Death: The Devine Destination

By Bala Ibrahim

Hardly a day passes without the sad news of the passing away of someone, known or unknown to us. I was in the office of someone two days ago, a lady, a hard working lady that enjoys working under the ambience of old school music, playing at low volume, in the background. As an act of civility or respect, perhaps, pursuant to the good old upbringing she got, she enquired politely, if the music was disturbing me. I replied with a no, not at all, I said. I belong to the old school and I am a good fan of the old school music. As she worked, I held on to my cup of coffee, listening joyfully to the music of Michael Jackson, Prince, Madonna, Whitney Houston and Don Williams. With Donald Ray Williams playing country music, I would skip everything on earth, but prayers.

We reminisced over many things, including the forthcoming Shalamar show in Abuja, Nigeria, on Saturday, October 4, 2025, at the International Conference Centre. However, the most touching part of our conversation was on cancer and the pain and fatigue the disease is visiting on our people. In lamentation, we sympathised with the bad situation some of our friends are, particularly those of them that are battling with the disease. And these pain and grief are everywhere, in every family, every community and believe you me, every country. The only difference is, some families, communities or countries, have better shock absorbers, or better ways of managing their calamities.

According to Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, the American poet and educator, every man has his secret sorrows which the world knows not. Yes, the world knows not, because he has a good way of managing the problem as well as the information. Also, in support of the universality of grief, Voltaire, the pen named French Enlightenment writer and philosopher, said, tears are the silent language of grief. Sometimes, most times, pains and grieves are precursors in the journey to the inevitable end. And the inevitable end of every one of us is death. All the scriptures have emphasized the inevitability of death.

The Quran Surah 3:185, states: “Every soul shall taste death. And only on the Day of Resurrection shall you be paid your wages in full”. The ambition of the verse is to highlight that death is a universal and unavoidable experience, and that humanity will be judged and receive their final recompense. Equally, Surah 62:8 says: ‘Indeed, the death from which you flee – indeed, it will meet you. Then you will be returned to the Knower of the unseen and the witnessed…'”.

In the Bible, Ecclesiastes 7:2, says: “death is the destiny of everyone”. Also,Hebrews 9:27, states, “Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment”. Deah is therefore an appointed event for all people, and with it will come the concept of
accountability for one’s actions. It now behoves on us as mortals, to appreciate the importance of living righteously and not recklessly.

Just last week, a colleague called on me to please write a tribute on late Muftau Baba Ahmed, a friend and in law that succumbed to to the inevitability of death, at a time no one was thinking it would come. I couldn’t do it. I just couldn’t do it, because, by simply casting my mind backwards, to the immediate past few months, and attempting to remember the number of friends that died in succession, my hands began to tremble. And they continued trembling for long because, I couldn’t stop my conscience from racing between the word inevitable and unavoidable, particularly as they stand as certain, or constant, in the natural part of the life cycle for all living beings.

Yes, death is a devine destination that must come when it will come. May Allah make us all end well, ameen.