. When he sees a bad deed, however, lowers his gaze, does not want to look at it and grimaces."2

The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) visited a Companion from Ansar who was in his deathbed and asked him what he saw. He said two things were prepared for him and that one of them was white and the other was black. When the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) asked him which one was closer to him, he said the black one was closer and asked the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) to pray for him. Thereupon, the Prophet (pbuh) prayed for him and the man said the black thing moved away3; this proves that man’s deeds are shown to him when he is about to die. For, the black thing that the man saw was his bad deeds and the white thing was his good deeds.  

The following is stated in the chapter of al-Ahzab: "Their salutation on the Day they meet Him will be ‘Peace!’; and He has prepared for them a generous Reward."4 Bara' Ibn Azib states the following about that verse: "The salutation mentioned in the verse is the salutation given by the angel of death to the believer when he removes his spirit; the angel of death will not remove his spirit until he ensures him with his salutation that there is no penalty for him."5 When the angel of death comes to remove man’s spirit, he greets him; then, he is shown his position in the hereafter. Man will understand his state in the hereafter at that moment. It is narrated that Hz. Ali said, "It is haram for man to leave this world before he knows where he will go."6

According to a hadith reported from Jabir b. Abdillah (d. 74/693), a Bedouin asked the Prophet (pbuh) about the verse " For them are glad tidings, in the life of the present and in the Hereafter"7 in the chapter of Yunus, he said what is meant by the glad tiding in the hereafter is the glad tiding given to him at the time of his death.8

The Prophet (pbuh) said in the hadith reported by Hz. Aisha (d. 57/676) that everybody would be shown his rank at the time of death, that a believer would love to meet Allah and that an unbeliever would not like it. The Prophet (pbuh) said, "If a person wants to meet Allah, Allah will want to meet him; if a person dislikes to meet Allah, Allah will dislike to meet him." Hz. Aisha said, "O Messenger of Allah! None of us likes death." He said, "It is not in that sense. It is at the time of death. When a believer is given the glad tiding of Allah's mercy, consent and Paradise at the time of death, he wants to meet Allah and Allah will want to meet him. When an unbeliever is given the bad news of Allah’s penalty and wrath, he does not like to meet Allah and Allah does not like to meet him."9 In another hadith reported by Hz. Aisha, the Prophet (pbuh) said, "The spirit of a prophet is not removed until he sees his place in Paradise." That the Prophet’s last word is "ar-Rafiq al-A'la" 10 proves that his place in Paradise was shown to him.

There are clear signs in the Quran about the grace, glad tiding and penalty man will face at the time of death. It will be based on the deeds he did, good and bad, in his worldly life. "(There is for him) Rest and Satisfaction, and a Garden of Delights. And if he be of the Companions of the Right Hand."11 It is stated in the verse above that ease will be at the time of death. "And if he be of those who treat (Truth) as Falsehood, who go wrong, For him is Entertainment with Boiling Water..."12 The penalty mentioned in the verse above is at the time of death and hellfire awaits him.13 The following is stated in the chapter of  Fussilat: "In the case of those who say, "Our Lord is Allah", and, further, stand straight and steadfast, the angels descend on them (from time to time): "Fear ye not!" (they suggest), "Nor grieve! but receive the Glad Tidings of the Garden (of Bliss), the which ye were promised." 14 Mujahid, (d. 100/718), one of the tafsir scholars of Tabiun, states that what is informed in the verse above is related to the time of death.15 There are also tafsir scholars who say that the glad tiding mentioned in the verse is in three places: at the time of death, in the grave and on the Day of Resurrection. 16

They are all evidences that the believers who are good and who are people of salvation will be welcomed by the angels with mercy and glad tidings at the time of death.

It is stated in the chapter of al-Muminun that unbelievers and the believers who did not fulfill their duties fully will be given the bad news of penalty at the time of death and that they will want to return to the world when they see their places.17

Thus, when a person sees his place at the time of death and starts to feel pleasure or pain, his reward or penalty starts.18 The door of repentance is closed after that moment and belief is not accepted when he sees his place. 19 For, the value of belief is due to believing in the unseen (ghayb). When the Quran praises believers, it describes them as "those who believe in ghayb" 20. Belief after seeing the penalty in the hereafter is not accepted because it is not regarded as belief in ghayb. As a matter of fact, Pharaoh wanted to believe in his last moment when he was about to be drowned but it was not accepted by Allah. 21 It is stated clearly in the chapter of al-Ghafir (al-Mumin) that the belief of those after seeing the penalty will be of no use.22

