Death

''Among the Believers are men who have been true to their Covenant with Allah: of them some have fulfilled their obligations, and some of them are still waiting:but they have never changed (their determination) in the least'' [Al-Ahzab: 23].


There are the ones who wait and those who were truthful to the promise they made to Allah (swt), but their time has not come yet, so they wait. There are the ones who wait, yes! Waiting as if they are living in this world, remaining patient over it and waiting for their Ajal (decree of death) to come, for them to catch up to their companions, and to meet the countenance of their Lord; and why not wait when they were the ones who were truthful to the promise they made to Allah (swt), and Allah (swt) confirmed this for them and those like them, that they would not turn back and change their determination, so they were the ones who did not turn back and change. Of them are those who have moved on, their Ajal having ended, and there are those who wait for its coming, and prepare themselves for it. Those who have not prepared for this meeting do not wait for it: ''Say: The Death from which you flee will truly overtake you: then will you be sent back to the Knower of all things secret and open: and He will tell you(the truth of) the things that you did!''[Al-Jumu'a:8].


So the one who runs away from death, either does not believe in the meeting of Allah (swt) and wishes to seek the greatest amount of pleasure in this world for as long as he can, and Allah (swt) said, ''Until, when death comes to one of them, he says: ''O my Lord! Send me back (to life), in order 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 a Partition until the Day they are raised up. Then when the Trumpet is blown, there will be no more kinship among them that day, nor will they ask of one another! Then those whose scales (of good deeds) are heavy,they are the successful. And those whose scales (of good deeds) are light, they are those who lose their ownselves; in Hell will they abide'' [Al-Mu'minun:99-103] Or he is a Believer who is weak in his remembrance of Allah (swt) and the Day of Judgement, thus is heedless of the Akhirah (afterlife), too busy with his world,so when death comes to him, he becomes regretful and sorrowful: ''Of no effect is the repentance of those who continue to do evil deeds, until death faces one of them, and he says: ''And of no effect is the repentance of those whocontinue 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 have we prepared a painful torment'' [An-Nisa: 18].


It was narrated that when death approached Abdul-Malikb. Marwan, he looked to a man washing his clothes nearDamascus, twisting his clothes, then slapping them against his washing basin, when Abdul-Malik said:''How I wish that I were a cleaner, eating from the earnings of what my hands have earned day after day,not having desired anything in this world.'' When this reached Abu Hazim, he said: ''All praise be to Allah,who made them wish for what we have when death approaches them, and when death approaches us, we donot wish for what they have.''

Dear brothers and sisters: Belief in that the ending of Ajal is the cause of death is a necessity that cannot be separated from it,causing one to be wary of death every second of everymoment, and what follows this wariness of readinessand preparation is in line with the belief in the Akhirah, whose doors open upon death, where there isno more work, or Jihad or carrying of the Da'wa.


The Messenger of Allah (saw) said to Abdullah b.Umar (ra), ''If you awoke in the morning, do not speak to yourself of the evening, and if you reach the evening, do not speak to yourself of the morning. Take from your life for your death, and from your health for your illness, as you, oh Abdullah, do not know what your name will be tomorrow'' [Bukhari]. The Messenger of Allah (saw) said, ''The clever one is he who disciplined himself andworked for what is after death, and the feeble one is he who followed his desires, then made (vain) prayers to Allah''. And in the Sahih (authenticated) narration of when Jibreel (as) asked the Messenger (saw) about Ihsan, he(saw) said, ''To worship Allah as if you see him, and if you do not see him, then he surely sees you''. Belief in death is worthless without the belief in the Akhirah, for death is the beginning of the path to the Akhirah; the everlasting life, the life where fate is decided; either complete bliss, or severe punishment. So whoever feared death and believed that its cause is the ending of Ajal, but did not carefully guard and account himself and did not imagine the Akhirah in a manner that prepares him to travel to it at any moment, will find no effect of his Iman upon his actions in this world, and if he is affected, then this will add up to no more that a few quick moments of guilt, without being followed up with careful guarding and accounting, thus he will very quickly go back to his old ways of disobeying Allah (swt) after the effects of what he saw heard or what reminded him wear off. 'Uthman bin 'Affan (ra), in the last Khutba he gave in his life, said: ''Allah (swt) gave you this world to request the Akhirah, and did not give it to you for you to rely upon, for this world ends and Akhirah is everlasting.


