Ali Albarghouthi – Life Beyond – 1- Remembering Death Helps Us Live Better Lives
AI: Summary ©
The importance of understanding death and rewinding life is crucial to personal growth and healing, as it can lead to sadness and paranoia. The afterlife is a sign of one's success and happiness, and science confirms or denies the afterlife. The importance of rewinding life to avoid damaging one's body is crucial to achieving good deeds, and people should visit the burial. The speakers stress the importance of pursuing medical treatment for heart disease, seeking medication, and treating oneself.
AI: Summary ©
In the name of Allah and praise be
to Allah and peace and blessings be upon
the Messenger of Allah and his family and
companions.
O Allah, teach us what will benefit us
and benefit us with what You have taught
us and increase us in knowledge, O Lord
of the worlds.
O Allah, help us in remembering You, in
thanking You and in the goodness of Your
worship.
O Lord, ease and help us, O Generous
One.
The life in al-barzakh.
And to be more precise, I'm actually going
to deal with death and then the life
in al-barzakh, which is the life in
the grave.
So, the first thing that I wanted to
start with is, why do we need this?
Because if you have the proper orientation, the
proper understanding of why you're going to do
this, then insha'Allah the journey will be
more instructive, more beneficial.
Because obviously a topic like this, whenever you
want to talk about death and I'm talking
about the next life, there's a lot of
intrigue that surrounds it.
And any topic that belongs to the imperceptible,
the ghayb, has a lot of intrigue.
So if you're going to talk about jinn,
about magic, about the next life, there's a
lot of intrigue.
And intrigue is great if it brings you
in.
Intrigue doesn't sustain you for the long haul,
because you lose interest.
Like if you simply are motivated by intrigue,
you're going to be looking for the obscure,
the extraordinary, the hidden, the entertaining, even if
it's not authentic, even if it's not beneficial.
So just think about the issue of jinn.
And how a lot of us are attracted
to fairy tales about jinn and what they
are and what they do versus reality.
And reality is always based on what is
authentic.
So if it's simply just intrigue, it will
land you in this series, but it will
not sustain you.
So I want you to have a greater
motivation and intention than intrigue.
Maintain your intrigue, but you must have something
more than that.
And also that when we're talking about death,
it's not an opportunity for us to get
sad or paranoid.
You say, well, I have so much going
on in my life, I don't really need
to hear about death.
That's just going to depress me even further.
That's not the intent of it, nor that
this thing is going to do that.
This is how we link it in our
heads.
But the more that you will understand about
death, inshallah, the more that this will become
clear.
So why do you want to do this?
Why do you want to understand death and
the next life?
So if you're going to take a journey,
and you're going to go through an airport,
and the person before you go there tells
you about all the procedures, custom, certificates that
you need to have, where to stand, what
to take with you, what not to take
with you, when you enter, go left, go
right.
Why do they share all that information with
you?
To entertain?
It could be entertaining.
But why do they share that information with
you?
Why would you want it?
Because you are going to take that journey,
and you want to facilitate your trip.
Not complicated.
You want to know what to do.
So you are learning it so that you
understand what you're going to go through, and
how best to handle that.
So any airport, port, entry, when you know
about it, it facilitates that crossing.
So when you learn about death, and you
want to learn about the next life, it
is to facilitate that journey.
It's to get ready for it before you
arrive.
Because there's not much that you can do
once you are there.
In an airport, you could argue.
You could try to maneuver.
But with death, with the angels, with Allah
in the next life, with rewards and punishment,
you'll not be able to maneuver your way
out of it.
So if you get ready now, you'll be
able to handle it later.
And Rasool Allah, when he once was asked,
Who are the best believers?
He said, the ones with the best character.
Who are the wisest of believers?
He says, He says, the ones who remember
death most often, and the ones who are
best prepared for it.
So two things he mentioned, for a person
to attain wisdom, which is what?
You remember death?
Okay, is that enough?
What did he also say?
You get ready for it.
This is for that.
So in the other hadith where the Prophet
s.a.w. said, Remember the destroyer of
pleasures often, which is death.
There's a reason for that remembrance.
Because of what it does.
So it's not just entertainment.
We want to take it and we want
to do something with it.
So this is one.
Self-edification, self-improvement, rectifying ourselves.
That.
Also, how that will help, is how do
we deal with the dead once they pass?
Once they die.
How do we relate to them?
Can we benefit them?
Can they benefit us?
Can we communicate with them?
If we want to help them, how can
we help them?
So all these are relevant questions.
Do we pray for them?
What is Salatul Janaza?
So that connection, that emotional gap that we
feel, once they are dead, needs answers.
And so we want to understand how to
connect with them after.
How to benefit them?
Can we benefit from them?
And also, how do we avoid misguidance when
it comes to the dead?
Because there's a lot of misguidance, wrong information
related to people when they die.
And how you can relate to them.
So we want to understand how to protect
ourselves from it.
Because whether you know it or not, a
lot of the shirk of the children of
Adam is related to the graves, and to
the dead.
How does this happen?
Obviously there's something missing.
And also to separate ourselves when it comes
to death, the next life, from fairy tales,
from wrong information, which is entertaining, but it's
not authentic, nor is it beneficial.
So if we want to understand something about
death, which is beyond us, something about life
in the grave, which is beyond us, what
is the basis of our information?
Who has access to tell us?
There's only one.
That is Allah Azzawajal.
And then through Allah Azzawajal, his Prophet, peace
be upon him, there's nothing else.
So it must be based on that.
It must be based on the Quran and
the Sunnah.
And we're going to try to see, inshallah,
if at some intervals or some instances we're
going to come back and say, well this
is inauthentic.
So we cannot believe in this.
Because it's not based on the Quran and
the Sunnah.
So always have to keep that in mind.
That this is the jurisdiction, religious jurisdiction, that
belongs only to revelation.
So that's separation of fact from fiction.
Now related to this, and this could be
of interest to some of you, is that
does the mind, does the intellect, affirm the
afterlife on its own?
Not its details, because we have no access
to it.
But does it affirm an afterlife on its
own if a person believes in a creator?
So if a person believes in Allah Azzawajal,
and believes in his names and attributes, him
being a just, him being the merciful, him
being the all-powerful, could you based on
that, intellectually alone, affirm that there must be
a day of judgment before revelation tells you?
