Death

[ابوالوليد المسلم]

Death

Hosam Ibn `Abdul-`Aziz Al Jibrin


Translated by: Alamgeer Usmani.


Praise be to Allah, who said: “ Allah makes to hear whomsoever He wills. And you cannot make to hear those who are in the graves.” I praise Allah who knows the treachery of the eyes and whatever is concealed by hearts. And I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, alone, who has no partner, He has created death and life, and to Him is the resurrection.


And I bear witness that our Prophet Muhammad is His servant and Messenger, whom Allah sent with guidance and light, may Allah’s prayers and peace be upon him and his family and his companions abundantly.


Honorable people,
Servitude of Allah is an honored purpose, its fruits remain ripe in the present and in the future. Doing righteous acts abundantly, and avoiding from taboos is a greatest cause of happiness and success in this world and the Next, and the Muslim should follow the things which lead him to the righteousness of his heart and growth in his obedience.


Brothers in Faith,
There is a command that is mentioned in the Glorious Quran, and mentioned in the saying of the Prophet and in his action. Peace be upon him. It is the same command that motivates the hearts and makes easy for them to equip with acts of worship. It is the same command which helps to extinguish the fires of forbidden desires, and that is a fact, that we always neglect it, it is a such decisively moment that we must meet it. It is a silent admonisher who did not leave the rich, the poor, the healthy and the sick.

وَكُلُّ أُنَاسٍ سَوْفَ تَدْخُلُ بَيْنَهُمْ
دُوَيْهِيَّةٌ تَصْفَرُّ مِنْهَا الأَنَامِلُ

And every person will have to undergo it. It would be such a horrible matter that fingertips will turn yellow from it.


O honorable believers,
from the guidance of our Prophet - may Allah’s prayers and peace be upon him - that he used to take care of his companions in preaching by selecting a suitable time, so that they might not get bored. He - peace be upon him -said: “I forbade you to visit graves, but you may now visit them”. Narrated by Muslim.

From time to time, we walk behind the one who is going Allah, and he has fulfilled his desire, and his time has passed, now he is in a crack of the earth, and has settled in the dirt, has left his loved ones, and will face the reckoning.


Servants of Allah,
Death, for some people, becomes a turning point into eternal happiness and eternal bliss, and while for some other people, it becomes a turning point into misery and torment that may be long or short.


O worshipers,
Death, at times is easy for some people as the description of the capturing the soul of a believer came in the hadith: “It then comes out as a drop flows from a water-skin”.


And how much we have heard about people who died while they were praying or sitting in the prayer.


Death is, sometimes, severe and difficult, and it is a atonement and testing for the believer. The Prophet, peace be upon him, said: “Frequently remember the destroyer of pleasures”. Narrated by Ahmad, Al-Nasa’i and others, and authenticated by Al-Albani.


Imam Al-Qurtubi said: “Our scholars said: His saying – peace be upon him –: (Remember a lot the destroyer of pleasures) is a short and brief speech, it contains a comprehensive and eloquent speech.

My blessed brother,
Remembering the death is not a purpose in itself; but purpose is what it entails; For, in remembering the death, there are benefits, including:
It urges us to prepare for death before its descent, and it motivates us to examine ourselves, and the fruits of examining ourselves, lead us to equip us with good deeds, to feel regret and to abstain from taboos.


And the remembering the death leads to do obedience, and makes the calamities of the world easier for servant, and also, it urges repentance and making up for what has passed.


Remembering the death softens hearts, brings tears to the eyes, attracts the motives of religion, and expels the motives of desires.


Remembering the death causes to draw out malice in breast, to forgive the brothers and accept their excuses.


Remembering the death deters from sins and softens a hard heart.


On the authority of Al-Bara bin Azib - may Allah be pleased with him - he said: “We were with the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) at a funeral, and he sat at the edge of the grave weeping, until the ground became wet. Then he said: ‘O my brothers, prepare yourselves for something like this." Narrated by Ahmad, Ibn Majah, and graded as hasan by Al-Albani.


Al-Daqqaq said: “Whoever remembers death a lot, Allah will honor him with three things: hastening the repentance, contentment of the heart, and activism in worship.


Whoever forgets death, will be afflicted with three things: delaying the repentance, dissatisfaction with the minimum necessary to support life and laziness in worship.”


How long will the procrastination and negligence last, while we see the sudden death frequently?

تَزَوَّدْ مِنَ التَّقْوَى فَإِنَّكَ لاَ تَدْرِي
إِذَا جَنَّ لَيْلٌ هَلْ تَعِيشُ إِلَى الفَجْرِ

فَكَمْ مِنْ صَحِيحٍ مَاتَ مِنْ غَيْرِ عِلَّةٍ
وَكَمْ مِنْ سَقِيمٍ عَاشَ حِينًا مِنَ الدَّهْرِ

وَكَمْ مِنْ صَبِيٍّ يُرْتَجَى طُولُ عُمْرِهِ
وَقَدْ نُسِجَتْ أَكْفَانُهُ وَهْوُ لاَ يَدْرِي

increase your piety, for you do not know
If the night breaks, will you live until dawn?
How many healthy died without a disease?
And how many sick people lived for a long period of time.
And how much a boy is hopeful for the rest of his life?
While his shroud is woven and he did not know.


