The awareness of the limited lifespan of humans and the ultimate fate after death can serve as a source of reflection and contemplation. These topics have the potential to prompt someone absorbed in the noise and glitter of the world to pause for a moment.
One day, a person asked Imam Hasan al-Askari (peace be upon him) to give him a brief sermon. In response, the Imam composed the following reflective verses:
“I see the world, fully determined, preparing to leave; neither does the world remain for the living, nor will any living being remain on the earth; it’s as if death and the events of time are two racehorses charging toward the young person; [1] so, O deceived one by the world, take a moment to reflect and gather provisions for your journey.”
Then he lifted his gaze to the sky, raised his hands, and, as tears streamed from his face, he addressed God saying:
“O the One to Whom the supplicants turn! O the One upon Whom all depend! O the One to Whom every wishful soul turns for hope, never to be disappointed…”
The narrator continues:
“When his supplication ended, he fainted! I took his head in my lap and wiped the dust from his face. He then recited the following verses:
‘I became heedless while the Angel of Death was pursuing me, and if I flee from death today, there will be no escape from the journey of death. I adorned my body with soft garments, but in the end, my body will be overtaken by decay. It’s as if I see my body being placed in the grave, covered with soil, and a burial chamber set over it;
It’s as if I see my beauty fading away, with no trace of it remaining, and no flesh or skin left upon my bones;
I see my life nearing its end, my desires unfulfilled, and yet I have not prepared provisions for my journey…
Though I feared God, I relied on His forgiveness, for no one else is worthy of pardoning. Therefore, all praise is for Him.
If there were nothing beyond death and decay in the grave, and if there were no promises from God, the mere thought of death and decay is enough to separate one from futile pursuits, yet the right path has moved away from our thoughts…
At the time of death and in the grave, I will be alone, and on the Day of Judgment, I will be resurrected alone. So, O the One, the unique One, have mercy on me, the solitary being.”[2]
(Excerpted from “Qadatuna Kayfa Na’rafuhum,” by the late Ayatollah Sayyid Muhammad Hadi Hosseini Milani[3])
Footnotes:
[1] An allusion to the fact that the events of time and death are constantly and rapidly approaching the individual.
[2] Wasilat al-Ma’al, p. 426; Ibn Hajar summarized the narration in “Al-Sawa’iq al-Muhriqa,” p. 124; al-Samhudi in “Jawahir al-‘Aqdain,” p. 355.
[3] The translation of this text is based on the book “How Well Do We Know Imam Hasan al-Askari (peace be upon him)?” by Mohammad Ali Jabari, with minor changes.