Reflections: In death, a remembrance of how to live life

Forced to remember

Like many Americans, the news of the destruction of the Space Shuttle Columbia early Saturday morning was surreal and unexpected. After all, it is our nature as human beings to forget about death as quickly as we can, to avoid contemplating the inevitable lest it sap our lust for life. Death, however, was something I had already been contemplating for a few days. After receiving what had seemed like a minor foot injury, my only aunt suffered a series of medical setbacks that ended up causing a heart attack and taking her life the night before. As Muslims are to be buried as soon as possible, there is little time to grieve as last-minute funeral preparations are made. I would have to do so on the way to Minnesota for the burial, and it was while I was in this state of mind that I learned of the Columbia tragedy.

My aunt Naseem was a shining example of a Muslim woman. Never judgemental, constantly thinking of others, always serving God through serving the less fortunate – Muslim or not. She always thought about others before herself, showering her family and friends alike with gifts and kind words. She was full of life and energy, even volunteering her time working in nursing homes where she was often older than the residents. Even though she was 75, we all felt that she left this world prematurely.

People usually feel differently about death depending on who it was that died. If the person truly enriched our lives, we feel that they were taken too soon from us, that the community was robbed of their presence. Sometimes, if the person did bad things in life, we feel a sense of justice or even gratitude. The crew of the Columbia will be remembered as heroes, and rightfully so. The risks they took for the advancement of science and human achievement will not be soon forgotten. And judging from the hundreds of people who showed up at my aunt’s funeral, each one of them profoundly touched in some way by her positive attitude or gracious demeanor, she will be remembered fondly for a long time as well. Yet there are many noble people who die tragically every day in anonymity, and in quiet moments amid the gentle snow, I reserved a moment to think of them as well. Is it unfair that some are adulated upon death and others are forgotten? Perhaps, but that doesn’t matter to the dead, a group that we shall all join someday.

As far as the Columbia crew is concerned, there are some who resent the attention given to people who, however tragic their death, were among the most blessed people on earth. After all, many of us would gladly accept the risk that they took just to spend a few days in the stars. Also, there are some Muslims who might feel divine justice was served, either in general for an America whose drive for war in Iraq borders on the pathological, or for Israeli Air Force General Ilan Ramon in particular, who played a role in the 1982 invasion of Lebanon which cost the lives of so many countless civilians. Both attitudes are wrong. Al-Ghazali, in his classic treatise on death and the afterlife, speaks of the humility Muslims should have in response to death, as it serves as a constant reminder of our limitations, and our ever-decreasing time on this world in which we are called upon to improve ourselves and the lives of those around us. Spending even a second in idle speculation of what good or bad lies beyond for them does not affect the souls of those who have passed on, and only serves to hurt our own. Muslims should remember that while Allah is just, His mercy is infinite and surely reaches far beyond our own.

Americans have shown, through their outpouring of grief and emotion this past weekend, that they have the ability to genuinely care about people whom they have never met. It is an admirable quality to empathize with those whose lives have been shattered by the sudden loss of a loved one. My hope is that as the death of those seven brave astronauts disrupts our daily routine, we will pause for just a moment and extend that empathy to the many innocent people who will die in the upcoming war in Iraq. Maybe through this national tragedy, we will be less eager to accept another tragic death. I’m sure my aunt Naseem would agree.

Shahed Amanullah is editor-in-chief of altmuslim.com.