How do we explain the near-death phenomenon that is called (فجة الموت)? It is a state of
‘terminal lucidity’ or awakening. The dying person would sit up, say good bye and possibly something else, and lie again and die. The Sudanese believe that
the soul’s emancipation is only obtained by obstruction of the senses, the
paralysis of active thinking, and avoiding the physical world.
They put the sick, the person with epilepsy, and
the dying in a state of complete return of consciousness just before death.
They placed the dying, the idiot, and the demented in a rank closer to pious
men and surrounded them with an aura of dread and respect. They thought that
their curses were compelling and their prophecies were sincere. People firmly
believe that curses of the dying are very effective. Equally so are the prophecies
of the demented, the imbeciles, and the person with epilepsy.
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