So this is a dalil ul-aqli.
So if someone tells you, how do you
know that there is a day of judgment?
It's the most obvious answer, and the clearest
of evidence is what?
Allah told us.
How do you know there is life after
death?
Who told you?
Allah told you.
The Prophet A.S. told you.
He says this is a dalil ul-sam
'i.
This is evidence from revelation.
Great.
Is there also intellectual evidence to point to
it?
To support it even further?
We say yes.
If you insist, and Allah Azzawajal has the
attributes of justice, power, and mercy, then you
will say to yourself, there has to be
an afterlife where the weak are going to
be avenged.
Where the weak are going to be championed.
Where the aggressors are going to be punished.
Because we don't see full justice in this
life.
Do you?
You see the unjust escape punishment.
You see the weak killed.
Then you ask yourself, where is justice?
So there has to be a day and
a time where Allah Azzawajal will bring people
back to life to punish the aggressor and
reward the aggrieved and bring restitutions to the
victim.
So this is an intellectual evidence.
And by the way, based on what we
said, can science confirm or deny an afterlife?
What do you think?
No.
Why?
Because what is the apparatus that science uses
for confirming or rejecting the hypothesis?
It is what?
Observation.
You observe something, you test something, and then
you know.
We are saying this is what?
Beyond human observation.
Beyond physical and perceptible observation.
So it is not possible for the science
to come and confirm nor deny.
Though Allah Azzawajal had given you instances that
prove it from your life which we are
going to come to inshallah.
Also part of the benefit of remembering death
that it is not just simply about death
then.
When I die.
But remembering death will and should affect you
right here and right now.
So in the hadith that you know, and
I just quoted, where he said salallahu alayhi
wasalam, أكثر من ذكر هادم إلا ذات Remember
the destroyer of pleasures often.
What does remembering death do?
What does it do based on that hadith?
It takes away attachment to this life.
Reduces it significantly.
So if you look at how we are
living.
We live most of our day, week, month
and year for the sake of the dunya.
Absorbed in it only thinking or mostly thinking
about it.
That's what makes us elated and happy.
That's what makes us sad and depressed.
That's what motivates us.
We wake up for it and we go
to sleep thinking about it.
And even when we are sleeping, we dream
about it.
So all of our life is about what?
The dunya.
How can I get more of it?
How can I enjoy much more of it?
And you only think that because you think
or you forget.
You think that you are going to live
forever and you forget that you are going
to die.
But once you remember death, it pulls you
back.
So that thing that is supposed to consume
you, sadden you, make you happy, no longer
has that effect.
No longer has that strength.
Because it's going to end.
So death, remembering death, reforms a human being.
And makes you love Allah azza wa jal
more because you have no one but Him
subhanahu wa ta'ala.
It also, what it does, that it brings
spiritual and mental balance to you.
Right?
So he said, alayhis salatu was salam, in
another hadith, he said, أَكْثِرُ مِن ذِكْرِ الْمَوْتِ
Remember death often.
فَإِنَّهُ مَا ذَكَرَهُ أَحَدٌ فِي سَعَةٍ مِنَ الْعَيْشِ
إِلَّا ضَيِّقَهُ وَلَا فِي ضِيقٍ مِنَ الْعَيْشِ إِلَّا
وَسَّعَهُ It says remember death because you will
not remember death while experiencing luxury or spaciousness
of life, but it will contract it or
tighten it.
And you will not remember it while experiencing
contraction or tightness of life except that would
make it more spacious.
So remembering death is medicine.
You know why?
Because he said, alayhis salatu was salam, if
you're going through some difficult times and you
think life is tight, difficult, hardship, will never
end.
He said, alayhis salatu was salam, remember death
because when you remember death, it will give
you relief.
It will restore balance to you because life
had threw you off balance.
Made you think or believe this will never
end.
You'll remember death and you'll remember what?
This hardship must end.
Right?
It has to end.
It cannot last.
It will create relief.
And once it ends, I'll meet Allah azza
wa jal and Allah will give me this
and that if I'm pious.
So not only will this hardship end, it
will be replaced with ease.
And if I turn to Allah azza wa
jal, He'll bring happiness.
That alteration of your thinking is the introduction
of death and finality of life on this
earth.
And it restores balance if you're moving to
the other extreme.
Meaning, you're only thinking about this life.
Like a lot of us on social media.
What do you see?
What do you watch?
Food, makeup, bags, luxury brands.
Exercise.
What is it all about?
I'm not saying all of these things are
bad.
But what is it all about?
Dunya.
You're bombarded with that's the only thing you
think about.
Now, you happen to see the next video
and the next video is about death.
What does it do to the rest of
those videos if you don't really immediately scroll
away from it because you don't want to
see that.
When it's about death, it undermines everything else
you've seen.
Your body is not going to last.
Whatever you buy is not going to last.
And which will not bring you happiness.
You can't keep traveling away from your anxieties.
So remembering about death restores balance and brings
you back to the middle.
So if you mentally, spiritually have veered off
the path that Allah loves for you, whether
to the left or to the right, you
remember death will bring you back to the
middle and closer to Allah azza wa jal.
And it's quite toxic for a person to
only think about the dunya and care about
the dunya.
He ﷺ said in a hadith, it's not
poverty that I fear for you, but I
fear for you that this world will open
itself for you and you will run after
it and it will destroy you like it
destroyed nations before you.
That's a weakness.
That's a great temptation.
How do you treat that?
He's saying, I'm not worried that you're going
to be poor.
I'm worried that you're going to be what?
What's the opposite of poor?
Rich.
I'm not worried that you're going to be
poor.
I'm worried that you're going to be rich.
So if you are rich or if you
have money or there is luxury or there
is opportunity, you must remember death to protect
yourself from it.
Otherwise it will consume you.
As he ﷺ said, it did that to
nations before you.
So you need it.
And it's needed also to fix the weakness
of the ummah.
He mentioned in the khutbah yesterday that the
Prophet ﷺ when he noted the weakness of
the ummah, he said what?
He said that Allah will put weakness in
your hearts when there's a lot of you
but you are ineffectual.
He said that he'll put weakness in your
heart.