So let not that which ends make you disregardful, nor keep you busy from that which lasts. Choose to seek that which lasts over that which ends, for this world will be cut off and our return is to Allah.'' Death reminds us of Akhirah, and there is no better reminder. The Messenger of Allah(saw) said, ''Increase the remembrance of that which destroys all desires'' [Al Tirmidhi and said the Hadith is Hasan]. And he (saw) said, ''If animals knew what the sons of Adam knew of death,you would not have found any fat on them to eat'' [AlBaihaqi in ''Al Sha'ab'']. Ibn 'Umar (ra) said, ''I came to the Prophet (saw),and I was the tenth of ten men, when a man from the Ansar asked: Who is the most clever and the most honourable of people, Oh Messenger of Allah? He (saw)replied: ''Those who remember death the most and work the hardest to prepare for it; they are the clever ones. They have left with the honour of this world andthe dignity of the Akhirah'' [Ibn Majah (Summarised version) and Ibn Abi Al Dunya (Complete version) -Good chain of narrators]. 'Umar b Abdul Aziz (ra), in one of his Khutbas said,''Doubtlessly, for every travel provisions must be made, so provide for your travel to Akhirah with Taqwa(fear of Allah), and be like those who examined what Allah has prepared of rewards and punishments, so that you may desire and fear. And do not delay, as your heart may harden and you may be led to your enemy,for, by Allah, there is no-one who has more expectations than the one who is unaware that he may not awake after he goes to bed, or go to bed after he awakes, even though he may find glimpses of the fate of death between them.


How many people have you and I seen in this world who walk about arrogantly, but only those who are confident of their being saved from the Hellfire will have their hearts at ease, and only those who have been protected from the tribulations ofthe Day of Judgement can be happy, for the one whodoes not nurture his wounds will only be cut onceagain from another direction, so how could he be happy? I seek refuge in Allah that I order you to dowhat I do not order myself, so that I lose my deal(with Allah), and my shame will show, and my weakness will be laid bare on the day that the rich and the poor will be made to show all, and the scales in it are set up. You have been burdened with a task, if the stars were burdened with it, they surely would have fallen, and if the mountains were burdened with it,they surely would have melted away, and if the earth was burdened with it, it surely would have been torn to pieces.'' Every night 'Umar b. Abdul Aziz (ra) would gather the Fuqahaa' and remember death and the Day of Judgement and the Akhirah, and they would cry as if a funeral was before them. And it was said that if death were to be mentioned around him, he would shiver like a bird and cry until tears would run down his beard, once crying making the whole house cry with him, and when the moment passed, his wife Fatima asked him: ''May my father be sacrificed for you, oh Amir of the Believers, why do you cry?'' He said: ''I imagined the departure of the people from between the hands ofAllah, and saw a group in Paradise and a group in theHellfire.'' Then he cried out and fainted.

Death reminds us of the Akhirah, and involves much reminding and careful examination. Al-Hassan (ra)entered a room where a man was reading Qur'an to himself, and said: ''The first of this matter (life)is made proper when its end is feared, and the end of this matter is made proper when its first isrenounced.'' Whoever imagines that his Akhirah may come at any moment must prepare for it the best hecan. When Ahmed b. Khadhrawiyyah neared death, he said to his son: ''My son, a door that I have been knocking at for 95 years is about to be opened upon me this hour, and I do not know if it holds for me happiness or misery.'' And it was narrated that one of the pious Muslims was approaching his death and his wife began crying, so he asked her: ''What makes you cry?'' She said: ''I cry for you.'' He said: ''If you wish to cry, then cry for yourself, for I have cried over this day for 40 years.''

