Death and Submission
10 Rules for Writing Muslim Fiction and Characters Part 4
Asslamu Alaikum, Hello and Welcome back to Fantasy and Faith, where we explore the magical, the mythical and the mystical. I am your host, Noor A Jahangir, author of The Changeling King and The Adventures of Some Kid, and also the forthcoming Arabian Dreams series which launches in October 2026. Today is the last episode of Season 3 and we are looking at the final part to my 10 Rules for Writing Muslim Fiction and Characters. The aim of this series of podcasts has been to provide viewers and listeners with an insight into the themes and drivers that should form the foundation of plots and character development in Muslim Fiction.
The rules covered so far are:
Rule 1: Enjoin Good and Forbid Evil
Rule 2: Do No Harm
Rule 3: Actions are According to Intentions
Rule 4: Ends to not justify the means
Rule 5: Actions are according to their endings
Rule 6: Patience is a Part of Faith
Rule 7: Muslims should live a Halal Life and Avoid Haraam
Rule 8: Struggle is a Test of Faith, But This Too Will Pass
We are going to end the series and the season with the last two rules
Rule 9: Ultimately, a Muslim should submit to the Will of God
Rule 10: Every soul must taste death
So lets get into it:
Rule 9: A Muslim Should Submit to the Will of God
“O you who believe, enter Islam completely, and do not follow the footsteps of Satan. Surely, he is an open enemy for you;” (Qur’an 2:208)
The word ‘Islam’ has two meanings to it. The literal meaning of Islam is peace, but in terms of a religious reading of the word, is complete submission to God. This is what is referred to in the aforementioned verse. To submit oneself completely to Islam means to fully accept all the Islamic injunctions with sincerity, irrespective of which part of one’s life an action may belong to, whether it is in regards to the mind, the heart, the body or the souls.
To unpack this further, it is not enough to complete acts of worship and to pay lip service to the five pillars of Islam: Belief in the Oneness of God, 5 prayers a day, Fasting during Ramadan, the giving of Compulsory Alms annually, and the performance of the Hajj pilgrimage once in your life. Complete submission means that one must fulfil all the social rights too. Meaning they must fulfil the rights of the parents, the rights of their children, the rights of family, of neighbourliness and of humanity. They must also conduct themselves in their personal, social and professional lives with the utmost care not to inconvenience someone else, or to cause them distress or suffering.
Complete submission goes even further than actions and rights. Complete submission is also complete acceptance of God’s Will. That’s not to say that Muslim’s don’t believe in Free Will. The famous philosopher and scholar, Imam Ghazali writes:
“The ink asked the paper, ‘Why have you become black?’ The paper replied, ‘Because of you.’ The ink responded, ‘But I am black because of the pen.’ The pen then said, ‘I am under the control of the hand.’ The hand explained, ‘The intellect directs me.’ Finally, the intellect stated, ‘I am guided by the will of God.’” Al Ghazali
In this parable, Imam Ghazali helps us understand the concept of Free Will that is contingent upon God’s Will. Meaning that an individual is accountable for their intentions and choices, but ultimately the outcome is governed by Divine Causation. Imam Ghazali writes in his celebrated book The Revival of the Religious Sciences (Ihya Ulum al-Din): “God has given you power and ability, and you are held accountable for how you use them. Do not say, ‘My fate is preordained’, for that is an excuse for the negligent. You must strive as if everything depends on you, while trusting in God as if everything depends on Him.”
Imam Ghazali rejects fatalistic ideas. He write that “If He (God) had forced you to act, He would not have commanded you, and if He had created your deeds without your choice, He would not have blamed you.” He challenges fatalism further by calling out determinism as selective. People only claim compulsion to justify sinful behaviour, but rarely do so in service of virtuous actions, therefore exposing the hypocrisy of fatalism. Imam Ghazali highlights conscious choice in moral and spiritual life, citing the hadith that is at the core of my third rule: Actions are according to intentions. Why would inner choice be put under the spotlight unless it had a significant bearing on the outcome? In Islam we believe a genuine intent to do good, even without an outcome is rewarded by God, though an evil intention without an action is overlooked through the Mercy of God. Furthermore, Divine Justice depends on accountability, as Imam Ghazali writes in The Deliverer from Error (Al-Munqidh min al-Dalal): “God does not punish a soul for what it cannot do. Punishment presupposes capability and choice. How could justice exist without free will?”
Everything in the universe is contingent on something else, making God a necessary being, a singular origin from where all action and causation occurs. In the same way, our free will is contingent on our ability to act, but we can only act within the framework set by the All-Mighty. Therefore, the ultimate form of submission is to accept that everything flows from God and despite our best and worst intentions, we are beholden to God for our every breath, every beat of our hearts, every pulse of blood in our veins and the very reality we exist in. Therefore, a Muslim character should strive to improve themselves and to better their lives, but should remain patient and trusting in the Will of God when things don’t go to plan, or something terrible happens.
