- Death
- Al-Ihtidaar (Period Before Death)
- Benefits of Remembering Death
- Stupor of death (Sakaraat al-Mowt)
- The Time for Tawbah is NOW!
- Imam Ahmad’s Death
- Reasons for Evil Ending
- The Soul Leaving the Body
1. Death (Al-Mowt)
What is the minor day of judgement? It starts with al-mowt – death.
Every soul shall taste death
AlBukhari narrates that some Bedouins came and asking the Messenger of Allah ﷺ about the Hour. RasulAllah would point at the youngest amongst them and say, “By the time he reaches his old age, your day of judgement will already have started.” When a person is dead, that’s it. He is counted on the other side.
Anas b. Malik reported that a person asked Messenger of Allah ﷺ: When would the Last Hour come? Thereupon Allah’s Messenger (may peace be upon him) kept quiet for a while. then looked at a young boy in his presence belonging to the tribe of Azd Shanilwa and he said: If this boy lives he would not grow very old till the Last Hour would come to you. Anas said that this young boy was of our age daring those days. (Muslim 41/7052)
There is no way around death. Everyone will die. Allah subhaana wa ta’aala says: “Everything will perish save His Face. His is the decision and to Him you shall be returned.”
“Everyone on it will die and only the Face of Allah will remain.”
“Every soul shall taste death.” If anyone would be spared his life, then that would be Rasul Allah, but Allah says: “You shall die and they will die.” Everyone will die. The term is fixed for death. It is an appointed time. It cannot change. It cannot be later than the appointed time.
Allah says: “And no person can ever die, except by Allah’s leave and at an appointed term.”
“And every nation has an appointed term. When their term comes, neither can they delay it, nor can they advance it.” Allah is telling us not to try to run away from death.
Allah says: “Where so ever you may be, death will overtake you, even if you are in fortresses built up strong and high.”
Allah tells us a story of some people who tried to run away from death: “Did you not think of those who went forth from their homes in thousands, fearing death?” Allah is talking about a group from Bani Israel – an army was attacking them, so they wanted to save themselves. They ran from their town in thousands. Allah told them “die.” He raised them up again to show them His miracle on them. “Truly Allah is full of bounty to mankind, but most men thank not.”
Umm Habibah (the wife of RasulAllah) made a du’aa`. She said, “O Allah, give me pleasure by giving a long life to my husband RasulAllah and to my father Abu Sufyan and my brother Mu’awiyah.” RasulAllah said to her: “You are supplicating towards Allah in regards to fixed terms and counted days and ordained provisions that are already divided. If you would have asked Allah to save you from the Hell Fire and the punishment of the fire, that would have been better for you.” (Muslim)
Death will happen whenever and wherever Allah has decreed
In Riyadh: It is said that there was a construction that fell down from the seventh floor. He fell on solid concrete. Passersby were amazed to see that he stood up He jumped up, happy that Allah didn’t take his life. People were amazed. He was so happy that he told everyone, “I’m going to buy you some drinks.” He was crossing the street, disoriented, and a car hit him and killed him. Why didn’t he die from the seventh story? Allah had appointed for him a specific spot and a specific time of day. Allah wanted to bring him to his place of death. Now, this man, when he stood up, he thought that he was given a long life. The last thought on his mind was that he would die in the next moment. If he was saved from that death, then he must have a long life ahead of him.
There was an earthquake in Egypt. There was a man who survived for a very long period of time. They thought that no one could be saved in the rubble. They were amazed to find a man to be living, even though all of the means of dying existed. It wasn’t time for him to die. There were two female relatives with him. They both died because of the unbearable conditions. It was not time for it.
Sometimes death comes so suddenly that you don’t have time to prepare for it. There were two air planes that collided over India – it was a head on collision. They hit each other with a combined speed of 1600 miles per hour. Look at accidents on the freeway – how quickly a person can drive going 60 mph. This death was in a split second. There could have been a person who was lifting food to his mouth and before he could take the bite he died.
The Destroyer of Pleasures
“Frequently remember the destroyer of pleasures.” RasulAllah described death as the destroyer of pleasures. RasulAllah says: “Al-Mowtu Haqq.”
