Part II - Human Nature and Suffering

5 Aging, Loneliness, and Filial Piety

I briefly mentioned the story that led to the awakening of Siddhartha Gautama, who came to be known as the Buddha, in Chapter 1. According to the tradition, Siddhartha was born to a king. A wise man visited the king and told him that Siddhartha would be disinterested in worldly affairs and give up the kingdom of his father. Instead, Siddhartha would offer a path that would help people deal with their suffering and overcome their greed. Concerned that Siddhartha would not follow his legacy, the king took all the precautions to motivate his son to inherit the kingdom. He did everything in his power to expose Siddhartha to the worldly pleasures in the palace so that the son would not be distracted by the spiritual path.

However, being bored of the inside of the palace, one day Prince Siddhartha ventured out with his charioteer. On their way, they saw “a bent, toothless, and haggard” old man. The prince asked about the person, and the charioteer answered that old age is a stage of life that everyone goes through, including the prince and his family. Siddhartha responded: “So that is how old age destroys indiscriminately the memory, beauty and strength of all! And yet with such a sight before it the world goes on quite unperturbed. How can I delight to walk about in parks when my heart is full of fear of aging?”¹ On the second excursion, the prince saw a sick person and was disappointed to learn that many people often get sick. He said: “This then is the calamity of disease, which afflicts people! … Since I have learnt of the danger of illness, my heart is repelled by pleasures and seems to shrink into itself.”² During the third outing, Siddhartha saw a dead body on the roadside, and he was again distressed and puzzled by the people’s heedlessness. It is difficult to have enjoyment in the world when everything is impermanent and life involves aging, sickness, and death. The prince then pointed out: “Yes, if this triad of old age, illness, and death did not exist, then all this loveliness would surely give me great pleasure. [But] the world looks to me as if ablaze with an all-consuming fire.”³ On the fourth excursion, the prince saw a monk who seemed to be content with his life. Inspired by the simplicity of the monk’s life, Siddhartha left the palace behind and embarked on a spiritual journey that led him to become the Buddha, the awakened one. However, the goal of his mission was to find spiritual liberation by overcoming suffering.

This Buddhist story captures the Islamic theological approach toward human nature and suffering in many ways. Taking it as our departure point, the chapters in Part II discuss aging, sickness, and death in Islamic theology.

An Aging World

The aging population is growing almost in all countries. According to a study conducted in 2019, one in six people will be over age sixty-five by 2050, making up 16 percent of the world population. It was 9 percent in 2011. The percentage is higher in Europe and North America, where people over age sixty-five are anticipated to make up a quarter of their population by 2050. Another interesting demographic is that the population of people who are aged eighty years or over is projected to grow significantly, from 143 million in 2019 to 426 million in 2050.⁴

This dynamic has generated unique challenges for the aging population. First, there are a number of diseases such as cancer, dementia, Parkinson’s, osteoarthritis, and hypertension that are associated with old age. They cause pain and suffering. Perhaps no one described the situation in old age more candidly than Philip Roth (d. 2018), an American novelist: “Old age isn’t a battle; old age is a massacre.”⁵ There is both physical and mental decline with old age. Some scholars consider aging itself as a disease and entertain the idea that it can be cured. Many universities and pharmaceutical companies are investing in research dealing with the problems that emerge in old age.

The second major problem among the elderly is loneliness. Individualism, the nuclear family, and scattered relatives increase loneliness among the older population. With the advance of age, many elderly people outlive their companions, including their spouses, friends, and relatives. A study conducted in 2018 reports that one in three US adults age forty-five and older are lonely.⁶

Every year, thousands of individuals over the age of sixty-five make appointments to see their doctors because of loneliness and isolation in the United Kingdom.⁷ A study from 2017 found that over nine million adults are often or always lonely in the country. A number of researchers also found that fairly consistent levels of chronic loneliness are common among older people.⁸ To address the problem of loneliness, the United Kingdom established the Ministry of Loneliness in 2018. Japan also appointed its first minister of loneliness in 2021 to address the problem of isolation among its aging population. The appointment came after a spike in suicide rates. The period of old age becomes meaningless for many people because of the problems that they face. In 2013, a study was conducted with twenty-five elderly people living in the Netherlands. The participants point out that their lives are “completed and no longer worth living” and stress a number of reasons for their desire to end their lives: “a sense of aching loneliness, the pain of not mattering, the inability to express oneself, multidimensional tiredness, and a sense of aversion towards feared dependence.”⁹

Humans are social creatures, and they love to be in relationships and known. Loneliness can be painful. It can even lead to many illnesses. The findings of a study suggest that “the influence of social relationships on the risk of death are comparable with well-established risk factors for mortality such as smoking and alcohol consumption and exceed the influence of other risk factors such as physical inactivity and obesity.”¹⁰ Some studies indicate that loneliness increases the risk of early death by 26 percent.¹¹

Third, the idea of taking care of one’s parents, or filial piety, is waning in many societies as it becomes more difficult to practice. For example, in China, where the teaching of filial piety is very much embedded in the culture because of Confucianism, it is nearly impossible for new generations to take care of the elderly because of their long life spans and the decline of the birth rate. For every young Chinese person, there are six elderly people to take care of.¹²

Given the realities and problems that are associated with old age in today’s world, the question is, what should be the ethics of aging? As noted by Frits de Lange: “The existing ethical perspectives – whether they bear a Kantian, utilitarian, or eudaemonistic stamp – cannot stand up to a critical assessment: they all assume an individualist and activist understanding of the course of life and underestimate the moral impact of the fundamental relationality, dependence, and vulnerability of being (very) old.”¹³ So how should the questions of old age be addressed? In the following, I explore Islam’s approach.

Old Age and Human Nature

A number of verses and hadiths relate to the nature of humans in old age. However, when is old age? Considering that the human life span has extended significantly in the last several decades, there are many answers to this question. It depends on a person’s situation as well as cultural context. Many Qur’an commentators define old age as somewhere between seventy-five and ninety years old.¹⁴

Islamic tradition often emphasizes old age as a time of vulnerability. The Qur’an describes the last stage of life as one of weakness in a number of verses. With the advance of old age, humans experience physical and mental decline. If people’s lives are extended, then their development or strength is reversed.¹⁵ The Qur’an then invites believers to contemplate their weakness in old age, a stage that leads to their departure from this world through death. Old age is also a way to reflect on the resurrection. God first blessed people with strength in youth and then weakness in old age. He will then resurrect them.¹⁶ The Qur’an relates the contemplation of the prophet Zachariah on the nature of old age as an example: “My Lord, my bones have weakened and my head is shining with white hair. Yet, my Lord, I have never been disappointed in my prayer to you.”¹⁷

The Qur’an points to old age as a sign of God’s power as well. It is the Creator who causes aging: “It is God who created you in the state of weakness, then after weakness gave you strength, then after strength gave you weakness and grey hair. He creates whatever He will, and He is the Knowing, the Powerful.”¹⁸ In another verse, the Qur’an reads, “God has created you and in time will cause you to die. Some of you will be brought back to the worst age, so that they will no longer know anything after having had knowledge. Surely, God is Knowing, Powerful.”¹⁹ Here the Qur’an indicates that it is not only the strength of people that wanes in old age but also their knowledge. God is the only one who is not subject to such decline.²⁰

