A Letter on Preparing for Death by
Imam al-Ghazali
A
Letter on Preparing for Death
By the Imam Hujjat al-Islam (The
Proof of Islam)
Muhammad bin Muhammad Abu Hamid al-Ghazali
May Allah have mercy on him
d. 505 After Hijra (1111 C.E.)
Translated by Shazia Ahmad
Muhammad bin Muhammad Abu Hamid al-Ghazali
May Allah have mercy on him
d. 505 After Hijra (1111 C.E.)
Translated by Shazia Ahmad
Introduction
by the Translator
I came across Risalat Sharh
as-Sadr at the Dar as-Salaam Bookstore in Cairo a few months ago. It was a
tiny booklet hidden away on a corner shelf, tucked in-between much larger
volumes, as if it was patiently waiting to be discovered. It drew my attention
because it was a small work written by the esteemed Imam Al-Ghazali, rahimahullah
(may Allah have mercy on him), author of the magisterial Ihya Ulum ad-Din (Revival
of the Religious Sciences), spiritual master and scholar, and the individual
who has been historically credited with merging the outward and inner sciences
of Islamic law.
Due to its brevity I assumed that
the booklet was an excerpt taken from one of Imam Al-Ghazali’s more substantial
works. With further study, however, I came to see that it was in fact an
independent text, and was actually a short letter of advice and wisdom on
preparing for death. The letter was written in a concise and almost simplistic
style, though the message imparted was one of great spiritual depths. I found
it very appealing, and thought almost immediately that it would be a beautiful
work to translate.
I have attempted to do so in the
following pages, and I hope that the author’s wisdom and eloquence has
penetrated through the transformation from Arabic to English. I ask Allah Most
High to accept this effort from me, and I seek His forgiveness for any mistakes
I may have made in writing it.
The phrase sharh as-sadr is a
common Arabic expression used to refer to a spiritual expansion of the heart or
chest that gives rise to inner enlightenment, tranquility, and relief from
anxiety and worry. It is a phrase that is used in a number of places in the
Quran. When going to face the Pharoah and convey to him the message of Islam,
the noble prophet Musa (alayhis salaam) prayed to Allah, “My Lord,
expand for me my chest, ease my task for me, and remove the impediment from my
speech so that they may understand what I say.” (Taha, v. 25-28) In
reminding the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wa salam) of the great blessings
He had bestowed upon him, Allah says, “Have we not expanded for you your
chest?” (Al-Inshirah, v.1) Imam As-Sabouni says in explanation of this
verse:
“His (salAllahu alayhi wa salam)
chest was expanded with true guidance, faith, and the light of the Quran. Ibn
Kathir states that [the phrase sharh as-sadr means] ‘We have filled your
chest with light and made it expansive and unconfined.’ And just as Allah has
made the Prophet’s (salAllahu alayhi wa salam) chest expansive, He has
made His Shar’ (Law) generous, tolerant, easy, and without difficulty or
narrowness.” (Safwat at-Tafaseer, pp. 553-554).
Imam Al-Ghazali entitled his letter Sharh
as-Sadr because properly preparing for death is a means of attaining that
spiritual expansion, illumination, and comfort. May Allah make us among those
who experience that state, and who ready and beautify themselves properly for
the journey to His Divine Presence, Ameen.
Translator
May 2008
Cairo, Egypt
–~–
–~–
[I begin] with the name of Allah,
Most Merciful, Most Loving. We
rely on Him, and seek help from Him alone. All praise is due to Allah, and may
blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah Muhammad, his family, and his
companions one and all.
Allah the Exalted said,
أَفَمَنْ
شَرَحَ اللَّهُ صَدْرَهُ لِلْإِسْلَامِ فَهُوَ عَلَى نُورٍ مِنْ رَبِّهِ فَوَيْلٌ
لِلْقَاسِيَةِ قُلُوبُهُمْ مِنْ ذِكْرِ اللَّهِ أُولَئِكَ فِي ضَلَالٍ مُبِينٍ
“Is one whose chest Allah has opened to Islam [sharaha Allahu sadrahu] so that he has received light from his Lord (no better than one hard-hearted)?” (Az-Zumar v. 22)
“Is one whose chest Allah has opened to Islam [sharaha Allahu sadrahu] so that he has received light from his Lord (no better than one hard-hearted)?” (Az-Zumar v. 22)
The Messenger of Allah (salAllahu
alayhi wa salam) was asked about sharh as-sadr and he said, “It is a
light cast into the heart by which the chest is opened and expanded.”
He was asked, “Is there a way of recognizing one who possesses that light?”
He (salAllahu alayhi wa salam) responded, “Yes. [Such people can be recognized by their] indifference towards the abode of delusions [i.e., the life of this world], their constant turning towards the abode of eternity [the hereafter], and their preparation for death before it arrives.”
He was asked, “How does one prepare for death?”
He was asked, “Is there a way of recognizing one who possesses that light?”
