Old Age: Prior Notice of Death

When an awakened man reaches old age he realizes that death is certain, he has to face the divine court in the Hereafter and be held accountable before God. The most unfortunate person is one who attains old age, but remains negligent of the Hereafter.

Chapter 35 of the Quran says: “Did we not make your life long enough to take warning if you were going to? The warner did come to you.” (35:37) There are several traditions, in the books of Hadith like in Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith No. 6419, in which it is mentioned that the man who has had a long life is left with no excuse for not paying heed to the divine message when he stands before God. At first, there is childhood then there is youth, and finally there is old age. Old age is the last period for any person in the present world. Because the stage that comes after that is that of death and not any other stage.

Old age is, therefore, the prior notice of death. In old age, all the organs of the body become weak and some organs of the body stop functioning. These events tell us that the time of death has come near. This is a compulsory reminder of death. Old age puts a human being at the edge of the grave.

If a man’s mind is awakened, he will start thinking on reaching the old age that now the time is fast approaching when his death is certain and he will be held accountable before God. Acknowledgement of this shakes a man up. It forces him to think of the Hereafter. Indeed old age tells man that his journey in the present world will soon be over. He is going to enter into the next stage and shall have to face the judgement of the divine court. Undoubtedly the most unfortunate person is one who has attained old age without heeding what it signified, thus remaining in a total state of negligence, even dying in that state.