Hasan AlBasri says, “I have never seen anything that is certain with no doubt in it but people deal with it as if it is doubt, with no certainty like death.” We are certain about death – Muslim and nonMuslim. Have you ever seen someone deny death? Hasan AlBasri said that we deal with death as if it is doubtful. Each of us knows we are going to die – how much have we prepared for it?
When you look at how people prepare for death, they only do it in terms of this world: the funeral, the cemetery, and the worldly arrangements. What is done for the other side of death? There are elaborate preparations for the funeral and the food, etc. What will happen on the other side?
On an interview with Isaac Azmoth, a very prominent fiction writer, a few months before he died, he was asked “What do you think will happen after you die?” He said, “Nothing.” His knowledge and all of that intelligence and wealth makes him no different from the most ignorant Arab disbeliever 1400 years ago. His intelligence didn’t move him up one notch.
Allah says about the nonbelievers, when they see the reality, they will say:
“If we had any understanding/intelligence, we wouldn’t have been in the hell fire.”
What kind of a mind is that? Allah has told us why he has given us the mind: “We have given you the sights, ears and mind so that you may be grateful.” – to worship Allah! The eyes and ears are sources of input and the mind processes it for us. If we used these three together, it would lead us to imaan.
Back to what Prophet ﷺ said: the destroyer of pleasures. If we talk about death and we realize the reality of it, this will take away the veils of ghaflah (unawareness) and we will see the truth and we will lose any appetite for whatever the dunya has to offer. We cannot see the truth, and that is why we have to talk about the death and akhirah.
2. Al-Ihtidaar
There is a period before death called al-ihtidhaar. It is preparation for death. During this stage, the angels descend.
Allah says: “Until when death approaches one of you. Our Messengers take his soul and they never neglect their duty.” During this stage, angels descend and the person going through death can see them.
RasulAllah says: “If the believing soul is leaving this world and moving into alAkhirah [in the interface] angels will descend from the heavens. White, bright faces like the sun. They have with them a coffin from paradise and incense from paradise. So he can see them. And then the angel of death will descend. And then he will sit next to his face/head. He will say, ‘Oh you pure soul, come out to the forgiveness of Allah and His Pleasure.’ This soul will come out so smoothly, like a drop of water rolling out of a jug.
For the kaafir, if he is leaving the dunya and approaching akhirah, then dark angels will come down. They are carrying coffins made of harsh materials. The angel of death will come down, sit beside him and say, ‘O you evil soul! Come out to the anger of Allah subhaana wa ta’aala and His Wrath!’ When the angel of death will make that announcement, this soul will run around in the body. The angel of death will grab the soul and pull it out, as if you are pulling out wet wool from thorny branches.”
During this stage, there may be some discomfort for the believing soul. Allah gives comfort to the believer.
He says: “Verily, those who say that our Lord is Allah and then they stay firm. On them the angels will descend, saying ‘Fear not, nor grieve, but receive the glad tidings of Paradise which you have been promised.’” (41:30)
They did not say that ‘Allah is our Lord’ and then go on a crooked path. Not fasting one day and then drinking alcohol the next day. These people stayed firm, and the angels will give them glad tidings.
For the disbeliever,
Allah says, “And if you could see when the angels take away the souls of those who disbelieve. They smite their faces and their backs, saying ‘Taste the punishment of the blazing fire. This is because of that which your hands forwarded. Verily, Allah is not unjust to His slaves.” Allah is not committing injustice to you. It is your actions that caused you this.
3. Benefits of remembering death:
Ataa’ ibn Rabah says: “There are three benefits of remembering death:
1. Hastening repentance. You would prepare for akhirah and you would repent.
2. Content with the minimum. You will be happy with whatever Allah has given you because you know it is a temporary residence. This is not where we belong; therefore you wouldn’t give it much concern and attention. Whatever Allah gives, Alhamdulillah.
3. Not fight and compete with people of this world over this world. And that would cause you to have tranquility in your heart. What makes people anxious and obnoxious is competing over material things. This world is large and our desires are large. Messenger of Allah ﷺ says that if the son of Adam has a valley of gold he would request another one and nothing would please the son of Adam except dirt. Nothing would satisfy this greed except the dirt. When you go back to the dirt, it will close all of those desires. This world is not worth fighting.