Do you see, my sisters, how it is if you have a long journey ahead! Would you disregard preparing for it and making yourself ready? If you did this, then you fall under one of these two categories: Either you do not really care about the trip, nor worry about it, nor do you give it any value whatsoever; or you are heedless, as time means nothingto you. Death is a reality which we all believe in its coming, a belief that meets no doubt whatsoever. And at every passing day we come one day closer to death. So whoever reaches thirty yearsof age has come thirty years closer to death, and whoever reaches sixty years of age has come sixty years closer to death, and soon (this should take away any joy in celebrating birthdays). Who amongst us has prepared to travel at any moment...now... or in a short while...or...tomorrow...or after it...? You only have two types of breath, one inhaling and one exhaling, and you do not know which one will take out your soul.

Oh, Allah, we beg for your mercy and for peace on the day that we meet you. Remembrance is not crying and wailing and blaming one's self when one is on the brink of death, or attending a funeral or visiting graves alone. Rather,remembrance of death is when a believer imagines that he will meet his Lord at any moment, and his actions will be cut off, as will his ability for repentance.So he will be aware of himself, careful to obey Allah(swt), wary of his Lord every second of his life. Anas(ra) said: I overheard 'Umar b. Al-Khattab (ra) as he entered upset, and there was a barrier between us,saying: ''Oh, 'Umar b. Al-Khattab, Amir of the Believers, bravo! By Allah, Oh, son of Al-Khattab, you better fear Allah, or he will punish you.'' And AbuBakr Al-Siddiq (ra) said: ''Whoever detests himself before Allah (swt), Allah will protect him from His anger.''

Accounting one's self and guarding it from mistakes is how a believer saves himself from the punishment ofAllah (swt), preparing himself so that he may meet Allah (swt) obedient and in submission, committing himself to what Allah has ordered him, not gettingtired, or compromising or giving up, rather treading the path of Allah (swt), withstanding the trials of the world and its disasters, renouncing what the created have to offer, seeking what the Creator has to give. The Messenger of Allah (saw) read the verse: ''Those whom Allah (in His plan) wishes to guide, Heopens their breast to Islam.'' [Al-An'am:125] and said: ''If the Nur (light) enters into the breast, itwidens.'' Then someone asked: Is there a visible sign of that, Oh, Messenger of Allah? He said: ''Yes, increased renunciation of the dwelling of vanities(Dar Al-Ghurur), and the desire for the everlasting dwelling (Dar Al-Khulud), and preparation for death before its' time.'' [Al Haakim in ''Al Mustadrik''] And Al-Saddi (ra) said: ''He (is the one) who created Death and Life, that He may try which of you is best in deed'' [Al-Mulk: 2] Meaning those of you who remember death the most, andthe best of you in preparation, and who are most cautious and fearful of it.

