Life Supreme — Page 83
86. LIFE SUPREME. Thousands of such cases are on record and are in keeping with the teachings of the Holy Quran which declares that God takes away the souls of everyone not only at the time of death but also at times during their life time: "And He it is Who takes your souls by night and knows that which you do by day. (6:61) "Allah takes away the souls of human beings at the time of death; and during their sleep of those that are not yet dead. And He keeps those against which He has decreed death, and sends back the others till an appointed term. In that surely are signs for a people who reflect. ' (39:43). This subject is extremely absorbing one in as much as it brightens our spiritual vision, helps us to realise our true self more clearly, encourages us to dive deeper into eternal truths and strengthens our faith in the unseen. . VISIBLE DEPARTURE OF SOUL BODY. There are many accounts on record given by people who have claimed to have seen the soul body leave a person's physical body at the moment of death. No doubt instances of this kind are unusual but for that matter all other kinds of psychic and spiritual phenomena are also unusual. There are persons, by way of example, who have claimed to have seen angels but no God-fearing Muslim will reject their statement on the grounds that such claims are unusual. Now and again people do have visions of angels though we are not conversant with those laws which enable them to see angels; nor are we conversant with those laws which enable people sometimes to observe the departure of the soul body at the time of death; but lack of understanding is not sufficient cause to reject the truth of this phenomenon. . Mr. F. L. Rawson writes in his book 'Life Understood': 'In her book 'Little Women' Louisa Alcott relates how at the moment of death, she saw as it were a thin smoke arise from her sister Bertha and vanish. The doctor told her that this was not an hallucination but the life departing visibly. Dr. Patrick. O'Donnell says that he has photographed this at the Mercy. Hospital, Chicago. '