The scripture also mentions that with old age, unlike the common perception, people are more attached to life and what they own. In fact, wanting to live longer is part of human nature. Satan used humans’ longing for eternity to deceive Adam and Eve. He told them that if they ate from the forbidden tree, they would live forever: “O Adam, shall I show you the tree of immortality and an imperishable kingdom?”²¹ In other verses, the Qur’an reminds us that people tend to run away from death because of their love of life. However, death will still meet them, and they will be returned to their Creator.²² People tend to forget their mortality. They constantly work for this world as if they will never die: “Do you build fortresses because you hope to be immortal?”²³ According to a hadith tradition, when humans grow, two things will grow with them too: the love of what they own in this world and their desire to live longer.²⁴

This sentiment of old age is concisely articulated in a story by Persian poet Saadi Shirazi (d. 1291) in his Gulistan. While having a conversation with the scholars in a mosque in Damascus, a person approached Saadi and the people in the gathering. He asked whether anyone spoke Persian among them. Saadi confirmed that he was able to speak the language. He was then taken to a man who was 150 years old. The man could only communicate in Persian and was about to die. They wanted to know the man’s last wishes. When Saadi arrived at the bedside of the person, he was lamenting as follows:

“I said let me say a few words I desire; alas the path of my breath is stopped.

Alas that at the table of good things of life I ate for only a moment, before they said,

‘Enough!’”

Saadi translated the man’s words into Arabic for those who were around him. They all were astonished that the man “lived so long and was still regretful of leaving the world.” Saadi asked the man, “How are you in this state?” The man replied, “What should I say, have you not seen what pain a person suffers when a tooth is pulled from his mouth? Compare that to the state at the moment life departs the body.” Saadi then told the man that they could call a physician for treatment. The man lifted his eyes, laughed, and said: when the foundation of the house (i.e., the body) lost its balance and is in ruin, “neither determination nor treatment can have an effect.”²⁵

Perhaps, then, it is not surprising that today, so many are invested in meeting humans’ desire for immortality. As Lydia S. Dugdale puts it in her The Lost Art of Dying: “Scientists and beauty experts alike are striving to find that elixir for infinite youth,” now more than ever.²⁶ There are hundreds of scientific labs that are dedicated to aging. One can hardly find any scientific journal without articles on aging. Major leading academic centers, including Harvard, Oxford, and Stanford, have invested enormously in the question of aging.

While there are societies that venerate aging, our Western society “has a strong preference for youth and therefore, individually, for bodily interventions that preserve the appearance of youth.”²⁷ According to a study released by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, more than 17.7 million surgical and minimally invasive cosmetic procedures were performed in the United States in 2018. Americans spent more than $16.5 billion on these procedures. The number is increasing every year.²⁸

Filial Piety and Islam

Many religious traditions teach filial piety to address the needs of the elderly, especially one’s parents. Perhaps it is one of the most important teachings of Confucianism. The tradition identifies five criteria for filial piety. First, in their relations with their parents, children manifest the utmost reverence. Second, they aim to nourish them with utmost pleasure. Third, when the parents are ill, they feel the greatest anxiety. Fourth, when the parents pass away, they mourn for them and demonstrate grief. Fifth, to demonstrate their sacrifice for them, they display the utmost solemnity. Once children meet these criteria, they fulfill their responsibility toward their parents. Filial piety is the foundation of every virtue and the source of moral teaching in Confucianism.²⁹

Filial piety is also an important teaching of Judaism and Christianity, as honoring one’s parents is one of the Ten Commandments in the Bible.³⁰ The idea of honoring could be rendered as fearing, revering, or respecting one’s parents. In order to distinguish honor from fear, a rabbi gave the following example: “As for fear, I mean that a son may not stand where his father stands, sit where his father sits, contradict his father in speech, nor may he be on equal footing with his father. In contrast, honor means that a son must feed and clothe his father and assist him in leaving and coming home.”³¹ In the Bible, Jesus rebukes those who neglect their parents in the name of religion.³² Right before his crucifixion, one of Jesus’s major concerns was the care of his mother. He asked one of his disciples to take care of her.³³

Filial conduct remains a key teaching of Islam as well. The following section of the Qur’an is often emphasized in this context: “Your Lord has commanded that you should worship none but Him, and to show kindness to your parents. If one of them or both of them reach old age with you, do not say to them a word of disrespect (‘uff’), nor scold them, but speak to them kind words.”³⁴ The scripture then reads: “And lower to them wing of humility out of mercy and say, ‘My Lord, have mercy on them, as they raised me when I was a child.’”³⁵

There are a number of principles that could be derived from this passage of the Qur’an. First, filial conduct is paired with worshiping God. Associating partners with God or worshiping anyone other than God is one of the most grievous sins in Islam. Stressing taking care of one’s parents along with worshiping God demonstrates the significance of this teaching. There are a number of hadiths that support this instruction of the Qur’an. On one occasion, the Prophet raised a rhetorical question concerning major sins. He said that these sins are associating partners with God and being disrespectful to one’s parents.³⁶ Pleasing God is connected to pleasing one’s parents. Receiving God’s wrath is connected to the reception of the anger of one’s parents.³⁷ Filial conduct is often prioritized compared to other teachings of Islam. In one situation, a companion wanted to join the Muslim army for jihad. The Prophet asked him to take care of his parents instead. On another occasion, a man came to Muhammad and asked who deserved his respect and good treatment the most. The prophet answered: “Your mother.” Then who the companion continued, and the Prophet again answered: “Your mother.” The companion asked again, and the Prophet answered: “Your mother.” When the person asked for the fourth time, the prophet answered: “Then your father.”³⁸ Likely because at the time, women were believed to be more vulnerable and needed more protection compared to men, the Prophet emphasized honoring mothers over fathers.

