AL-ISLAAH PUBLICATIONS
Do not wish for Death
Sickness-Compensates for sins | Cursing Sickness | Dua of a Sick Person | Virtues and Etiquettes of Visiting the Sick | Salaah of a Sick Person | Do not wish for Death | Hope in the Mercy of Allah | Last Moments of some Auliyaa
________________________________________________
Do not wish for Death
Do not wish for Death
Hadrat Abu Hurairah(R.A.) reports that Rasulullah(Sallallaahu alaiyhi wassallam) said, 'No person from amongst you should wish for death. If he is a good-doer, perhaps he might increase his good deeds (if he lives longer). And if he is an evil-doer, he might repent (to Allah and thereby earn His forgiveness and pleasure).' (Sahih Bukhari)
Hadrat Anas(R.A.) relates that Rasulullah(Sallallaahu alaiyhi wassallam) said, 'None of you should pray and hope for death because of some calamity. If he has to do so, then he should make the following dua instead: O Allah, keep me alive as long as life is better for me, and let me die when death is better for me.' (Sahih Bukhari)
Sudden Death
During the time of Rasulullah(Sallallaahu alaiyhi wassallam) a person died suddenly. Somebody remarked, 'How fortunate he was for not having suffered any sickness.' Rasulullah(Sallallaahu alaiyhi wassallam) said, 'But I wish that Allah Ta'ala had afflicted him with sickness and thereby forgiven his sins.'Rasulullah (Sallallaahu alaiyhi wassallam) would even seek Allah's protection from a sudden death.However, sudden death should not be always seen as a misfortune. A person who dies suddenly, for instance, in a motor car accident or gets murdered, etc. gets the reward of a shaheed.
Death in a Foreign Land
Hadrat Abdullah bin Amr(R.A.) relates that a man passed away in Madinah Munawwarah. He was also born there. Rasulullah (Sallallaahu alaiyhi wassallam) performed his Janaazah salaah and said, 'How I wish he had died in a place other than where he was born.' The Sahaabah(R.A.) asked, 'Why is that, O Messenger of Allah?' Rasulullah(Sallallaahu alaiyhi wassallam) replied, 'When a person dies (in some distant land) faraway from his birthplace, then the distance between the place of his birth and the place of his death will be measured for him in Jannah. (Ibn Maajah)
The Ulama have interpreted this Hadith to mean that his grave will be widened for him as far as the distance between the place of his birth and the place where he had died, and a door of Jannah will be opened for him into his grave.
Death from Sickness
Hadrat Abu Hurairah(R.A.) has reported that Rasulullah(Sallallaahu alaiyhi wassallam) said, 'Whoever dies from an illness, dies as a shaheed (martyr)" and is saved from the trials in the grave, and he receives his sustenance from Jannah every morning and evening. (Ibn Maajah)
He has also reported that Rasulullah(Sallallaahu alaiyhi wassallam) said, 'Instruct those who are dying amongst you to recite: Laa ilaaha illal laah. (Sahih Muslim)
Rasulullah(Sallallaahu alaiyhi wassallam) has also said, 'Besides the person who gets killed (martyred) in the path of Allah, there are seven other (categories of) martyrs, viz.
one who dies in a plague, one who dies from stomach illnesses, one who drowns, one who gets burnt to death, one who gets crushed to death , a woman who dies during childbirth and one who dies from pleurisy.' (Abu Dawood, Nasa-ee) It is mentioned in a Hadith that if any Muslim recites:
Laa ilaaha illaa anta subhaa naka innee kuntu mi nazzaa limeen
|
forty times in the state of sickness, then if he recovers, all his sins will be forgiven, but if he dies from it, he will be granted the reward; of a Shaheed (martyr). (Haakim)
Death brings relief for a Mu'min
Once a janaazah (funeral) passed by Rasulullah(Sallallaahu alaiyhi wassallam) . He said, '(Here is) someone who is relieved or someone from whom others are relieved.' The Sahaabah asked, 'O Messenger of Allah! Who is the one who is relieved or one from whom others are relieved?' He replied, '(When) a Mu'min (dies he) is relieved from the pain and sufferings of the worldl and enjoys the mercy of Allah. But when a persistent sinner dies; people, habitations, trees and animals find relief(in his death)." (Bukhaari and Muslim)
