English
ETIQUETTES AND SUPPLICATIONS PERTAINING TO DEATH
When signs of death appear to someone, he more than anyone else must prepare himself for receiving it, because he will start a journey from which he will never return; namely, the journey to the Other World. In this journey, he requires suitable provisions. The first thing he must do is to confess of his sins, admit of failure to do what ought to be done, show regret at the wrongdoings he has done, declare pure repentance, weep for himself, implore the All-holy God for forgiveness, and pray Him to stand by him and not to leave him alone facing the imminent shocks and horrors.
As a second step, he must pay considerable attention to his will; he must therefore fulfill his liabilities and duties towards Almighty Allah and people and must not entrust others to do so on behalf of him. He will very soon lose any control over his properties; rather, he will not be able to do anything rather than watching sorrowfully how his properties will be spent. In fact, the devilish jinn and human beings will inspire evil things to his heirs in order to prevent them from absolving him from the financial liabilities and he will have not stratagem other than shouting, “My Lord, send me back haply I may do good in that which I have left!” Yet, this call will not be heard and regret will not be helpful anymore.
In this respect, one who feels his imminent departure of this life must bequeath one third of his properties to his relatives and to charitable purposes in a way that corresponds to the financial situation. Legally, a legator has no right to dispose of more than one third of his legacy.
The next step is that he must absolve himself from his obligations towards his brethren-in-faith, ask those whom he had backbitten, insulted, or injured to forgive him if he can contact with them, and ask his present brethren-in-faith to ask the absent ones to release him from any wrongdoing he had done to them.
He must then nominate somebody as his guardian over his immature sons and entrust a trustworthy person with managing the affairs of his children and family members. Of course, this step, as well as all other steps, must be preceded by putting full trust in Almighty Allah.
The next step is that he must prepare his shroud (i.e. grave-clothes), in case that he has not already prepared it, and to order that the supplicatory prayers and holy verses, which are too many to be mentioned in this thesis, must be written on his shroud with a liquid made of a mixture of water and soil taken from Imam al-Husayn’s holy tomb. However, a true believer must always have his shroud prepared. In this regard, Imam al-Sadiq (‘a) is reported to have said, “Whoever has his shroud kept in his house, will not be registered with the inadvertent ones and will be granted a reward whenever he looks at it.”
One who is near death must no longer think of the future of his family members, sons, and property; rather, he must think of nothing except the All-holy God and must understand that such transient matters will not help or save him neither in this world nor in the other world, and nothing will help except the kindness and mercy of Almighty Allah. Hence, if one puts his full trust in Almighty Allah, the affairs of his household will certainly go well. It must be also known for sure that no one, be he alive or dead, can provide any help or fend off any harm unless Almighty Allah wills so, since He, Who has created the beings, is more compassionate to His creatures than anyone else. As a result, one who is near death must be full of hope for the mercy of his Lord and must entertain expectation of the intercession of the Holy Prophet (s) and the Holy Imams (‘a) and wait for their coming at the hour of death. In fact, it must be known that they all come at the last hour of death to convey good tidings to their loyalists and to ask the Angel of Death to be lenient to the dead who has been faithful to them.
In Misbah al-Mutahajjid, Shaykh al-Tusi says that it is recommended to pay much attention to the last will, which must not be belittled by every human being. In this respect, it is reported that one must not spend a single night without having his will placed under his head. This advice becomes more emphatic in cases of ailments. Hence, one must write down his will as excellently as possible and must absolve himself from the liabilities and responsibilities towards Almighty Allah and towards His servants.