4. Stupor of death (Sakaraat al-Mowt)
The stupor of death. What is the meaning of it? Sakaraah is the dizziness and unconsciousness that is caused by pain. A person in the state of sakarah is going through stages of unconsciousness and dizziness caused by pain.
Allah says: “And the stupor of death will come in truth. This is what you have been avoiding.” Death is true, and it will arrive even though you try to avoid it. It will happen to everyone. It happened to RasulAllah. RasulAllah had a pot of water. He would dip his hands in the water and then he would wipe his face and say “La ilaaha illallah. There is agony/stupor of death.”
Even RasulAllah was feeling it. If Messenger of Allah ﷺ felt that, what would you and me feel? What would the non believers feel?
Allah says: “And if you could but see when the wrongdoers are in the agonies of death when the angels are stretching forth their hands saying ‘This day you shall be recompensed with the torment of degradation because of what you used to utter against Allah other than the truth and you used to reject His ayaat with disrespect.” Taste the pain of death.
Although everyone goes through this pain, there are levels. The non believers go through the most. There is a category that feels almost no pain – the shuhadaa – Martyr`. RasulAllah says, “The Martyr (shaheed) feels the pain of death like one of you would feel the sting of an insect.” Allah has honoured the shaheed with many honourings. Why would anyone want to run from this honour?
When man leaves this world, he desires to come back. If he’s a kaafir, he wants to become a Muslim. If he’s an ‘Aasiy (a sinner), he wants to come back to make Tawbah.
Allah says: “Until, when death comes to one of them (those who join partners with Allah), he says: ‘My Lord! Send me back, So that I may do good in that which I have left behind!’ No! It is but a word that he speaks, and behind them is Barzakh (a barrier) until the Day when they will be resurrected.” (23:99-100)
They were given a chance in this world, and they didn’t take advantage of it. Now, when it’s too late, they ask to come back to repent and do good. Allah says that there is a barrier between them and going back; it’s too late. Right now, the door of opportunity is open and Tawbah will not be accepted later.
Allah says: “Allah accepts the repentance of those who do evil in ignorance and repent soon afterwards; to them will Allah turn in mercy: For Allah is full of knowledge and wisdom.” (4:17)
Ibn Katheer gives the explanation of this word close. When is it soon enough to make Tawbah. You have the opportunity of making Tawbah until the moment of al-gharghara – when the soul is preparing to leave the body.
Allah says: “And of no effect is the repentance of those who continue to do evil deeds until death faces one of them and he says: ‘Now I repent;’ nor of those who die while they are disbelievers. For them We have prepared a painful torment.” (4:18) When it’s time for death, no Tawbah is accepted. That is what Fir’awn did.
“…he [Fir’awn] said: ‘I believe that La ilaha illa (Huwa): (none has the right to be worshipped but) He, in whom the Children of Israel believe, and I am one of the Muslims (those who submit to Allah’s Will).’ Now (you believe) while you refused to believe before and you were one of the Mufsidun (evil-doers, corrupts, etc.).” (10:90-91) Allah did not accept his Tawbah because it was too late. So Allah will accept the Tawbah, as long as it is spoken before this time when the soul is leaving the body.
5. The Time for Tawbah is NOW!
“Isn’t it time for those who believed that their hearts will soften from the remembrance of Allah?” (Qur’an) The time for Tawbah is NOW. Don’t delay and procrastinate. If you read Qur’an, you will find that the majority of the screaming of the people of hell fire is because of procrastination. They will be saying, ‘O Allah, let me go back so I may do such and such.’ They procrastinated from good deeds.
“Whoever desires or looks forward to meeting Allah, Allah would love meeting him. Whoever dislikes meeting Allah, Allah dislikes meeting him.”
‘Aa`isha, whenever she didn’t understand something, she would question it. So when she heard this, she said to the Prophet saw: “And who of us does not dislike death?” (Does disliking death mean we dislike meeting Allah?) Prophet saw said, “This is not what I meant. When the believer, he is about to die, he will be given the news that Allah is pleased with him. So that the most beloved thing to him would be his future. So he would love to meet Allah, and Allah would love to meet him. When the non believer is about to die, he is given the news that Allah is angry with him and will punish him. So he will dislike meeting Allah, and Allah will dislike meeting him.”