They asked him, what is this weakness, O
Prophet of Allah?
He said loving the dunya and hating death.
So if you want to boil down the
reason why we are weak, male or female,
young or oiled, as an ummah and as
individuals, you say that a lot of us,
in our hearts we have that disease which
is what we love the dunya so much
that we'll sacrifice everything for it including our
religion and Allah عز و جل.
And we hate death so much we don't
even want to hear about it nor do
we want it to fix us.
And that is contrary to the message of
the Prophet ﷺ when he said remember death.
And we said we don't want to remember
it.
And he says remember.
In another hadith he says visit the graveyard.
It will remind you of the hereafter.
So he wants you to do this because
it will fix you.
So we need that to fix us.
That memory, that encounter is important.
Finally, in form of an introduction, is this
escapism?
Like are we doing this because we just
want to escape our trouble in this life
so we want something to entertain us?
Or is it that we have failed in
the dunya so we're just simply going to
focus on the akhirah?
This is not it.
And I had a brother ask me, he
says, is it that Muslims have failed in
the dunya so they've given up on that
and they've given it to the non-Muslims
and they're just simply focusing on the akhirah?
Abandon the dunya, denounce the dunya, don't worry
about the dunya, is that it?
Is this how we're shifting?
I said, no, this is not what the
Prophet ﷺ was doing.
The Prophet ﷺ, in his heavy emphasis on
avoiding the temptation of the dunya, wanted to
create a human being who is a servant
of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
And you must in the beginning, you must
in the beginning free yourself of the dunya
so that you don't become a slave of
it.
And when Allah sees that from you, He'll
give you the dunya.
But then you'll be in control of it,
it will not be in control of you.
You follow me?
So, follow the trajectory of the sahaba to
understand this.
In the beginning, they were dispossessed, right?
Of land, of money, of homes, of safety,
of everything.
Allah took it all away from them.
Or He allowed the disbelievers to take it
all away from them.
Why did He test them like that in
the beginning?
Losing loved ones in the process Why?
So that the love of the dunya exits
the heart.
We're not living for it.
We will fight and we will lose our
lives for Allah azawajal.
So the dunya leaves the heart.
Once the dunya leaves the heart, Allah says,
take it.
Now you have money, now you have power,
but now you can control it.
Now you can direct it in ways that
please Allah azawajal, it doesn't destroy you.
So remembering death is essential in doing this.
And when you see what the world today
and its ideology and its practices, it is
recreating the human being as a consumer, as
a slave of this dunya.
Social media, but also political ideology and also
economic plans, it's recreating.
You do not notice it.
It's an agenda, but you don't notice it
because you're just consuming it.
But it does change you.
So remembering death is a project within Islam
to recreate the human being in a fashion
that Allah azawajal wants.
So you are a servant and a slave
of Allah azawajal, not of something else.
Now, going into death.
Allah azawajal in the Quran affirms it.
The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam affirms it.
Life around you affirms it.
كُلُّ نَفْسٍ ذَائِقَةُ الْمَوْتِ Every soul shall taste
death.
عَيْنَ مَا تَكُونُوا يُدْرِكُمُ الْمَوْتِ Wherever you may
be, death will overtake you.
So Allah azawajal keeps reminding people that death
will reach you and you cannot hide it.
وَلَوْ كُنْتُمْ فِي بُرُوجٍ مُحَصَّنَةٍ Even if you
were to fortify yourself behind high and fortresses
that cannot be violated.
So that you can try to protect yourself
from death physically and otherwise.
You can take your vitamins, you can exercise,
you can eat well, you can do everything
that you want to do.
And it could help prolong but it does
not protect from it.
So it's an inevitable I'm sorry inevitable destination.
It has to happen.
So if it has to happen then a
person has to be aware that he has
to be ready for it.
And death can represent a duality.
Two things at the same time.
Something that can scare you, something that can
terrify you, you want to run away from
but also something that is a connection to
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
Right?
So once when the Prophet s.a.w.
saw a funeral he said, He says, experiencing
relief or giving relief.
This person is either experiencing relief or providing
relief.
They said, what is that O Prophet of
Allah?
He says, if he is pious he is
experiencing relief from the agony and hardship of
the dunya.
But if he is impious his surroundings experience
relief because of his departure.
Animals, humans and the earth experience relief when
he leaves.
But note the first when he said s
.a.w. that if he is pious he
is what?
Mustarih Istarah that he is experiencing relief.
So this moment of death if the person
is pleasing to Allah s.w.t is
a moment of relief.
And others have described it as a moment
where it's like a bridge between you and
your beloved.
It is the thing that will take you
to Allah s.w.t. So what is
a better encounter than meeting the one that
you've been worshipping and waiting to see for
your entire life.
When you think about death in that fashion
death is not something to run away from
but it's something to welcome if a person
is pleasing to Allah s.w.t. Right?
As it was said, do you see a
person ever hating to meet his beloved?
Right?
Do you really love Allah s.w.t?
Do you see the person hating that moment
when he finally gets to meet Allah s
.w.t?
So that is one aspect of death that
if you think about it it becomes less
terrifying, less daunting but at the same time
of course it's the ultimate separation between body
and soul.
Getting into an area a world that you've
never seen before never experienced before and also
you don't really know what's going to happen
to you.
Is it good or is it bad?
So that's also the agony of death or
that is also the hardship of death.
Now Allah s.w.t. had given us
signs on this earth that point to death.
That when you see it you can see
parallels between the actual final death and whatever
you are seeing around you.
One of them is sleep.
Right?
One of them is sleep and Allah s
.w.t. calls it wafa or like you
could call it paraphrase it as smaller death.
Allah s.w.t. says وَهُوَ الَّذِي يَتَوَفَّاكُمْ
بِاللَّيْلِ وَيَعْلَمُ مَا جَرَحْتُمْ بِالنَّهَارِ ثُمَّ يَبْعَثُكُمْ فِيهِ
لِيُقْضَىٰ أَجَلٌ مُسَمَّةٌ He is the one who
takes your soul at night and returns it
during the day.
So your soul gets taken during the night
when you sleep.
In another ayah Allah s.w.t. links
what happens to you when you sleep and
when you die.
