In our world, there are people who do not have faith in Quran, any messengers, religion or even the Allah Almighty. However, death is such a crude fact that you won’t find anyone negating about it. Whenever, I learn about someone’s death, the first thing that I am passionate to know about is the way he died and an account of his last moments along with the details about what lead him to death. I know the father of one of my friend Malik Sahib who is 95 years old and has always lead a saintly life. Once I requested him to share any incident of his past time. He told about a thief who lived close to his village who was notorious for stealing cows, buffaloes and other animals. He was caught several times by the police and he spent a number of his years in the prison as well but all this was not enough to stop him from his evil instinct. Once he was coming back along with a stolen cow in a hot summer night when he was bitten by a venomous snake. The snake bite was so ferocious that he felt like he won’t survive any longer. He was close to our village so he began to shout and cry for help. It was midnight and everyone was sleeping deep. He started shouting by telling who he was and what had happened to him. He even told about his recent crimes and about his past crimes to some of the people who had flocked around him due to his loud shouts. Then he left a will for his sons to return the animals and monies to those people from whom he had stolen them. Then he became ashamed of his past life and made the people witness that he had repented at the very last moments of his life and then recited the Kalimah-e-Shahadat and passed away.
In another incident, another friend of mine Chaudhary Javed shared one of his incidents when he lived in Rawalpindi before moving to Lahore. He received a message from one of his friend who was taking his last breathes and was remembering him. When he went near him, he recognised him and even uttered his father’s name as well. Then he said that he had been waiting for me and was repenting for all his sins. Then he made me and all around him as witness of his Kalimah and passed away. Although no one had ever seen him going to the mosque but he got such a beautiful death.
Another friend of mine, Rana Sahib, who lives in a village near Mandi Bahauddin, shared about a man whom he knew to have lead a very pious life fully engaging himself in the remembrance of Allah. One day while he was sitting in the mosque, he felt strange and went back to his home. He gathered his family members and read out Iman-e-Mufassil to them. This was the last deed that he did before taking his final breathe.
My beloved mother (May Allah’s Mercy be upon her) told about my grandfather, Haji Allah Bakhsh Chughtai that in his last moments, he offered Fajr prayer and then remained seated on the prayer mat while doing his routine Zikr. Then he offered the nawafil of Ishraq and started praying. He continued doing it until due to his death his hands fell down and his neck fell on the side.
My maternal grandmother lived for more than a century before dying in 2009. My grand grandfather Haji Fatah Muhammed Chughtai passed away in 1933. Before dying, he was saying goodbye to all the people and even to his Hindu neighbours and requesting them to pardon him for any mistake that he ever had committed to them intentionally or unintentionally. He seemed to be alright and everyone was surprised at his strange behaviour. Then he went into his old mosque and bade farewell to it. When someone asked him about his strange attitude, he said that he was suspecting his last moments were not that far. Then the night came and he offered Tahajjud prayer. Then he himself tied his own toes with a piece of cloth, engulfed himself in a white sheet while his head was facing right and went into an unending deep sleep.
A man set up his shop close to my house. After sometime, there came a competitor of him on the other side of the market. He was so angry that he filled his competitor’s shop locks with Elfie (a bonding substance) to hurt him. Then he became further infuriated and set his opponent’s shop on fire. He was overwhelmed with the emotions of jealousy and intolerance. The days passed and the victim’s business started flourishing and growing with multiple shops around the town while the oppressor’s business started suffering a decline. Then he lost one of his brother as well as his wife. He also had unrest at his home due to domestic conflicts, diseases, worries and miseries. Then came the moment when he himself died. The person who gave him the last shower told me that his face had turn very ugly and the blood oozing from his ears, nose and mouth was unstoppable. He led an angry life, full of envy and then had to face the worst destiny himself.
When I was in my seventh year of study, my brother and me were handed over to a retired head teacher for our study needs and our upright upbringing. He was an experienced professional and led a very pious and righteous life. I also had a classmate there whose father’s name was Muhammed Hussain Shah. Once I met my old classmate after a number of years and asked him about his father. He said that he had passed away long ago. I asked him about the way his father died. He said that it was Friday when he woke up and got his beard and nails trimmed, cleaned his body, took a comprehensive shower and then sat there for a while before taking his final breathe. I was really impressed to know about such a nice death.
