Voluntary Death

Death is a “rational” matter not a “sensible” matter and it means a transformation from the world of plurality and nature to the world of unity and supernatural. In fact, after going through the “descending curve” from the world of aql to the material world, human being will go through an “ascending curve” by death and will travel from the material world to the world of aql and reality. Thus death is the separation of soul from natural body which has two kinds: 1) natural death, 2) voluntary death which is special to people free from themselves who go through internal and esoteric hejrah and reach to the position of annihilation in God (actual, attributive or essential annihilation). “Voluntary death” means avoiding vices and achieving virtues, freedom from self-conceit and arrogance, permanent audit of soul before the occurrence of the Resurrection, comprehension of existential poverty and intuition of the essential need of himself, and endurance of mortifications and reproaches which can be achieved by refinement of the spirit, reason and soul. This kind of death has four types: 1. red death; 2. white death; 3. green death; and 4. black death which is the result of knowledge of God and mere Divine servitude. In this article "voluntary death" is analyzed within one introduction and four subjects: the quiddity of voluntary death and its kinds, possibility or impossibility of voluntary death, ways of having voluntary death, and Islamic mysticism and voluntary death.