Death Is Life, By Saheed Olamilekan Quadri

By Saheed Olamilekan Quadri

In civilized years, death has been heavily blamed by humans for lack of consistency in the demographics of people it chooses to “call home” most of the time. Death is so unpredictable in its way that many have a praise-poetry for it. There are some cultural believes that death is a separation of the soul from the body, and for several studies, death is seen as a means of transitioning from world of men to the world of spirits. Even the gospel and tafsir summarize the passage to heaven as having to experience death and to live peacefully in hell, the body and soul must be drowned in the abyss of eternal trance.

Death is life because, without death, existentialism may not even be a philosophical view as first used by Soren Kierkagaard. Although, Satre may have argued that existence precedes essence, something I agree with because we must have been birthed to have had the conscious effort of creating a value in our own name. Death, as terrifying as it may occur, redefines the view and perception of a man’s true worth long after he’s gone - we all live to die but not everyone dies after living.

But death is a beautiful, kind mystery of life. It is not always extortionate of our emotions but rather a reflection that portrays a good effect on the lives of those taken; pain saving death - lives which may be in dire need of everlasting rest; shame saving death - lives with potentials but didn't live great; growth propeller death - the death that paved way for people around. “Had he not died, we may not have known we can do this” kind of death. Some days, death is what we pray for. Not saying it's the easiest route, but one that gives the mental tranquility needed to keep going. Sometimes a journey not cut short or ended by death poses a burden on the journey of others.

Azrael, the revered angel of death, have taken the greatest souls to grace this planet. Jesus Christ had to die to resurrect, Mohammed instructed that he should die slowly, even Mahatma Gandhi died despite acknowledging death is a pal. Death, he says, is no fiend, that it is the truest of friends which delivers us from agony. Sometimes, my ground on issues is beyond earthly realm, I believe life and living is a burden and death has taken it upon itself to free us from that burden. After all, no one leaves earth alive and there’s no proof that all we scramble for on earth will go with us when we are no more. I mean all of our knowledge, all of our righteousness and monstrosity. As far as I believe, we dump it all here, and the burden completely vanishes.

Men of God in different forms have preached that the essence of our creation is to worship God in a prescribed manner. Adhering or not adhering to this will hurl us towards a more superior essence called heaven or otherwise hellfire. Heaven, as described by Wikipedia, is the “highest place”, the holiest place, a Paradise, in contrast to hell or the Underworld or the "low places" and universally or conditionally accessible by earthly beings according to various standards of divinity, goodness, piety, faith, or other virtues or right beliefs or simply divine will. The final linkage between the two worlds - heaven/hell and earth, is death irrespective of how connected your soul is to the holy spirit. In this instance, death is a mandatory prerequisite passage that transports the soul to the place of unlimited tranquility or anguish.

Many times I wonder why death is the most fearsome element in our existence and each time, I submit that death is not our fear but the unknown scorecard of our activities as a human. While death has come to stay, life becomes more temporary. Whether we are hellbound or on heavenly voyage, we shall all die but the actual death is on the quality of life we lived.  Death does not know gone too soon, neither does it know a call to glory, it has a cruel way of carrying out its kind duty. 

Saheed Olamilekan Quadri is a Teacher, Tour Guide, Leisure Creator, Amateur Photographer, and an Event Coordinator.