Oh Allah, forgive the Muslim men and women, the living of them and the dead of them, Oh Allah, we ask you for a good concluding,


and the highest degree in the paradise, and ask forgiveness from Allah that he is forgiving.

second sermon

Praise be to Allah, who alone gave the life and survival, and has decreed death and doom for His servants, and blessings and peace be upon the one with whom the apostles and prophethood were sealed. Afterwards.


Brothers in Islam,
When death comes the work is sealed, and repentance is not accepted. Ibn `Umar narrated that the Prophet (ﷺ) said: “Indeed Allah accepts the repentance of a slave as long as (his soul does not reach his throat).” Narrated by Tirmidhi, and authenticated by Albani.


At the time of death, man discovers his goodness and mistake, and his destination becomes clear to him. At the time of death, angels descend upon the believers and say:

أَلَّا تَخَافُوا وَلَا تَحْزَنُوا وَأَبْشِرُوا بِالْجَنَّةِ الَّتِي كُنْتُمْ تُوعَدُونَ * نَحْنُ أَوْلِيَاؤُكُمْ فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَفِي الْآَخِرَةِ وَلَكُمْ فِيهَا مَا تَشْتَهِي أَنْفُسُكُمْ وَلَكُمْ فِيهَا مَا تَدَّعُونَ * نُزُلًا مِنْ غَفُورٍ رَحِيمٍ [فصلت: 30 – 32]

“On them the angels will descend, saying, “Do not fear, and do not grieve; and be happy with the good news of the Jannah (Paradise) that you had been promised. We have been your friends in the worldly life, and (will remain as such) in the Hereafter. And for you here is whatever your souls desire, and for you here is whatever you call for. A gift of welcome from the Most-forgiving, the Very-Merciful.”.


My blessed brothers,
Your visit to the graveyard, or your imagination of your condition when you would be carried on the shoulders, is not to disturb your life, nor to sadden your heart; rather this is because, by God, your life can be blessed and your condition can be improved. Because, the one who said: “Make frequent remembrance of the destroyer of pleasures”, he also said: “In this world, women and perfume have been made dear to me.” And he also said: “and in man's sexual Intercourse (with his wife,) there is a Sadaqa. They (the Companions) said: Messenger of Allah, is there reward for him who satisfies his sexual passion among us? He said: Tell me, if he were to devote it to something forbidden, would it not be a sin on his part? Similarly, if he were to devote it to something lawful, he should have a reward.”


But the purpose is that, a man can compensate in what he has been neglectful, and can continue and increase the acts of goodness as long as he is alive and in grace. For, today we can work and there is no reckoning, and tomorrow there will be reckoning but we won’t able to do work, and the wise person is the one who prepares to meet his Lord and does righteousness for himself. Then, it will be revealed whether you and me are the winner or the loser.

لاَ دَارَ لِلْمَرْءِ بَعْدَ المَوْتِ يَسْكُنُهُا
إِلاَّ الَّتِي كَانَ قَبْلَ المَوْتِ يَبْنِيهَا

فَإِنْ بَنَاهَا بِخَيْرٍ طَابَ مَسْكَنُهَا
وَإِنْ بَنَاهَا بَشَرٍّ خَابَ بَانِيهَا

For anyone, there is no home to inhabit after death.
Except that which he built before death.
If he built it with goodness, his dwelling will be blessed.
And if he built it with evil, then the builder will be disappointed.


أعوذ بالله من الشيطان الرجيم: ﴿ كُلُّ نَفْسٍ ذَائِقَةُ الْمَوْتِ وَإِنَّمَا تُوَفَّوْنَ أُجُورَكُمْ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ فَمَنْ زُحْزِحَ عَنِ النَّارِ وَأُدْخِلَ الْجَنَّةَ فَقَدْ فَازَ وَمَا الْحَيَاةُ الدُّنْيَا إِلَّا مَتَاعُ الْغُرُورِ ﴾ [آل عمران: 185].
I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Satan: "Every soul has to taste death. It is on the Day of Judgement that you shall be paid your rewards in full. So, whoever has been kept away from the Fire and admitted to Paradise has really succeeded. The worldly life is nothing but an illusionary enjoyment."


Oh God, we ask you for a good conclusion, and the highest degree in the paradise, Oh God, make our last words of the world, “there is no god but Allah”, Oh God, grant us the life of the blissful people, and the death of the martyrs, Oh God, make our graves a garden from the gardens of Paradise.