Foreword

which is ultimately going to reach the stage of death. Death is not the end of life, but is rather the beginning of a very long stage of life. The actual importance of life is that it is a period for prior preparation to face the crucial moment of death. The right thing for man to do is to understand this reality of life. He should not engage himself in worldly matters to the extent that he forgets the stages he has to face after death. Man must live in this world in such a way that when he is faced with death it comes to him like something that he already knows, a recognisable event, rather than an accident which all of a sudden he is confronted with and for which he had made no prior preparation. Wise is he whose mind is alert about death, whose actions are planned in accordance with what is beneficial for him in the period after death, whose life is Hereafter-oriented rather than worldly-oriented. The feeling and prayer of a believer at that moment of death should be: “When the time to depart from the people of this world comes, I want to be near to God Almighty. When I have to leave the company of human beings, I want to be blessed with the company of angels. When death separates me from my people, let me not be left all alone but let me find the blessing of a nobler assembly in the company of God. Let my journey of death become a journey from a lower to a higher level of being.” This prayer is not just a set of words. It is a verbal expression of the internal feelings of a true believer. Wahiduddin Khan August 6, 2020 New Delhi, India FOREWORD