Sakarath
When the Retreat Begins
The Sakarath
Frequency of sudden deaths in the bygone days was much lower than today. Most people had felt the slow and steady creeping up of chill announcing imminent death. The main symptom was the numbness that started from toes going upto the waist, then suddenly advancing to the chest and ceasing of the breath. This period is known as Sakarat. The knowledge of creeping death provided an opportunity to regret and seek forgiveness, on one hand, and to give advice and instructions, on the other – Naseehath and Waseeyath. Both were considered to be necessary and desirable according to pundits of Islamic Shariyah. Increase in the frequency of sudden deaths and high expectation of recovery have, however, made Sakarat less discernible and Naseehath and Waseeyath almost irrelevant. Even a prior written Waseeyath was nullified if the one made with good conscience during Sakarath could be verified under Sharia.
Naseehath and Waseeyath
Naseehath denotes advice to the surviving members of the family on matters of faith, behavior and relationships etc. Waseeyath relates to the disposal of one’s wealth. According to Shariah, a person can make a waseeyath for one third of his or her assets that would be left over on death. The Indian Shariath Act limits this right to one fourth. The rest is to be distributed according to the law of inheritance under the Act. While acting according to the Naseehath was optional on the part of those to whom it was addressed, waseeyath was binding on every one, provided there were two male or one male and two female or four female witnesses who were present and clearly heard the instructions. If the subject matter of the waseeyath exceeded the limit, the Qazi, Jamath Seth or an elder acted as a mediator to moderate the distribution. If it was less, then whatever remained, after separating the contents of the waseeyath, had to be distributed as per the prevailing law of inheritance.
The Final Chant
It was customary to read the Qur’an, particularly Surah Yaseen, during Sakarath. It was believed that the recitation would mitigate the pain of Sakarath and ease the process of death. Additionally someone would sit close by and encourage the chanting, at least mentally, of Kalma Shahadath, Kalma Tayyab, and duruds on Prophet(SA), till the breath stops. The departing soul was asked to reiterate the words "Inna Lillahi wa Inna Ilaihi Rajiun" whereby the soul was to realise that it belonged to Allah and was returning to Him, and continuing with phrases asking for the forgiveness of Allah.
Burning incense, Loban, in a Lobandani, and incense sticks was considered necessary to create good smelling environment while the angel of death visited, and also to make those present more comfortable should there be any foul smells rising, if the person had been ill.