One Crucial Question:
Is Death Considered as One’s End or Beginning?

Why do Most People Fear Death?

Death has always manifested itself as a horrendous monster in the eyes of man. The very thought of it has made life miserable for many.

These people not only fear the name of death, but also abhor the graveyard. They decorate the graves in order to forget about the very nature of death.

In literature, expressions such as “the monster of death,” “the claws of death,” and “the blow of death” are prevalent.

When people want to mention the name of a dead person, they use euphemisms such as “away from now,” “may my tongue be mute,” “may there be seven mountains distance between him and you,” “May you continue his life,” in order to create a wall between the listener and the memory of the dead person.

Now let us analyze the roots of such fear among human beings. Why did some people in the past have a different view on death and did not fear it and instead they welcomed death as an honor?

We read in history books that while a group of people sought after the elixir of life, another group lovingly took part in holy wars and laughed in the very face of death. Sometimes, they would complain about their longevity and wished for a day when they should join the Great Love. Today, too, we can witness this phenomenon in the struggle between right and wrong by these people who enthusiastically welcome martyrdom.

The Real Reason Behind This Fear:

An analysis of such fear will show us that there are two reasons for it:

1. An Interpretation of Death as Extinction

Man has always escaped from extinction: he fears illness which is the absence of health; he fears darkness which is the absence of light and he fears poverty which is the obliteration of affluence.

He is sometimes disturbed by an empty house or a desert since he cannot see anybody there. Strange to say, people are often frightened by the very presence of a dead body in a room, whereas when the latter was living, they enjoyed that persons presence.

Now let us see why man fears nonexistence. The reason for such an irrational fear is clear; nonexistence is foreign to existence; therefore, our abhorrence towards nonexistence is quite natural. Now if we consider death as the end of everything, we are correct to fear it, even its very name, since according to this view the death takes away everything from us.

But if we assume that death is the start of a new life that it is eternal and is a window opening upon a great world, then naturally we would never fear it and would congratulate those who enthusiastically embrace it.

The Dreadful Record

We know of a group of people who do not consider death as non-existence and who do not deny life after death, but who fear death, anyway.

This is because the record of their deeds is so dark and black that they fear the painful chastisement that they would face after life.

They are right to fear death because they look like dangerous criminals who fear being released from jail because they know that as soon as they are removed from their cell, they will be executed. Therefore, they desperately cling to the prison bars. They do not abhor freedom; but they fear it because the consequence is execution.

But why should those who neither consider death as extinction nor possess black records fear death? No doubt, they, too, desire life enthusiastically, but since they want to enjoy life after death, they should welcome a death which brings forth God’s satisfaction.

Two Different Points of View

We have seen that there are two kinds of people. A group that includes the majority of people, who abhor death. But there is a second group who welcomes a death which is for an honorable purpose, such as martyrdom or at least are not fearful when their lives come to an end.

The reason for this is that they have two opposing viewpoints:

The First Group: Either this group does not believe in life after death or they still have some doubts about such a life. Therefore, they consider the moment of death as a farewell to everything. Of course, it is extremely horrible to say farewell to everything; it is quite painful to leave the light and enter the darkness.

By the same token, it is quite horrifying for a prisoner to leave his cell and enter a court to be tried.

The Second Group: This group considers death as a new life, an escape from a limited, dark world into a wide, illuminated world. Death is freedom from a narrow, small cage and the opportunity to fly into the boundless, immense sky; it is like leaving a location which is the centre of fights, struggles, injustice, hatred and vengeance and entering a place of purity. It is natural for them not to fear such a death and declare like Imam `Al¢(s):

لاَبْنُ أَبِي طَالِبٍ آنَسُ بِالْمَوْتِ مِنَ الطِّفْلِ بِثَدْيِ أُمِّهِ.

“I swear to God that the son of Ab£-±¡lib’s interest in death is more than the interest shown by an infant towards its mother’s breast.”

This group might repeat the following poem written by a Persian poet:

Tell death to come to me if it is man enough,

So that I may hold it tightly in my bosom;

So that I would take away from it its eternal life,

But it could take away from me only a colorful robe.

This is why we encounter some personages like Imam °usayn(s) and his supporters in the history of Islam who became happier as their martyrdom came closer.

In the same way, we can read in the honorable life of Imam `Al¢(s) that he uttered the expression:

“I swear to the God of the Ka`bah that I am victorious and free,” when the sword of that filthy criminal came down on his head.

Of course, this does not mean that it is advisable for us to jeopardize our lives and abandon the great asset of life.

Rather, it is meant that one should benefit from life properly and never be worried about its end, especially losing it in those paths where excellent objectives lie.