He (salAllahu alayhi wa salam) responded, “Yes. [Such people can be recognized by their] indifference towards the abode of delusions [i.e., the life of this world], their constant turning towards the abode of eternity [the hereafter], and their preparation for death before it arrives.”
He was asked, “How does one prepare for death?”
He (salAllahu alayhi wa salam)
said, “Those of you who remember it the most are the best prepared for it.”
–~–
You have asked – may Allah grant you
success – about readiness for death, and the conditions and means [of attaining
that spiritual state]. When is a servant (of God) ready for death? What should
one strive to achieve so that he or she is fully prepared for this path?
Know that death is an expression
used for the journey from this world to the Divine Presence, for to Allah is
the ultimate return. Anyone traveling to a royal court is in need of three
things for his journey: a severing of the ties that keep him from advancing; a
preparation of provisions for the road; and an acceptable gift for the king, to
present to him and by which to attain his pleasure. Similarly, the traveler
journeying to the Divine Presence is in need of three things: preparation of
his provisions, a cutting of ties, and the offering of a gift.
The traveler’s provision refers to a
deep consciousness of God [taqwa]. Allah says, “…And take a provision
with you for the journey, but the best of provisions is taqwa.” (Al-Baqara,
v. 197)
The cutting of ties means a severing
of the heart from the pleasures of this world. This is what was meant by the
Prophet’s (salAllahu alayhi wa salam) words, “an indifference towards
the abode of delusions”.
The gift to be presented to the King
is love, the origin of which is in true gnosis [ma'rifah] and faith [iman].
We will explain these three
essential matters in further detail.
1. Provisions for the Road:
There is no provision for the
journey to the hereafter except taqwa. Taqwa means obeying the
commandments of Allah Most High and avoiding that which He has prohibited to
such an extent that one fulfills all of Allah’s commandments and remains far
removed from all of His prohibitions.
If one has always done so, then this
is a type of excellence and inner strength that is without equal. If, however,
a person has some deficiencies in this matter, then he or she will not be ready
[for the hereafter] except by rectifying them. This can be done by analyzing
and reflecting on one’s state from when one first reached the age of legal
responsibility [bulugh]. The servant must then busy himself with making
up for what has passed, and seek to correct those matters in which one had
erred.
In regards to the commandments of
Allah, the servant should begin with the fundamental pillars of Islam, such as
the ritual prayer, the poor-due and the pilgrimage. If one finds a shortcoming
in his or her performance of one of these acts, one should seek to remove the
burden of responsibility from oneself by making up for them. One should
continue doing so until he or she is certain that no obligation remains undone.
As for the prohibitions, [they are
of two types]. The first type is entirely related to the rights of Allah [and
not the rights of other people], such as fornication, drinking alcohol,
listening to musical instruments, and engaging in [other] forbidden acts.
[Disobeying a prohibition of this type] can be remedied by sincerely repenting,
feeling intense regret for the sin, seeking Allah’s forgiveness and pardon, and
resolving strongly and with determination to never return to it again. [Know
that] sincere repentance is a remedy for every sin, and a penitent person is
like one who has not sinned at all.
The second type of prohibition is
related to the rights of other servants, such as wronging someone in terms of
wealth or reputation. [Violating a prohibition of this type] can be rectified
by giving the oppressed person back his or her due right. The servant should
seek to do this in all of one’s dealings with others, and should scrutinize
personal relationships carefully [to make sure that one has not been unjust to
others].
One should seek to liberate himself
from others’ rights upon him by returning what is in one’s possession of their
wealth, compensating for what one may have consumed from it, and making amends
for backbiting or speaking ill of others. This type of harmful speech is a
great wrong, and a person cannot be freed from it except by [seeking the pardon
of] the oppressed. The servant must ask forgiveness from every person he has
harmed in his life through backbiting or other hurtful words. If a person who
has been wronged refuses, then one should be kind to him so that his heart will
eventually lean towards forgiveness.
If the oppressed person passes away
or becomes otherwise unreachable, the servant should increase in good deeds
until he has performed an amount that he believes would be sufficient for the
oppressed if it went to him on the Day of Judgment.
Know that sufficient provision for
this journey is in obeying Allah’s commands, abstaining from His prohibitions,
and striving to perform numerous extra good deeds. Good works are a means of
elevating one’s spiritual rank. The more good deeds one performs, the more one
increases in safety and faith.
In conclusion, provision for this
journey consists of commission or omission of acts in accordance to Allah’s
commands and prohibitions.
2. Severing the Ties that Prevent
One from Advancing
A traveler may be tied down by his
or her debtors, as if they were holding on to the very tails of his clothing
and preventing him from moving towards his destination. In order to advance on
his journey, the traveler must [free himself from them] and break all ties with
them.
Similarly, the attachments that
prevent one from journeying towards the hereafter are numerous. Yet all of them
are connected to the love of this world, longing for it, and the inclination of
the lower self towards it.
