To view or make comments go to this title’s YouTube page.
FULL TRANSCRIPT:
When a famous person dies suddenly, many people’s reactions are, “I’m in shock. It can’t be true. I can’t believe it.” And people, maybe some of us, react this way because we forget about the ultimate purpose of life. We get caught up in the routines and get distracted by everyday life, and we don’t have death foremost in our minds. But the reality is that over a hundred and fifty thousand people die per day. And so some people may say, “So what if such-and-such famous person dies? So many other people have died on this day.” But I would submit that there is, for lack of a better word, value, a type of silver lining, in the collective shock felt throughout the world when someone so prominent dies suddenly, because everybody is talking about it. And death, during this time, becomes less of a taboo topic of discussion. And so maybe from this perspective, perhaps it’s a good time for da’wah and it’s a good time to remind one another about death. And it seems like every so often, Allah wills that someone really, really famous dies suddenly simply to remind us that death can happen at anytime, anywhere, and to anyone. A few examples that I can relate to as an American are JFK, Princess Diana, Michael Jackson, and Kobe Bryant, and there’s many others. And just because I’m using these people as examples does not necessarily mean I’m holding them in a high esteem. My point is that these were very famous, recognizable people in their culture and in the world who died suddenly and served as a collective shock to millions upon millions of people around the world.
But the message that I want to leave with you today, whether it be the death of a big celebrity or the death of a loved one or some tragic event in your life or in society, don’t let tragic instances be the only case when you think about death. We Muslims and all those who believe in accountability before our Creator should think about death as much as we possibly can in our daily lives. And this is not to depress us, but rather it’s meant to do two primary things: to motivate us to cherish each and every moment we have, and to motivate us to prepare ourselves for that inevitable event, the event of death. And the best way that we can prepare ourselves for death is to be the best Muslims, the best human beings that we can possibly be.
The famous quote that we always hear from the Qur’an regarding death is surah 4, ayah 78: “Wherever you are, death will find you out, even if you are in towers built up strong and high.” But the ayah immediately before it is just as important in my opinion. It says: “Short is the enjoyment of this world. The Hereafter is the best for those who do right.” And a man came to Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, and asked, “When is the Hour of Judgment?” And the Prophet, peace be upon him, answered, “What did you prepare for it?” May Allah guide us all to remember that death can happen at any time, and may He guide us to be prepared for it. Ameen.