Voluntary Death and a Second Birth

One of the common subjects among different religions is “voluntary death and a second birth” or in other words “voluntary death and spiritual birth”. The present article will investigate this subject from the perspective of Islamic mysticism. Mentioning the division of death from mystics’ perspective, the definition of voluntary death, as one of the kinds of death, and the reason of its naming is first discussed. Then there will be a brief look at related concepts, the relation between these concepts and the issue of voluntary death will be shown and through this course, the different aspects of this discussion and the expansion of its meaning will be clarified. Due to the fact, according to the knowledgeable people (ahl- ma’rifat), that ‘voluntary death and a second birth’ or ‘voluntary death and spiritual birth’ are the two significant bases of spiritual journey and symbols of negative and affirmative aspects of ‘the journey to God’, the discussions are divided into two parts: first discussions that expand on the concept of death and are on the basis of the negative aspect of mysticism which is previously mentioned and include concepts such as killing the soul, repentance, annihilation, becoming close to God by doing recommended prayers, journey from exoteric to esoteric issues; and second discussions that explains the effects of this kind of death and are on the basis of the affirmative aspect of mysticism. It includes concepts such as permanent existence, becoming aware of the world’s facts, spiritual Resurrection, achieving real life and second birth. The method of posing discussions in this article is approximately the same as the method commonly used in mystical discussions; thus using holy verses of Quran, narrations and quotations of scholars of religion and mysticism through the discussions, they will have the necessary validity. I hope it will be favored by researchers of this field! If God wills.