One who has no beloved in this world
is completely ready for death. One who loves someone in this world, but finds
that the love for Allah is stronger and more intense in his heart is also
ready, though his level is not like that of the former.
A sign that a servant has true love
for Allah is that he or she does not have any feeling of dislike towards death,
no matter when it may come. An aversion to death is a sign that this world and
one’s status in it is more beloved to a person [than meeting Allah in the
hereafter]. One who dislikes death because he has not yet rectified the wrongs
he has committed against others or overcome weaknesses within himself may be
excused for his dislike, however, this servant cannot be considered ready [for
the journey ahead]. One who is ready would have already exerted himself in
these matters, and would not have left any task undone that would distract and
busy his heart.
Disconnecting one’s heart from the
life of this world is not fully achieved unless one also possesses a balanced
character and a sound and upright heart. This occurs by purifying the heart
from ostentation, envy, hatred, arrogance, and all of the negative qualities
that we have mentioned in our work al-Muhlikaat (in the third section of
Ihya Ulum ad-Din). These are the ailments of the heart [that must be
cured], for an ill person is not one prepared for travel.
It is not a requirement that the
servant be entirely free of these negative qualities, but that they remain weak
inside a person and are not intensified by actions or words that are contrary
to the path of God-consciousness. The Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wa salam)
said: “The child of Adam will never be safe from three things: envy, fearing
evil omens, and having bad opinions of others. I will inform you of a means of
escaping from them. If you feel envious towards someone, do not seek to attain
what he or she has. If you observe an omen said to be evil, continue without
any change in your behavior. And if you think ill of someone, do not try to
confirm your thoughts [by discussing them with others.]”
Thus removing these elements
entirely from one’s inner self is not a necessary condition for being saved. It
suffices that one does not manifest them by acting in accordance to them. A
balanced character is what is really essential, and is what is meant by the
expression khuluq al-hasan. One does not attain such character except
through struggle, hard work, and recognition of the areas in which one has been
self-deluded.
All of the [negative] qualities we
have mentioned here are produced by love of this world. If a servant realizes
that the hereafter is better and everlasting he or she would certainly prefer
it over the life of this world. Such a realization is a fruit of this
knowledge, and such knowledge is what comprises the branches of faith.
3. Presenting a Gift to Allah Most
High
The gift [that a traveler to the
hereafter should prepare to present to the Divine] is faith [iman] that
engenders love for Allah Most High. We mean here by faith a gnosis [ma'rifa]
that overwhelms the servant completely and overtakes his heart entirely, until
it is as if the servant actually sees Him. Faith then becomes something vital
to the heart, persistent and constant in it, to such an extent that nothing
comes to the servant’s mind except Allah, neither in deeply-rooted thoughts nor
in fleeting ones. [A constant awareness and focus on Allah, to the extent that
not even a fleeting thought enters one's mind] is the highest state [of faith].
The first [and lowest] level of
faith is like believing that someone named Zaid is inside a house because one
has been told so by a person one trusts. The second level is like believing
Zaid is inside because one hears the sound of his voice. The third [and highest
level] is like actually seeing him. Each level produces an increased amount of
happiness and delight [for the servant, as compared to the one lower than it].
These feelings cannot be precisely described [but can only be experienced with
the heart]. Such are the varying degrees of faith.
As for the branches of faith, they
are numerous, while its roots are three: to have belief in Allah, belief in the
Last Day, and belief in the truthfulness of the Messenger of Allah (salAllahu
alayhi wa salam).
Complete faith in Allah includes
belief in His attributes as they are elucidated in the Quran without being
combined with innovations, uncertainty, wavering or doubt. One should
believe that He has perfect knowledge and absolute ability, that His will is
always realized and effectual [with no exceptions],and one should affirm with
certainty whatever one can of His noble attributes.
One should believe in regards to the Last Day that one will be recompensed in accordance to one’s actions, rewarded for obedience [to Allah] and punished for disobedience. [If one understands and believes this,] then this suffices for the servant, and it is not obligatory upon him or her to know more details [of the Day of Judgment than this].
One should believe in regards to the Last Day that one will be recompensed in accordance to one’s actions, rewarded for obedience [to Allah] and punished for disobedience. [If one understands and believes this,] then this suffices for the servant, and it is not obligatory upon him or her to know more details [of the Day of Judgment than this].
One should believe that the
Messenger of Allah (salAllahu alayhi wa salam) was truthful in
everything that he taught. If one believes in this, even if one does not know
his (salAllahu alayhi wa salam) teachings in detail other than what is
obligatory, it suffices for the servant.
–~–
This is what it means to prepare for
death; and Allah grants success to those who seek to ready themselves [for the
journey ahead].
To Allah belongs success and
protection. All praise is due to Allah in the beginning and the end, and may
peace and blessings be upon the Noble Messenger Muhammad, his family and
companions.
–~–
This letter was completed by Allah’s
help and good favor, and may blessings be upon Muhammad and his family.
