ASK MAULANA

ASK MAULANA Your Questions Answered The remedy for ignorance is asking questions. (Prophet Muhammad) The spirit of enquiry is the hallmark of an open society and the above saying of the Prophet aptly illustrates this principle. A culture of curiosity and open-mindedness will foster development in any society by motivating its members to learn enthusiastically and enrich their knowledge. This is because awareness of one’s ignorance is half of knowledge, as it becomes a stepping-stone to seeking and finding answers. A questioning mind is like a flowing river that is replenished with fresh thoughts and ideas and continues on its journey. Can we ask God for death? No, this is completely forbidden according to Islamic teachings. This has been alluded to in the following Hadith: Sa’d ibn Ubaid narrated that the Prophet said, ‘None of you should long for death, for if he is a good man, he may increase his good deeds and if he is an evil-doer, he may refrain from evil deeds and repent. (Sahih al-Bukhari) Hence the longer you live, the more opportunities you get to do good deeds, or repent if you have committed any bad ones. Keeping this wisdom in mind, one should always pray for well-being and happiness and not anything negative. According to the creation plan of God, the hour of death for every individual has been appointed by God Himself. We should accept our natural time of death, as God knows what is best for us. Is there a positive aspect of the phenomenon of death? Yes, the positive aspect of death is the sense of urgency that it creates in a person. The thought of death makes a person realize that whatever needs to be done, should be done at the present moment. Whether or not a person believes in religion, the concept of death would still instil a sense of urgency in him.