He praised Allāh and said, “You were not created in vain, nor will you be left without purpose. Verily, you have an appointed time in which Allāh – the Most High – will come down to judge you. Wretched and ruined will he be who leaves the mercy of Allāh and is denied a Garden whose width is that of the heavens and Earth. Know you not that no one will be safe tomorrow save one who is wary of today and fears it; and sells the transitory for what will remain, and the little for the plenty, and fear in exchange for security [in the hereafter]? See you not that you are in the loins of the dead, to be taken by those who remain after you, until all matters return to the Best of Inheritors? Every day, [in the funerals] you accompany those returning to Allāh the Mighty and Sublime, having spent their time, until you hide them in a crevice in the ground, in the belly of a bare and unfurnished hole, having parted from their loved ones, stroking the dirt and facing their accounts. Now, they are dependent on their deeds, free of what they left behind, in need of [the deeds] they put before them. So fear Allāh before the time He appointed is up and death descends upon you. This is what I have to say.” He then lifted the edge of his garment over his face and wept profusely, and made everyone around him weep. Abū Bakr Al-Daynūrī, Al-Mujālasah wa Jawāhir Al-‘Ilm Vol. 3 p343.
Abū Bakr Al-Daynūrī, Al-Mujālasah wa Jawāhir Al-‘Ilm Vol. 3 p343.
Al-Lālakā`ī, Sharh Usūl I’tiqād Ahl Al-Sunnah wa Al-Jamā’ah, Vol.1 p46. It is reported that Hammād b. Zayd said, “When the news of the death of a young man from the followers of hadīth reached Ayyūb, [the sorrow] could be seen on him; and when the news of the death of a man who was mentioned as being a devout worshipper would reach him, [it’s effect] on him was not noticed.” Al-Lālakā`ī, Sharh Usūl I’tiqād Ahl Al-Sunnah wa Al-Jamā’ah, Vol.1 p51. It is also reported that Hammād b. Zayd said, “I was with Ayyūb Al-Sakhtiyānī while he was washing [the body] of Shu’ayb b. Al-Habhāb, saying, ‘Anyone who wishes for the death of a person from Ahl Al-Sunnah has wished for the light of Allāh to be extinguished; but Allāh will keep His light complete, even though the unbelievers may hate it.’ [Sūrah Al-Saff: 8]” Al-Lālakā`ī, Sharh Usūl I’tiqād Ahl Al-Sunnah wa Al-Jamā’ah, Vol.1 p52. It is reported that Asad b. Mūsā said, “We were with Sufyān b. ‘Uyainah when he was informed of the death of Al-Darāwardī, and he became visibly distressed. [Al-Darāwardī] hadn’t actually died, so we said, ‘We didn’t think you would reach such a state.’ He said, ‘[Al-Darāwardī] is from Ahl Al-Sunnah.’” Al-Lālakā`ī, Sharh Usūl I’tiqād Ahl Al-Sunnah wa Al-Jamā’ah, Vol.1 p72.
Al-Lālakā`ī, Sharh Usūl I’tiqād Ahl Al-Sunnah wa Al-Jamā’ah, Vol.1 p72.
Those that make me laugh are a person who puts his hopes in this worldly life while death pursues him, a person who is heedless [of his Lord] while [his Lord] is not heedless of him, and a person who always laughs while he does not know whether he has pleased Allāh or angered Him. What makes me cry is being separated from my beloved: Muhammad and his party (the Companions), the horrors of the time of death, and standing in front of Allāh ‘azza wa jall on the Day when the secrets will be revealed and I do not know will I then go to Paradise or Hell?” Ibn Al-Mubārak, Al-Zuhd wa Al-Raqā`iq article 250.
Ibn Al-Mubārak, Al-Zuhd wa Al-Raqā`iq article 250.
A gathering of knowledge and revision was held for Abul-Husayn Muslim b. Al-Hajjâj where a hadîth that he did not know was mentioned. He went home and lit his lamp and said to those at home, “no one should enter the house (disturb me).” He was told, “We have been gifted a basket of dates.” He said, “Put it out for me,” so they served it to him. He started searching for the hadîth and taking a date at a time until the morning, by which time the dates where finished and he had finally found the hadîth. Muhammad b. ‘Abdillâh (one of the reporters of this narration) added, “A reliable companion of ours added that this was the cause of his death.” Al-Dhahabî, Siyar A’lâm Al-Nubalâ` in his biography of Imâm Muslim.
