As all the major religions of the world, Islam is not only a comprehensive and prescriptive system regarding how

to live life, but it is also a provider of answers to the questions and solutions to the mysteries of death. Islam is both a normative and philosophical religion, and its constructs and understanding of death have grown increasingly developed over the centuries, through the human interpretation of the Qur'an and Hadith, and deductive reasoning based on them, providing a body of healthy and well thought out perspectives of death. Primitive man found himself engulfed in the experience of living. Primitive man did not understand what living was, but found himself living it of his own free will or against it, like his animal counterparts; however, man was more consciously aware of death than the animals are, and he struggled to understand why death and all the unpleasant presences that accompany it, such as disease, murder, natural disasters, etc., happen. Every culture, religion, philosophy or way of life in the history of the world, however primitive, has included a system of beliefs that was intended to make its followers at peace with death. The understanding of why death is, in Islam is simple, logical, natural and uplifting. Among the three Abrahamic religions, Judaism associates salvation with good works in the context of the Ten Commandments for Jews or the Seven Noahide Laws for non Jews, but is mainly concerned with this life, while Christianity associates salvation with the acceptance of Jesus Christ as one's personal savior but, at least in its puritan form, would seem to be closer to Islam in the sense of being mainly concerned with life after death. For example, the Dark Ages were also known as the Age of Faith in medieval Europe because of the proliferation of monasteries and monastic learning, and the extent of public treasuries being spent on churches, cathedrals, alms, tithes and the Crusades, and the continentally dominant power of the Pope of Rome - i.e. wealth was spent on the perceived preparation for life after death, by celebrating piousness and good works, instead of worldly development. Among the Muslims, it is well-known and often repeated that the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him [p.b.u.h.]) said that life on earth was not worth even the wing of a mosquito in the eyes of God (Sunnah Organization). This puts Islam in the category of religions that are more concerned with the importance of life after death than life on earth. Thus, death and dying are usually far away events that the living Muslim must nevertheless be aware of. The reason that Islam is mainly concerned with life after death, is that life on earth is seen as a test of virtuous conduct and moral worth. Salvation is seen as much more joyous than life on earth, and so Muslims are warned against over-attachment to the joys of this life to the point where they would become worldly instead of spiritually oriented people. For the reasons mentioned above, the approach Islam adopts toward death is very simple. Yet however a person's life has been lived, even if that person has grown worldly instead of spiritual, dying days are a time to remember God, recite from the Qur'an

and pray for mercy and salvation. The words I testify that there is no god but God and I testify that Muhammad is the prophet of God are repeated by a Muslim in each of the five daily prayers, and it is historically advised for a Muslim to choose these as their last words before dying. Most Muslims remain spiritual, and the chance to identify what was important to them, in their dying moments, is an opportunity that must be taken. Islam does not support extravagant or long drawn out funerals, nor are the rites and rituals of dying complex or time consuming. The death of a Muslim is followed by a simple ritual bath given to their body by their family, and the body is given the final attire of a simple white cloth. In Islam, there are structured prayers for many occasions, including the death of someone, and so this prayer is performed for the deceased by family and friends, and the washed, clothed body is then buried in the ground. This is the funeral. Muslims believe that the body of the deceased should be committed to rest as soon as possible, so it is immoral to delay burial. Burial on the day of death, or the day immediately afterward at the latest, is preferred. For this reason, a Muslim will usually be buried wherever they died, and not have their body transported to their homeland, etc. The concept of God's will is extremely important in Islam. What happens in this life, happens with the permission of God, and it is impossible to seek an explanation or rationalization for every event that is beyond human control. It benefits humans to accept that there are things that they will never understand, because God's designs are greater. For this reason, someone's death too must be accepted as something that God willed, and while expressing sadness is permissible, expressing anger or agony is seen as objecting loudly to God's will. Muhammad himself (p.b.u.h.) exemplified this attituded with his heartbroken resignation at the deaths of his mother, infant son Ibrahim, etc. Also because of the acceptance of death, the aesthetics of funerals are minimized. Muslims are not buried in caskets or coffins, and usually only a simple marker stating the name, will mark the burial site of a Muslim; little attention has been paid to sophisticated or beautiful tombstones. The family and friends of the deceased, will stop their normal activities, especially entertainment, for a period of three days. They will congregate casually at a place that may be a private home, and rather than remembering the deceased and wallowing in grief, they will pray together for the deceased's forgiveness, salvation and happiness in the afterlife. The prayers of the deceased's family, especially the deceased's children, are said to weigh more with God than the prayers of friends or casual acquaintances. After a period of three days, life will return to normal. In this way, enough time is given to respect the dead and to appreciate that someone has died - but acceptance of death and God's will, combined with the main concern with the afterlife, mean that, before very long, life must go on.

A deceased person's good deeds do not really stop with their death. Legacy is appreciated in Islam. Good may continue to come from the deceased person's legacy which survives them - the main form is knowledge, but also monies contributed to charity, or people the deceased helped or made a wise impression on, or a good, pious family, are all examples of how a person's good deeds in earthly life, which come to their credit and weigh heavily with God in the decision of salvation, can continue to heal or protect their image, and strengthen their virtues after death. Prayer from a deceased person's children, in particular, is said to contribute to their salvation, even if they were very sinful during their time on earth. Sunnah Organization. Hubb-e-Dunya (Love of the World). Web. 26 February 2011. <http://www.islaam.org/Tasawwuf/Tasa_67.htm>.