Advice of Scholars - DEATH IS NOT A DISASTER

Hadrat Imâm-i Rabbânî says in the 104th letter of the first volume of his Maktûbât:

This letter, written to the Qâdîs of Perkana, offers condolence.

The sorrow felt for the death of the merhûm Hadrat (exalted person) is very severe, very poignant; but the slave has no other way than acquiesce in the doings of his owner. Man is not created for a constant abode in this world. We are created to work in the world. We must work! There is no reason for apprehension for a person who has worked, earned, and then died. In fact, such a death means to come into great fortune. Death is like a bridge; it brings lovers together. Death is not a disaster. But it is a disaster not to know what you will encounter after death. We must help the deceased and rescue them by saying prayers and istighfâr for them, by giving alms for them. Rasûlullah (sallallâhu ’alaihi wassallam) declared, “The state of a deceased person in the grave is like that of a person who has fallen into the sea and is crying for help. As a person who is about to drown awaits a savior, so the deceased person yearns for the arrival of prayers from his parents, brothers and friends. Any prayer coming to him delights him more than if the whole world were given to him. Through the prayers of the living, Allâhu ta’âlâ gives the deceased rahmats like mountains. The present to be given to the deceased by the living is to say prayers and istighfâr for them. ”