Death’s Lesson
People who die give an important lesson to the living: they will meet the same fate one day. Then the living can experience death before death arrives.
Once, I attended the burial service of an individual. The man’s body was washed and wrapped up in a new sheet. People said the prayers that are recited on such occasions, and then, lifting the corpse on their shoulders, they headed to an empty grave. They lowered the body, with great respect, into the space and covered it up.
As this happened, I thought, “Why has Islam ordained such honourable treatment for a dead body?”
It is a fact that after death, a human body is nothing more than mud. However, unlike other mud, it is not thrown about here and there. Instead, it is treated like a human being.
Treating ‘mud’ as one would treat a human being is a commandment directed not at the dead body. Instead, its significance is for those who are still alive. An important lesson is conveyed to living people through a dead person—they will meet the same fate one day. In this way, the living can see themselves in the form of the dead. They can experience death before death arrives.
A man who was a living being like any of us is now dead. The other day, he was walking, talking, seeing, and so on, but now he lies perfectly still. The value he commanded in people’s eyes has suddenly been wholly wiped out. God uses this event to convey a lesson about life to others.
When a Muslim dies, people wash and clean and clothe the corpse with great care and carry it to the grave that awaits it. Moreover, when they lower the corpse into the grave, they take a handful of mud and put it inside the grave. They do this three times. While doing it the first time, they say Minha khalaqnakum— “From the earth, We have created you”. When throwing in the mud the second time, they say Wa fiha nuidukum— “And We return you to it”. The third time, they say Wa minha nukhrijukum taa ratan ukhra— “And from it, We shall bring you forth a second time” (20:55).
This putting mud in the grave three times is the climax of the whole event. In this way, it serves to remind us of the reality of man and of what our final destiny is.
