Question 3: <harrydre> Do they connect with those who left before them?

Yes, the souls of the believers meet and visit one another. Look at this hadith narrated from Abu Ayyoob al-Ansaari and Abu Haatim in al-Saheeh, they reported that the Prophet (pbuh) said: “When his soul is taken up it is met by the souls who ask him about the living and they say to one another: ‘Let him rest.’ And they say: ‘What happened to So and so?’ And he says: ‘He did a righteous deed.’ They say: ‘What happened to So and so?’ and he says: ‘Has he not come to you?’ They say: ‘No.’ They say: ‘He was taken to the Pit (of Hell).’”

Therefore, the dead visit one another. But there are two types: those that are punished and those that are blessed. Those that are punished are too preoccupied with the torment that they are facing to visit and meet one another, but the souls that are blessed are free and are not detained, so they meet one another, visit one another and talk about what they used to do in this world and what happened to the people of this world.

Question 4: <harrydre> Are they 'watching over' those they left behind?

The answer is no! Remember I stated that there is something, a barrier called BARZAQ/BARZAK. When a person dies, there's no turning back to this world (this life) again. There's another stage in between live and judgement day called "barzaq". The dead cannot make contact with the dead. Neither do the alive make contact with the dead. There is a barrier between them called barzaq

First, is clarification. Judgement Day will happen after the Resurrection. Everybody is waiting for it. That Day is called the Day of Reckoning.

Secondly, if judgement you mean reckoning, then yes reckoning starts immediately after death. And that reward and punishment will come after the reckoning. Allah says: “So, by your Lord, (O Muhammad pbuh), We shall certainly call all of them to account. For all that they used to do” [Quran al-Hijr 15:92-93]. “Then surely, We shall question those (people) to whom it (the Book) was sent and verily, We shall question the Messengers” [Quran al-A’raaf 7:6]

Thirdly, this reckoning will be in two stages: (1). The first stage is in the grave, after death. (2). The second stage of the reckoning will be after the Resurrection.

I hope i answered your question

What makes you to think that death and aging are bad things?

Everyday I realize that we subscribe to a decadent anthropology courtesy of wazungus.

And aging is good because of the birth and pleasures of life it facilitates.

If it's just a matter of pain, then much of human life at whatever stage has some pain.

The other day I learnt that I can die with every breath. That is, to live well is to die well.

So I hope my practice of death will become an everyday joy.

The body is the flower. Flowers are meant to wither. Yet before they wither, their sight and scent confounds.