The respect for one’s parents continues even after their deaths. In one of the traditions from Muhammad, the responsibilities of children toward their parents are emphasized as follows: to pray for their goodness and ask God to forgive their parents, to fulfill their will (wasiya), and to continue to have friendships with their parents’ friends as well as their relatives.³⁹ The Prophet also said that when people die, their deeds end except for three: ongoing charity, knowledge from which benefit is gained, and a righteous child who prays for them.⁴⁰

Second, the Qur’an provides a standard for filial piety. When parents reach old age, the children should “say no word that shows impatience with them, and do not be harsh with them, but speak to them respectfully.” To make it more specific, the Qur’an points out that children should not even say “Uff,” an “expression of complaint and annoyance.”⁴¹ While fulfilling the needs of their parents, children should treat them with patience and tolerance. Some scholars suggest that with “Uff,” the verse is “addressing the irritation a son or a daughter might feel in having to assist elderly parents with personal hygiene.”⁴² It has also been interpreted to “discourage the use of any kind of ugly, harsh, or dismissive expression with parents.”⁴³ Islam teaches being good and respectful not only to one’s parents but also to the people of old age in society. The Prophet said: “If young people respect an old person, God will prepare someone who would respect them in the same way when they are old.”⁴⁴ In another hadith, the Prophet said: “A person who is not compassionate to those who are younger than them and is not respectful to those who are older than them is not from us.”⁴⁵ Even during prayers, Muhammad asked his followers to be considerate of the elderly. He indicated that those who lead the five daily prayers should try to keep it light, meaning they should not make the prayer long because among the congregation, there might be the weak, the elderly, and the sick. When the believers pray by themselves, then they can extend the prayers as much as they can.⁴⁶

Third, the Qur’an reminds believers to remember their parents’ favor as one of the reasons to honor them. The parents took care of their children; they raised them, and now it is the children’s turn. In one verse, the Qur’an points to this reasoning as follows: “We have commanded people to be good to their parents: their mothers carried them through hardship upon hardship, and their weaning takes two years. So give thanks to Me and to your parents. To Me is the ultimate return.”⁴⁷ In his interpretation of the Qur’anic approach to filial piety, Nursi points out that “the highest truth in this world is the compassion of parents towards their children, and the most elevated rights, their rights of respect in return for their compassion. For they sacrifice their lives with the utmost pleasure, spending them for the sake of their children’s lives.”⁴⁸ Nursi then continues that if the children did not lose their humanity, they would do everything in their power to honor their parents, to please them, and to make them happy.⁴⁹

It is reported that a man came to Muhammad and told him that he carried his disabled old mother on his back for her to make the pilgrimage. He then asked: “Was I able to return what she did for me?” The Prophet responded that by this favor, the man could only return one of her breaths while she was pregnant with him.⁵⁰ As part of Islamic law, it is an obligation upon the children to meet the financial needs of their parents. Unlike in the modern law, the parents have a share of inheritance from their children.⁵¹

Filial Conduct and Receiving God’s Grace

Sacred texts of Islam often make a connection between filial conduct and receiving God’s grace. The Qur’an, for example, refers to one of the traits of John the Baptist (Yahya) as someone who was kind to his parents.⁵² Concerning God’s grace, there is a story that is part of the hadith literature and widely known in Islamic culture. Three young people were in a mountainous area when it began to rain. They ran into a cave, but all of a sudden, a big rock fell from the mountain and sealed the mouth of the cave. One of them said: “We should turn to God and pray to him by mentioning the best deeds that they have done for his sake. Perhaps God will then remove the rock from the cave.” One of them prayed: “Oh God, I had my old parents when my children were in their early age. I was herding sheep to take care of them. When I would get milk for them, I would first feed my parents.” He continued: “One day, I was away, but when I came back, I saw my parents were sleeping. I brought the milk in a cup but did not want to wake them up. While my children were hungry, I did not want to give them the milk either because I wanted my parents to have it first. I waited for them for the whole night with the cup of milk.” He concluded: “Oh God, I did it for your sake.” The other two companions also mentioned their major deeds in prayer. Not long after, the rock was miraculously removed.⁵³

In one of the hadiths, the Prophet states that if it were not for the vulnerable such as the elderly, children, and animals, people would not be saved from disasters.⁵⁴ The implication here is that the elderly are a blessing to society. People receive God’s mercy and grace through them. In his writings, Nursi points out that he had a student whose work was in order and he did not have any issue in his life. He later on learned that the student was good to his parents and was taking care of them.⁵⁵

The idea of being respectful and receiving God’s grace is related to one’s situation not only in this world but also in the hereafter. The Prophet said that one’s parents can be the reason a person passes through the gate of heaven. Missing or having this opportunity is up to people’s desires. Again, in the hadith, the salvation of people is connected to their treatment of their parents.⁵⁶ The Prophet said that heaven is underneath mothers’ feet.⁵⁷

Spiritual Responses to Aging

Islamic tradition offers a number of spiritual responses to the struggles of old age. First, given that most friends and relatives of an old person have left this world, old age can be seen as a stage of being with God and loved ones in the hereafter. Second, suffering during old age is considered worship, and people will be rewarded in the hereafter because of it.⁵⁸

Third, old age is a sign of God’s power. If people contemplate God and turn to him with gratitude and prayer, then they will be compensated. In this sense, Islam has a very positive image of old age and offers hope for the elderly. The Qur’an, for example, relates the story of Zachariah, who turned to God in prayer in his old age.⁵⁹ He asked God to give him an heir who could fulfill his legacy. Both Zachariah and his wife were of advanced age, and his wife was barren. Yet they were still blessed with a child, John the Baptist.⁶⁰ For those who feel lonely and desperate in old age, they can think of God’s compassion, generosity, and innumerable bounties manifested in the world.⁶¹ Fourth, old age provides an opportunity for caregivers, including children, to reveal their compassion and generosity toward the elderly. It is also considered a form of worship for them as well as an opportunity to reflect on their own lives. Eventually, everyone will go through the same stage of life, and it is important for believers to contemplate aging for their spiritual progress. The following lines of the Ottoman mystic poet Niyazi Misri (d. 1694) illustrate such contemplation, with which I conclude this chapter:

The sign of death is approaching, but the self is unaware,

The parts of my body are shaking [aging], but the soul is unaware.

Every day a stone from the building of my life falls to the ground;

But the self remains heedless in sleep, unaware that the building is in ruins!

While my heart longs for immortality, God wills my death,

I am suffering from an incurable illness, that even Luqman⁶² could not cure!⁶³

6 Illness and Healing

Sohaib Sultan served as the Muslim chaplain at Princeton University for more than a decade and touched the spiritual lives of many students as a scholar of Islam. In 2020, he was diagnosed with stage-four cancer and told that there was no cure for his disease. This was devastating news for him, his family, and the Muslim community. In one of his first reflections on his diagnosis, Sultan implied that while his illness was grievous and caused so much pain and suffering, it was God’s decree: “He [God] gives and takes, He owes us nothing, all is His, His decree is merciful and wise and just even if we can’t immediately see it.”¹ In another post, Sultan pointed to cancer as his companion, one of the most important teachers in his life, a means of spiritual progress, and a reminder of his mortality:

A deep awareness of mortality has taught me to be truly grateful and joyous for life’s blessings. It has also pushed me to be where God commands me to be, and to avoid where God prohibits me to be physically, psychologically, and spiritually. And in this sense, cancer has cured me of certain outer ethical and inner spiritual ailments that I’ve carried with me for too long.

One of the most interesting points in his writing is when he refers to cancer as God’s creation: “Cancer too is a creation of God’s and He has so wisely decreed to place it in my body. I am not battling cancer. I am struggling with cancer and accepting that it has much to teach me in life’s journey.” In living with cancer, Sultan would often find comfort and clarity in this supplication (du‘a’): “There is no god except God, the One who has no partner. To God belong all the dominions, to God belong all praise, the One who gives and takes life, the One who has power over all things.”² While Sultan’s view of cancer is distinctive in many ways, it also reveals the Islamic theological view of illness.