Have you, my dear brother or sister, examined what Allah (swt) has enjoined uponyou, firstly, as a Muslim and secondly, as a carrier of the Da'wa (i.e. Islamic message)? Have you asked yourself if you have put forth the deserved effort, or have you been negligent in its undertaking? Have you realised that you are of the most burdened, and of the most responsible, and you are the most needy of people, in this day and age, of accounting yourself and subduing it to what Allah (swt) has enjoined upon it of actions, and to what your back has been burdened with of responsibilities? Have you realised, brothers and sisters, as youcontemplate death, and remember the Akhirah, and cry,fearing the punishment of the Hellfire, and work,desiring the pleasures of Paradise; have you realised that what you have of enlightened thought, and precise understanding, and sincere awareness will not make youan oblivious Sufi or an ignorant Darweesh, or someonestuck in a corner with only the pillars and corners of Islam, crying and moaning? No, and it is not acceptable of you to do so, either. Rather you should be a carrier of the Da'wa, who sold his soul to Allah (swt), a political leader who cries upon hearing an Ayah, and a special moment can agitate his emotions. Did you not know that the Messenger of Allah (saw) was the most fearful of the people, and cried the most?Abu Bakr Al-Siddiq (ra) once said to him: ''Your hair has become grey, Oh, Messenger of Allah.'' So he (saw) said: ''[Surah] Hud and its sisters have made my hair grey:Al-Waqi'a, 'Amma Yatasaa'alun and Izza Al-ShamsuKuwwirat.'' And it was narrated by Ibn Najjar, of Ibn 'Umar thatthe Messenger of Allah (saw) overheard a reader reading: ''With Us are Fetters (to bind them), and a Fire (to burn them)'' [Al-Muzammil: 12] and he (saw) fainted. And it was narrated that when he(saw) was travelling to Makkah to liberate it, and theMuslims were fully prepared and armed, he (saw) saw a lark flying above his head, crying out, so he (saw)cried and said, ''Who upset her by taking away her son? Give back her child.'' When Allah revealed, ''Do you then wonder at this recital? And will you laugh and not weep?'' [An-Najm: 59-60] the people of Al-Suffa cried until the tears ran down their face, and when the Messenger (saw) heard this,he cried with them, causing the rest of the Companions to cry along with him, then he (saw) said, ''The one who cries from fear of Allah will not be made to walk through the fire, and the one who insists on disobedience will not enter Paradise, and if you did not commit sins, Allah would bring another people who would commit sins, so that he may forgive them''[Al Baihaqi]. Did you not know that 'Umar b. Al-Khattab (ra), due to his strong stance upon the truth and his nerve, aswell as the strength of his courage, would drop at the hearing of an Ayah and would be streaming tears whenever he was reminded of the afterlife; and on his ring he had engraved: ''Death is enough of a reminder,oh Umar''. Did you not know that one of the Companions said ofAbu Bakr Al-Siddiq, ''If you saw him as he was preparing the armies, you would think that he does not depend on Allah whatsoever, and if you saw him as he prayed profusely to Allah for victory, crying and weeping, you would say: This man has not prepared a single thing, at all.'' Have you not heard the saying of Allah (swt),describing the best of His creation, ''Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah; and those who are with him are severe against disbelievers, andmerciful amongst each other. You see them bowing and falling down prostrate (in prayer) seeking bounty fromAllah and (His) Good Pleasure. On their faces are their (visible) marks, (being) the traces of their prostration. This is their description in the Taurat;and their description in the Injeel: is like a (sown) seed which sends forth its blade, then makes it strong; it then becomes thick, and it stands straight on its own stem, (filling) the sowers with wonder and delight, that it may enrage the disbelievers with them.

Allah has promised those among them who believe and do righteous deeds, forgiveness, and a mighty reward.'' [Al-Fath: 29] These are the leaders who established Islam and fought in the way of Allah (swt) until they met their Lord.As Ali bin Abi Talib (ra) said, describing them: ''ByAllah, I have seen the companions of Muhammad (saw),and I do not see anyone here today anything like them. They would awake ruffled and dirty, between their eyes what is similar to those who ride goats, for they have spent the night prostrating and praying, reading the book of Allah (swt), moving from their face to their feet, and when they awoke, they would mention Allah,the Most High, swaying like a tree would on a windy day. Their eyes have cried until their clothes have been soaked, and by Allah, it was as if that evening the people had been put to sleep.'' Abu 'Ubaydah Al-Baji said: ''We entered upon Al-Hassan while he was ill, the illness which he died from, and he said: Greetings to you and welcome. May Allah greet you with peace, and may He make the everlasting dwelling (Paradise) lawful for you and I, if you are patient, and truthful and god-fearing.

So do not make your share of this information, may Allah have mercy upon you, that you take it in one ear, while it goes out the other, for whoever saw Muhammed (saw), saw him coming and going, and he did not simply lay brick uponbrick, or straw upon straw, rather knowledge wasraised up to him, so he embarked upon it. Al-Wahi,Al-Wahi (the revelation, the revelation), to bedelivered, to be delivered.


Allah has blessed a slave with his mercy who lived life as it were once, so he ate little, and wore tattered rags, stuck to earth and exhausted himself in worship, crying when he made a mistake, fleeing from punishment and seeking His mercy, until his time comes and he is in that state.''[Ibn Habban in ''Al Thuqaat'' and Abu Na'eem in ''AlHilya''] This world, brothers and sisters, and what it has of pleasures and trials can make a Believer busy, no matter how measly the pleasures, and how insignificant the trials. They will keep him busy if he accepted them, and allowed them to keep him busy. Allah (swt) says, ''Know that the life of this world is but play and amusement, pomp and mutual boasting and multiplying,(in rivalry) among yourselves, riches and children. Itis as the likeness of vegetation after rain thereof the growth is pleasing to the tillers; soon itwithers; then you will see it grow yellow; then it becomes dry and crumbles away. But in the Hereafter is a severe torment (for the disbelievers - evildoers).And forgiveness from Allah and (His) Good Pleasure(for the believers - good doers). And what is the lifeof this world, but a deceiving enjoyment? Race one another (in seeking) Forgiveness from your Lord, and a Garden (of Bliss), the width whereof is as the widthof heaven and earth, prepared for those who believe inAllah and His Messengers: that is the Grace of Allah,which He bestows on whom He pleases: and Allah is theLord of Grace abounding.'' [Al-Hadid: 20-21]