He says وَهُوَ الَّذِي يَتَوَفَّاكُمْ بِاللَّيْلِ وَيَعْلَمُ مَا
جَرَحْتُمْ بِالنَّهَارِ ثُمَّ يَبْعَثُكُمْ فِيهِ لِيُقْضَىٰ أَجَلٌ مُسَمَّةٌ
Allah s.w.t. says Allah takes the
souls of those who die and those who
have not died but are asleep.
He takes both.
So He holds some, the ones that He
had destined that they're gonna die.
He holds that with Him and He releases
the other until an appointed time.
So both of these things are called what?
Wafa.
But one is small and one is big.
One is temporal or temporary.
The other is permanent as long as this
earth exists.
One is a temporary separation between body and
soul that when you're asleep, your soul separates
from your body but only temporarily.
That's why it can come back.
When you die, that separation is more lasting
until Allah s.w.t. brings it back
when you are resurrected.
So there's similarity between them.
And you may say to yourself and that
is something that is open to human pondering,
why is it that Allah s.w.t.
made us sleep?
What are the benefits in it?
One benefit that you may see in it
is that every day or every night, you
die.
Right?
Every night, you experience something close to death.
You lie down and your soul goes away.
And you don't know where it goes.
And anybody watching you, if they just can't
see you breathing, they may say that you
could actually be dead.
And then your soul comes back.
So Allah s.w.t. gives you daily
a reminder of what's gonna happen to you
and everybody around you which is death.
So you keep seeing it.
But you don't only see it in humans.
You see it in plant life.
You see the movement of this earth and
this sun.
Right?
So this changing of the seasons, cold, then
hot.
Winter, spring, fall, and so on.
So you see how it changes.
From something very dark, light goes away, and
then it comes back gradually.
And you see plant life responding to all
of this.
They're alive, and then they die.
And they're resurrected, and they die.
And they come back.
And Allah s.w.t. frequently shows you,
see with your own eyes that I'm bringing
something alive that it's life ended or seemingly
ended.
Back to life, and then back to life,
and then back to life.
And see it in yourself.
That is also evidence of resurrection.
Now, related to death.
Because we talked about sleep and how it's
related to it.
The Prophet s.w.t. said, لَا يَتَمَنَّي
إِنَّ أَحَدُكُمْ أَلْمَوْتَ لِضُرِّ نَزَلَ بِهِ فَإِن كَانَ
لَبُدَّ فَاعِلًا فَلْيَقُلْ أَللَّهُمَّ أَحِينِ مَا كَانَتِ الْحَيَاةُ
خَيْرًا لِي وَتَوَفَّنِ إِذَا كَانَتِ الْوَفَاتُ خَيْرًا لِي
He said, let not one of you wish
for death because of a harm that had
come his way.
But if you must, then say, O Allah,
let me live as long as life is
good for me and take my soul if
death is best for me.
And he also said, لَا يَتَمَنَّ أَحَدُكُمُ الْمَوْتَ
إِمَّا مُحْسِنًا فَلَعَلَّهُ يَزْدَاد وَإِمَّا مُسِيءًا فَلَعَلَّهُ
يَسْتَعْتِبْ He says, let not one of you
wish for death because he either is righteous
and his life will give him more of
that or either he is sinful and his
life will give him an opportunity to repent.
And he also said, لَا يَتَمَنَّ أَحَدُكُمُ الْمَوْتَ
لَا يَتَمَنَّ أَحَدُكُمُ الْمَوْتَ And don't pray for
it before it comes because if one of
you dies, his deeds will cease and they
will end.
And your prolonged life, if you are righteous,
will only increase you in goodness.
If you are righteous and Allah gives you
an extra day, an extra week, that only
increases you in khayr.
Now, this of course is not just simply
about death, but it's about something that maybe
a lot of us have felt or may
feel at one point in their life.
I'm so done with this, I don't want
to live anymore.
Can I ask for death?
Can I ask Allah to take my soul
away?
And you could be under so much pressure
that you don't really know what to do
with this.
And maybe some, in that moment of weakness,
they'll say, ya Allah, take my soul, I
don't want to live anymore.
Because of this and because of this and
because of that, I just can't handle anymore.
The Prophet ﷺ gave you a way out
of this.
But rather than assuming responsibility for when your
life should end, he said, give it back
to Allah عز و جل.
By asking Allah the following, ya Allah, give
me life as long life is good for
me.
And take it away what that is best
for me.
You don't know in a sense he's saying,
right?
Who knows?
Allah عز و جل.
So rather assume that I can't go on
anymore, say, ya Allah, I'm going to give
this to you.
If you know that it's better that I
live for tomorrow and next week, let me
live.
And if you know, because I don't, but
if you know that it's not good, then
you take my soul away.
And in that way, you've relied on Allah
عز و جل.
And if you happen to live an extra
day, what does that tell you?
That it was good for you to live
it, right?
And if you happen to live an extra
week or an extra month or an extra
year, that it was good for you to
live it, to stay alive.
Because Allah عز و جل kept you alive.
So rather than be fixated on dying to
get rid of your troubles, focus on why
Allah عز و جل had kept you alive.
So when you make that dua, it frees
you from the pressure of whatever had befallen
you.
And in the other hadith that we have
mentioned, he said, why are you looking forward
to death?
He said, if you are righteous and Allah
extends your life, that's a great gift from
Him سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى because you could do
more.
And if you are sinful and Allah extends
your life, that's an opportunity for you to
remember and repent.
Why do you want to die?
And in this hadith, he said, صلى الله
عليه وسلم, لا يزيد المؤمن عمره إلا خيرا.
He says, your life will only increase you
in goodness if you are a believer.
So, that's healing.
That's a treatment.
That's assurance from the Prophet صلى الله عليه
وسلم that no matter what you're going through,
if you just know these hadith and if
you say this dua, Allah will rescue you
from that oppressive state that you are in
by refocusing your attention on what Allah has
for you rather than what you are missing.
And connected to this is the issue of
suicide.
Because wishing for death is right next to
committing suicide.
The difference between them is that somebody is
gonna take the initiative and end their life
and the other does what?
Just simply asks Allah for it.
He said, صلى الله عليه وسلم, كان في
من قبلكم رجل جزع.
He says, there was a person, a man
who lived before خالف جزع.
He was wounded.
He panicked.
