**Life slips away second by second.* Are you aware that every day brings you closer to death or that death is as close to you as it is to other people? As we are told in the verses _“Whatsoever is on it (the earth) will perish. And the Face of your Lord full of Majesty and Honour will remain forever” [al-Rahmaan 55:26-27]_ _“Every soul shall taste death in the end; to Us shall you be brought back.” (Surat al-‘Ankabut: 57)_ All praise is due to Allah, who reminds his slaves that their lives have an appointed time and that the successful ones are those who are saved from the fire and entered into paradise, when He says: _"Everyone shall taste death. And only on the Day of Resurrection shall you be paid your wages in full. And whoever is removed away from the Fire and admitted to Paradise, he indeed is successful. The life of this world is only the enjoyment of deception." (3:185)_ And reminds them that death will reach them no matter where they are when he says: _"Wheresoever you may be, death will overtake you even if you are in fortresses built up strong and high!" (4:78)_ Brothers and sisters! There is no cure for death. A cure for cancer exists, a cure for AIDS exists and a cure for every other disease exists, except death. _The Messenger of Allaah ﷺ said: ‘Allaah has not created a disease except that He has created a cure for it, except for a single disease… old age’_ While you are reading this in the different places of the world, with different reasons many people have died. If you ask their relatives, most probably they did not know that they will die. Whereas you who’s reading this or me who’s writing this, maybe we won’t live to see tomorrow. Maybe these are our last minutes on the earth to repent and to be closer to Allah. If not today, one day we will, all of us certainly will die at some point. We, people we know and people we love will also die. After 100 years from now no one we know today will be on earth. Some people avoid thinking about death, they cannot even talk about it. They make plans only for this world and they live as if they will never die. They escape from death and thinking about death. Whereas as Allah states in the Surah al-Jumu’a, the death which they flee will truly overtake them. The reason of why most people avoid thinking of death is that they assume that the life of this world – which they always search for a better and comfortable life – is real. However the life of this world is transitory. Allah says, _Ye prefer the life of this world; But the Hereafter is better and more enduring. (Surah al-A’la 16,17)_ This reality must be established firmly in one’s heart, the reality that life in this world is limited and has an appointed end - and this end will definitely come... _Abu Hurayra reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, "Remember frequently the thing that cuts off pleasures," i.e. death." [at-Tirmidhi]_ Death is not a disaster, but a passing from this world onto the next. It should make us reflect and ponder about the purpose of life, and what will become of us after death. Allah has informed us in the Qur’an that He has created us with the purpose of worshipping Him alone and that He made this life a test to see who will fulfil that purpose. _“And I did not create the Jinn and mankind except to worship Me.” (Qur’an 51:56)_ One does not prepare for death by pre-paying funeral services or selecting a graveyard in advance. It is about fulfilling one’s purpose in life – to worship Allah alone, to live according to His commandments, and perform good deeds. The concept of worship in Islam is all encompassing and is not merely restricted to praying. In fact, any action that is pleasing to Allah is considered an act of worship, and a person will be rewarded for it. and only Allah swt knows best.