Death is no more than the truthful companion who continues to remind the Believer of his Akhirah, andas long as a Believer remembers his Akhirah and actsaccordingly, then he is heading in a good direction and he will live his life in a state of remembranceand preparation for it. This is why the Messenger ofAllah (saw) stressed the remembrance of death and to pre-pare for it, as he stressed the visiting of graves and praying for peace upon them, as it is the best admonition and the best of reminders. Abi Tharr (ra)said The Messenger of Allah (saw) said: ''Visit the graves, as it will be a reminder of theAkhirah, and wash the dead, as taking care of an emptybody is an outstanding admonition, and pray over theJana'iz (funerals), as it may sadden you, for the sadone is in the shade of Allah'' [Ibn Abi Al Dunya andAl Haakim -Good chain of narrators]. And Ibn Abi Mulaykah said, The Messenger of Allah(saw) said: ''Visit your dead and pray for peace upon them, forthere is an admonition for you in it'' [Ibn Abi AlDunya - Good chain of narrators]. It has been narrated of Abu Hurairah that if he saw afuneral, he would say: ''Move on, for we are tofollow.'' And Al-Dhaahik said: A man once said: Oh,Messenger of Allah, who is the most Zaahid (abstinent) of people? He (saw) said: ''He who does not forget the grave and abandoned the luxuries of life, seeking that which lasts above that which ends, not counting yesterday as one of his days,and counted himself amongst the people of the graves''.