Al-Dhahabî, Siyar A’lâm Al-Nubalâ` in his biography of Imâm Muslim.
Whoever remembers death often will find a small amount (of worldly things) sufficient for him; and whoever includes his speech in his deeds will speak little. Al-Dhahabī , Siyar A’lām Al-Nubalā` in his biography of Al-Awzāʿī.
Al-Dhahabī , Siyar A’lām Al-Nubalā` in his biography of Al-Awzāʿī.
The thing I fear for you most is following desires and having extensive hopes (about this worldly life). Following one’s desires blocks you from the truth, and having extensive hopes makes you forget the hereafter. Verily, this worldly life is departing and the hereafter is approaching and each of them has its children. So be children of the hereafter, not children of this world, for today there are (opportunities to do) deeds and there is no reckoning, but tomorrow there will be reckoning and no deeds. Quoted by Al-Bukhārī, Al-Sahīh, The Book of Raqā`iq without the first sentence. Reported in its entirety by Abū Nu’aym, Hilyah Al-Awliyā` Vol.1 p40, and others. Al-Hāfidh Ibn Hajr states in Fath Al-Bārī: Extensive hopes (about this worldly life) give rise to lethargy when it comes to acts of obedience, procrastinating with repentance, desire for worldly things, forgetfulness of the hereafter and hardness of the heart; because the softness of the heart and its purity only comes about by remembering death, the grave, reward and punishment, and the horrors of the hereafter…for if one remembers death, he strives to do acts of obedience, his worries decrease and he is satisfied with less.
Extensive hopes (about this worldly life) give rise to lethargy when it comes to acts of obedience, procrastinating with repentance, desire for worldly things, forgetfulness of the hereafter and hardness of the heart; because the softness of the heart and its purity only comes about by remembering death, the grave, reward and punishment, and the horrors of the hereafter…for if one remembers death, he strives to do acts of obedience, his worries decrease and he is satisfied with less.
Al-Dhahabī , Siyar A’lām Al-Nubalā` in his biography of Abū Mūsā Al-Ash’arī.
Fear Allah o ʿUmar, and know that Allah has deeds to be done for Him in the day which He will not accept if done at night, and He has deeds to be done for Him at night which He will not accept if done during the day. He will not accept extra (nāfilah) deeds unless you fulfill the obligatory deeds. The scales of those whose scales will be weighty on the Day of Resurrection will only be weighty because they followed the truth in this life and it was weighty to them. And scales in which the truth will be placed tomorrow truly deserve to be heavy. And the scales of those whose scales will be light on the Day of Resurrection will only be light because they followed falsehood in this life and it was a light matter to them. And scales in which falsehood will be placed tomorrow truly deserve to be light. Allah the Exalted has mentioned the people of Paradise and mentioned them in the context of their best deeds, and overlooked their evil deeds, so when I remember them I say to myself: I fear that I will not be included with them. And Allah the Exalted has mentioned the people of Hell and mentioned them in the context of their worst deeds and rejected their best deeds, so when I remember them I say: I hope I won’t be amongst them. Allah’s worshippers should always be in a state of hope and fear, they shouldn’t wish flimsy wishes about Allah and neither should they despair of Allah’s mercy. If you keep to this advice of mine, no one who is not with you now should be more beloved to you than death – and it is sure to come to you. But if you disregard this advice, no one who is not with you now should be more hated to you than death – and you cannot escape it. Abū Nu’aym, Ḥilyah Al-Awliyā` Vol.1 p18; and Ibn Al-Jawzī, Ṣifah Al-Ṣafwah.
Abū Nu’aym, Ḥilyah Al-Awliyā` Vol.1 p18; and Ibn Al-Jawzī, Ṣifah Al-Ṣafwah.
My father said, “There is one treatment for death: gaining the pleasure of Allah ‘azza wa jall.” Ibn Abī Al-Dunyā in Dhikr Al-Mawt no. 418.
Ibn Abī Al-Dunyā in Dhikr Al-Mawt no. 418.
Remember Allāh in good times and He will mention you in hard times. When you remember those who have passed away, consider yourself like one of them. And when you think of involving yourself in some worldly matter, consider first what it will lead to in the end.
Al-Dhahabī in Siyar Aʿlām Al-Nubalāʾ, under the biography of Abū Al-Dardāʾ.