By Ishola Balogun

Praise be to Allah “ Who created life and death to test which of us is best in conduct.” And Who “ made the world for both the living and the dead” among us. May the Peace and Blessing of Allah be upon Muhammad, the last of the Prophets.

THIS week has been a difficult week for us at Vanguard. We have had to deal with the tragedy of losing a great colleague.  On Wednesday evening, August 29, at the peak of production, a few minutes after he was driven to the hospital, the shocking news came and it shook the whole premises more than the tsunamic episode. The Group Entertainment editor, Ogbonnaya Amadi is dead. The whole Vanguard family is still mourning the passsage of a master in entertainment reporting.

I always remember his overtures of prayers at meetings.  He would say ‘Alfa, pray for us.’ He actually initiated the observance of prayers before and after meetings. I equally understand that he muted some prayers before his final breath.  But at this point, we succumbed to the will of Allah from Whom we all came and to Him we shall all return.  Ina lillahi wa ina ilaihi rajihun.

Inevitability of death
This has actually had me thinking a lot about life and death once again.  But how many have reasoned in their brooding that it could have happened to them?  How many of those we saw a moment ago, interacted with and are pronounced dead in the next minutes?

D-e-a-t-h, the five letter word is inevitable, everything except the Almighty God of course, will die.  And no one knows exactly when it will come. We most times get carried away with the frivolities of this life, and when death comes, we are for a moment, numbed to the reality of being a stranger in this world.

Every soul shall have a taste of death:  For the life of this world is but goods and chattels of deception. (Quran 3:185)
According to an old allegory, a man made an unusual agreement with the angel of death, Izraeel. He told Izraeel that he would be willing to go with him (as though he had a choice) only if Izraeel would give him a notice well in advance before snuffing life out of him.

The agreement was made. Weeks became months and the months into years. One bitterly cold night, as the man sat alone thinking of his success in life, his exploits, and next stage of his dream, Izraeel tapped on his shoulder, saying: “I am here to take you away.”

The man said: “No! You are here too soon, you sent no message or notice, I thought we had an agreement!”   Izraeel whispered, “The time given by your lord is now, I am sorry that you are not ready for me but the order of Almighty God cannot be averted!”

The death of a peer is nothing but a wake-up call for all of us to get prepared for the final abode. This way, we will be able to avoid the bewilderment and reduce the shock of the so-called untimely death.  Yes! We all pray for long life, but no one knows when exactly it will come and how it will come. Of course, those who died untimely would have prayed for long life. Only Allah knows the appointed time for everyone.

Late Mr. Ogbonnaya Amadi , pioneer ICT journalist

Unfortunately, as human beings, we give our hearts to the pleasure of this world. An Islamic poet once said: – “Do not give your heart to this world, for its example is like an unfaithful bride who has never loved you, even for a night.”

The Prophet (s.a.w) has advised us to reflect upon death as a means of staying focused on our journey to Allah (SWT). In one hadith, he said:  Frequently remember death, the destroyer of pleasures.

The Muslim is supposed to realise that death is simply a passage from this life to the next, better life. We will be tested. We may suffer a bit, but we know that as long as we believe and live  a good life, we will get al-janah and experieince it forever. This is the promise of Allah.

We obviously don’t have time on our side. None of us knows when, where or how we will die, all we know is that we will die, and after that, we will be judged and questioned about what we were able to do in life. We must assure ourselves that we have done all that we can to make this life a success for ourselves, our family and for humanity.

Before I end today’s sermon, let us consider another metaphor on life and death.  A man slipped down into the brink of a deep well. Fortunately, a plant had grown in the wall of the well and while falling, his hands clutched a branch of that plant.  After the initial shock, he began looking up and down.  What he saw, was enough to make him scared.  A huge snake, in the depth of the well, waiting to devour him.

Desperately, he decided to remain where he was and then saw, to his horror, that two mice – one black, another white – were busy cutting the root of that plant.  He lost his hope.  Then he looked up, and his heart was full of hope.  He was not very far from the rim-edge of the well.

He thought that by a little judicious effort, he could reach to safety very easily.  Then suddenly, he saw a beehive in that plant, and forgetting his tragic position, he began to eat the honey.  Of course, the bees did not like it and began stinging him, but he remained oblivious of all the troubles, kept savouring the sweetness of the honey.  A short time after, the mice succeeded in cutting the plant down and he fell in the mouth of the big snake.

We are that man; this world is that well; the plant in midway is our life; which is being washed away by every passing day and night – the black and white mice; death is the snake waiting to devour us.

Pleasantries of this world
The honey represents the pleasantries of this world, which we struggle for while the bees represent some of the minor encumberances while enjoying the pleasures of this world.

It is imperative that the reflection of death should be ever present in the minds of men. However prolonged this worldly life may be, it is ephemeral and must end and however great may be your possessions in this world, one day, you will leave them behind. It is sure!

One who reminds himself of death frequently will have his heart come alive as to the whole essence of life. Allahumma inna na’oozu bika min fitnatil mahyaya wal mamaat.  Rabbana aatina fid dunya hasanah, wa fil akhirati hasanah, wa qina azaban-naar.

Preparing for Hajj

By  Harun Rasaq

HAJJ is Muslim pilgrimage to the holy land of Makkah and other places in Saudi Arabia during the month of Hajj with specific conditions. Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam which requires early and adequate preparation. The importance of Hajj cannot be over-emphasized in Islam. This is because the Qur’an, Sunnah and consensus of the Muslim from the period of the salaf till now support it.

Hajj is so important in Islam that any Muslim that met its condition and refused to answer the call is regarded as kafir. Unfortunately, many Muslims today in Nigeria have refused to carry out this divine injunctions inspite of the fact that they are qualified.  They give unacceptable excuses of time, building of houses or other flimsy excuses.

Contrastively, many of those who are not qualify embark on the journey yearly and thus turn the holy status of Alhaji to another thing entirely. Therefore before Hajj can be beneficial, the Hujaj, an intending pilgrim must meet certain conditions and some steps must be taken before embarking on the journey.

Some of the conditions for Hajj are: (1) the intending pilgrim must be a practising Muslim with sound ‘Aqidah (doctrine); must be a true Muslim must not involve in any act that nullifies iman-belief). The ten most common ones are (i) associating partner with  Allah, (ii) Setting up intermediary between oneself and Allah (iii) not considering Mushrikin to be unbelievers, (iv) believing that some guidance is better than what the prophet’s (s.a.w) came with, (v) hating something that the Messenger (s.a.w) came with, (vi) mocking something of the faith, (vii) practising sorcery,(viii) Supporting the polytheists against the Muslims, (ix) believing that some people are permitted to deviate from the Shariah, (x) turning away from the religion of Allah. Faith is a condition of the validity of the deeds and its approval.

(2) Must have attained adulthood; (3) Must be of a sound state of mind and in full control of his mental faculties; (4) Ability: this include the following: Must be healthy and physically fit, to undergo the rigours of the journey and rites; Must be sure that the way to the holy land is safe; Must be financially sound enough to be able to bear all of the expenses for Hajj, also to provide adequately for his dependants before leaving home.