In the Messenger of Allah (saw) we have a beautiful pattern of conduct to follow, and in the honourable companions we have integrity of conduct and forthrightness, and in those who preceded us, who were righteous, we have admonition and remembrance, for they were mindful to always remember death to help them remember and prepare for the Akhirah, and if death were to approach them, you would find them between one crying over himself out of fear and terror of Allah's (swt) punishment, and one who has done righteous deeds for the sake of Allah (swt), hoping for the best, praying for his forgiveness, and one who is fully pre-pared and ready. As for the Messenger (saw), he began his preparation by praying for the forgiveness of those in the graves,and this was during the illness which he died from,where Abu Muwayhiba, the servant of the Prophet (saw),narrated: ''The Messenger of Allah (saw) called for me in the middle of the night and said to me: ''Oh, Abu Muwayhiba, I have been ordered to pray for forgiveness for the people of the graves, so come with me.'' So I departed with him, and when he (saw) stood between them, he said, ''Peace be upon you, dwellers of the graves. What you are in is more comfortable than what the people are in, for tribulations have approached like dark patches of night, one following another, and each one is worse than the one before it.'' Then he came near to me, and said: ''Oh, Abu Muwayhiba, I have been given the keys to the treasures of the world and lasting life in it, then Paradise,and was given a choice between this and the meeting of my Lord and Paradise, so I chose to meet my Lord and Paradise.'' So I said: May my father and mother be sacrificed for you, take the keys to the treasures of the world and lasting life in it, then Paradise. But he said, ''No, by Allah, oh Abu Muwayhiba, I have chosen to meet my Lord and Paradise.'' He then prayed for forgiveness for the people of the graves and left,when the pain that he (saw) was going through showed upon him. As the pain increased, he (saw) said toAl-Fadhl, with his head wrapped, due to the overwhelming pain, ''Take my hand, Fadhl''. So Al-Fadhl took his hand until he sat on the Minbar, then said to Al-Fadhl:''Call the people.'' So they gathered. He then praised Allah, and prayed for peace upon the companions of Uhud, and forgiveness for them and prayed much for them, then said: ''and furthermore, oh people, I praise Allah between you, of whom there is no Lordworthy of worship other than Him. It has been madeknown to me that there are some (unful-filled) rights between yourselves, so whoever I have whipped his back(unjustly), this is my back, so take back your right,and if I have vilified someone's honour, this is my honour, so take back your right. Although resentment is not in my nature, nor my disposition, but you would be beloved to me if you took from me what was rightfully yours, or if you forgave me the right, so I can meet Allah with my soul at ease, and even this, I do not see as sufficient until I undertake (theresponsibility) over and over again.'' He then stepped down and prayed Dhuhr, then returned and sat upon the Minbar, returning to his speech regarding resentment, and other matters. A man then stood and said: ''Oh, Messenger of Allah, I have with you three Dirhams.'' So he (saw) said: ''Fadhl, give it tohim.'' Then he (saw) said: ''Oh, people, whoever has something to finish, he should, and (do not fear) the embarrassment of this world, for the embarrassment of this world is less than that of the Akhirah.'' So a man then stood, and said: ''Oh, Messenger of Allah, I have three Dirhams which I took (unjustly) in the way of Allah.'' He (saw) then asked: ''Why did you take it?'' The man replied: ''I needed it.'' He (saw) then said: ''Take it from him, Fadhl.'' and said: ''Oh people, whoever fears something of himself, heshould come forth and I will pray for him.'' So a manstood, and said: ''Oh Messenger of Allah, I am a liar and indecent and I sleep too much.'' So he (saw) said:''Oh, Allah, bless him with truthfulness, Iman and lift away his sleep if he so wished.'' and another man stood and said: ''By, Allah, Oh Messenger of Allah, I am a liar and a hypocrite and there is not one crime that I have not committed.'' when 'Umar b. Al-Khattab(ra) stood and said: ''You have disgraced yourself.''So the Messenger (saw) said: ''Oh son of Al-Khattab,the disgrace of the worldly life is less than that of the afterlife; may Allah bless him with truthfulness,Iman and lead his matter to a good end.'' Upon the calling of Adhan for Fajr and said: 'This is clean water I brought for you.' Uthman (ra) then looked outside, seeing that the sun had risen, and said: 'I have started the day fasting.' She asked:'How did you eat, when I have not seen anyone give you any food or water?' She exclaimed this with bewilderment, as it is obliged upon the Muslim to break his fast with food or drink before beginning a new fast. He said: 'I saw the messenger of Allah(swt). He entered upon me from the roof and he had a water container and said to me: ''Oh, Uthman, have they held you captive?''' I said: ''Yes.'' He said:''Have they denied you water?'' I said: ''Yes.'' So he extended the water container out to me and said:''Drink, oh Uthman.'' And I drank until I wassatisfied. Then he (saw) said: ''More.'' So I drankuntil I was well fed. He (saw) then said: ''These people will turn against you, so if you wished, fight them and you will claim victory against them, or if you wished, you may leave them, and break your fast with us.'' So I chose to break my fast with him. Katheer b. Al-Sult then entered, upon where Uthman(ra) said to him: 'I do not see myself but murdered on this day, oh Katheer.' So Katheer said: 'Allah (swt)will give you victory over your enemy, oh Amir of theBelievers. Did something happen to you today or wassomething said to you?' Uthman (ra) replied: 'No, butI stayed up late last night and during the time ofSuhur (just before sunrise) I fell asleep, and I saw the Messenger of Allah (swt), Abu Bakr (ra) and Umar(ra), where the Messenger of Allah (swt) said to me:''Oh Uthman (ra), do not keep us waiting, for we are awaiting you.'' Uthman (ra) died that day. After Uthman (ra) was murdered, they searched through his storage and found a small case with a paper in it. On it was written: 'This is the Will of Uthman, in the name of Allah (swt), the Most Gracious, the MostMerciful. Uthman b. 'Affan bears witness that there isno lord worthy of worship but Allah (swt), alone,having no partners attributed to him and that Muhammad is his slave and Messenger, and that Paradise is truth, and the Hellfire is truth, and Allah (swt) brings forth the dwellers of the graves to a day that will without doubt come. Allah (swt) does not break his appointment. Upon it we live and upon it we die and upon it, by the Will of Allah (swt), we will bebrought forth.'

