Relating to the removal of the Spirit and it's hardships (Sakarat)

MANAZILE AKHERA

"And the stupor of death will come in truth, that is what you were trying of escape". (Surah-al-Qaf : 19). This stage is full of difficulties & troubles. On one hand a man feels pain, his tongue turns motionless, his bodily components
cease to function, while on the other hand weeping & wailing of relatives, grief of their separation, orphaning of children, and the sorrow of leaving behind hardly earned wealth and enormous property for others to feast upon. The wealth which was sometimes gathered by usurpation or through illicit means. The dying man remembers his sins and regrets, but alas, the time (to repent) has passed and accounts closed. Amirul Mo'meneen (A.S.) says, "He (the dying person) regrets over his wealth which he gathered bearing hardships, and now he is being separated from it, leaving it to be feasted upon by his inheritors. His hard earned wealth is left for the use of others." The dying person feels scared, for he is about to enter an unknown & unexplored world, and is all the more freighted when he witnesses those things which are totally new to him. The Holy Qur'an says, "Certainly you were heedless of it, but now we have removed from you your veil, so your sight today is sharp". (Surah-al-Qaf: 22) He feels the presence of Angels around him and wonders about what is in store for him. It has been narrated in traditions (Ahadees) that at the time of death, the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.S.) and the Holy Aimmah (A.S.) come near the head of the dying person, who is able to see them. It is narrated in third volume of 'Bihar-al-Anwar' that once Imam Ali-ar-Reza (A.S.) went to meet one of his companions (sahabi) who was about to die. He looked towards the Imam (A.S.) and said, "I see the radiant faces of your Grandfather (the Holy Prophet), Your
Father (the Commander of the faithful), Your Mother (Hazrat Fatema), and the other Imams in Your Ancestry. I also see your luminous face along with them". It is a fact that every dying man has a glimpse of the Aimmah (A.S.), according to his love for and knowledge of them. For a believer (mo'min) their sight is a blessing from Allah, and for a hypocrite (munafiq) and disbeliever it is a sign of Allah's wrath. In the Salutation (Ziarat) of Amirul Mo'meneen Ali (A.S.) we utter these words:

السلام على نعمة الله على الأبرار ونقمة الله على الجبار
The dying man is confused, because on one hand satan (shaitaan) with his companions tries hard to spoil his faith (Eeman), and on the other hand the thought of the arrival of the Angel of death makes him all the more puzzled. He wonders as to in what state would he (the Angel of death) come and how would his spirit be removed. The Commander of the faithful Ali (A.S.) says, "And when the signs of death approaches, he knows not what will befall him."
Shaikh Kulaini narrates from Imam Ja'far-as-Sadiq (A.S.) who said that once Hazrat Ali (;A.S.) was suffering from the ailment of the eye. The Holy Prophet (S.A.W.S.) came to inquire about his health. He saw that Ali (A.S.) was in intense pain and was restless because of it. The Prophet asked him, "Is this anxiety the outcome of the ailment"? Hazrat Ali (A.S.) replied that, "I had not witnessed such a pain before". The Holy Prophet (to console him) said "O Ali! when the Angel of death comes to take the spirit of the disbeliever,he brings along with him a club of fire, by which he removes his spirit and the flames of hell scream at the dying man". The Commander of the believers sat upright and said, "O Prophet! Please explain to me the tradition (hadees), for I do not fell the pain anymore. Will the spirit of anyone from among your ummat be removed in the same manner"? The Holy Prophet replied, 'Yes, three types of persons from among my ummat too will be subjected to this punishment (1) An oppressive (Zalim) ruler, (2) Those who unjustly usurp the rights of orphans, and (3) The bearer of false witness".
Man due to difficulty or ease during death also sees the effects of his good or bad deeds which he committed. There are also some who turn apostates during death due to some of their bad deeds. "Then evil was the end of those who did evil, because they rejected the communications of Allah and used to mock them". (Surah-ar-Room : 10) It has also been narrated that during death (sakarat) or afterwards, the following persons should not be near the dying man: a woman in menses (Haiz) or Istahaza (irregular period), and a polluted (Junoob) person, because the Blessed Angels go away and the dying man falls in trouble. Shaikh Sadooq in his book Ilalush Sharaye' quotes Imam Ja'far-as-Sadiq (A.S.) as saying, that woman in menses (Haiz) or a polluted person (Junoob) should not remain near the dying person because the Angels feel disgusted because of it and go away.
In the book 'Darus Salaam', the great scholar Sayyed Murtaza Najafi quotes: Once an extreme epidemic broke in Iraq and Arabia. I was seated in the courtyard of the Shrine of the Commander of the faithful Ali (A.S.) with a distinguished Scholar (Aalim) Sayyed Mohammad Baqir Qazwini. He was distributing work for serving the effected people among us, when we saw a youth who was standing in the last rank and was struggling to come near the Sayyed, but could not do so because of immense crowd Suddenly he started wailing aloud, the Sayyed looked at him and told me to inquire the matter from him. I went to him and asked him the reason for weeping. He replied, "I desire that if I die in the epidemic, the Sayyed should recite the Prayer (Namaze Mayyit) over my dead body individually and not combined as he does (due to many deaths in the epidemic). I returned to the Sayyed and narrated the matter to him. He promised to fulfill his desire. Next day we saw an infant child who came crying to us. When we inquired of him he answered that he was the son of the youth who had come us yesterday with a desire. lie told us that he had become the victim of epidemic and was about to die, and he was desirous of meeting the Sayyed. Some of us accompanied Sayyed Mohammad Baqir to meet the dying man. On the way we met a pious man who was coming out of his house. When he saw us he saluted
saluted us, and asked us, as to where we were going. We answered that we were going to visit a believer who was in his last moments. With permission he accompanied us in order to share the reward (sawab). When we came to the house, Sayyed Mohammad Baqir entered the room first, then one after the other we entered there in. The dying man was pleased and signalled us to sit. As soon as the pious man who had met us on the way entered, the dying man's colour changed. His face turned pale and in rage signalled him to go away. He became restless as if some trouble had befallen him. We were all the more surprised when we learnt that the dying man did not even know him, whom we could assume to be his enemy. The man excused himself and went out but returned back after sometime. This time when he entered, the dying person was pleased and welcomed him. After sometime we took permission to leave. On the way we asked the pious man the reason for the sudden change in the attitude of the dying man. He replied that he was in the state of pollution (Junoob), and was leaving his house with the intention of performing ceremonial bath (Ghusle janabat) in the public bath. He met us on the way, and not wanting to miss the opportunity of performing this noble task accompanied us. He said that when he first entered the house and saw the dying man's restlessness, he understood and left. To make himself sure he returned back after having performed the ceremonial bath (Ghusle Janabat). He concluded that the dying man
had come to know about his impurity because the blessed Angels had left him and he felt immense pain. (Khazeenatul Jawaher)

SHAIKH ABBAS BIN MOHAMMAD
REZA AI-QUMMI

TRANSLATED BY
AejazAli Turabhusain Bhujwala (Husaini)