He cut himself.
He continued to bleed until he died.
So Allah عز و جل said, بادرني عبدي
بنفسه.
حرمت عليه الجنة.
He says, my servant has rushed to end
his life before me.
Meaning this is my prerogative.
This is my right, not his.
He rushed to take his soul before me.
Jannah is forbidden for him.
And another hadith, the Prophet صلى الله عليه
وسلم tells us, that whoever commits suicide will
continue to commit the same suicide in hellfire.
So if they throw themselves from a mountain,
they will continue to do that in hellfire
as their punishment.
So anyone who's thinking about or has a
hint of ending their life because of whatever
they're going through.
Just remember this hadith of the Prophet صلى
الله عليه وسلم.
You're running away from hardship and trouble, right?
That's why you wanna end your life.
But what awaits you is greater hardship and
trouble if you do this.
And that should terrify you.
Because you will continue to kill yourself and
being brought back to life and experience that
pain over and over and over.
Because you've done something that is not yours
to do.
Which is you took your own life.
Now this does not mean that that person
is a disbeliever.
If a person is Muslim, and they commit
suicide, are they disbelievers because of it?
No.
Does it mean that they will be in
hellfire for eternity?
He says, no, it's a major sin.
It's a major sin.
But what does it mean when he said
صلى الله عليه وسلم that Jannah is forbidden
for him?
Meaning he does not have the right to
enter it immediately.
There's an obstacle.
There's a block.
It has to be removed.
Allah could forgive it.
Allah could forgive it.
Or maybe he has to be punished for
it first.
But that immediate entry into Jannah, that he
will be denied.
So that's another thing about death and about
the desire to end someone's life.
Now, issue related to it.
The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said, قَالَ
وَالَّذِي نَفْسِ بِيَدِهِ لَا تَذْهَبُ الدُّنْيَا This is
of the signs of the Day of Judgment.
He says, I swear by the one who
has my soul in his hand.
This world will not end until a man
would pass by a grave and he will
throw himself on it, rolling in the sand,
on top of the grave.
فَيَتَمَرَّغُ عَلَيْهِ وَيَقُولُ And he said, يَلَيْتَنِي كُنتُ
مَكَانَ صَاحِبِ هَذَا الْقَبْرِ وَلَيْسَ بِهِ الدِّينُ إِلَّا
الْبَلَاءِ He says, I wish I was in
the space or in the spot of that
dead person.
And he's not doing this religiously or because
of a religious motivation.
It's the hardship that he's going through.
And in another hadith, similar to it, he
will say, يَلَيْتَنِي مَكَانَهُ مَا بِهِ حُبُّ لِقَاءِ
اللَّهِ He says, I wish I was in
his space.
He's not saying this because he loves meeting
Allah Azawajal but because of his hardship.
So, think about this image and ponder it
a bit with me.
He says, the Day of Judgment will not
come until a man will do this.
He'll pass by somebody who's dead.
And this person is experiencing so much worldly
hardship, so many fitan, that he'll throw himself
on the grave and said, you're the lucky
one.
I wish I was there instead of you.
And he said, salallahu alayhi wasalam, his motivation
is not religious.
His motivation is worldly, meaning there's so much
worldly pressure on him, worldly afflictions, trouble, that
he wishes to die.
And that indicates the severity of hardship as
the Day of Judgment approaches.
So, the Prophet, salallahu alayhi wasalam, if you
were to ever read this hadith, the Prophet,
salallahu alayhi wasalam, is not approving of this
behavior.
He's just simply noting it.
He's noting that this is going to happen.
Now, some scholars reflected on this and they
said, can we, based on this hadith, ask
for our life to end out of fear
of religious temptation?
Not worldly pressure, but religious temptation.
We're afraid of religious fitness.
We're afraid of losing our faith.
So, we ask Allah to take our life
before that happens.
And they say, well, Yusuf, alayhi wasalam, said,
توثني مسلما, take my life as a Muslim.
They said, this could be evidence.
He said, no, that's not evidence.
Yusuf, alayhi wasalam, was asking Allah, azza wa
jal, to take his soul as a Muslim.
Not to take it immediately.
But Maryam, the mother of Isa, alayhi wasalam,
she said, يَلَيْتَنِي مِتُّ قَبْلَ هَذَا وَكُنْتُ نَسْيًا
مَنْسِيًا I wish I have died before all
of this and I was forgotten.
They say she was afraid, terrified of the
fitan, of what people would say.
Based on that, some scholars have said, the
only exception for wishing for death is if
a person is afraid of religious temptations, religious
fitan.
He cannot hold on to his or her
faith anymore and he is afraid that if
he continues to live, he will lose his
faith.
Then they can ask Allah, azza wa jal,
take my soul before that happens.
And they cite some of the salaf, who
have done this, right?
But we go back and we say, the
best is to say what the Prophet, alayhi
wasalam, said.
Which is what?
Ya Allah, give me life as long life
is good for me and take my life
when that is best for me.
And to say also the dua of the
Prophet, salallahu alayhi wasalam, وَإِذَا أَرَدْتَ فِتْنَةً بِعِبَادِكَ
فَاقْبِضْنِي إِلَيْكَ غَيْرَ مَفْتُونَ And if you, Allah,
if you want to tempt your creation or
your slaves, Ya Allah, take my soul untempted.
So that dua is sufficient, right?
For you to supplicate, so Allah, azza wa
jal, will protect you from fitna.
And if there is fitna, that's gonna happen,
that Allah will take your soul before it
actually affects you.
But realistically and practically, right?
Because this discussion, and I wanted to note
that discussion, so that if you ever face
it or read it in a book, you'll
be aware of what the scholars are saying.
But this discussion remains academic.
And the reality is that most people, if
they're gonna wish for death, they're not gonna
wish for death because of religious reasons.
Most people who wish for death, they wish
for death because of worldly pressure.
And that is why we say, never wish
for it.
And never ask Allah, azza wa jal, for
it, right?
And adhere to the statement of the Prophet,
alayhi salatu was salam, when he said, if
it's good for me, bring it.
If it's not good for me, then not.
So I wanna stop here, insha Allah, because
I wanna see if you have questions.
Next week, we're gonna talk about the good
signs of a good death, and the bad
signs of a good death.
