What is the philosophy behind the importance of “Remembering Death”?

One of the recommended acts in Islam which is so beneficial in spiritual perfection is “remembering death and visiting the cemetery”. It has so many effects that we will mention them in this essay.

Imam Ali peace be upon him said to his immaculate son Imam Hasan peace be upon him:

“O’ my son, know that you have been created for the hereafter and not for this material world, you have been created for leaving this world, and not staying here forever? You have not been created for this world that in every moment, it is possible to departure from it and enter in the world after death; you are the prey of death which is no rescue for the one who wants to run away from it. Every one whom death seeks, it will reach to him/her and finally catch him/her.

Be afraid of death not come to you in the state of committing sin or the time in which you have not done Tobah(repentance to Allah) yet, and the death does not give you chance to do Tobah, and makes distance between you and Tobah, because if it is so, you have ruined yourself.

O’ my son, remember death so much and remember what you go toward it and what you will put in it after death, in order to be ready at the time of death from every aspect.”

I think after these very meaningful and eloquent words there is not any more description needed, but let me mention some of the verses of the Holy Quran and some Narrations in this regard:

Allah said in the holy Quran chapter Nisa verse 78:

أَيْنَمَا تَكُونُواْ يُدْرِككُّمُ الْمَوْتُ وَلَوْ كُنتُمْ فِي بُرُوجٍ مُّشَيَّدَة

“Wherever you are, death will overtake you, even if you shall be in the fortified, high towers”.

The holy Prophet of Islam said:

“The smartest of people, is the one who remember the death more than others and is ready for death, more than others.”

In the presence of the holy Prophet, the participants, praised a man so intensely, the holy Prophet asked them: How much does your friend remember death? And they replied: We have not heard from him the remembrance of death.

And the holy Prophet said: So your friend is not like what you think.

Imam sadiq peace be upon him said:

“There is not any family from the inhabitants of city and the inhabitants of desert, except that the angel of death looks at them five times in every day.”

There are so many verses and Narrations in this regard that we leave them and recommend our respected readers to refer to those very effective sayings.

So let’s talk about some of the benefits of remembering death:

-It makes our hearts enlightened and keeps them alive and we can say that it removes the darkness of negligence. Because through remembering death we remember that we are the servants of Allah and have some responsibilities toward Him.

It is interesting that Imam sadiq peace be upon him said:

“The one that his/her shroud (the cloth in which the corpse of human is wrapped after death) is with him/her in his/her house; he/she is not counted as the negligent.”

The holy Prophet of Islam said:

The hearts get rusted just like the iron gets rusted. The companions asked the Prophet: What is its polish? And the holy Prophet replied: Reciting the Quran and remembering death.

-It makes human to be reluctant to the material attractions of the world. It must be noted that the meaning of “Zohd” and reluctance to the world is not having nothing, but rather it means not to be attached to the world to the extent that prevents human from his/her duties and helping others.

-It prevents human from having very long wishes, the wishes that are reproached in Islam, because such wishes prevent human from the remembrance of the hereafter, so by remembering death we can struggle with such wishes.

-It makes the human to tolerate the calamities and the problems of this world easier; the one that knows that these calamities are not forever and we will be released from them soon or late, he/she looks at them, with humiliation and belittlement.

So it is so much recommended to visit the cemetery once a while and think about the inhabitants of such a land and think that these were some people that had lives and families and properties, but they left everything that they had and the only thing that they brought as companion in the darkness of grave is their deeds, so such happenings definitely will happen to us, and we will be in their realm, so let’s be in a way that we will be less regretful.

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Source:

Hawzah.net