Author: Alaaddin Başar (Prof.Dr.), 09-5-2006

Man understands that he is a helpless, despicable being; that this world is a delusive, transient place; that the Hereafter is so close only after his death. We are truly warned with the hadith that we have to realize this before our deaths so that we can smart up.

Achieving to die before death is particular to distinguished people. What we have to do is trying to be like them as much as possible. The person, who listens to this statement, realizes this world as a guesthouse and treats his body as a trust; does not fill his stomach or his heart with transient things. A person, who acquires this form of life, is death before death indeed.

Man gives an account of his life after death. Therefore, the one who already did that in this world is death before death indeed. With the end of the world life, it is transferred to a new one. If that is so, the one who is prepared for the Hereafter in this world is death before death indeed.

As his all other organs, his tongue and eyes are taken away with death. He is now destitute of blessings as reading and writing. Having this in mind, a person who reads things and listens to things that are useful in the Hereafter, is death before death indeed.

Both love and fears of the creature ends with death. As it is same to be praised or to be sworn at for the death, there is no difference between summer and winter. The one who does not consider either kind regards or criticisms of others in the world, the one who does not rejoice either in existence or in non-existence is death before death indeed.

And the most important of all is one reverts to God, goes back to his Cherisher with his death. However, the ones who die before death revert to God in this world; fulfill their lifetime within the circle of the divine decrees. They take refugee in God’s mercy and again fear His scourge in this world. These fortunate souls revert to God in the Hereafter too, but this revert appear in a way as if it is a reunion with One’s beloved.

Limited will of the kul (servant of God) ends with death. If that is so, the ones who die before death, achieve to overcome the cravings of evil self’s worldly appetites in this world and subordinate themselves to the divine will (unlimited) of God’s. They do not ask anything on account of their ‘Nafs’ (self ego). All their demands are within the circle of ‘Halal’ (religiously permissible). By this way, they reach to the pleasure of dying before death.

Dying before death is a great grace and tranquility for the soul indeed. As everybody experiences, man fears from thunder, escapes from lightning on earth… Once he flies over the clouds while traveling by plane, he finds the sun and breaks free from his fears. And the ones who attain to the secret of dying before death, revert to God as an obedient servant of God’s. They are free from egocentrism, because a death cannot have an ego. The nature cannot attract them, because a death has nothing to do with nature.