So what are the things that happen to
a person?
When you see them, you say, this is
an indication or a sign of husnul khatima,
a good ending.
And the things that if you were to
see, you will say, these are signs of
a bad ending.
And then how do you, or what do
you do, and how can you live in
ways to at least guarantee or increase your
chances of having a good ending, and avoiding
a bad ending.
And maybe, insha Allah, if we have time,
we'll also discuss the moment of death itself.
So let me know, insha Allah, if you
have questions about what we said.
And what I want from you, insha Allah,
because I wanna try to be as exhaustive
as possible, or at least to answer all
of your questions, or anticipate all of your
questions as possible.
But because of that, I would need your
feedback.
So if there's something that I've missed, or
something that you want to know, let me
know about it.
If you're watching online, after this is published,
insha Allah, include it in the comments.
If you're here, let me know about it.
So I say, maybe I've missed this, let
me answer that.
So most of you, insha Allah, can benefit
from that answer.
So let me know, insha Allah.
So your question, I'm gonna delay answering your
question, insha Allah, until we reach that stage.
But your question is about somebody in a
coma stage.
Is he in the barzakh already, or is
he not?
So I'll let that, insha Allah, or delay
it, until we reach that stage when the
soul is taken, and then we can answer
that.
But I appreciate your question, insha Allah.
Wa alaikum assalam wa rahmatullah.
Good, good.
JazakAllah khair.
So the brother is asking, so as a
young man, who has plans and who has
obligations in life, taking care of this and
this and that, and things that I want
to achieve, at the same time I also
want to remember death and be ready for
it.
How do I find the balance between the
two?
And I understand you saying that the fear
is that maybe if you lean too much
on one side, so if you remember death
too much, you'll start to giving up on
those responsibilities, because they're not important.
And whereas if you focus on this world,
and your obligations, and the achievements that you
wanna get, you're gonna forget about death.
We say you'll not be able to achieve
good balance, and in fact be a good
achiever, and someone who truly can take care
of his parents, and have a happy family,
and have good children, if death is absent.
So death is that kind of balancing factor
that will bring you always back to the
middle.
If you say, I wanna take care of
my parents, but remembering about death, or reminding
myself of death, will take away from it.
We'll say, no, not at all.
It's just simply how you think about it.
If you think about, I'm gonna die.
And I may die soon.
Let me do whatever I can to take
care of my parents while I'm alive.
To be kind to them while I'm alive.
Let me take every opportunity to do good
while I'm alive, because I don't know when
I'm gonna die.
That will perfect and improve your good deeds.
And the way that you take care of
your parents.
Preparing for death does not mean that you
think that you're gonna die necessarily tomorrow.
So you give up on school, your job,
and everything else.
No, I'm gonna die, but until that happens,
if I go to school, do your best.
And do your best not for the sake
of the dunya.
Do the best for the sake of Allah
Azza wa Jalla, and He gives you the
dunya.
Do the best with your spouse.
Because you say, how long will I live?
I wanna do the best to them and
with them as long as I'm alive.
And I want to, when I'm dead, for
them to make dua for me.
And when I die, my children to make
dua for me.
You cannot do that or accomplish this until
you are a good Muslim.
And you can only be a good Muslim
if death is on your mind.
So death is that motivator.
I'm leaving, do better.
I'm leaving, let me do more.
That's how death should be thought of.
Not like I'm leaving, give up on everything.
So if it motivates you, pushes you forward,
then you remembered it well.
If you think, I'm gonna give up on
everything, then you didn't really remember death the
way it should be remembered.
And again, think of the Prophet ﷺ.
Think of the Sahaba, and that's your model.
You remembered death, but they accomplished great things.
But as they were doing this, they also
kept in mind, yeah, I did this today,
but I could die tomorrow.
And that pushes ihsan, pushes excellence to its
limit.
Because you know, I may not have time
to do better.
Let me do better now.
Does that make?
Give you a couple of minutes, inshallah, to...
You're all good?
You don't have questions?
I don't know, I didn't overwhelm you.
Today with a lot of information, right?
But I thought that the intro was important
for us, inshallah, to have a focus, a
good focus, inshallah.
How do you explain what?
Death to kids.
Okay.
First of all, it's going to depend on
how young they are, right?
So if they are too young, maybe you
want to spare them until they reach an
age where they are able to process it.
But if they see, or they start seeing
death around them, right?
Let's say that they take care of a
plant, and it dies.
And then you explain to them how Allah
Azawajal gives life to it.
From a seed that looks like it's dead,
it comes back to life, it dies.
But that death is a cycle.
Because it can come back to life, and
so on, and so on.
So Allah Azawajal is the one who gives
life, and He takes it, and He gives
it again.
So you explain it to them in terms
of, where were we before?
And Allah Azawajal gave us everything.
And then Allah will separate this soul from
the body.
And then Allah will return that soul to
the body.
And then a person, everybody will be gathered
again and again.
It depends on that level of understanding, sophistication,
how much you want to tell them.
And if there are things that are unsuitable
or too scary for them, you would not
introduce that.
But as a basic level, you tell them
Allah gives this, He takes it away, and
then He gives it again.
It's a simple way, inshallah, of introducing it
to them.
So they have power of attorney.
He says a person in a coma, both
of them, he said.
Two cases.
So one is in a coma, and then
after a couple of years, they pulled the
plug and he died.
Right?
Okay, and then the second case is...
How is that different, the second case?
Oh, so is it halal or not halal,
for instance, to pull the plug?
So let's, again, because we didn't come yet,
right, to the soul separating from the body,
right, and that moment of death.
So I'll delay talking about comas, inshallah, and
the condition where that would be permissible, right,
to end a person's life who is on
life support.
Let me delay talking about that, inshallah, until
we reach that stage.
So I'm not going to want to jump
ahead, inshallah.
And that's also a reason for you to
come back and listen to the answer.
Go ahead.
Yes, so the question here is that, is
it sunnah to remember death daily?
Should you make it a point of remembering
death every so often?
Or is it that when you notice that
your heart has hardened and you have strayed
away from Allah Azza wa Jal?
So notice here that the Prophet ﷺ did
not put a limit, did not suggest a
frequency, but he says remember it often.