I was told about the last moments of Hazrat Abul Hasan Ali Nadvi by Hazrat Maulana Kaleem Siddiqi ( Damat Barakatuhum)that it was one of the Fridays in Ramadan when he asked him if it was the last Friday. He said no it was not. Then he woke up, trimmed his beard nicely, took a shower, wore one of his favourite dress and spread his favourite fragrance on it. Then he recited Surah Al-Kahf followed by Surah Yaseen. Then while he was reciting Kalimah, he passed away.
The father of a friend of mine, Haji Ghulam Muhammed Sahib, returned to his home after the Fajr prayer. He was holding Tasbih (beads) in his hand. He talked about some of the affairs of his house and about some domestic needs while he was doing his Zikr. Then he laid down and passed away while the Tasbih was still in his hands. He was quite tolerant and forbearer and even gave away his own right while never demanded his share from others. These were the main reasons that he got the best death while continuing his Zikr and without leaving a single prayer.
In another incident, the mother of one of my sincere friends was reciting Surah Alkausar and was listening to my sermon. She bowed her head down while listening to it when she breathed her last while reciting Surah Al-Kausar. She had led a pious and modest life and passed away while doing Zikr of Allah. She would come to see me quite often too.
Chaudhary Hashmat Ali was a very wealthy person and was a close relative of Ex-prime minster Pakistan Chaudhary Muhammed Ali.
When he died, his room was filled with a beautiful fragrance. Even I smelled it myself. It was so nice that I had never smelled such a nice fragrance before. He was seen in the dreams by numerous people in such a nice state that everyone was convinced of his good end.
There is a bookshop in Urdu Bazar by the name of Maktaba Qudoosia, whose proprietor Umer Farooq shared an incident of his friend who was living a sinful life. Then his life was changed and he was seen leading a good, righteous life in the Masjid-e-Nabawi. The people were so surprised at the change and once asked him about what changed his life as before that the people would hate him and would always avoid him due to his bad nature. He took a sigh and then told abbot his brother who would serve mosques, religious education schools and those who were pious and uprights. He also preformed Hajj several times offered numerous Umrahs and had done many charity donations. Then he fell ill and remained sick for a long period. The illness was so severe that he had almost lost his hope of getting better. Once he gathered all his family members and asked them to bring the Holy Quran. Then he addressed to the Quran in these words’ O Allah! You know that I always served you and your Quran but you made me sick and troubled. I no longer believe in you nor your Quran.’ These were his last words and he passed away.
My father knew a carpenter who was asked by very wealthy people to make their furniture. He worked quite slowly while his fees were so high but still my father always asked him whenever he needed any furniture or woodwork. When I started my medical practice in 1991, then my clinic was designed and made by him and this huge task took longer than a year to finish. His work was so nice that amazed everyone despite taking a very long period of time. He was quite careless regarding his five times prayers and would do them quite rarely. Then after sometime, I learned that he was ill so I went to see him. I introduced myself to him and he recognised me immediately. Then he started saying repeatedly that he would now make a mosque and will do that very soon. He was uttering these words repeatedly although he seemed like having lost his senses. Then I learned about his final moments that he got such a nice death while he was remembering Allah and His Blessed Messenger (صل اللہ علیہ وسلم).
I went into a village Chak 47 about 25 years ago where I saw a person who had both of his lips turned white. They seemed like suffering from leukoderma (a skin disease). I was told by someone that he was a habitual drunkard and due to over drinking; his lips had burnt and changed their colour. Then he left drinking and did a sincere repentance. His health condition deteriorated due to his change of habit and he was admitted in Nishter Hospital Multan. The doctors suggested that he should not leave drinking outright and should reduce the quantity bit by bit but he was so determined in his repentance that he refrained to take a single drop of wine. He stayed in the hospital for a few weeks but was not improving anymore. One day he requested the people around him to take him to a nearby mosque. He performed ablution there and while he was offering his nafal in the mosque, his sole departed while he was in prostration.