Looking at illness through the lens of religion is an ancient approach. In Hinduism, illness is associated with one’s karma. Hindus often turn to a deity for their mental and physical well-being. One can observe similar approaches in Buddhism as well. Like in Hinduism, illness is associated with karma. Therefore, the followers of the Buddha often seek to change their karma through meritorious deeds in order to have a better state of health in the future. The Buddha is believed to be a supreme physician. His teachings can cure the illnesses of those who practice his teachings.³

In Judaism, God is known to be omnipotent and omniscient. In the Hebrew Bible, illness is often mentioned as an affliction from God, and he is the one who eventually restores his people’s health. One example is the story of Job, who was afflicted with sickness by God and eventually healed because of his devotion to and trust in God.

God as the healer is also a common theme in the New Testament. It relates the miracles of Jesus healing both mental and physical illnesses. In one case, Jesus went to a town and cured all the people who had certain sicknesses.⁴ In another instance, a blind man came to Jesus. Jesus made some mud and smeared it on the face of the man. He then asked the man to go and wash his face with water. When the man cleaned the mud from his face, he had his sight back.⁵ A woman who had bleeding for twelve years came to Jesus and touched his cloak. Jesus told her: “Don’t worry, you are now well because of your faith.”⁶ The woman then was miraculously healed.

Jesus also encouraged his disciples to go out and cure the sick. He is known to be a physician in the catechism of the Roman Catholic Church.⁷ One of the sacraments in the Catholic tradition, for example, is the anointing of the sick. According to the catechism:

When the Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick is given, the hoped-for effect is that, if it be God’s will, the person be physically healed of illness. But even if there is no physical healing, the primary effect of the Sacrament is a spiritual healing by which the sick person receives the Holy Spirit’s gift of peace and courage to deal with the difficulties that accompany serious illness or the frailty of old age.⁸

The idea is that one can find both spiritual and physical healing through this ritual.

Today, an increasing number of mainstream churches and synagogues hold “healing services” and “healing circles” in the United States.⁹ According to a study published in 2016, more than 75 percent of Americans have relied on healing prayer at some point in their lives. The percentage of praying for others was even higher.¹⁰ Many of them have the conviction that God can cure someone, even if science says the person has an incurable disease. They turn to prayer as healing alongside medical care. Many modern doctors incorporate this approach in the treatment of their patients. The Cleveland Clinic, one of the best hospitals in the United States, for example, provides a number of healing services. One of them is spiritual support from clinically trained chaplains of different faiths.¹¹ Many hospitals in the United States offer a similar service to their patients.

Illness as the Creation of God

Like the followers of other religious traditions, Muslims also turn to God and their religion to understand illness and find comfort. Perhaps one of the most distinctive teachings of Islam concerning illness is the belief that it is created by God. A disease can only inflict a person with God’s permission. While there is much pain and suffering that is associated with illness, it is not considered evil. Illness not only demonstrates God’s power over humans; it also manifests their weakness in relation to the Creator. Illness is often presented as a trial in the tradition. God tests his servants through afflictions.

God as the Healer (al-Shafi)

God is not only the creator of the illness; he is also the healer. One of God’s names in Islam is the Healer (al-Shafi). God is the one who can cure physical, mental, and spiritual illnesses. In the Qur’an, when Abraham challenges those who do not believe in one God, he describes the God whom he worships as follows: God is the creator, the provider, and the healer.¹²

God as a healer is also mentioned in a number of hadiths. Muhammad’s wife Aisha reported that when anyone in the Prophet’s circle had an illness, he would rub the area of the pain and recite this prayer for healing: “O God, Lord of people, relieve me from my suffering. Heal me as You are the only Healer and there is no cure except the one that comes from You. It is your cure that dismantles illness completely.”¹³ On another occasion, one of Muhammad’s companions complained about a pain in his body. The Prophet then asked the companion to place his hand where he was feeling the pain and say “in the name of God (Bismillah) three times and invoke this phrase seven times: I seek refuge in God and his power from the suffering that has inflicted me.”¹⁴

The Prophet himself suffered immensely from illness. His wife Aisha reported, “I never saw anybody suffering so much from sickness as God’s messenger.”¹⁵ Muhammad would often turn to God with the following prayer during his illness: “O God, forgive me, bestow Your mercy on me, and include me among the companions who are elevated.”¹⁶

Muhammad as a Means of Healing

Muhammad is often viewed as a means of healing in Islamic tradition. It is reported in a number of hadiths that, like Jesus, he miraculously cured those who came to him for healing. For example, when the Prophet’s wives became sick, he would place his hand over the spot of their pain and invoke this prayer over them: “O Lord of the people! Remove the difficulty and bring about healing as You are the Healer. There is no healing but Your Healing, a healing that will leave no ailment.”¹⁷

The followers of Muhammad even sought his blessings for healing after his death. Imam Busiri of Egypt, a thirteenth-century Sufi and poet, for example, was afflicted with paralysis. He persistently sought healing from God through worship and prayers. Busiri also wrote a number of poems in praise of Muhammad. One night, the Prophet appeared in his dream and asked him to recite one of his poems. Busiri was not sure which one to deliver, as he had many poems in praise of the Prophet. Muhammad then read out loud the first lines of one of them, and Busiri started to narrate it while the Prophet was listening. When Busiri finished reciting the poem, the Prophet took off his cloak and covered Busiri’s body with it. He then patted the paralyzed area of his body. When Busiri got up in the morning, he realized that he was cured of his paralysis. The story became public, and the poem is known as the poem of the cloak or mantle (qasida al-burda). The poem is widely recited by Muslims as a form of remembering God and a means of healing for those who have paralysis.¹⁸ There are also a number of hadiths in which Muhammad asked his followers to seek medical assistance. In one of them, he said: “Seek medical treatment because God has not sent down a disease without sending down remedy for it.”¹⁹ The Prophet also taught a number of treatment methods, including consuming honey and blackseed. He also recommended the use of wet cupping (hijama), a suction method to draw blood out of the body. Muhammad’s reports regarding treatments are collected under the title “prophetic medicine” (tibb al-nabawi), and many Muslims use them as references in addition to modern medicine.²⁰

The Qur’an as a Source of Healing

Muslims also turn to their scripture for healing. The healing aspect of the divine words is highlighted in a number of verses in the Qur’an:

People, there has come to you an advice from your Lord, a healing for what is in the hearts, and a guidance and a mercy for the believers.²¹

We send down the Quran as healing and mercy for the believer, but it increases the wrongdoers only in loss.²²

It [the Qur’an] is guidance and healing for those who have faith.²³

Because of the healing aspect of the Qur’an, Muhammad repeatedly encouraged his followers to seek healing from the scripture. The Prophet’s wife Aisha reported that “whenever the Prophet became sick, he would recite Surat Al-Falaq and Surat Al-Nas [chapters 113–14] and then blow his breath over his body. When he became seriously ill, I used to recite these two chapters of the Qur’an and rub his hands over his body hoping for their blessings.”²⁴

Following the example of the Prophet, Muslims have been using the Qur’anic verses for both spiritual and physical sickness.

