We learn from the Qura’nic verses that dying moments are very terrifying and painful:

The 8th verse states:

““And indeed the stupor of death will overcome; this was the thing that you were trying to escape.”

The word Sakrah is derived from Sukr and according to the linguist it is a condition that evolves between man and his mind and the word is used mostly in case of alcoholic drinks. It is often used for severest conditions and passionate expression of love.

According to Maqayis-ol-loghata it is about surprise and some have explained it as some thing very strong or severe. But all these explanations denote the same meaning. The agitation at the time of death is can be natural since the person is being transported from this world to a world that is unknown to him. This is similar to the excited condition of the new born babe who is entering this world from the world of his mother’s womb. This may also because of being afraid of his deeds in the hereafter or being separated from this world, relatives and favorite people.

We learn from the traditions that the Apostles and saints of God who had no leaning towards this world and who were not afraid of uncertainty in the future used to feel relaxed at the time of death but they too were not exempt from the severity of transportation of that moment.

The Last Messenger wiped his face with water after wetting his hands in a utensil filled with water in his final moments and said;

“Death is full of hardship and pain” (1)

Amirul Muminin Imam Ali has said:

“The severity and pain of death cannot be described and it cannot be judged by the minds of the worldly beings.”(2)

“Ghamra” is the pain that overcomes a person that his dying moments and at times they gather with other things which increase the pain as Imam Ali says:

“In the dying moments they are filled with remorse of losing this world.”

This was one side of the picture and the other side depicts the fact that the soul leaves the body in stages and this doubles the terror. It would have been easier to the bear the moment if it took place and completely and suddenly.

In the 9th verse God says:

““Yes when the soul reaches the throat 27 they will be asked “who can cure him and save him from death? 28Man shall think that it is the parting 29 One leg will twist and join with another (because of the severity of the pain)

Verse 83 of Surah Waqiah describes the same situation in other words:

“Then why do you not (intervene) when (the soul of the dying person) reaches the throat?”

The word “Taraqi” is the plural of the word “Tarquwa” which means those bones that cry out and the final dead throttle. It seem that those part that are far from the brain and the heart are first to cease working.

The term “Wal taffatis saaqu bis-saaq” may be pointing towards the above premise.

 Among the many explanations of this verse in Tafsir Majmaul Bayan there is one that says that it means the inactivity of the legs. The soul reaching the throat is also used in the same context but when it reaches here then the breathing becomes difficult due to the paucity of oxygen and this results in the inactivity of the brain. Those present there begin to wail and mourn and express unease and try to revive the dying man in futility but no one is able to be of help and after some moments the person leave this world. His lifeless body remains in the corner of the room as if it had never been part of the scenario.

It is no surprise that we all have to go through the process which sometimes is lengthy and sometimes swift. The unjust, tyrant kings too will die the same way the oppressed and weak die but their final moments will be more severe in pain. It will not be easy for them to turn away from the material world that they loved so much and strove stridently to achieve.

1. Tafsir Ruhul Bayan vol.9 page 118

2. Ghararal Hakam