Ali Albarghouthi – Life Beyond – 2- How Can We Have a Good Death
AI: Summary ©
The shaytan segment discusses the danger of punishment and forgiveness, emphasizing the need for forgiveness and finding oneself to avoid mistakes. The importance of protecting from punishment, finding signs of death, and practicing responsible behavior is emphasized. The segment also touches on the consequences of lying about deeds and the consequences of lying about legal cases. The speakers emphasize the importance of protecting one's memory and avoiding negative behavior in the context of legal cases.
AI: Summary ©
In the name of Allah, and all praise
is due to Allah, and peace and blessings
be upon the Messenger of Allah, and upon
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.
So last time we explained that Allah Azza
wa Jal tells us in the Qur'an,
the Prophet ﷺ tells us in the Sunnah
about the inevitable end, and that is death.
Today we want to explain that not all
deaths are equal, even though everybody is going
to die, not everyone is going to die
the same way, but not everyone is going
to die and receive a good end.
So there is a difference between what is
called the good end, the good death, the
righteous death, and the bad end, the bad
death, the unrighteous one.
And as we all strive to live the
best life that we can, like throughout the
days, you want to eat the best food,
you want to go to the best places,
you want to have the best mood, you
want to earn the best money that you
can, you want to live the best life
that you could.
It's logical to also want to die the
best way that you can, not the worst.
Especially that the way that we die, how
we die, is significant and predictive of what's
going to come next.
It's an accumulation of what happened before, but
it is also predictive of what's going to
happen next.
So Rasulullah ﷺ said, يُبْعَثُ كُلُّ عَبْدٍ عَلَى
مَا مَاتَ عَلَيْهِ Everyone will be resurrected in
the state that he or she had died
on.
Everyone will be resurrected in the state they
died in.
So how they died tells you how they
will be resurrected.
And Rasulullah ﷺ said, in case you wanted
to explain or an explanation for that hadith,
like what does it mean in the same
state that they've died in?
So the Prophet ﷺ said, for instance, in
another hadith, that those who are martyred, they
receive the shahada.
When they come back to life in the
next life, they will come back with fresh
wounds.
With the blood flowing out of their wounds.
So they're still bleeding.
And the smell that comes out of them
is musk.
He says, الرِّيحُ رِيحُ مِسْكُ وَاللَّوْنُ لَوْنُ دَمْ
The color is the color of blood and
the smell is the smell of musk.
So the martyr who is martyred in the
case of Allah, in the sake of Allah
عز و جل, this is how they come
back.
The way that they died.
And the one who is in the state
of ihram, whether it is umrah or hajj,
and they die, they will be resurrected, مُلَبِّيَةَ
وَالتَّلْبِيَةَ Saying, لَبَّيْكَ اللَّهُمَّ لَبَّيْكَ That's the same
state.
More generally, if a person is among the
righteous, is righteous, dies righteously, he is resurrected
with what?
The righteous.
And if he is among the unrighteous, dies
unrighteously, he is in the company of the
unrighteous.
So how he dies or she dies determines
where they are resurrected, how they are resurrected,
what state that they are in.
And Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم said also
in another hadith, إِنَّمَا الْأَعْمَالُ بِالْخَوَاتِيمِ He says,
deeds are by their conclusions.
الْأَعْمَالُ بِالْخَوَاتِيمِ That if you want to judge
a deed, you judge it by its conclusion.
By its conclusion means it is sound based
on the conclusion of that deed.
It is accepted based on the conclusion of
that deed.
It is valid based on the conclusion of
that deed.
So if the conclusion is sound, then the
rest is sound.
If the conclusion is accepted, it's righteous, then
the rest is accepted.
If it's the opposite, then it tells you
that what preceded it was like that, was
unrighteous, unaccepted, invalid.
And there is a hadith, the Prophet صلى
الله عليه وسلم said this about a man
who died eventually displeasing to Allah عز و
جل.
So regardless of what he did before, the
way that he died, and we're going to
mention that hadith inshallah today.
How he died at the end, which is
unrighteously, predicted that the way that he lived
was also unrighteous.
