Malfuzat - Volume VII — Page 386
Malfuzat - English translation of Urdu Volume 7 386 found for them to live, to the extent that they could not even find a place to stand on. Therefore, such a large number itself demands death so that earlier people leave to make room for others. Death should not be understood to mean that a person disappears completely after death; rather, it is akin to a person leaving one habitation and going into another habitation. Its true nature can be under- stood to some extent by sleep, because sleep—so to speak—is the sister of death. In sleep, too, there is a kind of ‘taking of the soul’. Others, who are sitting next to people sleeping, con- sider those asleep to be in a realm of absolute unawareness and unconsciousness, but the one seeing a dream is instantly expe- riencing another world and he is journeying about. Now, from an external impression, all his senses and faculties are not in use, but the one sleeping and seeing a dream knows very well that his senses and faculties are entirely engaged in activity. Likewise, the deceased person instantly sees himself in another world after death. Yes, it is true that when death comes, the person who had squandered away his precious life in noth- ing more than worldly pursuits and had failed to establish a genuine bond with Almighty Allah, is overcome with regret and sorrow because he finds many of his tasks unfinished and unfulfilled, and death for him is experienced as a bitter drink to swallow. It is clear from this that man should not develop an attachment [to this world] and should not waste his time. One should value every moment and, believing that death might even come right now, he should remain prepared for death. When the worry of this preparedness latches on to him, it results in man strengthening his relationship with Almighty Allah and thinking about seeking comfort in that other world. Remember it well that this world is the field of cultiva- tion for the Hereafter. Just like a farmer protects his crop and