Footnotes:

1) al-Qiyama, 75/13.
2) Suyuti, Sharhus-Sudur, v. 33 a, Nr.7253; v.170 a, Nr. 7371/3.
3) ibid.
4) al-Ahzab, 33/44.
5) Hasan al-Idwi, ibid, p. 17.
6) Suyuti, ibid, v. 35 b; 171 b.
7) Yunus, 10/64.
8) Suyuti, ibid, v. 35 b; 171 b..
9)  Bukhari, Sahih, Riqaq, 41, c. VII, s. 191; Ibn Majah, Sunan, Zuhd, 31, Vol. II., p. 1425; Tirmidhi, Sunan, Janaiz, 67, Vol. II, p. 247, (Translation) Tirmidhi said about this hadith: "hasan-sahih".
10) Bukhari, Sahih, Riqaq, 41, Vol. VII, p. 192.
11) al-Waqi’a, 56/88-89.
12) al-Waqi’a, 56/92-93.
13) Suyuti, ibid, v. 34 b; v. 171 a.
14) Fussilat, 41/30.
15) Mujahid b. Jabr, Tafsiru Mujahid, Vol. II, p. 571, Pakistan, no date.
16) Suyuti, ibid, v. 35 b; v. 172 a
17) al-Mu'minun, 23/99-100: (In Falsehood will they be) Until, when death comes to one of them, he says: ‘O my Lord! Send me back (to life),- In order that I may work righteousness in the things I neglected.’..."
18) see an-Nisa, 4/97; al-Anfal, 8/50; an-Nahl, 16/32; Abdulkarim al-Khatib. Allah wal-Insan, p. 460, Beirut, 1975.
19) ar-Razi, Muhammad b. Abi Bakr, al-Hidayae, Sarhu Amali) v. 69 a, Konya Yusufağa Library, Nr. 7048; Sha'rani, ibid, p. 16
20) al-Baqara, 2/3
21) Yunus, 10/90-92.
22)  al-Mu'min 40/84-85: "But when they saw Our Punishment, they said: ‘We believe in Allah,- the one Allah - and we reject the partners we used to join with Him.’ But their professing the Faith when they (actually) saw Our Punishment was not going to profit them. (Such has been) Allah´s Way of dealing with His Servants (from the most ancient times). And even thus did the Rejecters of Allah perish (utterly)."

(Kabir Hayatı, Prof. Dr. Süleyman Toprak)

The meaning of a verse in the Holy Quran indicating that life can be prolonged by Allah, is as follows:

“…Nor is a man long-lived granted length of days, nor is a part cut off from his life, but is in a Decree (ordained). All this is easy to Allah.” (Fatir, 35/11)

“Only prayer can ward off the decree (misfortune, qada); and goodness prolongs life.” (Tirmidhi, Qadar, 6),

“Goodness prolongs life. Sadaqah wards off misfortunes.” (see Haythami, Majmauz-Zawaid, 4608)

The same issue is indicated in the hadiths above.

There are two answers to the question, “According to what is life extended and according to what is it shortened?”

a) Lengthening or shortening refers to a change in the normal lifespan. For example, the lifespan of a man is written in the Preserved Tablet (Lawh al-Mahfuz) as 60 years. However, it is written in a footnote that “if he gives sadaqah, he will live 70 years”. Allah knows with His eternal knowledge whether this man will give alms or not. Therefore, the lifespan in Allah’s knowledge does not change.

b) What is meant by it is to live a life of blessings, good health and righteous deeds.

As for the real question:

1) As some of them are indicated in hadiths, good qualities such as prayer/worship, sadaqah and goodness can be instrumental in prolonging life.

2) The best good deed is to obey Allah’s commands and prohibitions. 

3) It is necessary not to forget the following unmatched principle:

“Worship and servitude of Allah look to the divine command and divine pleasure. The reason for worship is the divine command and its result is divine pleasure. Its fruits and benefits look to the hereafter. But so long as they are not the ultimate reason and not intentionally sought, benefits looking to this world and fruits which come about themselves and are given are not contrary to worship. They are rather to encourage the weak and make them incline to worship. If those fruits and benefits are made the reason for the invocation or recitation, or a part of the reason, it in part invalidates the worship. Indeed, it renders the meritorious invocation fruitless, and produces no results.” (see Lem’alar, pp. 131-132)

Thus, servitude and all forms of worship are performed only because Allah commands it; the end result is to gain Allah’s consent, and the benefits will be reaped in the Hereafter.