It was narrated that on the night Ali b. Abi Talib(ra) was stabbed, Ibn Al-Siyaaj came to him at sunrise to call him to prayer and found him sluggish and lazy,then came to him for a second time and found him the same, then came to him a third time, where Ali awoke and started walking, saying: 'Prepare yourself for death, for it will meet you and do not fear death,even if reached your dwelling place.' When he reached the entrance to the mosque, Abdul-Rahman b. Muljam ran up to him and stabbed him and Ali said: 'By the lord of the Ka'bah, I have won.' As they carried Ali away,he asked: 'What has happened to the one who stabbed me?' They said: 'We took him away.' He said: 'Feed him my food and give him of my drink, so if I were to live, I will decide what to do with him, and if I were to die, then strike him once, not more.' Ali then entrusted Al-Hassan to wash him (and perform the rituals of burial) and said: 'Do not be excessive in wrapping my body, for the Messenger (saw) said:''Do not be excessive in wrapping (the dead body), for it will be taken away very quickly.'' Walk quickly,but do not rush nor move slowly, for if there is goodawaiting, you will have brought it to me quickly, and if there is evil awaiting, you would remove my weight from off your shoulders more quickly.' When death approached Mu'ath b. Jabal (ra), he said:'Check if morning has come yet.' And it was said: 'Not yet.' And he continued to ask them until morning came,at which time they informed him that: 'Morning has come.' So he said: 'I seek refuge in Allah (swt) froma night whose morning is in the Hellfire.' Then said:'Welcome, death, you absent visitor and beloved one who comes at the times of need. Oh Allah (swt), in the past I have feared you, and today I implore you (forYour mercy). Oh Allah (swt), You know that I never did love this world and long life in it to make paths for rivers or to plant trees, rather I loved the thirst on long midsummer days (from fasting) and staying up(praying) the long winter nights, the wrestling withthe hours and the crowding of the scholars at the gatherings of remembrance of Allah (swt).' When death approached Bilal (ra), his wife said: 'How sad this moment is.' And he said: 'No, say: How joyous this moment is. For tomorrow we see the beloved ones,Muhammad (saw) and his companions.'

As for the Mother of the Believers, 'A'ishah (ra), at the time of her death, Abdullah b. 'Abbas came to herand praised her and said: 'Glad tidings, oh wife ofthe Messenger of Allah (swt), he did not marry anyonebefore her coming of age other than you, and your innocence was sent down from the sky.' Ibn Al-Zubair(ra) then entered the room after Ibn 'Abbas and shesaid to him: 'Abdullah b. 'Abbas praised me when I did not wish to hear anyone praise me today. How I wish that I were completely forgotten, wiped out of existence.' Abu Muslim said: 'I came to Abu Al-Darda' (ra) and found him moaning to himself: 'Is there a man would work himself to such a destruction as mine? Is there aman would work himself to this day of mine? Is there a man who would work himself to this hour of mine?' Hethen passed away, may Allah (swt) have mercy uponhim.' Salman Al-Farisi cried when death came to him. It was asked: 'What makes you cry?' He said: 'The Messengerof Allah (swt) promised us that whatever we have of excess (wealth), will be similar (on the Day ofJudgement) to the excess carriage of a rider, and look at all this excess (wealth) around me.' And it was said: 'There was only his plates and cutlery, a bowl and a wash basin, where their worth was no more than about 10 Dirhams.' Abu Hurairah (ra) cried on his deathbed and it wasasked: 'What makes you cry?' He replied: 'I do not cry for this world of yours, rather I cry over the long journey ahead of me and how few provisions I have with me. I am rising on a runway to Paradise and Hellfire and I do not know which of them it will lead me to.' It was narrated by Al-Muzni saying: 'I came toAl-Shafi'i during the illness from which he died andsaid to him: ''How was your morning?'' He said: ''I awoke departing this world, leaving my companions behind, on my way to meet my bad deeds, to drink from the cup of desire (for forgiveness) and to Allah (swt)I proceed. I do not know whether my soul will be sent to Paradise so that I may congratulate it, or to theHellfire so that I may give my commiserations.'' He then began saying: ''When my heart hardened and the places for escape ran out, I made the escape from myself; Your forgiveness. As my sins towered above me,I compared them to Your forgiveness, my Lord, and found Your forgiveness to be greater. You continue to forgive my sin until now, by Your Graciousness, Mercy and Generosity.'''