Illness as a Means of Spiritual Progress

Illness is also often seen as a means of spiritual progress. People who are sick can be more mindful of the nature of themselves and this world. This aspect of illness is stressed in a number of hadiths. Muhammad said: “When God wants to do good to somebody, He afflicts them with trials.”²⁵ God inflicts those whom he loves with illness so that they can earn merits and progress spiritually. In another hadith, the Prophet pointed out that “one night’s pain and sickness is better than forty years of worship.”²⁶ So illness is a form of worship and plays a key role in one’s spiritual well-being. People should be thankful and grateful to God not only in times of prosperity but also in times of struggle. God wipes out the believers’ sin, purifying them for their spiritual progress through suffering. A tradition reads: “God wipes out the believers’ sin through the misfortunes that befall upon them even if it is the prick of a thorn.”²⁷

Rumi, for example, points out that sickness can be a means of remembering God, and that is why people should be thankful for their sickness. For him, “pain is a treasure, for there are mercies in it.” Fever, suffering, and sleeplessness because of sickness are blessings. Illness during old age is a sign of God’s compassion and generosity: “He too had given me pain in the back, so that every midnight I cannot help springing up quickly from sleep. In order that I may not slumber all night like a buffalo, God of His grace has given me pains.”²⁸ Rumi writes that his soul found sweetness in bitterness that come from God, and he fell in love with his pain and grief because it was pleasing to his Creator.²⁹

Rumi also mentions that illness gives humans an opportunity to repent of their sins and turn to God. In the midst of their illness, they see the ugliness of their sin and intend to do better. Sickness may make people more thoughtful and humble. Suffering because of physical sickness is a channel to spiritual advancement.³⁰

Pastoral and Spiritual Responses to Sickness

Patience and Trust in God

One of the most important responses to illness is to put your trust in God and respond to sickness with patience. One of the best examples in the tradition is the prophet Job, a biblical figure who is also mentioned in the Qur’an. According to the tradition, Job was inflicted with a severe illness. But despite his suffering, he turned to God with humility and prayer. Job represents the archetype of patience in Islam. The Qur’an alludes to this character as follows: “Indeed We found him to be patient in adversity. What an excellent servant! He always turned to God.”³¹ In another verse, the Qur’an brings up Job’s prayer in the midst of severe suffering: “Remember Job, when he cried out to his Lord, saying: ‘Suffering has truly afflicted me, but you are the Most Merciful of the merciful.’”³²

Physical Illness versus Spiritual Illness

Some Muslim scholars have interpreted Job’s complaint as concern about his spirituality, because his physical suffering became so severe that it prevented him from worshipping.³³ That is why these scholars often point to nonphysical illnesses. To them, the major sicknesses that believers should be worried about are the spiritual diseases of the heart. In this context, this tradition of the Prophet Muhammad is frequently quoted: “Beware! There is a piece of flesh in the body, if it remains healthy the whole body becomes healthy, and if it is diseased, the whole body becomes diseased. Beware, it is the heart.”³⁴

Sin and transgression, relying on something other than God, hypocrisy, falling into despair, heedlessness, hatred, arrogance, envy, negative thoughts about others, being ungrateful, showing off, and love of the world are among the spiritual diseases of the heart. In order to deal with these illnesses, Muslim scholars have focused on the purification of the self (tazkiyah al-nafs). This is especially emphasized in Sufism.

Purifying the self (nafs) is one of Sufism’s most important goals, and “The one who knows his self knows God” has become an important mantra in Sufi spirituality. Sufis regard the self as an even greater enemy than Satan. Dealing with the desires of the self is presented as the greatest jihad.³⁵ The Qur’an instructs believers that they should not claim their selves to be pure.³⁶ Al-Ghazali (d. 1111), who is also known for outlining the orthodox views within Sufism, dedicated one of his treatises to fighting the ego (jihad al-nafs) in his magnum opus, Ihya’ ‘Ulum al-Din. In this work, al-Ghazali highlights the importance of jihad against the ego:

Know that the body is like a town and the intellect of the mature human being is like a king ruling that town. Its armies are the external and internal senses and its subject are its organs. The ego that commands evil [nafs ammara] which is manifested in desires and anger, is like an enemy that contests him in his kingdom and fights to kill his people. The body thus becomes like a battleground and the soul is its guard. If he fights against his enemies and defeats them and compels them to do what he likes, he will be praised when he returns to God’s presence, as God said: “Allah favors those who strive with their wealth and lives a degree above those who stay behind.”

(Qur’an 4:95)³⁷

Here Ghazali indicates that the self should always be armed against the evil commanding ego as if it is at war because it is a threat to the spiritual well-being of a believer. That is why Sufi scholars offered various guidelines for their disciples to purify their selves in order to overcome the spiritual diseases of the heart. Al-Qushayri (d. 1074), for example, listed fifty spiritual stations for the journey. Among them are repentance (tawba), solitariness (uzla), abstinence (wara), asceticism (zuhd), silence (samt), hunger (ju), abandoning desire (tark al-shahwa), humility (tawadu), opposition to the soul or ego (mukhalafat al-nafs), contentment (qanaa), trust in God (tawakkul), thankfulness (shukr), patience (sabr), sincerity (ikhlas), remembrance of God (dhikr), manners (adab), prayer (dua), poverty (faqr), gnosis (marifa), love (mahabba), and yearning (shawq).³⁸

Like al-Qushayri, Imam Muhammad Mawlud (d. 1905), a Mauritanian scholar, also provided treatment for his students:

A comprehensive treatment plan for the heart’s diseases is to deny the self of its desires,

enjoin hunger, keep worship vigilance in the night, silence and meditation in private;

also keeping company with good people who possess sincerity, those who are emulated in their states and statements;

and, finally, taking refuge in the One unto whom all affairs return. That is the most beneficial treatment for all of the previous diseases.

This must be to the point in which you are like a man drowning or someone lost in a barren desert and sees no source of succor

except from the Guardian, possessor of the greatest power. He is the One who responds to the call of the distressed.³⁹

Prayer and Worship

The time of sickness is considered an opportunity for prayer and worship. Because while believers should be grateful and thankful during prosperous times, they should also turn to God during difficult times, including sickness. It is reported that Muhammad did not give up on his prayers and worship during his severe illnesses. He would still perform the five daily prayers (salat). Given that it requires many physical movements, believers can perform their prayers even with the movement of their eyes.