There are lots of examples of this in fantasy fiction where the hero or the villain is bound by destiny or prophecy to either save the kingdom or to destroy it. The existence of a Prophecy doesn’t stop the hero or the villain from taking action or even from trying to prevent the outcome from coming about. One of those examples is found in the Star Wars saga. Anakin is prophesied to be ‘The one who will bring balance to the force”. He is burdened with this prophecy from a young age and the viewer is burdened with the knowledge that his actions are actually taking him towards the Dark Side. Spoiler alert: Anakin becomes Darth Vader. His closest friend and mentor, Obi Wan Kenobi, even goes as far as to say: “You were the Chosen One! It was said that you would destroy the Sith, not join them. Bring balance to the Force, not leave it in darkness!” Even the wise Master Yoda did not foresee this possibility. However, the Prophecy comes true in the sixth episode, Return of the Jedi, when Darth Vader kills the Emperor and dies himself from the injuries he sustains from doing it, thereby returning balance to the force.
There is a French proverb that captures this sentiment nicely, ‘One meets his destiny often in the road he takes to avoid it.’
This brings me to the final rule.
Rule 10: Every Soul Must Taste Death
This rule comes from a Qur’anic verse:
“Every soul has to taste death. It is on the Day of Judgement that you shall be paid your rewards in full. So, whoever has been kept away from the Fire and admitted to Paradise has really succeeded. The worldly life is nothing but an illusionary enjoyment.” (Quran, 3:185)
Every story has to come to an end. Is there a greater form of submission than to accept one’s mortality and face one’s end with a smile on your face instead of a cry of horror? For a Muslim there is comfort in this. The suffering and horrors of the world will come to an end. Evil and machinations of evil men and women will come to an end. It also makes every fleeting moment of happiness and joy more worthwhile, because we know that these too are passing things and therefore should be enjoyed when they are received, and we should give thanks and gratitude to God for them, as God says, “So, undoubtedly, along with the hardship there is ease.” Surely, with ‘that’ hardship comes ‘more’ ease.” (Quran, 94:5-6)
Combine this knowledge with the Hadith:
Narrated Mujahid: `Abdullah bin `Umar said, “Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) took hold of my shoulder and said, ‘Be in this world as if you were a stranger or a traveller.” The sub-narrator added: Ibn `Umar used to say, “If you survive till the evening, do not expect to be alive in the morning, and if you survive till the morning, do not expect to be alive in the evening, and take from your health for your sickness, and (take) from your life for your death.” (Sahih al-Bukhari, 8:76, Hadith 6416)
This should give you an insight into the mind of a Muslim. We love life and celebrate it like the gift that it is. The preservation of life is one of the highest causes there is. God states in the Qur’an:
Because of that, We decreed upon the Children of Israel that whoever kills a soul unless for a soul or for corruption [done] in the land - it is as if he had slain mankind entirely. And whoever saves one - it is as if he had saved mankind entirely. And our messengers had certainly come to them with clear proofs. Then indeed many of them, [even] after that, throughout the land, were transgressors. (Qur’an, 5:32)
But we also see this life as just one stage of existence amongst a number of stages. And whilst our earthly life is a crucial stage in our soul’s journey, it is not the final destination. There are several stages of existence according to Muslims.
Stage 1: Life before conception – our souls were created by God and exist in a place beyond this current reality
And remember when your Lord brought forth from the loins of the children of Adam their descendants and had them testify regarding themselves. Allah asked, “Am I not your Lord?” They replied, “Yes, You are! We testify.” He cautioned, “Now you have no right to say on Judgment Day, ‘We were not aware of this.’ (Qur’an, 7:172)
Stage 2: Life in the womb
“O People, if you should be in doubt about the Resurrection, then [consider that] indeed, We created you from dust, then from a sperm-drop, then from a clinging clot, and then from a lump of flesh, formed and unformed—that We may show you. And We settle in the wombs whom We will for a specified term, then We bring you out as a child, and then [We develop you] that you may reach your [time of] maturity. And among you is he who is taken in [early] death, and among you is he who is returned to the most decrepit [old] age so that he knows, after [once having] knowledge, nothing. And you see the earth barren, but when We send down upon it rain, it quivers and swells and grows [something] of every beautiful kind.” (Quran, 22:5)
Stage 3: Life in the World
This is a crucial stage where we prepare provision for the Hereafter. Our good deeds and submission to the Will of God and through the Mercy of God, will prepare our way for a life in Paradise, or our misdeeds, rebellion and the evil we commit will prepare the way for a life in Hell.