The Prophet ﷺ said: “When the janaazah is placed and the men carry it on their shoulders, if it is a righteous person, it will say ‘Go as fast as you can!’ If it is otherwise, then he will be say: ‘Woe to it! Where are you taking me?’ Everyone would hear that sound except the human beings. And if the human beings would hear it, they would die due to that shock.”
Prophet ﷺ says: “If it wasn’t for the fact that none of you would bury the dead, I would ask Allah to let you hear the sounds of the people in the graves.” He would be afraid of us not burying the dead because we hear the punishments they are going through in the grave.
Death comes suddenly – you are not given a notice. It comes unannounced and there is no way you can change it, or no matter how much you try to convince the angel of death or no matter how busy you are. The best time for Tawbah is NOW.
6. Imam Ahmad’s Death
‘Abdullah ibn Imam Ahmad said that he was there when his father was passing away. His father was going into sakaarah, the state of unconsciousness. When you are going from world to afterlife, it’s a very difficult change. You’ve been in this world for 60 or 70 years and now you are going to a completely different world. That change between these two stages is difficult, sometimes it doesn’t happen immediately. Sometimes you’ll find that the person goes back and forth.
To simplify this, think of sleep, because sleep is the minor death. Allah says, “And He is the One who takes your souls when you are sleeping.” Sleep is a minor death.
You go through an interface in which you’re not awake and you’re not sleeping. The same thing happens before death; you are going through this interface between life and death. There are moments where you are on the other side and on this side [living].
‘Abdullah’s father started saying, “la ba’ad. la ba’ad” [meaning] “No, not yet… no, not yet”. ‘Abdullah was worried. Imagine you hear your father saying, “No, not yet… no, not yet,” [at the time of death]. What would you interpret it to mean? I don’t want to die yet, right? You would interpret it as meaning “I do not want to die yet.”
So ‘Abdullah asked his father (when he woke up), “O my father, why were you saying ‘No, not yet’?” Imam Ahmad said, “Shaytaan was standing right next to me, biting on his fingers and saying, ‘O Ahmad, you have slipped out of my hands. O Ahmad, you have slipped out of my hands.’ So I was telling him, “No, not yet. No, not yet…not until I die.’”
The battle between me and you is happening. Not until I die will I be free from you. Shaytaan was biting his fingers, so angry and upset, thinking that Imam Ahmad had slipped out of his hands.
Look at the believer – how he keeps on fighting until the last moment. We never give up. If we were proud, we would say, “Yes, I won against you!” If this could happen [that you lose at the last moment], it is something extremely dangerous. Ibn Taymiyyah says that the reason this happens is because shaytaan realizes that this is his last chance with you. If he misses you in the last moment, he missed you. That is why shaytaan gives special attention to the last moments of your life.
Put a criteria to yourself – if you are losing to shaytaan now, while the battle is easy, what will happen to you in the last moments, when it gets tough? If you are already losing the battle now, when shaytaan is giving you half of his attention, what will happen when he gives you his full attention?
These are the fitaan. That is why we say in our salaah, “We seek refuge in You from the fitna of life and death.”
7. Reasons for Evil Ending
Let’s talk about the reasons for evil ending. The most important stage of your life is the ending. “Whoever dies on something will be resurrected on it.” If you die in Hajj, with ihram, making talbiyah, RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said: “On the Day of Judgement, you will be resurrected saying labbayk Allahumma labbayk.” ”When you die on something, you will be resurrected on the same thing you were doing.”
Prophet ﷺ said: “Oh Allah, make the best of my deeds, the last deeds.”
Prophet ﷺ said: “One of you would do the deeds of the people of Paradise until only one foot [a short distance – transcribers’ note] is between you and paradise, and then in the end he would do the deeds of the people of hell fire and he would die and he would enter into hell fire.” And the opposite can happen to – you do the deeds of the people of hell all of your life and then you do the deeds of the people of jannah in the end and enter jannah.
What are the reasons for evil ending? We ask Allah subhaana wa ta’aala for a blessed ending.