Visiting the Sick

Visiting the sick is among the key responses to sickness that are deeply embedded in Islamic societies. The hadith collections often include a book on this teaching. Muhammad taught his followers that visiting the sick is a major duty of fellow Muslims toward one another.⁴⁰ He also reminded them of its merits. The Prophet reported that on the day of the resurrection, God will say:

O son of Adam, I fell ill and you visited Me not. He will say: O Lord, and how should I visit You when You are the Lord of the worlds? He will say: Did you not know that My servant so and so had fallen ill and you visited him not? Did you not know that had you visited him you would have found Me with him? O son of Adam, I asked you for food and you fed Me not. He will say: O Lord, and how should I feed You when You are the Lord of the worlds? He will say: Did you not know that My servant so and so asked you for food and you fed him not? Did you not know that had you fed him you would surely have found that (the reward for doing so) with Me? O son of Adam, I asked you to give Me to drink and you gave Me not to drink. He will say: O Lord, how should I give You to drink when You are the Lord of the worlds? He will say: My servant So-and-so asked you to give him to drink and you gave him not to drink. Had you given him to drink you would have surely found that with Me.⁴¹

The implication of this hadith is that there is a divine presence and blessing in taking care of the most vulnerable and needy, including those who are sick. Visiting the sick can be a means of being closer to God, because in another report, Muhammad said: “When Muslims visit a sick person at dawn, seventy thousand angels keep on praying for them till dusk. If they visit the person in the evening, seventy thousand angels keep on praying for them till the morning; and they will have their share of reaped fruits in heaven.”⁴²

Illness is part of human nature. Muslims turn to God for their physical and spiritual illnesses because God is not only the creator of sickness; he is also the healer. They also seek remedies from the Qur’an, the teachings of Muhammad, the spiritual paths of scholars, and modern medicine. In Chapter 7, I discuss another aspect of life: death and suffering.

7 Death, Resurrection, and the Hereafter

Mahommah Baquaqua was born in 1824 into a noble Muslim family in Djougou, Benin, in West Africa. As a young man, Mahommah was sold to European traders and eventually taken to Brazil. In 1847, he traveled on a ship transporting coffee to New York, from where he was able to escape with the help of abolitionists. On his journey from West Africa to New York, Mahommah had been owned by many different slave masters.¹ Under them, he suffered such brutality that he attempted to drown himself during his captivity in Brazil. Referring to the abuses and cruelties he endured at the hands of one of his masters, Mahommah wrote:

But the day is coming when his power will be vested in another, and of his stewardship he must render an account; alas what account can he render of the crimes committed upon the writhing bodies of the poor pitiless wretches he had under his charge; when his kingship shall cease and the great accounting be called for; how shall he answer?²

In his statement, Mahommah was pointing to the day of judgment. In times of suffering and grief, he found hope in the Islamic theology of the hereafter and the accountability it promises.

Belief in life after death has been part of the creeds of many religions. It is one of the six articles of faith in Islam. Perhaps no religious scripture is concerned with life after death as much as the Qur’an. Descriptions of heaven and hell are quite vivid in Muslim scripture. One can find almost no passage that does not reference the hereafter, and interestingly, belief in God and the hereafter are often juxtaposed in the same verses. The Qur’an presents faith in the hereafter as a common belief of Islam, Christianity, and Judaism.³

The Qur’an on the Resurrection of the Body

We know from the Qur’an that the Meccan polytheists did not believe in life after death.⁴ They rejected the Prophet’s message of resurrection and accountability on the day of judgment, arguing: “There is nothing beyond our first death, and we shall not be resurrected.”⁵ The Qur’an explains their view as claiming that “there is no life but our worldly life. We die and live, and nothing destroys us except time.”⁶ The Meccans also challenged the Prophet by calling on him to bring their ancestors back to life.⁷ The Qur’an states that they had no knowledge of the hereafter and only followed their own desires. It is God who gives life, causes people to die, and gathers them on the day of resurrection.⁸

In other passages, the disbelievers of Mecca get more specific in their view of the resurrection: “What! When we and our forefathers have become dust, shall we really be raised from the dead? We have heard such promises before, and so did our forefathers. These are nothing but tales of the ancients.”⁹ In another verse, the Qur’an relates their accusatory question: “Who can give life to the bones when they are decayed?”¹⁰

Engaging with the disbelievers’ arguments against belief in resurrection and accountability on the day of judgment, the Qur’an provides its own answers. One response is that it is possible for God to resurrect the dead given that he is the Almighty (al-Qadir). To challenge the argument that decayed bones could not be brought to life, the scripture points to the creation of humankind:

Does not man see that We [God] created him from a sperm? Yet behold! He is an open opponent. And he makes comparisons for Us, and forgets his own creation. He says, “Who can give life to the bones when they are decayed?” Say, “He will give them life Who created them for the first time, for He is well-versed in every kind of creation. It is He who made fire for you from the green tree, and behold, you kindle from it.” Is not He Who created the heavens and the earth able to create the like of them? Yes, indeed. He is the All Knowing Creator. When He wills something to be, His way is to say, “Be!” and it is! So, glory be to Him in whose Hand lies the dominion of all things. It is to Him that you will be returned.¹¹

The Qur’an also alludes to spring as evidence of resurrection: “Look, then, at the imprints of God’s mercy, how He gives life to the earth after its death. This same God is the one who will give life to the dead. He has power over all things.”¹² In another place, it points to signs of resurrection in the creation: “And how We send blessed water down from the sky and grow with it gardens, the harvested grain, and the lofty date palms with ranged clusters, as a provision for God’s servants; and We give new life with it to land that is dead.”¹³ The passage concludes that similarly, “this is how the resurrection of the dead will be.”¹⁴ The Qur’an also indicates that resurrection is as easy as the creation of one being: “Your creation and your resurrection are only as the creation and resurrection of a single soul.”¹⁵

Theology of the Hereafter

Muslim theologians approach the subject of the hereafter through God’s attributes, because the manifestations of God’s names require both resurrection and human accountability. God is the One Who Creates with Wisdom and Purpose (al-Hakim); therefore, nothing is created in vain. God creates humans who reflect his own attributes. If human lives concluded with death alone, this would contradict his wisdom, and human life as such would be a waste. Why would the most precious and most intelligent creature of creation die to no avail? Moreover, humans desire eternity; they long to live forever. God has equipped human nature with this desire. If God is loving and compassionate toward creation, why would he not fulfill the human desire for eternity? Similarly, one of God’s names is the Just One (al-‘Adl), which refers to the divine notion of harmony, order, and balance in both this world and the next. While humans long for justice and are encouraged to strive toward it, there remains much injustice in this world. Those who commit major crimes against their fellow humans often get away with their misdeeds. Many leave this world without ever being held fully accountable. There are people who are born into suffering. People often face injustice despite being good natured and innocent. Is this consistent with God’s justice?

A case in point is the tragic story of Christine Jessop, a nine-year-old girl who went missing on October 3, 1984, in Ontario, Canada. Her body was found three months later. Christine had been raped and murdered. Guy Paul Morin, Jessop’s neighbor, was charged with her death. However, Morin was exonerated in 1995 after serving eighteen months in prison. Police were able to identify the killer, Calvin Hoover, in 2020 by using a new investigative technique called genetic genealogy. What made this incident even more complicated is that Hoover had committed suicide in 2015.¹⁶ This is just one example of unresolved justice. Hoover left this world with dignity, and he is not the only one. There are so many people, including Adolf Hitler and Saddam Hussein, who leave this world without being held accountable for their enormous crimes. The justice in this world remains insufficient to comfort and compensate their innocent victims. Human accountability on the day of judgment will rectify those injustices and bring balance and order to God’s creation. Those who have promoted goodness in this world will eventually be rewarded, and those who have caused evil and suffering will be held accountable and face their rightful punishment – unless they have sought forgiveness and repentance.