Man should always observe Allah’s consent in his intentions. If other things infiltrate this intention, it will expel the spirit of worship and harm it. Other worldly wisdom and benefits can be used as a means to increase enthusiasm and zeal for worship but they should not be the real cause of the intention.

For example, if the prayer is performed only for the sake of the health of the body, it will be null and void. Prayer is not performed to be healthy. However, if Allah grants health and well-being to those who pray, it is regarded as a blessing and grant.

For example, it would also be wrong to pray for rain just to get rain because lack of rain is a time for praying for rain. However, if Allah gives rain as a result of it though it is not made the basis and justification for the intention, it is also a gift and necessitates gratitude.

The same holds true related to the issue of long and blessed life. Worship is not done for those reasons; it is done because Allah commands it; it is essential to gain His consent, and the real benefits will be given eternally in the Hereafter.

The blessings of this world can be used as a means to increase the enthusiasm and zeal for those deeds of worship.

According to narrations from Imam Ahmad, Tabarani, Ibn Abi Dunya, Marwizi, and Ibn Manda, as well as Abu Said al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him),

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said:

"The deceased person recognizes the one who washes, carries, shrouds, and extends him/her in the grave."

According to what Abul-Hasan bin Barra narrates with a weak chain of narrators from Ibn Abbas,

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said:

"Every deceased person recognizes their washer. If he is promised Paradise, he will beg those carrying him to hasten, saying, 'Take me quickly.' If he is promised Hell, he will ask them not to hasten."

Ibn Abi Dunya narrated the following from Mujahid:

"When a person dies, an angel takes his spirit, and the deceased sees everything until he is placed in the grave: the one who washes and carries him, and everything else."

Abu Nuaym narrated the following from Amr bin Dinar:

"The spirit of every deceased person remains with the angel. He witnesses everything: how his body is washed, shrouded, and taken to the grave."

Ibn Abi Dunya narrated the following from Amr bin Dinar:

"Every deceased person knows what will happen to his family after him. While his family washes and shrouds him, the deceased person watches them."

Muslim and Bukhari narrated the following from Anas (ra): The Prophet (peace be upon him) stood beside the dead of Badr. He called out to them:

"O son of so-and-so! Have you found what your Lord promised you to be true? For I have found what my Lord promised me to be true."

When Umar asked, "O Messenger of Allah! How do you speak to lifeless bodies?" the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said,  

"You do not hear more than them; however, they cannot respond to me."

According to what Abu Sheikh narrates from Abid bin Marzuq, in Medina, there was a woman who took care of the mosque; when she died, the Prophet (pbuh) was unaware. Passing by her grave, he asked, "Whose grave is this?"

They said, "It's Umm Mihjan's grave."

The Prophet (pbuh) asked, "The woman who took care of the mosque?"

- They said, Yes.

The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) immediately straightened the rows, led the funeral prayer and asked the deceased, "Which deed of you did you find better?" The companions asked, "Would she hear you, O Messenger of Allah?" the Prophet (pbuh) replied, "You do not hear more than she does."

According to what Bukhari and Muslim narrate from Abu Said al-Khudri (ra), the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said,

"When the dead body is placed in the coffin and carried towards the grave, if the person was righteous, he would say, 'Take me.' If not, he would say, 'Woe to me! Where are you taking me?' Everything except humans hears his voice. If people could hear it, they would die."

According to what Bukhari and Muslim narrate from Abu Hurayra (ra), the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said,

"Hurry with the funeral. If the deceased was righteous, you are taking him to goodness. If not, it is an evil to be dismissed."

See: Imam Jalaluddin as-Suyuti, Kabir Alemi, Kahraman Yayınları: 171-176.

“No living creature is there moving on the earth but its provision depends on Allah” (Hud, 11:6).

“How many a living creature there is that does not carry its own provision (in store), but Allah provides for them, and indeed for you. He is the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing.” (al-Ankabut, 29:60)

According to the verses above, it is Allah (SWT) who gives sustenance to all living beings all their lives long. He (SWT) gives them their food as long as they live; that is, the sustenance is under the guarantee of Allah (SWT).

Allah Almighty, Who is infinitely merciful, has set the world like a dining table and invited the living beings to this feast. Everything, from the tiniest microbe that is invisible by eyes to tons of heavy whales, benefits from this feast.

According to the findings that biology points out there are over two million species of plants and animals on earth. In addition, each species has individuals in infinite numbers. Each has different stomachs, tastes, nutrition; they also have different sustenance. Who feeds so many living beings perfectly every day?

