Where do you wish to die: In a hotel or in the mosque?

But we all know that each day the sun rises, it signals the birth of a child and the death of another; the rise to fame of a group and the descent of another into infamy. Since the primordial period, my dear brethren, humanity has learnt that to be born is to keep a date with death; to emerge from the womb into life is to book a space in the tomb.

“Abdullah” probably travelled to Saudi Arabia to perform the Hajj and Umra. He could have begun the spiritual journey in Makkah, before his onward journey to Madinah to visit the Prophet’s mosque. He could even have been a citizen of Saudi Arabia who enjoyed the uncommon privilege of being a neighbor to the holiest sites in Islamic weltanschauung. He entered the Prophet’s mosque that particular day like other worshippers. He took his position amidst the worshippers of the creator of the heavens and the earth; he joined the congregation in order to raise his voice and glorify the name of the Almighty. Yes, he raised his voice and said Allahu Akbar- that the Almighty is Great. He raised his two hands in an expression of his nothingness in relation to His majesty; he raised his two hands to affirm his awareness that he came to the world with nothing and that when the ”hour” comes he shall leave with nothing except his worship of the Almighty and the good deeds he puts forward.

After a short while he bowed his head, in the ruku’ posture, like other worshippers in the mosque. Thereafter, dear brethren, our brother proceeded from the rukuu’ to the sajdah. The sajdah posture, you would remember, is the closest station the servant can reach on this planet earth in relation to the Almighty. In the sajdah posture, dear brethren, our forehead, our two palms, our two knees and the toes of our foot (the seven points of submission to the Almighty) should touch the ground. The sajdah posture is usually observed twice in our prayers and each of them carries great lessons for our contemplation.

When the Muslim worshipper puts his forehead on the ground in obeisance and in submission to the Almighty, he practically humbles himself. By bringing our forehead to the ground, Muslims engage in willful self-immolation in front of their creator. The Muslim worshipper who brings his forehead to touch the ground enters into a covenant with the Almighty; such a Muslim is saying she would not, no matter how austere or prosperous the circumstance becomes, serve any other principal apart from His Majesty.