There lived a person named Khawaja Sahib in my neighbourhood. He had very wrong beliefs. It was just a Divine blessing that he was chosen for a nice death. He requested his family members to bring Quran during his last moments. He looked at the Quran, smiled and said, ‘O Allah! I repent from my sinful life and false beliefs and come towards the true life as mentioned by your Quran. Then he uttered his will to bury him in a certain graveyard where most of the pious people had been buried. In this way he got the best of his life and breathed his last while he was amongst the favourites of Allah Almighty.
Qazi Allah Ditta Sahib is a generous and pious person who lives close to Drawar Fort near Bahawalpur. He always accompanies me during my trip to the deserts. He has so many observations to share from his old age. He shared the incident of Murad Hussain who was called as Muradoo. He possessed almost every bad habit. One day he went to his friends and told them that he would die the next day. He also asked them to arrange for his funeral by selling his pigeons. He was very poor and had almost no relatives. It was the last Friday of Ramadan. His friends were surprised and started making fun of him. He asked them especially about the announcement of his death. He refrained them to announce that Muradoo had died. Rather he asked them to announce that a stranger had passed away as if his name was taken then no one would come to attend his funeral due to his past life as everyone had hated him. He also mentioned that his funeral should be done soon after the Friday congregational prayer so that more and more people could participate in it. He really died the next day and it was announced that a stranger had passed away. There was a huge crowd of people due to the last Friday of Ramadan. When the people had offered the funeral, they were stunned to know that it was Muradoo’s funeral. Such a bad life and such a beautiful death!
My friend Mian Ahsan is a sincere and pious guy. He said that there was a heroin addict in front of his shop, who was taking his last breaths. He called so many welfare organisations and emergency helpline but no one was available to take this living corpse. He took him himself to the emergency of a nearby hospital. He himself heard him uttering Kalimah Tayyabah. The addict seemed to be living a miserable life but he left the world with eternal success.
I have met so many people who had ever bathed the dead bodies and I asked them about their experiences. Once I was also told by the respected Makki Sahib who delivers sermon in holy Kaaba that a paradise destined soul when departs the body, leaves behind such a pleasure like the men feel while in orgasm. It was both interesting and amazing thing for me. Then I did some further research about it and met hose who had bathed the dead bodies. It was confirmed by a huge number of witnesses that though there were some bodies who had excreted their stools or urine in their clothes while dying, but there were certain instances where they found semen on the dead bodies’ clothes and it confirmed the fact mentioned by Hadhrat Makki Sahib that Allah Almighty puts a body in a state of enlightenment so that they could not feel the bitterness of death.
I met a war veteran of 1965 battle who mentioned that he happened to bath a number of martyrs and they had experienced this state of orgasm while dying.
Our brother Abdul Rahman Nonari had spent all his life while preaching the true teachings of Islam. He came to see his son who was also on his preaching tour. It was Ramadan. He told one of his companions his name and showed him his address and ID Card. Then he told him that his time of death had approached (although he seemed well) and asked him to bear witness of his Kalimah. Then he told him all six kalimah and Iman-e-Mufassil and then departed the world.
Dear readers! These are a few instances which prove just one thing that successful is only he, who will be engulfed by the Allah’s Mercy as the righteous end is blessing, the last words are a blessing and the paradise will be granted through the Allah’s Mercy only. How can we say anything about anyone whether one is good or bad or living a dog’s life, swine’s life or a human life. How can we give a verdict about anyone? This is crude fact that a righteous and pious life leads to an enviable death and a sinful life leads to a miserable death but all the powers rest with the Allah Almighty that He may destine whatever for whoever and no one can ask Him about His decision. No one can question him. We should never look down upon any one. Rather we should be fearful of Him and do the right.
؎ زاہد نگاہ کم سے کسی رند کو نہ دیکھ جانے کہ اس کریم کو تو ہے کہ وہ پسند
O abandoner (of the worldly joys), never look down upon anyone
Who knows that the Almighty likes him or yourself?
Note! Dear readers, all of you are requested to please share with us the experiences of the last moments of your loved ones and those you know of.
