when the inevitable becomes unignorable

in the oncology clinic, when the oncologist (cancer specialist) tells the patient that the cancer is at an advance stage, and is not curable, and would ultimately lead to death, I could see so many reactions. to a certain extend this puzzles me. don't get me wrong, I am not a medical student who is desensitized by the notion of death and mortality because it is so close to what I do daily, but I find it very interesting indeed how we humans react to something that is inevitable, something as sure as death.

no I am not cold or heartless, I cry inside too when I see patients got that news. but the intention of this post is to bring our attention to the certainty of death, and to the fact that most people do not think about it enough in our daily life. we are so busy living that we time and time again forget that the ultimately everyone dies. and it does not take a cancer or an illness to bring that on. all it takes is Allah's will.

moving on, how do we remind ourselves that we are mortals, that our life have and expiry date, and that afterwards there is no coming back to the land of the living?! and what is even more important is to question ourselves what do we do with this limited time? is it enough to just live, and play, and eat, and grow old, and die (maybe even before growing old?). what is there to include in our daily lives that will ensure that we will die smiling, knowing that we have prepared for the next session of "life". most of us knows that answers anyways, these are only rethorical questions.

i end this short post with some excerpts from the Quran:

Al-Baqarah:28 How can you be ungrateful to Allah Who bestowed life upon you when you were lifeless, then He will cause you to die an will bring you back to life so that you will be returned to Him?

Al-Mulk:2 Who created death and life that He might try you as to which of you is better in deed. He is the Most Mighty, the Most Forgiving.

Ann-Naba:40 Verily, We have warned you of a Penalty near― the Day when man will see (the Deeds) which his hands have sent forth, and the Unbeliever will say "Woe unto me! Would that I were (mere) dust! 

(Sesungguhnya (dengan keterangan-keterangan tersebut), Kami memberi amaran kepada kamu mengenai azab yang dekat - iaitu hari seseorang melihat apa apa yang telah diusahakannya; dan orang yang kafir akan berkata; "alangkah baiknya kalau aku menjadi tanah.)

Wallahua'lam.