There was an interesting conversation between an Ustadz and the jama'ah (congregation) of his religious teaching consisting of senior women. The Ustadz asked his jama'ah, "Do you Ma'ams want to enter paradise?"

All the women answered in unison, "Yeeess…."

The Ustadz asked again, "Don't you Ma'ams want to die today?"

No one answered. Apparently, not even a person wished to die.

With a smile, the Ustadz said, "Then, how can we go to paradise, if we are never dead". The Ustadz continued his question, "Do you Ma'ams want me to pray for your long life?"

Enthusiastically, they all answered, "Yeeess…."

The Ustadz asked again, "How long do you Ma'ams want to live? A hundred years? Two hundred or even a thousand years?

Even the 80-year old people are already looking awkward, not to mention those who are over a hundred years of age."

It turned out that the questions just now did not end there. The Ustadz still kept on asking, "Ma'ams, do you love Allah?"

The answer could be guessed. The senior women simultaneously answered yes.

The Ustadz then said, "Usually when a person falls in love, he/she always long to met with his/her lover, don't you Ma'ams already long to meet with Allah?"

Silence. No one answered.

Most of us are horrified to talk about death. Forget about talking about it, we do not even dare to imagine it. It is because we are not prepared to face the events after death. Whereas, either prepared or not, we would certainly go through it. Ready or not ready, death will surely come to greet us. Rather than being evasive always, it is better that from now on we start to prepare ourselves to encounter death.

The best preparation is to always remember death. Convince ourselves that death is a door toward Allah. Death is the route to a beautiful place, paradise. By always remembering death, we will always strive to make every action that we do as a step toward the paradise that is full of bliss.

The essence of the human life is a journey back toward Allah. In this brief journey, there are those who return safely, but there are also those who are lost in hell. We are too preoccupied with the dunya (world) to the point that we feel that it is this dunya that is the real life. We seem to forget that this life is only a transit to seek provisions home. The luster beauty of this dunya make us sound asleep to tread on the path home.

Rasulullah once said that the smartest person is the one who always remember death. In other words, the smartest person is the one who has vision far into the future. By always remembering his vision and the purpose of his life, he will always be passionate in stepping ahead. The vision of a Muslim is not only limited to the life in this world but more than that, his vision is far away crossing the boundary of the life in this world. The vision of a Muslim is to return and meet with Allah. For him, the moments of death are the beautiful moments because he will soon meet with the beloved who has been sorely missed.

Sometimes we fear of dying because death will separate us with our loved ones. Parents, siblings, husband/wife, children, this shows that we love them more than Allah. If we truly love Allah, then death is like a loving invitation from Allah.

However, we should not ask to die. Dying in vain and without an apparent cause will instead distance us from Allah. The suicide death is a manifestation of the despair over Allah's compassion. Wanting to die very soon due to the difficulties of the world signifies that we want to escape from the realities of life. A good death is to die in an attempt to be a mercy for the whole universe. Dying in an attempt to bring about the greatest ideals, namely the peace and well-being of the human race.

Finally, the ones who are saved are those who realize that all the wealth and power are the means to get back to Allah. Their bodies might be soaked in tears, drenched in sweats, working hard to subdue the world but their hearts remain only tied to the beloved, Allah SWT. The most important is, how we can work hard, think smart and have a sincere heart.

O Owner of the dunya! Teach us how to subdue the dunya, instead of us being subservient to the dunya. When the glitters of the dunya bedazzle our view, when the abundance of the world jewels thrill our hearts, remind us O Allah! Remind that Your pleasure and Your compassion are greater than the mere dunya which will be left behind for certain. Amin.