When Al-Hassan b. Ali (ra) neared death, Al-Hussein(ra) entered the room and said: 'My brother, why are you worried? You are approaching the Messenger ofAllah (swt) and Ali b. Abi Talib, and they are your fathers; and Khadijah bint Khuwaylid and Fatimah bint Muhammad, and they are your mothers; and Hamza and Ja'far, and they are your uncles!' He replied: 'My brother, I am approaching something unlike anything I have ever approached before.' It was also narrated that when Umar b. Abdul-Aziz (ra)became ill, a doctor came to see him and after lookingat him he said: 'It seems the man has been fed poison and I cannot say that he is secure from death.' Umar(ra) then raised his sights to the doctor and said:'Nor can you secure one from death even if he has not taken poison!' The doctor said: 'Have you felt this(poison), oh Amir of the Believers?' He replied: 'Yes, I had known it from the very moment it entered my stomach.' The doctor said: 'You should get treatment for I fear that you may die.' Umar said: 'My Lord is a better choice to go to. By Allah (swt), if I knew that my cure was sitting at the tip of my ear, I would not raise my hand to get it.' And when death came to him,he began crying and it was asked: 'What makes you cry,oh Amir of the Believers? You should be joyous, forAllah (swt) has brought many Sunnahs back to life with you and spread justice through you.' He replied: 'Will I not be made to stand and be questioned regarding them: 'How I wish to see my brothers who will come toAl-Hawdh (a pool in paradise), where I will greet them with a container, in it a drink, and I will feed themfrom my Hawdh before they enter paradise.' They asked:'Are we not your brothers?' He replied: 'No, you are my companions. My brothers are the ones who believed in me, although they had never seen me. I am very anxious to see them.'

Oh Allah (swt), you know that we did not say this except in obedience to Your order and we did not remind ourselves of our meeting you except in fear of Your punishment and we have not prayed to you exceptout of desire for Your pleasure, so place this ontoour scales on the day that the scales will be weighed.Keep us firm onto Your Deen and onto the work ofcarrying the message of Your beloved Prophet (saw),until we meet you and help us with the trials of thisworld and do not send upon us calamities so that we become disgraced, and if you do send upon uscalamities, then keep us firmly upon the truth. The Prophet (saw) said of the believers who steadfast in carrying the Islamic message: ''Some people will come on the Day of Judgement andtheir Imaan will be outstanding, its light will shinefrom their chests and from their right hands. So it will be said to them, 'glad tidings for you today,assalamu 'alaikum and goodness for you, enter into it(Jannah) forever!' So the Angels and the Prophets will be jealous of theLove of Allah for them.'' So the Sahabah asked, ''Who are they, Ya Rasoolullah?'' He (saw) replied, ''They are not from us (i.e. Prophets) and they are not from you (i.e. Sahabah). You are my companions but they are my beloved. They will come after you and will find the Book (theQur'aan) made redundant by the people, and a Sunnah which has been killed by them. So they will grab hold of the Book and the Sunnah andrevive them. So they read them and teach them (the Qur'an and theSunnah) to the people and they will experience in thatpath a punishment more severe and more ugly than what you (O Sahabah) have experienced. Indeed the Imaan of one of them is equivalent to the Imaan of forty of you (i.e. Sahabah). The Shaheed of one of them is equivalent to forty of your Shuhadaa'. Because you (i.e. Sahabah) found a helper towards the truth [the Prophet (saw)] and they will find no helper towards the truth. So they will be surrounded by tyrant rulers in every place, and they will be in the surroundings ofBait-ul-Maqdis (Al-Quds, Masjid al-Aqsa). The Help and Victory of Allah will come to them, andthey will have the honour of it on their hands.'' Then he (saw) said, ''O Allah, give them the Nussrah(help) and make them my close friends in Jannah.'' -Reported in Ahmad May Peace and Blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammadand upon his pure and generous family and companions,and upon all those who follow his guidance, until the day of Judgement. Ameen.

Source: Translated from Al-Waie Magazine