Archive for November 27th, 2008
The certainty-uncertainty of death
Nothing in life is certain but one, and that is the inevitable death.
We don’t know if we’re going to pass or fail an exam. We don’t know what another person is going to say in a conversation. We don’t know which potential employer is going to give us a job. We don’t know what we might come across at the road ahead. There is nothing that we can be certain of in this life other than our death. We all know that we’re going to die one day, but we’ll never know when that day will be. In 10 years time? 20 years time? Next year? Next week? Later today? Who knows?
I’m not trying to dampen the mood here, or make people feel depressed. What I’m trying to say is that maybe we should stop living our lives as if we’re going to live forever. If we could just TRY to remember the certainty-uncertainty (certain because it will definitely happen, and uncertain because we don’t know when it’s going to happen) of death in our daily lives, maybe we’d stop wasting so much time. Maybe we’d stop hurting our parents’ feelings. Maybe we’d stop living a reckless life. Maybe we’d start preparing for the afterlife for those who believe in the afterlife. As time passes through us, the closer we are to death. And once our death comes, there is nothing that’s going to stop it from happening. Nothing.
So let this be a reminder to all of us, and especially for me. Let us stop “killing time”, and make each and every moment worthwhile as much as possible.
To readers who are well and able, please give sadaqah of surah Al-Fatihah to my late grandfather, Hj Lamit, who passed away earlier today. Jazakumallahu ahsanu khairan.