7.1 Corruption and defect in the Belief.
Analogy: You buy a computer and work on that computer. It works fine for a few months. Then you put it through a rigorous application; it fails and breaks down. You find that it had a defect from day one. This defect didn’t show up because it was being dealt with gently. When you put it through a rigorous test, this defect showed up. You thought that it was brand new and nothing was wrong with it. There was a hidden defect.
Similarly, you can think that you’re fine now and your aqeedah is fine. You have some doubts in the corner of your heart – about Allah, about the ambiya, for example. Death approaches and shaytaan comes and puts you through a test. That defect or problem shows up. When you find out that there is a corruption in your belief, you give up your whole belief. You would lose it all. You lose the whole battle.
That’s why Ibn AlQayyim says, “We believe that out of the mercy of Allah, Allah will not mislead the person if he was of true righteousness.” There must be something wrong with that person.
Allah says: “Say (O Muhammad SAW): Shall We tell you the greatest losers in respect of (their) deeds? Those whose efforts have been wasted in this life while they thought that they were acquiring good by their deeds.” (18:103-104) The biggest losers are the ones who think they are doing right, but they are doing wrong. You find that someone is very righteous, but he is not doing things the way of the Prophet sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. It is all unaccepted.
7.2 Diversion from the straight path.
A person could be on the straight path, but then he decides to take a turn. When this person takes this short turn (onto the wrong path), it’s like a fork – it starts out as a small turn, but the further you go, the farther you become [from the straight path]. Iblees was one of the righteous. He did that small mistake out of a great problem – kibr (arrogance). He became the worse of creation.
Allah says: “And recite to them the story of him to whom we gave our ayaat, but he threw them away so shaytaan followed him up and he became of those who became astray. And had We willed, We would surely have elevated him therewith, but he clung to the earth and followed his own vein desires.” This man received the ayaat of Allah, but he detached himself from the ayaat of Allah and followed his own desires. This person had the knowledge, but he was misguided because of his attachment to world because he followed his own desires.
This is contrary to Islam. Islam is submission to Allah. You submit to Allah, even if it’s against your own will and desires. You give up your desires for Allah. We do not custom make Islam to serve us. We change ourselves to fit into Islam. We change our own characters to fit Islam. Islam is COMPLETE submission. Submission to Allah. This man had the knowledge, but it didn’t do him any good because he followed his own desires.
The Prophet ﷺ said: “The thing that I fear most on you is a man who memorizes Qur’aan until the light of Qur’aan shows up on his face and then he detaches himself from the ayaat of Allah. Then he carries the word on his neighbor and accuses him of shirk.”
Hudhayfah ibn AlYamaan asked RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, “Who is the mushrik among them? The accuser or the accused?” RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said, “The accuser.” The man fell into fitna and accused his neighbor of shirk – and he himself has become a mushrik.
The Story of Barsisa
Another story: Barsisa. He was a man from children of Israel was a famous worshipper. He was an ‘aabid. He had his temple and devoted himself to worship. Three men from the children of Israel had to go for a battle. They didn’t know where to leave their sister. They couldn’t leave her alone; they looked around and found that the best place to leave her was with the ‘aabid. They said they would leave him with that ‘aabid and would leave her with him because he is the most righteous and trustworthy.
They went to the ‘aabid, Barsisa, and told him the situation and said, “Can you please take care of our sister?” The ‘aabid said, “I seek refuge in Allah from you.” Shaytaan came to him [Barsisa] and said, “Who are you going to leave her with? If you don’t take care of her, an evil person may take care of her, and you know what will happen. How can you let this good slip out of your hands?” Shaytaan is encouraging him to do good. The ‘Aabid called the brothers back and said that he would take care of her, but she is going to stay in that house over there and I will stay in my temple.
So she would stay in that house and Barsisa would bring food and leave it on his doorstep. He didn’t even want to see her. She would come out and get the food. Shaytaan came to him and said, “What are you doing? Don’t you know that if she walks out from her room and comes to your temple, people can see her? You have to deliver the food to her doorstep.” Barsisa said, “Yes, that’s true.” Shaytaan is not speaking to him face to face; this is was wasa (inspiration). Barsisa started to take the food and leave it on her doorstep. That continued for awhile.
