The air was thick with perfume as the winged pair went on with their duty. The mourners had gone to their homes, the imam had recited the prayers, the body had been lowered to the grave, yet one more thing still had to be done.
Theirs was a tedious task, death was ever present with life. It was something to do with the Almighty’s design. They wouldn’t concern themselves with theological philosophy. They needed to do their duty, and when that was done, they would do their duty again, until the day of judgment had passed.
They had been to the graves of paupers and kings, of the faithful and the faithless and it was there they learned of humanity’s frailness. Without the tulkin the dead would not be able to answer them, and even with the tulkin there were those that refused to answer their questions.
They had seen seemingly pious men and women tortured for their failures and they had given blessed sleep to those that others would deem hard of heart.
Faith and death were their domains. Together they would stand beside the recently passed and rain the Almighty’s judgment upon them.
It was a burden they were both willing to bear.
As they approached the grave the dead awoke and took its position. The pair asked their questions and the dead replied without hesitation.
The pair was satisfied with his answer. They let the dead continue his rest and it was not long before they were called again.
This time the grave didn’t need much earth to cover it. They could tell that many tears were shed for this one, but they were steadfast in their duty.
The dead rose and faced the Almighty’s investigators.
They asked their questions and hoped that they would receive the proper answers. If they were asked, they would do their duty, but they took no pleasure in pursuing the Almighty’s will, especially on one such as this.
Before she would answer their questions, she asked them one of her own:
“Why would the Almighty let this happen to me?”
The angels would not answer her. It was not their place to speak for the Almighty. They were there to do their duty and nothing more. They asked their questions again and she answered them, as one that died in the faith.
They left her with blessed sleep and ascended into heaven. Again, they were called down onto earth to do their duty.
This time they were met with hostility. The dead did not respect his faith in life and closed his ears during the tulkin. The screams of the dead echoed in his grave, but there was no one there to help him. Such was the price of ignorance.
Again they ascended and again they were called down. They did not measure their duty in time, for what was time to those such as them?
Through it all they remembered each soul, each one that continued their sleep until the day of judgment and each one that faced tortures in the realms of hell.
They faced their duty as angels should.
All for the will of the Almighty.
*The Tulkin the set of special instructions in preparation for the dead’s investigation toward his or her final judgement
Written by Karl Gaverza
Copyright © Karl Gaverza
Story inspired by the descriptions in Munabi. Narrated by Mullung.Voices from Sulu A Collection of Tausug Oral Traditions. Rixhon (ed). 2010.
Nakir Illustration by emirajuju
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