So الْأَعْمَالُ بِالْخَوَاتِيمِ So a person is worried
about their life, their destination, their salvation.
They must be truly worried about how they
will die.
And also we can add another hadith to
that, and it will be especially relevant for
those who had been with us through this
is love series.
Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم said لا يحب
رجل قوما إلا حشر معهم Whoever loves a
people will be resurrected with them.
Whoever loves a people will be resurrected with
them.
So this adds another layer, which is what?
Whom you love truly matters.
If you love the righteous, you will be
with the righteous.
And if you love the sinful, the disobedient,
the criminal, you will be with them.
You will be resurrected with them in their
company.
So how you live and how you die
is essential.
So this is why we have to worry
and think about how we will die.
What state we will be in.
Now, what is a righteous death?
If someone were to ask you, you should
already know.
It is to die while Allah is pleased
with you.
Is to die upon Iman, to die upon
Tawheed.
That's what a righteous death is.
What is an unrighteous death?
A bad death, an evil death.
What is it?
Is to die without these things.
Without Iman, without Islam, without Tawheed.
While Allah is angry with you.
And there is a hadith that explains this.
And how Allah's love or satisfaction with you
leads you to the top of conclusion, which
is a righteous conclusion.
He said, He says, Allah wants the best
for someone.
Wants good for someone.
He sweetens them.
They said, O Messenger of Allah, what does
that mean?
Asalah.
Sweetens them.
He said, He says, He leads him to
do something righteous, something good before his death.
And then he takes his soul while he's
doing it.
So he leads him to do what?
This is completely a Tawfiq, a guidance, a
facilitation from Allah Azza wa Jal.
Because Allah is happy with this person.
He wants the best for him.
So that what?
He opens for him the door to do
something good before his death.
He does it while he's doing it, or
right after he takes his soul.
Means that Allah wants the best for this
person.
In another narration, he said that Allah Azza
wa Jal gives him a righteous deed before
his death, so that his neighbors and those
who are around him will be happy with
him.
That is, they'll have the best to say
about him because of what he just did
before his death.
O so and so, Mashallah, he died while
he was praying.
He died just after finishing the Quran.
He died while in Hajj, while in Umrah,
just after giving Sadaqah.
So people around him will be pleased with
him and they will testify on his behalf
that he was righteous.
He says this is a sign from Allah
Azza wa Jal.
So as this is a true gift and
a reflection of Allah's love and satisfaction with
that person, we also at the same time,
conversely, should be terrified of the prospect of
doing something wrong, and dying while doing it.
Right?
So every moment you wanna, or you think
about, I wanna do this wrong thing, reflect
on the fact that you may die while
doing it.
Right?
You may die while you're doing this.
So, you're gonna steal something, take a bribe,
you're gonna drink some alcohol, you're gonna gamble,
you're gonna go out with so and so,
and it's unlawful.
You're gonna look at something haram, listen to
something haram, whatever that thing may be.
But you think, I'm gonna do it.
And in your head, you always are thinking,
there is time after to repent.
What if you die while you're doing it?
And Allah did not give you a guarantee
that he's gonna extend your life until you
will have an opportunity to come back and
repent.
If you die while doing it, you'll be
resurrected with and in the company of those
who are committing that sin.
And that is an awful destination and a
wretched company to be with when you stand
to meet Allah عز و جل on the
day of judgment.
So, signs of a righteous death.
We're gonna talk about some of these signs.
And then we're gonna try to explain what
it means when these signs are present, what
it means when these signs are absent, and
what is the opposite of those signs.
Signs of a bad death.
So, alhamdulillah, the Prophet عليه الصلاة والسلام gave
us these signs.
So, all these things are coming from the
hadith.
And you'll be able, inshallah, to reflect on
them as we go through them.
The first and the most famous and probably
the easiest and most important of them all.
La ilaha illallah as the last thing that
you would say.
The Prophet عليه الصلاة والسلام said, من كان
آخر كلامه لا إله إلا الله دخل الجنة.
The one whose last words are لا إله
إلا الله shall enter Jannah.
So, that's a clear statement, clear, emphatic from
the Prophet عليه الصلاة والسلام.
