In prison, I had a dear friend, an Emirati, who had memorised the entire Qur’an in less than 9 months (masha’Allah ‘alayh) We used to work together developing Islamic programs for our fellow inmates, and he himself used to teach memorisation and tajweed.
I will never forget one Ramadan, a mutual friend of ours had been informed that he would be executed after ‘Eid ul-Fitr if he could not obtain a pardon from his victim’s family. He was a young man, only 22 years old, and in all likelihood, he was innocent.
The entire cell block that Ramadan, was sombre; not only because we had among us a friend who was facing imminent death, but also because we all knew that any one of us may be in the exact same situation next Ramadan. I believe that the government of Sharjah schedules the executions for ‘Eid ul-Fitr because they hope that victims’ families may be more inclined towards mercy during Ramadan.
My Emirati friend called me into the cell block musalla one day, and showed me this ayah:
“You did indeed wish for death before you met it. Now you have seen it openly with your own eyes”
And said, “it is a special kind of torment when you see death coming.” it gave me a whole new, and very personal, understanding of this ayah.
When you are facing execution, all of the particulars of your own death become real to you.
Every brother I knew who was taken to the firing squad, fasted the day before his execution. Of course, part of the motivation for this was worship; but part of it was also because he did not want his bowels to release when he was killed. So you see what I mean about being forced to consider the practical details of one’s own death when you see it coming with your own eyes.
What our brothers and sisters are facing in prison, those sentenced to death, is something no one can fully comprehend. Please, tonight, and every night this month, remember them in your du’aa, and do all you can to help them and their families on a practical level.