And maybe that, and this is a guess
on my part, it does depend on the
person and their condition and their situation, where
a person needs to remember it far more
often than another person, depending on the state
of their heart, the kind of work that
they are in, how their spirituality is thriving
or suffering at that moment.
So some people will need more of it.
And when they need more of it, then
you say to yourself, well, how do I
remind myself of death?
Well, one way is visiting the graveyard, the
cemetery, and spending time there.
One way is being involved in the masjid,
male or female, washing the dead, taking care
of them, driving them to the cemetery, witnessing
the burial, being around, right, as the family
concludes the ceremonies and they get back, and
repeating this over and over and over.
So that's a way to remember death.
If that is not even available as often,
some suggest visiting the sick.
Because when you see their sickness, you see
also the fragility of life, and how it
can go away, and the fragility of health,
and that nothing lasts.
So if you go and you volunteer, or
you take care of them, or you visit
the sick, if you know about anyone who
is sick, you go and you visit them.
So the frequency depends on the state of
a person's heart.
A person could remember death simply by reading
the Quran.
Simply by reading hadith.
For some people, it doesn't work.
They read this and that, and it still
does not work.
So there is a barrier that they need
to cross, and that barrier requires physical movement.
So that's why maybe the Prophet ﷺ, when
he said, remember, he didn't put a frequency,
or just one particular thing, different things for
different people, and different frequencies for different people.
Good.
So that's the other side.
If we remember death, for some people, and
it doesn't mean that this is common, but
it has happened.
How do we stop talking about death, and
remembering death from turning into a terrifying obsession?
It's something that keeps you up at night,
you lose the ability to function because of
it.
How do you stop that from happening?
Well, first of all, try to nullify that
by remembering that death is not entirely terrifying.
Like if you've reached that level where death
is scary, and to that extent, remind yourself
that death is not simply and only a
terrifying experience.
That you could meet Allah, that you could
meet the angels of mercy, that you could
meet, as we will discuss inshallah later, lost
relatives.
All these are possibilities.
So use death as a positive, not only
as a negative.
Now obviously, you want death to scare you
a little bit, for it to prompt you
to do great things.
But if you are suffering from that particular
condition, focus not only on the negative, focus
also on the positive.
And then ask Allah to assist you in
understanding death in the right way.
So you don't suffer because of it, you
are not tormented by it, but you are
enhanced because of it.
So ask Allah for it.
So for you to be afraid of it,
that's natural.
For you to cry when you remember it,
that's beautiful.
For you to be up at night, unable
to sleep because of it, if it had
not turned into a sickness, you could still
tolerate that.
Because some of the salaf experienced this.
They would witness somebody who is dying, or
somebody would talk about death, they could not
sleep the entire night.
Maybe they will fall ill for a couple
of hours.
That's fine, that's within reason.
But it turns into a psychological condition, where
I'm always terrified because of it.
Now turn it into something more positive, and
ask Allah to bring you an assurance into
your heart, so you don't run away from
death, but you embrace it in ways that
help you now, and help you when you
eventually die.
That's my answer, and I hope that helps,
inshallah.
Yes.
Would you pray janazah?
So I answer this because it's relevant, because
it's something that we talked about.
Would you pray janazah for somebody who had
committed suicide?
Now, what do you think?
I'm just going to ask you.
What do you think?
Yes or no?
Yeah.
So, here are two things to mention.
One, he's still a Muslim, right?
But he committed a major sin.
So even if you know that this person
has committed a major sin, like any other
major sin, we still will offer janazah for
him, right?
Now, it could be, it could be, and
that is up to the imam or to
the sheikh.
As a way of admonishing, and highlighting that
this is a terrible sin, a prominent person
could choose not to pray janazah.
He could say, you pray janazah.
For the rest, for the congregation, you pray
janazah.
It's still offered.
But I will abstain.
And he will do this simply to highlight
that this is something terrible and should not
be done.
This is an individual choice that a person
can make, especially if they are prominent.
And their absence matters, so that people will
hear that, oh, so and so committed this
crime, and the sheikh did not pray janazah
for them.
So if I do that, he will not
pray janazah for me.
Still, the rest will, but he won't.
And there's precedence for this, because the Prophet
ﷺ in the beginning, he would ask, is
this person, does he have a debt or
not?
Does he owe people money or not?
And if they were to say yes, and
he did not have money himself ﷺ to
be able to cover that, if they said
yes, he says, you pray janazah for him.
Not me.
But then later when Allah ﷻ kind of
gave him more money, he would take care
of any debt.
And he would pray janazah for that person.
Why would he do this?
To highlight the seriousness of not paying debts
and letting that happen or continue till you
die.
So that's an option, right?
So it's up to the sheikh and to
the imam, whether they want to do this
or not.
Yeah.
I'm sorry, I'm not, I'm not, there is,
okay, okay, go ahead.
Now, so just, I'm going to just answer
it very briefly, because we will discuss this
at length, inshallah.
So your question is, at the moment of
death, can the person see the angels?
Yes.
Okay, but the detail is to follow, inshallah.
Because we're going to describe it at length
and we'll describe it with the hadith, inshallah,
and what can he see and the possibilities
of what he can see, inshallah, rabbil alamin.
And then examples, maybe, wallahu alam.
If parents pass away as Muslims, but have
committed major sins, can we pray for the
parents' forgiveness and do acts of good deeds
on their behalf?
Yes.
So if the parents are still Muslim, they're
Muslims, right?
They're Muslims.
If they committed major sins, can you pray
for them, do good deeds on their behalf?
Yes, you can.
What type of good deeds you can do
on their behalf, that, inshallah, we will answer,
bismillah ar-rajim.
No one on this side?
Okay, the brothers, anything?
You have a question?
Yeah.
Did they, I'm sorry, I cannot hear it.
Now, I said remember death often, right?
So your question is, did the Prophet, alayhi
salatu wasalam, and the sahaba always remember death?
Well, I mean, we don't have that detailed
account to understand if they remember death daily.
But we know that they did, by the
fact that the Prophet was around, right?
By the fact that he was around, alayhi
salatu wasalam.
So we always remind them of something or
another.
So they must have.
And the important thing is, how can we
make this part of our lives, right?