Stage 4: Life in the Grave
Abu Sa’eed narrated:
“ The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) entered his Musalla and saw the people who looked as if they were smiling. So he said: ‘Indeed, if you were to increase in remembrance of the severer of pleasures, then you would find yourselves too busy for what I see. So increase in remembrance of death, the severer of pleasures. For indeed there is no day that comes upon the grave except that it speaks, saying: “I am the house of the estranged, I am the house of the solitude, I am the house of dust, and I am the house of the worm-eaten.” When the believing worshipper is buried, the grave says to him: “Welcome, make yourself comfortable. Indeed, to me, you are the most beloved of those who walked upon me. Since you have been entrusted to me and delivered to me today, you shall see what I have arranged for you.” It will then widen for him so that his sight extends, and the door to Paradise is opened for him. And when the wicked worshipper or the disbeliever is buried , the grave says to him: “You are not welcome, do not get comfortable. Indeed, to me, you are the most hated of those who walked upon me. Since you have been entrusted to me and delivered to me today, you shall see what I have arranged for you.’” He said: ‘It will begin closing in on him(squeezing him) until his ribs are crushing each other.’” He said: “ The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) clasped some of his fingers between others and said: ‘Seventy giant serpents will constrict him, if even one of them were to hiss on the earth, nothing upon it would grow as long as it remained. They will chew on him and bite him until he is brought to the Reckoning.’” He said: “ The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: ‘The grave is but a garden from the gardens of Paradise, or a pit from the pits of the Fire.’” (Jami at-Tirmidhi, 37:46, Hadith 2460)
Stage 5: The Day of Judgement
“And the Horn will be blown; and at once from the graves to their Lord they will hasten.” (Quran 35:51)
Sulaim bin ‘Amir narrated from Al-Miqdad, a Companion of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) who said:
“I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) saying: ‘On the Day of Judgement, the sun will be drawn near the servants, until it has come a mile or two (away).’” Sulaim bin ‘Amir said: “ I do not know if it is miles that refer to distance on the land, or Al-Mil which is used to apply Kuhl for the eyes.” He (the Prophet (ﷺ): “The sun will melt them, until they will be in sweat according to their deeds. Among them one will be covered up to his ankles, and among them will be one who is covered up to his knees, and among them will be one who is covered up to his waist, and among them will be one who is bridled with it.’ I saw the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) indicating with his hand toward his mouth, meaning that one would be bridled with it.’” (Jami at-Tirmidhi, 37:7, Hadith 2421)
Stage 6: The Hereafter
A description of Heaven
Abu Sa’id al-Khudri and Abu Huraira both reported Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) as saying:
There would be an announcer (in Paradise) who would make this announcement: Verily I there is in store for you (everlasting) health and that you should never fall ill and that you live (for ever) and do not die at all. And that you would remain young and never grow old. And that you would always live in affluent circumstances and never become destitute, as words of Allah, the Exalted and Glorious, are:” And it would be announced to them: This is the Paradise. You have been made to inherit it for what you used to do”. (VII; 43) (Sahih Muslim, 53:26, Hadith 2837)
The Hadith refers to this verses:
We will remove whatever bitterness they had in their hearts. Rivers will flow under their feet. And they will say, “Praise be to Allah for guiding us to this. We would have never been guided if Allah had not guided us. The messengers of our Lord had certainly come with the truth.” It will be announced to them, “This is Paradise awarded to you for what you used to do.”
The residents of Paradise will call out to the residents of the Fire, “We have certainly found our Lord’s promise to be true. Have you too found your Lord’s promise to be true?” They will reply, “Yes, we have!” Then a caller will announce to both, “May Allah’s condemnation be upon the wrongdoers, those who hindered others from Allah’s Way, strived to make it appear crooked, and disbelieved in the Hereafter.” (Quran, 7:43-45)
The verses go on to describe how those waiting to enter Heaven and Hell will recognise each other and call out to each other.
But we have digressed. A Muslim does not fear death, because death isn’t the end of existence. It is merely the ending of the life in the world. When a person dies, we say, “To God we belong, and to Him we return.” The ultimate goal for a Muslim should be to prepare for a life eternal in the Hereafter by living a good life in this world. Resisting evil, enjoining good. Making good intentions and seeking good outcomes. Being patient in the face of adversity, acknowledging that struggle is a part of this worldly life and knowing that hard times will pass and that God will bring ease after hardship. Staying away from the things God has prohibited and taking part in things that God has made permissible for us. If we live our lives in such a manner, then death is not something to hate or fear, but a welcome rest and the start of the next stage in the souls journey.
Thank you for staying with me through Season 3 of Fantasy and Faith. Please do Subscribe to the Channel and if this is your first visit, please do explore the previous episodes as each provides a unique take on magic, myth and mysticism. I will continue to post videos and shorts sporadically whilst I finish off Alauddin and Ali Baba. The new season of Fantasy and Faith will start in September, Inshallah, God Willing. Until then, Keep Dreaming, Keep Writing and Let Your Stories Shine.
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