Considering that injustice often happens in secret, the Qur’an repeatedly emphasizes that God sees everything and that there is nothing that is outside of his knowledge: “He knows what is in the heavens and the earth; He knows what you hide and what you disclose; God knows well the secrets of all hearts.”¹⁷ In one of the hadiths, the Prophet said: “On the day of judgment a sheep without horn will take its right from a sheep with horn.”¹⁸ The Qur’an highlights that even if people get away with their injustices here on earth, they will eventually have to face the ultimate judge who awaits them in the hereafter. Since the divine attributes are reflected in this world only in a dim and limited manner, God’s name the Just One (al-‘Adl), along with many of his other qualities, will be fully revealed in the afterlife.

Death as a Creation of God

According to Islamic eschatology, this world will end (qiyama), leading to the hereafter. God will resurrect everyone from the dead and gather them on the day of judgment. Human beings will then be held accountable for their actions – good or bad. For each individual, however, the end of this world begins with one’s own death. Remembering death in this world is an important way of being mindful of the hereafter and planning accordingly. The Qur’an repeatedly reminds people of their ultimate destiny – namely, death: “Every soul shall taste death. We test you with evil and with good, and to Us you will be returned.”¹⁹ In another verse, the Qur’an points out that “death will overtake you no matter where you may be, even inside high towers.”²⁰ Nevertheless, death is seen as a sign of God’s creation or the manifestation of his name the Bringer of Death (al-Mumit). It is also part of God’s design.

Like life, God creates death. It comes as no surprise, then, that Islamic theology often depicts death positively. It is not a departure but rather a step forward to a new beginning. Whenever Muslims hear of the death of a loved one, they invoke the Qur’anic phrase: “We belong to God and to Him we shall return.”²¹ The poet Rumi (d. 1273) wrote about his future death and funeral in a way that eloquently captures the Islamic approach to death:

On the day of (my) death when my coffin is going (by),

Don’t imagine that I have (any) pain (about leaving) this world.

Don’t weep for me, and don’t say, “How terrible! What a pity!”

(For) you will fall into the error of (being deceived by) the Devil, (and) that would (really) be a pity!

When you see my funeral, don’t say, “Parting and separation!”

(Since) for me, that is the time for union and meeting (God).

(And when) you entrust me to the grave, don’t say,

“Good-bye! Farewell!” For the grave is (only) a curtain for

(hiding) the gathering (of souls) in Paradise.

When you see the going down, notice the coming up. Why should

there be (any) loss because of the setting of the sun and moon?

It seems like setting to you, but it is rising. The tomb seems like a

prison, (but) it is the liberation of the soul.

What seed (ever) went down into the earth which didn’t grow

(back up)? (So), for you, why is there this doubt about the human

“seed”?

What bucket (ever) went down and didn’t come out full? Why

should there be (any) lamenting for the Joseph of the soul because

of the well?

When you have closed (your) mouth on this side, open (it) on

that side, for your shouts of joy will be in the Sky beyond place

(and time).²²

God would not have taken the Prophet Muhammad’s life if death were not beautiful, as another poet put it.²³ While it appears that a seed dies and disintegrates, in reality, it yields life. Likewise, the death of humans should be regarded not as destruction or an end but rather as “the sign, introduction, and starting point of perpetual life.”²⁴

Muslims still mourn death but do so with the conviction that death is not an end; it is a new beginning. The Prophet’s own experience reflects this philosophy. He had seven children, and six of them died before him. When the Prophet’s son Ibrahim died in infancy, his companions saw him weeping. They asked him: “Do you mourn the dead too?” The Prophet answered that in the face of the death of our loved ones, “the eyes will weep; the heart gets sad. However, we will invoke the words that are pleasing to our Lord.” The Prophet then turned to his dead son: “If there was no hope in death, and if it were not the destiny of everyone, and if those were left behind would not be united with those who die, we would be in even more grief. We exceedingly mourn your death.”²⁵

Suicide and Euthanasia

Because the body is considered sacred, suicide is forbidden in Islamic jurisprudence. This approach is based on some of the teachings of the Qur’an and Muhammad. The Muslim scripture, for example, says: “Do not take life, which God has made sacred, except by a just cause.”²⁶ It also mentions that killing an innocent person is like killing all of humanity, and saving the life of an innocent person is like saving the lives of all people.²⁷ God is the one who gives and takes life. The time of death is assigned by him. In this regard, the Qur’an reads: “When their time arrives, they cannot delay it for a moment, nor can they advance it.”²⁸ In another verse, the Qur’an reminds us that “no one can die except with God’s permission at a predestined time.”²⁹ The impermissibility of suicide is reported in a number of hadiths as well. In one of them, Muhammad said: “Amongst the nations before you there was a man who got a wound. Growing impatient with its pain, he took a knife and cut his hand with which led to his death. God then said, ‘My servant hurried to bring death upon himself so I have forbidden him to enter Paradise.’”³⁰ In another tradition, the Prophet stated: “None of you should desire death because your pain and suffering. Instead you should pray as follows: O God if living is better for me then keep me alive, if death is better for me then take my life.”³¹ Based on the same premises, the overwhelming majority of Muslim scholars have concluded that “active” euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide are also forbidden in Islam. However, many of them believe that “passive” euthanasia is considered permissible in certain conditions. In the case of terminally ill patients, for example, if death is inevitable because of brain death or the patient is in a permanent vegetative state, then the life support can be turned off.³² Taking one’s life because of major psychological problems or losing sanity and consciousness is not discussed in the context of suicide. The tradition considers suicide as a major sin only if it is committed by a sane and conscious person.³³

Contemplating Death and the Hereafter

Contemplating death and the hereafter is an essential aspect of Islamic spirituality. A companion of the Prophet was asked about a common supplication that the messenger would address to God. He answered that Muhammad would pray: “Oh God, give us goodness in this world and the hereafter and protect us from the hellfire.”³⁴ The Qur’an relates that one of the prayers of Abraham was: “Our Lord, forgive me, my parents, and the believers on the Day when the Reckoning shall take place.”³⁵ Moses prayed in this manner: “And ordain for us good in this world and in the Hereafter. We turn repentant to You.”³⁶

Islamic spirituality aims to maintain a balance between this world and the hereafter. The Prophet said: “For a believer the highest concern is the concern for both this world and the hereafter.”³⁷ While Islam does not encourage an ascetic or monastic life by which believers will retreat from eating, drinking, sleeping, and marriage, it discourages them from being overly attached to this world. In other words, the work of this world should not come at the expense of one’s relationship with God or their work for the hereafter. The Qur’an explains:

Men whom neither merchandise nor sale can divert from the remembrance of God, nor from regular prayer, nor from the practice of regular charity: Their only fear is for the Day when hearts and eyes will be overturned. That God may reward them according to the best of their deeds and add even more for them out of His grace, for God provides for whomever he pleases without measure.³⁸

That is why the following statement has become a mantra among Muslims: Work for this world as if you will never die, and work for the hereafter as if you will die tomorrow.

