Our ignorance and arrogance lead to our birth here on earth. Every minute, thousands of humans are born by the will of God, merely, to decide on whether God or Satan is the absolute authority worthy of worship. The Most Gracious granted us this final chance because we once failed to be certain about Him alone being the Only Lord and Master. We wanted to explore, on our own, to freely choose our god, and here we are on earth for that:
[90:4] We created the human being to work hard (to redeem himself).*
Humans Fail to Make a Firm Stand*
[20:115] We tested Adam in the past, but he forgot, and we found him indecisive.
Freedom of Choice
[33:72] We have offered the responsibility (freedom of choice) to the heavens and the earth, and the mountains, but they refused to bear it, and were afraid of it. But the human being accepted it; he was transgressing, ignorant.*
Because of that indecisiveness, God created death so we could all be born again on earth for a last chance. Adam and his wife along with Satan were sent down here to instigate the dilemma of testing the humans and jinns. Out of His mercy, God placed in our hearts the instinct of knowing Him. Our second life starts by our birthday on earth. Each and every one of us is granted a birthday to either choose God and worship Him alone or to fall into the same disastrous sin of questioning His absolute authority.
Monotheism: Natural Instinct*
[30:30] Therefore, you shall devote yourself to the religion of strict monotheism. Such is the natural instinct placed into the people by GOD. Such creation of GOD will never change. This is the perfect religion, but most people do not know.
We Are Born With Instinctive Knowledge About God*
[7:172] Recall that your Lord summoned all the descendants of Adam, and had them bear witness for themselves: "Am I not your Lord?" They all said, "Yes. We bear witness." Thus, you cannot say on the Day of Resurrection, "We were not aware of this."
Each human starts on earth from scratch, with a clean record, and equally gets exposed to God's guidance. After a predetermined life span, each human dies in a specified death day, in an exact second that God alone knows and in the land He chooses.
[6:2] He is the One who created you from mud, then predetermined your life span, a life span that is known only to Him. Yet, you continue to doubt.
Things We May and May Not Know*
[31:34] With GOD is the knowledge about the Hour (end of the world).* He is the One who sends down the rain, and He knows the contents of the womb. No soul knows what will happen to it tomorrow, and no one knows in which land he or she will die. GOD is Omniscient, Cognizant.
The lifespan from our birthday to our death day is a constant struggle. It has been God's perfect and just system that we receive His guidance and witness His proofs through different avenues along with all the negative views presented by Satan. The battle goes on and there is always decisions to be made every day to either follow God, or to worship the fake idols introduced by Satan. We freely choose and strive to please the god we choose. It is a Quranic fact that Satan claims most of us, including the believers (12:103,106 - 34:20)! We arrogantly and consistently insist on hurting our souls. We easily violate basic teachings of God and lose our righteousness in the blink of an eye under the hypnotizing justifications offered by Satan. It is a human trait that we transgress and turn unappreciative (14:34). Very few are able to use this final chance, hold fast to the rope of God, live by His commands, repent and reform when they sin to purify their records.
At the end of the journey - when our glorious moment of departure comes - our time allowance to redeem our souls is up. On our death day, we are either guided and successful souls or lost ones. Thus, our death day is a very significant one of this whole journey. On that day, we get to recognize and taste our eternal destiny:
[91:7] The soul and Him who created it.
[91:8] Then showed it what is evil and what is good.
[91:9] Successful is one who redeems it.
[91:10] Failing is one who neglects it.
The Believers Do Not Really Die*
[16:30] As for the righteous, when they are asked, "What do you think of these revelations from your Lord," they say, "Good." For those who lead a righteous life, happiness; and the abode of the Hereafter is even better. What a blissful abode for the righteous.
[16:31] The gardens of Eden are reserved for them, wherein rivers flow. They have anything they wish therein. GOD thus rewards the righteous.
They Go Straight to Paradise
[16:32] The angels terminate their lives in a state of righteousness, saying, "Peace be upon you. Enter Paradise (now) as a reward for your works."*
[8:50] If you could only see those who disbelieved when the angels put them to death! They will beat them on their faces and their rear ends: "Taste the retribution of Hell.
We learn from 16:32 that the very first manifestation of our eternal triumph, and the very first reward the winners receive is a peaceful and joyful death. The peace and dignity continue with the believers until the Day of Resurrection. Moreover, believers will be saved the horror of that day as they are certain of their destiny, while a disbeliever will continue to feel shame and guilt (39:68, 17:71-72, 3:30, 18:47, 16:111).
The sense of peace and dignity all believers get to keep from their death day until their resurrection is beautifully expressed through the examples of both Jesus and John when they were promised and assigned a happy death day and resurrection from their infancy. Their examples are a mercy from God to clarify the matter for us and to reassure our hearts:
[19:33] And peace be upon me the day I was born, the day I die, and the day I get resurrected." ( Prophet Jesus)
[19:15] Peace be upon him the day he was born, the day he dies, and the day he is resurrected back to life. ( Prophet John)
We also read prophet Joseph's imploring and learn how he very much understood the blessing of dying as a believer; a manifestation for the abode of peace:
[12:101] "My Lord, You have given me kingship and taught me the interpretation of dreams. Initiator of the heavens and the earth; You are my Lord and Master in this life and in the Hereafter. Let me die as a submitter, and count me with the righteous."
In addition to the above examples, Abraham and Jacob implored God for the same exact blessing - a peaceful exit to begin an eternal bliss.
[2:132] Moreover, Abraham exhorted his children to do the same, and so did Jacob: "O my children, GOD has pointed out the religion for you; do not die except as submitters."
And this is a general invitation for all of us to work hard for the abode of peace :
[3:102] O you who believe, you shall observe GOD as He should be observed, and do not die except as Submitters.
In conclusion, if there is any meaning in celebrating the anniversary of our day of birth, as submitters, we should be celebrating it out of deep sense of appreciation to such gift of mercy that God has granted each one of us to be redeemed. We should use the celebration as a reminder or a wake up call to continue fulfilling the purpose of our existence; worshiping and following GOD ALONE, avoiding idolatry of any name or form, and repenting for any sins to clean our records. If we remember the death day of someone we love, we are to reflect on how time is so limited and crucial for our salvation. Our eternal destiny is determined by either using or wasting the life span we are given. The blissful abode of peace and contentment starts by a happy moment of death on an assigned death day. This eternal happiness is the TRUE TRIUMPH promised by God for the devoted worshipers of HIM ALONE
[46:15] .. "My Lord, direct me to appreciate the blessings You have bestowed upon me and upon my parents, and to do the righteous works that please You. Let my children be righteous as well. I have repented to You; I am a submitter."
[3:193] "Our Lord, we have heard a caller calling to faith and proclaiming: `You shall believe in your Lord,' and we have believed. Our Lord, forgive us our transgressions, remit our sins, and let us die as righteous believers.
[7:126] ..."Our Lord, grant us steadfastness, and let us die as submitters."
