Life Death and Beyond

One’s Own Funeral Prayer if someone could extend his life by even a single day, he was ready to give him his entire treasury! When his 60th birthday was nearing, Louis XI became even more worried. He had become so weak that it was with difficulty that he could lift a morsel of food and put it in his mouth. He gathered all the religious resources he could in order to live as long as possible. He sent thousands of gold coins to churches in Germany, Rome and Naples and distributed money to religious leaders. He despatched ships to an island to fetch big turtles from there. He had been told that these turtles had life-giving properties. But despite all these desperate measures, the Emperor died, in an attack of paralysis. His last words were, “I am not as ill as you think I am.” When Louis at last died, as he had to, he realized that no one, not even an Emperor, can win over death. One’s Own Funeral Prayer A man died, and an acquaintance of mine attended his burial service. The namaz-e janaza (funeral prayer) was about to begin when a person who was standing next to my friend wanted to know what sort of prayer he should intend to make—a farz (obligatory) prayer or a sunnat (optional) prayer. My friend responded by saying that he should make the intention of making his own funeral prayer! The man was shocked! Reciting the funeral prayers for a deceased person isn’t a mere ritual. Rather, it is a reminder of a very grave reality—