And then shaytaan told him, “She’s coming out to get the plate and somebody can still see her. You have to deliver the plate into her own room.” Barsisa would take the food in the room and leave it there. This continued for awhile.
The three brothers were late. This gazwa took awhile. So shaytaan came to him and said, “Are you going to leave her alone? There’s nobody to take care of her. She’s been in there [so long]; it’s like she’s in prison, speaking to no one. Why don’t you take that responsibility and speak to her a little? She can go out and speak to another man and have a relationship with him.” So Barsisa would go outside of her and speak to her from there.
He would talk from outside and she would talk from inside her room and they would be screaming to hear one another. Shaytaan told him, “Why don’t you make it a little convenient for each other? Don’t scream to each other. Sit in the same room.” So Barsisa would go inside the room and slowly they spent more and more time with each other. And they started getting closer and closer until the great ‘aabid committed zina.
She became pregnant. She delivered a child. Shaytaan came to him and said, “What have you done? Do you know what the brothers will do when they come back? They’re going to kill you. Even if you say ‘This is not my son’, they’re going to say that he was supposed to take care of her and you were responsible for her. The only solution is that you murder the child and bury it.” The ‘aabid chopped off the head of the infant and buried him.
Shaytaan came to him and said, “Do you think the mother will keep the secret after you have killed her son? You’re a fool if you think so. You should kill her too.” And so Barsisa killed her and buried them both in that room.
The brothers came back and said, “Where is our sister?” Barsisa said, “Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi ra ji’oon. She was ill and she died. She is buried in that place.” And he went and showed them a fictitious grave. They said, “Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi ra ji’oon” and they made du’aa` for her.
At night time, one of the brothers saw a dream. Who came to him in that dream? Shaytaan. He said, “Did you believe Barsisa? He’s lying! He committed zina with your sister and then he killed her and her son. The evidence is that she is not buried in the place that he showed you, but he is buried in her room, under the rock.” So he woke up and he told his brothers about the dream. They said, “We saw the same dream. It must be true.” So they went to the fictitious grave and dug it up. They went to her room and uncovered the earth. They found their sister buried with an infant.
They grabbed Barsisa and told him, “You Liar! This is what you have done!” They took him to the king. While they were taking him, Shaytaan came to Barsisa. Now shaytaan didn’t come in the form of inspiration. He came in human form. He said, “Do you know who I am, Barsisa? I am shaytaan. I caused you all of that mess. And I am the only one who can deliver you out of it. If you want me to save you, I can.” Barsisa said, “Please save me!” Shaytaan said, “Make prostration for me.” Barsisa made prostration for shaytaan. What did shaytaan say? He said, “Thank you very much! It was a pleasure meeting you.” And then he never saw him.
Barsisa made prostration for shaytaan and that was the last thing he did in his life because shortly afterwards, he was executed. The last thing he did in his life was make sujood for shaytaan. This was an ‘aabid on the straight path. He took a small turn – in the name of maslaha, the benefit – look at where he ended. That is the danger of following desire. Sometimes we feel confident because of our knowledge or the Qur’aan that we know or the ‘ibaadah that we do. We should always be afraid and never be over confident. That is the true knowledge – “The ones that have khashiy (fear) of Allah are the scholars.” Otherwise, it is just memorization of words. A side note: what policy was shaytaan using on Barsisa? If shaytaan came to Barsisa and the first thing he said was “make sujood to me”, would Barsisa have done that? No. He wouldn’t. Shaytaan took a step-by-step policy.
Abu ibn ‘AbdurRahim
Ibn AlJowzee says that (in the year 270 Hijra) there was a man named Abu ibn ‘AbdurRahim. He was a fighter in the armies that were fighting in the Roman Empire. On one of their battles, they were surrounding a Roman fortress. While they were surrounding, this man saw a woman. It was a fitna for him. He started corresponding with her (she was a Roman woman in that city). He asked her, “How can I get in?” She told him, “Become a Christian and I’ll let you in.” So he became a Christian, and the next day, suddenly, his comrades found him on the opposite side. This thing depressed them a lot.