The best example showing that food is given to the living beings by Allah (SWT) is that the weak are fed better. For example, the baby in the mother’s womb is completely deprived of strength. However, it is fed perfectly through the umbilical cord. When s/he is born, s/he gains a bit of strength and that door is closed. This time, s/he is fed on the pure and nutritious milk from the breast. This milk contains all nutrients that are necessary for the baby to live such as fat, protein and carbohydrate except for iron and copper. Those elements are stored in the body of the baby when it is in the mother’s womb by Allah Almighty, Who has undertaken his/her food even before s/he was born. And this process continues for six months.

Is this law in effect only for human babies? Definitely not. It is possible to see similar laws in all living beings. When a lion, which has a reputation of being the king of the jungle, finds its food, it does not eat it but gives it to its hungry cub. A hen first feeds its chicks whenever it finds something to eat.

The law of giving sustenance is valid universally. While human beings take in oxygen and give out carbon dioxide, plants take in carbon dioxide and give out oxygen. These plants form some organic substance through sunlight by receiving some substance out of soil. Just as plants become food for animals so too do some animals become food for some other animals and human beings. This law in the food chain keeps going and no beings is left without food.

We have already stated above that Allah Almighty undertakes the food of the living beings. However, one may think: It is said that some people die of starvation. How can it be explained scientifically?

It is possible to handle this point from different perspectives. Some of the nutrition that human beings take is stored as glycogen and fat. In case of hunger, these stores are consumed. The nutrition in the stores enables man to live for a long time. The research that Doctor Dewey conducted regarding the issue is quite remarkable:

Two four-year-old children carelessly took medicine, and burns occurred in their stomachs and alimentary canals, and they could not eat. The first child, who was weak and delicate, managed to survive 75 days by using the reserve in his body. The other boy, who was relatively stronger, endured 90 days.

Doctor Bertholet did research about the hungers of long duration and obtained striking results. According to these results, the loss of weight resulting from the long-term hunger takes place in tissues and organs such as fat and spleen, which are not vitally important. In addition, this research showed that in long-term hunger, the body uses 97% of the fat, 63% of the spleen, 56% of the liver, 30% of the muscles, and 17% of the blood. However, the same research shows that there is no loss of weight in brain and nerves, which are vitally important. And this indicates that during hunger, there is consumption not from vitally important organs, but from others. In such a hunger case, as recent research has pointed out, fats are transformed into ketones and sent to the rescue of the brain cells.

The findings in relation to this issue have shown that one can survive around 80 days without eating anything. However, the food supply must not be cut off immediately. Otherwise, the body may grow weak since the usual habit of eating is deserted, and this may lead to death. Ibn Khaldun expresses this as follows:

“Those who eat more suffer more than those who eat less in the places of famine. What kills them is not famine they are facing, but the satiety they had been used to.” (1)

It is stated that 20% of those who die of starvation are children below one year old in India and 35% in Africa. The microbes are ready to take hold of the body and assault it at the moment it is weak. Since children, in particular, are more vulnerable regarding the issue, they die of hunger more than others. Then, those who are said to have died of hunger do not die because of lack of food, but because of the diseases originating from the scarcity of food.

In this respect, Prof. Dr. Sabahattin Zaim writes as follows:

“It is stated that even in Far East, South America, and Africa where food production is rather insufficient, the amount of food production have not fallen but remained stable in the last 30 years; as for the other regions, it has risen between 16% and 50%. The existence of people who could be regarded hungry in some places of the world is explained with the insufficient human employment in the same book. In these countries, it is stated that the capital is abundant, which is one of the production factors. The developments, which are seen in sources and other possibilities for a progress, in all countries, are enough to enable the national revenue to increase faster than population.” (2)

According to the results of a study conducted in England, with the ample use of fertilizers, food production is possible to increase tenfold. This means that around 31.5 billion people could be fed. (3)

Footnotes:

1. Canan, İ.; Hz. Peygamber’ in Sünnetinde Terbiye (The Good Manners In the Sunnah of The Prophet Muhammad) Third Edition, 1984.
2. Zaim, S.; Siyasi, İktisadi ve Sosyal Yönleriyle Türkiye’ de Nüfus Meselesi (The Question of Population In Turkey From Economic And Social Aspects), 1973
3. Ergüllü, E.; Geleceğin Büyük Sorunu Açlık (Starvation; The Great Problem of The Future), Milliyet Newspaper, 21.12.1982.