RELIGION AND POLITICS

T hroughout history, the approach of death has stripped away illusions and revealed life’s deeper truths. Many sayings, whether recorded in authentic sources or passed down in moral traditions, capture this sobering moment of clarity. One oft-repeated traditional account says that Alexander of Macedon, who conquered vast lands, is believed to have lamented near the end of his life: “I wanted to conquer the world, but Death has conquered me.” While historians do not record these exact words, the sentiment reflects the ancient lesson that power and glory cannot triumph over mortality. The French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte is documented to have said on Saint Helena, “I die before my time, and my body will be given back to the earth to become food for worms. Such is the fate which so soon awaits the great Napoleon.” Other literary traditions attribute to him the reflection that he gained power but never found lasting love—and that life without it felt meaningless. A moral anecdote about the Abbasid Caliph Harun al-Rashid describes him saying: “All my life I tried to flee from sorrow, yet it followed me. Not a single day passed without worry. Now the grave is before me.” While its authenticity is uncertain, it echoes the well-attested reality that even rulers of great dominions could not escape human anxiety. Similarly, later writers ascribe to Caliph al-Mansur the regretful words: “One act of goodness is better than all rulership—but I realised this only when Death seized me.” Whether factual or allegorical, it underlines a truth recognised by sages and leaders alike. The lesson is plain: if the realisation that worldly splendour is fleeting comes only at the moment of death, it is too late to act on it. The time to remember death is in life’s active years, when one still has the strength to choose right over wrong. To live without this awareness is to prepare for a future for which no preparation has been made—until the Angel of Death stands at the door, and time has run out.  THE OTHER SIDE OF DEATH