This man has been with them for a long time, he knew a lot of Qur’aan, he had a lot of knowledge, and suddenly he left the religion and became a Christian to run after that woman. Ten years passed and some Muslims, who knew that man, passed that Roman village/fort again. They saw him and they told him, “Come with us.” He said, “No, I cannot come with you, I’m settled and married. And I have children and business.” So they told him, “What happened to your knowledge? What happened to your Qur’aan?” He said, “I forgot all of that. I forgot all of Qur’aan except for one verse. Perhaps those who disbelieve will wish that they had been Muslim. Let them eat and enjoy themselves and be diverted by [false] hope, for they are going to know. (15:2-3).” [Another translation: One day the non-believers will desire that they were believers…]
When you diverge from the straight path, this is what happens. This man was so knowledgeable, but he didn’t stick to the straight path. Allah tells RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam to follow the straight path after receiving guidance. One of the Sahabah asked RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam to give him one advice that would be sufficient for him. RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said, “Qul AmantuBillah thumma istaqim” meaning “Say ‘I believe in Allah’ and then stay on the straight path.”
Because we can say that we believe, but the important thing is that we stay on the straight path – that is where the test is. That’s where a lot of people fail. They start on the straight path, but then the winds of change in this world take them from right to left.
That is the fear of Allah – you know the truth, and you are so worried that you are asking Allah 17 times a day: “Oh Allah, we seek assistance from You and we seek assistance from You, so guide us to the straight path.” We ask Allah 17 times in the faraaidh to keep us on the straight path. And then we repeat it in the nawaafil. Why are we repeating this ayah over and over? Because it is very important to stay on the straight path.
7.3 Insistence on Sinning
A person may be commiting a small sin, but the scholars say that insisting on a small sin makes it a major sin. When you keep on doing it again and again, it becomes a major sin.
Adh-Dhahabi, in his book AlKabaa’ir, talks about evil ending. There was a man who was obsessed with chess. They kept on telling him to say la ilaaha illallah, but he couldn’t. At the end, he kept on repeating, “Checkmate, checkmate” until he died.
He mentioned another man. He kept saying, “Give me the bottle.” Because he was obsessed with drinking and he kept asking for that.
There was another man who was an accountant and he just kept saying, “ten, eleven, twelve” and he kept saying numbers.
Ibn AlQayyim mentioned the story of a man who they told to say la ilaaha illallah, but he said, “I can’t.” He didn’t have a problem with his tongue; he could speak fluently. He couldn’t say la ilaaha illallah, because Allah didn’t give him the tawfeeq.
Think about it this way – when you go to bed, what are the things you dream about? They’ll most likely be what you were thinking about during the day. If you keep thinking about something all day, you’ll most likely dream of it at night.
Another way to know what’s on your mind is to look at what you think of first thing in the morning?
Death is similar to sleep. Sleep is called “the minor death.” When you go from sleep to the state of awakening, it is similar to sakaraat al mowt. That is why the thoughts that are on one’s minds are most likely going to show up in the last moments of life.
We always think that we can live how we want and sin as much as want. Then, five minutes before we die, we will take the shahaadah and be guaranteed jannah. It’s not that easy. You are making a plot against Allah. Why? Because you are making the intention to not worship Allah until the last moments of your life. Allah is telling us to worship Him day and night. We are saying that we want to outsmart Allah and make tawbah in the end. “They are plotting and Allah is planning and Allah is the best of planners.”
A scholar mentioned that they visited a man who was dying. When they came in the house, everyone in the house was listening to loud Umm Kulthum music (a singer). The tape recorder was high. The shaykh said, “Fear Allah! This man is dying and you are listening to songs?” So they turned it off and put on Qur’aan instead. When the old man heard the Qur’aan, he said, “Turn that off and turn Umm Kulthum back on because she soothes my heart!” And he died. When you grow up on something, you are going to die on that thing.
Never think that you can outsmart Allah. You have to have fear of Allah. The ones who are the greatest losers are those that feel safe or secure of the punishment of Allah. “Only the losers are the ones who feel secure from the punishment of Allah.” Khashya (Fear) is an integral quality of a Muslim. To be a Muslim you have to have fear of Allah in your heart.
7.4 Weak Faith
Sulayman ibn Abdil Malak, a khalifah of the Muslim world, visited Makkah and Madinah. He was asking, “Is there anyone here who has met the companions of RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam?” They said, “Yes, Abu Hazim.” He said, “Call him.” So they bought Abu Hazim. Sulayman ibn Abdul Malik asked him, “How come we dislike death?”
