My recent conversation with a family member in Canada brought to light the sad and painful tragedy that we face when we have family members infected with COVID-19 and pass away alone.

Our greatest fear is death and especially the fear of dying alone. People around the world have been sharing painful stories of not being able to sit with parents, grandparents and children to offer comfort and love, say goodbye in person to loved ones and not being able to bury them according to their chosen rites.

The pandemic sweeping across the world has exacerbated these fears.

One of the greatest companions of the Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, was Muadh ibn Jabal, may Allah be pleased with him, who was known for his intelligence and knowledge. The Prophet once said about him, “The most knowledgeable of my Ummah in matters of Halal and Haram is Muadh ibn Jabal.”

He was sent to Yemen by Nabi SAW himself and then, later to Palestine by Omar ibn al Khattab RA, to teach Islam and the Quran to the new converts among the people there.

It was whilst he was in Palestine that he took ill with an infectious disease and later died. On his death bed, he welcomed the inevitable, as described by Abdul Wahid Hamid in his book “Companions of the Prophet 2”: “. . . He turned in the direction of the Kabaah and repeated this refrain: ‘Welcome Death, welcome. A visitor has come after a long absence….’

He then turned his gaze to the heavens and said: ‘O Lord, You know that I did not desire the world and to prolong my stay in it…. O Lord, accept my soul with goodness as You would accept a believing soul…’

He passed away, far from his family and friends but among people who loved him. He died as a Muhajir in His Path and as a da’ee in His service.

Painful as it is to meet death away from those whom we love and cherish, it is a preamble to our ultimate meeting with our Rabb on the Day of Atonement: alone and ready to face accountability for how we chose to live our lives. This applies to every single one of us, regardless of whether we died alone in a room far from loved ones or in one surrounded by them.

It is the courage of Muadh, may Allah be pleased with him, that should be our example of facing the inevitability of death with acceptance and hope.

In the case of the friend who passed away in the hospital in Canada, her brother asked the non-Muslim nurse who called him with the news to write down the words of the Kalimah and to help his sister to repeat them, which she did. Her patient succumbed as she nodded in agreement to familiar the words, the motto of her life.

May Allah accept those who have died of COVID-19 as martyrs. May He make us ready for death in any state. And may He end this pandemic very soon so that we can once again, be with those we love in their final moments. Aameen.

By Annisa Essack