Page 42 - Unawareness: A Sly Threat

40 UNAWARENESS: A SLY THREAT

they are so passionate about what and whom they love and
so uncomfortable when the subject of death is mentioned or
crosses their minds. Just thinking about it depresses them
and makes them worry that their lives will change. Since they
do not consider that death may be right around the corner
and do not reflect on its reality, they ignore Allah’s commands
and prohibitions, or at least postpone thinking about them, by
telling themselves that they still have a lot of time to pray and
will start doing so when they are older. But they really have no
idea how much time they have left. They go merrily on their
way, only to find that death comes suddenly, before they start
living in compliance with Allah’s commandments. The
moment the heedless people meet death, which they regard
as remote and far off, is described in the Qur’an as follows:
If those who do not believe only knew of the time when
they will not be able to keep the Fire away from their
faces or their backs! And they will receive no help! No, it
(death) will come upon them suddenly, confounding
them, taking them completely by surprise, and they will
not be able to ward it off. They will be granted no
reprieve. (Surat al-Anbiya’: 39-40)
From this verse, we can clearly see that death does not lis-
ten to excuses and that the appointed time approaches quick-
ly. Nothing can prevent its coming. Allah tells this in the Qur’an:
Say: “Death, from which you are fleeing, will certainly
catch up with you. Then you will be returned to the
Knower of the Unseen and the Visible, and He will
inform you about what you did.” (Surat al-Jumu‘ah: 8)
A person may die at any moment; forgetting this fact or