He said, “Because you have built and established this world and you have destroyed your afterlife. So you hate to go from what is established, to what is destroyed.” If you’re not preparing for afterlife, why would you want to go there? When we love this world, we don’t want to go to the afterlife.
Scholars have said, if somebody has the love of the world at heart, then just before their death – when the person realizes they are leaving world for afterlife – they will become attached to the thing he loves (to world). And then that person will start hating Allah because Allah is the One who wants to take him away. If that happens, this is khulood fin naar – eternal punishment in Hell, because you are hating to meet Allah, so Allah will hate meeting you.
When Mu’aadh ibn Jabal was passing away. He said, “Welcome to death. I have been waiting for you for a long time. I have been waiting for the Promise of Allah to me. Welcome to death.” He’s happy. He said, “O death, don’t think that I ever wanted to live in this world because the love of this world. The reason I wanted to live in this world was to fast in the hot summer days and pray in the long, cold winter nights. So as long as it is time for me to leave, I welcome you. Take my soul.” He wants to meet Allah, so Allah will want to meet him.
Prophet ﷺ says, “Every Prophet, before he dies, is shown his place in Paradise and then he is given the choice to stay in this world or die.” So the prophets are given the choice.
This hadith is narrated by ‘Aa`isha. When RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam was dying, he had his head on my lap, she said. Then he fell unconscious, then he woke up. He started staring at the sky and he said, “O Allah, with the highest companion. (Allah).” ‘Aa`isha said that she knew at that moment that the Prophet was being given the choice, and he was not choosing us. RasulAllah was given the choice by the angel of death, and the Prophet ﷺ was saying that he wanted to be with Allah. And that was the last thing he said. [Bukhari]
8. The Soul Leaving the Body
Prophet ﷺ tells us in a long hadith about the story of the soul leaving the body – the trip that the soul takes.
He says that when the believer is dying, the angels come down with a coffin from jannah and some scent from jannah. They sit in front of the person. Then the angel of death descends and tells the believer, “Be happy and pleased with the promise of Allah for you. O you tranquil soul, come out to the pleasure that will be provided to you by Allah swt.”
RasulAllah said that the soul will come out so easily, like a drop of water that is flowing down from a jug; it slides so easily out of the body. As soon as the angel of death takes that soul, all of the angels will jump – everyone one of them wants to take the honour of holding that soul and wrapping it in the coffin. And then they will carry it to the heavens.
Whenever they would pass a group of angels, the angels would smell a beautiful smell and ask, “Whose soul is this?” And the angels would say, “This is the soul of so-and-so” and they would call him by his best names. They would seek permission at the gates of lowest heaven, and then the gates of that heaven will open up. And whenever this soul is being carried through a heaven, the angels of that heaven would accompany it until it reaches Allah swt. Then Allah will deliver the promise of Jannah to that soul and then Allah will say,
“Take that soul back to earth, because that is where I created from, and that is where they will return and that is where they will be resurrected from.” So the soul would then descend down to the earth from Allah swt.
What happens to the soul of a non-believer, or an evil doer?
Prophet ﷺ said that the angels come down to him with a coffin from Hell Fire. The angel of death will say to him, “O you evil soul! Come out to the punishment of Allah and His Anger!” So that soul would disperse around the body and cling to every nerve and muscle. That soul doesn’t want to leave the body. So the angel of death is pulling that soul out.
RasulAllah said that the pain of that soul is like a branch filled with thorns being pulled out of a wet ball of wool. The person’s nerves and muscles would be tearing. As soon as that soul comes out, all of the angels would jump and cover that soul with the coffin from Hellfire and carry it up.
Prophet ﷺ said it has a stinking rotten smell. Whenever the soul passes by some angels they would curse that soul and say, “Whose soul is this?” So the angels would call him with his worse names. They would carry the soul to the first heaven and seek permission, but the door of that heaven would not open. Then Allah swt would say, “Throw that soul down to the lowest earth!” So that soul would be thrown down with the disgrace of Allah swt.
Now the soul is in the grave…
Books of Muslims 