Living to Die or Dying to Live?

We are living, all of us.

We are Dying, all of us.

Some people in this world are Living to Die, and others are Dying to Live. What are you doing? It's always something productive to think about.

Shaykh 'Alee bin Hasan al-Halabee said:

"Death is a harsh and fearful reality, faced by everyone who lives.

No one has the power to avoid it, nor does anyone around the dying person have the ability to prevent it.

It is something that happens every moment and it is something encountered by the young and the old, the rich and the poor, the strong and the weak.

They are all the same in that they have no plan, or any means of escaping it, no means of intercession, and no way to prevent it or to delay it."

There is no way around it, there is no way under it, the only way is to go through it. It's the inevitable reality that we will all one day face, whether we are ready or not.

Allah says in the Quran:

"Say: Indeed, the death from which you flee will surely meet you, then you will be sent back to Allaah, the All-Knower of the unseen and the seen. And He will then tell you what you used to do." (62:8)

This is one of the most terrifying thoughts I have ever encountered. Try to take a moment and imagine what this might be like. Every second of your life, every thought you have ever thought, every thing you have ever done, was witnessed by The All-Knower. Now what will you do when you face Him? What will you do when you stand before the One who knows your deepest darkest secrets. The secrets, that if anyone else had known, you would have shied away from them, without a doubt. It is death that brings these thoughts to us, so take Heed. Learn from the lessons of death.

Ibraaheem ibn Adham said, when he was asked about the verse:"Call upon Me, and I will respond to you." (40:60)

They said: "We call upon Allaah, but He does not answer us."

So he said:

"You know Allaah; yet you do not obey Him.

You recite the Qur'aan; yet you do not act according to it.

You know Shaytaan; yet you continue agreeing with him.

You claim to love the Messenger of Allaah (sall-Allaahu 'alayhi wa sallam); yet you abandon his Sunnah (guidance and way).

You claim to love Paradise; yet you do not work for it.

You claim to fear the Fire; yet you do not stop sinning.

You say: 'Indeed death is true'; yet you have not prepared for it.

You busy yourself with the faults of others; yet you do not look at your own faults.

You eat the sustenance that Allaah provides for you; yet you are not grateful to Him.

And you bury your dead; yet you have not heeded its lesson."

May Allah cause us to live our lives in a way that will cause us to die upon Laa Ilaha Illah Allah. Ameen.