Even today, whenever individual or communal prayer takes place among Muslims, the hereafter is remembered. Invoking death is regarded as being mindful of God and the impermanence of the world. Once people internalize the idea that everything but God is subject to departure and death, they will refrain from attaching their hearts to ephemeral things.

Death is also mentioned in the story of Joseph, which the Qur’an calls “the best of stories.”³⁹ At the end of the narrative, Joseph asks God to make him die in righteousness.⁴⁰ When a happy story ends with a reminder of death and separation, it generally diminishes the reader’s joy and makes the story more painful for them. But in the Qur’anic account, death is mentioned when Joseph is at the peak of happiness and joy. Having been betrayed by his brothers and sold into slavery, he has risen to an important rank and, in the end, is reunited with his family. The fact that Joseph remembers death demonstrates his belief that there is greater happiness beyond this worldly life. The end of the story causes readers no sorrow; rather, it gives them hope and enjoyment. Constantly remembering death prevents people from being heedless of God’s glory and too attached to the things of this world.⁴¹

The story of the prophet Abraham in the Qur’an can be read in a similar fashion. In the story, Abraham is searching for his Lord.⁴² When night falls, Abraham sees a star and says: “This is my Lord.” But when the star sets, he says: “I do not love things that set.” Abraham then sees the moon and says: “This is my Lord.” But when it too disappears, he realizes it also cannot be his Lord. Upon seeing the sunrise and sunset, he reasons the same way. Abraham’s search results in this conclusion: “I turn my face toward Him who created the heavens and the earth. I am not one of the polytheists.”⁴³ The gist of the story is that the heart cannot be attached to those things that are subject to death and departure. When people are attached to such things, they cannot help but be disappointed. Loving things that are subject to death is not worthwhile because those things are not, in reality, beautiful. The heart is created to be the mirror of the love of God; to love things that are eternal precludes the love of ephemeral things.⁴⁴

Death and the Formation of a Virtuous Character

Although it has become less common in modern times, building a virtuous character through the remembrance of death has long been a part of religious traditions. For example, the Latin phrase “memento mori” (remember that you must die) was a mantra in medieval Christianity – an important practice in building good character. Such practices have been equally important in the Islamic tradition. The hadith collections usually include a book of janaiz (funerals), which is devoted to the subject of death. The Sufi tradition also takes the remembrance of death as a significant element of its spirituality and the formation of a virtuous character. The last – and longest – book of al-Ghazali’s Ihya‘ al-‘Ulum ad-Din is dedicated to death and the hereafter.

Muslims consider remembering death to be a means of forming a virtuous character. It can be an important way to attain sincerity. Pretentiousness and excessive attachment to possessions are obstacles to sincerity. The reality of death keeps believers from pretentiousness and protects them from the traps of their own egos. This is why Muslims often recite Qur’anic verses such as “Every soul shall taste death” and “Truly you will die one day, and truly they too will die one day,” as contemplating that death is a significant part of their spiritual lives.⁴⁵ Constantly thinking of one’s own death brings the faithful to an ideal state of sincerity. It leads to a joyful life – one without remorse or regret in the end. Instead, pondering one’s death leads the believer to appreciate life and live it to the fullest.

The remembrance of death not only fosters self-contemplation and gratitude but makes people humbler and more sensitive toward their fellow humans. When people contemplate the ephemera of this world and think about their mortality, they can be more thoughtful toward one another. In his Denial of Death, cultural anthropologist Ernest Becker points out a direct correlation between refusing to face our mortality and fostering conflict. He asserts that when humans face their mortality, the world becomes a better place.⁴⁶ As Becker says: “Man’s natural and inevitable urge to deny mortality and achieve a heroic self-image are the root causes of human evil.”⁴⁷

Contemplating death might also be an important cure for the often destructive emotions of enmity and jealousy. A person whose heart is full of enmity and jealousy toward a rival because of the worldly skills and blessings that rival has should realize that the beauty, strength, rank, and wealth their rival possesses not only are transient and temporary but also might be burdensome.⁴⁸

Death Rituals

Like adherents of other religions, Muslims practice specific death rituals. In the last moments of their lives, Muslims invoke the testimony of faith (shahadah). Those around the deathbed should encourage the individual to say: “There is no God but God, and Muhammad is His messenger.” In the presence of the dying person, Muslims usually recite the Qur’an, especially chapter 36, “Surat al-Yasin.” Before burial, close relatives (ideally) wash the dead body, wrap it in a simple white shroud, and then say a prayer. Based on a prophetic hadith advising Muslims to hasten the funeral rites, it has become an important tradition in Islam to do the washing and the burial as soon as possible.⁴⁹

Attending a funeral service is a communal obligation. However, if enough members in the Muslim community fulfill the obligation, Islamic law allows the remaining Muslims to not attend. In one of the hadiths, the Prophet lists funeral attendance as a fundamental responsibility believers owe to one another.⁵⁰

The funeral prayer usually includes a recitation from the Qur’an, especially the first chapter, “Al-Fatiha,” and a proclamation of “God is great,” as well as other supplications for the deceased and the congregation. Then the one leading the prayers asks the congregation to forgive the dead person for any wrongdoing, after which the congregation proceeds to the graveyard, often with people carrying the coffin together on their shoulders. In the grave, the head is laid in the direction of the Kaaba. Then the mourners close the grave with soil. In the cemetery, the congregation is involved not only in digging the grave but also in helping move the body into the grave. As in Orthodox Judaism, cremation is impermissible in Islam due to the sacredness of the body.

The common belief among Muslims is that physical death marks the separation of the rational soul (nafs) and the life-infusing soul or spirit (ruh). While the former perishes, the latter continues until the day of resurrection.⁵¹ After burial, the angels of munkar and nakir will visit the dead person to ask questions about God and the Prophet. According to the tradition, the soul of the deceased will remain in the intermediate realm (barzakh) until resurrection on the day of judgment.⁵² One’s condition in barzakh depends on their state of faith and good deeds at the time of death – it can be either a heavenly or hellish waiting room.⁵³

The community usually shows support to mourners by offering condolences (ta‘ziya). Part of the Sunna of the Prophet is also to offer food to the family of the deceased.⁵⁴

Death is a major theme of the Qur’an. It is a creation of God as well as a sign of his power. Despite the suffering that is associated with death, it is seen not as the destruction of a life but rather as a transition to the eternal life as well as union with God. Remembering death is a means of building a virtuous character and being mindful of God.

Part III explores three contemporary cases in relation to God, evil, and suffering. I begin with disability followed by the environmental crisis and the coronavirus disease.