At the point of death man will know that he has returned to...

At the point of death man will know that he has returned to the ultimate foundation. In other words, he will know the meaning of thumma ilayna turjaun, "then to us you return." He is already in Allah by Allah, but he may not recognize it fully; he may not always spontaneously be aware of it. Everyone will come to know that he has returned to Allah, that he is not separate from Allah. This is an all-encompassing law, governing all mankind.

At the point of death, he will suddenly realize that he has fallen into Allah's web, which encompasses all other webs of experiences and creations. For the mu'min, his return, his death, is a continuation of his life. He has already recognized in this life that he is acting by Allah. But the raja (return) that Allah refers to is an absolute and final one. The man of iman takes this aya as his ultimate security when afflicted by the wind of opposition and doubt.

The mu'min's death is the beginning of the next awakening. His capital and strength at the point of death is what he will have invested in life, according to the purity of his actions based on his intentions. Allah says: "Everyone will rr*et the face of Allah." The mu'min wants to see it now. His desire for this goal is measured by the extent of his abandonment of actions emanating from his selfish and lower motives.

If a man's actions in this life are not motivated by fear, anxiety, disappointment, love or hate, then his actions are purely and simply inspired. The reactions to those actions are not going to afflict him. He is closer to the knowledge of Allah here and now. Ultimately, a point comes when he experiences life and death simultaneously. From then on, the physical death is for him, only a natural phenomenon which is hardly of any consequence.

This is what the sufis call fana' fi-llah (obliteration of the self in Allah). It is a state of awareness that keeps one constantly in remembrance that at any moment he may die. Thus death and life become familiar to the one who has experi­enced fana' fi llah. He recognizes that both emanate from one source and that source is Allah. He goes beyond the opposites. The ordinary man who has not tasted his death has to wait.

He will also come to know that behind the opposites is Allah and his return is to Allah - inna li-llahi wa inna ilayhi raji`un: "We are by Allah and to Allah we return". Man is supported by Allah, sustained by the one and only Reality which manifests mercy in the form of outward sustenance.