So as I said, if you read the
Quran, if you read the Sunnah, if you're
engaged in the community, if you take care
of the dead, if you take care of
the ill, then you'll remember death.
And the least of it is just, as
I said, visiting the cemetery, visiting the grave.
And again, we'll be talking about that, inshallah
rabbil alameen, of who is allowed to, and
if you visit, what to do, and what
not to do, inshallah.
So, anyone on the brother's side?
We're all good?
You still have, okay, go ahead.
Alayhi salatu wasalam.
I'm sorry, you have to go louder.
What state?
In what state it's taken from us?
The soul.
So I said that the soul is taken
away from us when we're asleep.
It says in what state it is taken
from us.
Is that your question?
Well, we don't understand how.
The soul is mysterious.
And we don't fully understand when it's taken,
how it's taken.
Where does it go exactly?
How does it stay connected to the body?
But what we know is that it does
stay connected.
So, if you nudge someone, they'll wake up.
If there's loud noise, they'll wake up.
So it has some connection to the body,
to the physicality of the body.
But it also, Allah azza wa jal also
takes it into a sphere that is beyond
the physical body.
And that is a sphere where it will
be able to meet, as we'll discuss it
inshallah, will be able to meet the dead,
possibly.
So it means that there's an interaction.
There's a meeting.
But where does this take place?
How does it take place?
It's beyond us.
We don't really know.
And it's not described in ways for us
to understand in detail.
But we just simply believe in it and
we see its effects.
Okay.
Khair, inshallah.
So, I probably...
Oh, there's more?
Okay.
I'm just answering some online questions.
It says, What is the ruling on medically
prolonging life if a person experiences heart disease
and wants to prolong life medically even though
they are old in age?
As long as it's possible medically, there's nothing
to prohibit that.
As long as Allah azza wa jal had
allowed you to physically prolong your life, there's
nothing to restrict that and say, no, you
must end it or you must not strive.
Now, it's not an obligation on you.
Right?
It's not an obligation on you.
But if you want to, you're absolutely permitted.
You understand the difference?
Right?
That is, you may have a particular illness.
For instance, this or that.
You don't necessarily have to seek medication for
it to prolong your life.
But if it is physically available, you're not
prohibited or disliked from pursuing it.
You could increase your life if that is
a possibility.
Right?
When we remember death, we think of Jannah
and the reward a lot more than hellfire
and the punishment.
Is there a way we can balance our
thinking between hope for Jannah and fear of
the hellfire?
Well, when you hear about the punishment in
the grave, that will provide some balance, inshallah.
So when we're going to be talking about
it, that will provide some balance.
So that when you are thinking about death,
you're approaching it with both hope and fear.
If it's just simply hope, it's not going
to be motivating enough.
And if it's only fear, it's not going
to be motivating enough.
It has to be both of them, inshallah.
Okay.
Oh, got it.
Okay, inshallah.
So, inshallah.
Let me just think.
Oh, go ahead.
Go ahead.
Yes.
No.
No.
No.
So the other is asking, he says, based
on the answer that I gave, which is
it's not an obligation on you to go
and prolong your life if you suffer from
a medical condition, though it is permissible.
He says, how do you square that with
the fact that your body is in a
manna and you have to take care of
it by eating well and medicating it, and
you're not supposed to endanger that body or
risk that body or waste it.
So where do you draw the line?
You draw the line by, wallahu alam, first,
you're not allowed to harm your body.
So it's an amanna in the sense of
you have to give your body what it
needs.
So the food that it needs, the rest
that it needs, the proper conditions that it
needs.
Now, when it comes to an illness and
when it comes to seeking medication, the scholars
debate whether it is better to seek medication
because see, when you are ill, it's different
than introducing illness to yourself.
So you're not going to bring that illness
to yourself, let's say by smoking or gambling
or drinking alcohol.
That's harming yourself and that's violating that amanna.
But if Allah Azza wa Jalla sends that
sickness to you, He gives that to you,
then the scholars debate whether it is permissible
or disliked or recommended for a person to
treat himself.
And they have these different positions.
Why?
Because it's something that Allah sent to you.
So the hadith of the woman that experienced
seizures at the time of the Prophet ﷺ
and she came and said, O Prophet of
Allah, pray for me that Allah would heal
me.
And he said, I can do that or
you be patient and you go to Jannah.
And she said, I'll be patient.
So she tolerated that sickness with everything that
comes with it, choosing that in order to
enter Jannah.
So we say to any person who is
going through any medical difficulty, it's at least
permissible to prolong your life or to treat
your illness.
And it even could be recommended.
But it's hard to say it's an obligation.
Right?
Because you could still decide that, no, I'm
going to live with this illness that Allah
has given to me.
And maybe this medication and that is also
part of the argument that the scholars would
use.
There is no guarantee that that medication, that
treatment is going to lead to healing.
It may or may not.
So because of that, we can't obligate it
on them.
Eventually, we leave that to the individual.
If you feel it's better, go ahead and
take it, inshallah.
And for most people, I would say yes.
For most people, I would recommend it.
Why?
Because the patience that we have today is
unlike the patience of people before.
Right?
They could be patient with an illness to
the end.
But today, you could say, I have strong
iman.
I'll be patient.
I'll tolerate it.
And then what it gets, when it escalates,
then it'll come back and say, why did
I listen to so-and-so?
I should have medicated myself.
So my recommendation, if somebody is sick, treat
yourself.
Treat yourself, as long as you're convinced that
that is a treatment.
Right?
So that you don't come back later and
regret it and blame people for it.
And you say, oh, my iman, the iman,
the imam, the sheikh, they told me, and
then look at my condition at this moment.
I would recommend treatment, inshallah.
You were good, inshallah?
Fair, inshallah.
Okay.
There's no more?
Okay.
If a family member passes away, can the
female immediate family member go to the grave
site of the deceased?
We can answer that.
Not today.
Not today.
Because there's a disagreement of opinion about this,
and I have, inshallah, to take time explaining
it.
So, inshallah, that's for, I don't know, next
week or the week after.
We'll see, inshallah.
We'll conclude, bi-idhnillahi azzawjal.
Subhanakallah wa bihamdik.
Ashhadu an la ilaha illa anta astaghfiru wa
atubu ilayh.
Alhamdulillah rabbil alameen.
Assalamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh.