A Letter of Condolence for the Loss of a Child

An elderly woman sees her only and dearly beloved child on his deathbed. Because, in her heedlessness or misguidance, she imagines this world to be everlasting, she regards death as annihilation and an eternal separation. Instead of picturing her child in the gardens of Paradise, she imagines him lying in the darkness of the grave. The mercy of Arham ar-RāhimīnAllah, the Most Merciful of those who show mercy. and the bliss of Paradise do not even occur to her mind. One can therefore imagine the depth of the despair and unbearable grief she suffers.

But īmānFaith; belief in the six articles of faith: Allah, His angels, His revealed scriptures, His prophets, the Hereafter, and divine decree (qadar). and Islam proclaim to the believer:

“The Most Merciful Creator will take your child from this fleeting world into His Paradise. He will make him both an intercessor for you and your eternal child. Do not grieve, for this separation is only temporary. Say:

اَلْحُكْمُ لِلّٰهِِJudgment belongs to Allah.

اِنَّا لِلّٰهِ وَاِنَّٓا اِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَIndeed, we belong to Allah, and indeed, to Him we shall return.

and bear it with patience.”

Said Nursi