If a person says this last, that's an
indication that he will go to Jannah.
So, this is a clear and a very
valuable sign.
He also said, this is the second one,
he also said, عليه الصلاة والسلام, موت المؤمن
بعرق الجبين.
He says, the believer dies with a sweaty
forehead.
The believer dies sweating.
So, Ibn Mas'ud رضي الله عنه explains.
And this is authentic to Ibn Mas'ud.
He said, موت المؤمن عرق الجبين.
He says, the believer when he dies, he
sweats.
His forehead will have sweat.
إن المؤمن تبقى خطايا من خطايا يجاز بها
عند الموت فيعرق من ذلك جبينه.
He says, the believer will have remaining sins.
And at the time of his death, he
will be recompensed for those sins.
He will be purified of those sins by
going through some difficulty when he or she
is dying.
So, he sweats because of it.
So, that hardship at the time of death
is an indication of what?
A purification of sin.
So, he's going through some difficulty.
Just like when you get sick or you
are feverish.
And Allah عز و جل takes away your
sins because of it.
So, he says, when you're experiencing that moment,
Allah عز و جل wants to take what
has remained of your sins so you experience
more hardship.
So, you sweat because of it.
He says, dying on a Friday.
That's the third.
And he said, مَا مِنْ مُسْلِمٍ يَمُوتُ يَوْمَ
الْجُمُعَةِ أَوْ لَيْلَةَ الْجُمُعَةِ إِلَّا وَقَاهُ اللَّهُ فِتْنَةَ
الْقَبْرِ He says, any Muslim who dies Friday
night or the day on Friday, Allah will
protect him from the trial of the grave.
And what is the trial of the grave?
What is the fitna of al-qabr?
Fitnat al-qabr is sual al-qabr, the
questioning.
That's the greatest fitna.
And we will, inshallah, explain that in some
detail.
When the two angels come and they question
every single person, and there are few will
be exempted from that.
So, if a person dies on a Friday
night, during the day, he's protected from that.
So, that is another good sign.
The other one, number four, is the one
that we've talked about.
Which is what?
You're doing something pleasing to Allah عز و
جل, a ta'a, and then you die
while doing it.
Or right after.
Right?
And we can add to it, the praise
that people have for you as a good
righteous person.
Because he said, peace be upon him, if
you remember in the other hadith, he said,
so that his neighbors and those who are
around him are pleased with him.
So, that means that, if Allah عز و
جل takes your soul, and those who are
around you only have good things to say
about you, and those who are around you
are worthy of that testament, not just anybody,
but they are worthy of that testament, then
that is a good sign.
Right?
Now, we can take that from the other
hadith of the Prophet عليه الصلاة والسلام, when
once a funeral was passing, and the sahaba
رضي الله عنهم praised it.
This man is so and so, and this
and that, they praised it, they praised that
man.
So the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said,
it is as you say.
And then another funeral passed after, and they
criticized it, and criticized the dead person.
And the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said,
it is as you say.
They said, O Prophet of Allah, what do
you mean by that?
He said, the first passed by, and you
praised it.
And Allah عز و جل accepts your testimony,
and he is of the people of Jannah.
And the other person had passed, and you
criticized it.
And Allah عز و جل accepted that from
you.
You are Allah's witnesses on the face of
this earth.
You are Allah's witnesses on the face of
this earth.
But of course he was talking to whom?
The sahaba.
Those who are not gonna simply praise or
denounce someone based on superficial attachments or knowledge.
No.
Their judgment is completely sound.
So if Allah عز و جل had given
a person a good reputation among the righteous,
that's a good sign.
Gives them a bad reputation among the righteous,
that is a very bad sign.
But good and bad reputation among the public
who are not righteous is irrelevant.
Right?
Is irrelevant.
Because they are not testifiers that Allah عز
و جل accepts their testimony.
No.
5 is a shaheed.
The one who is martyred on the battlefield.
And the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said,
لشهيد عند الله ست خصال He says the
martyr will have six things with Allah عز
و جل.
And he says he will be forgiven with
the first drop of his blood.
And he will see his station in Jannah.
And he will be protected from the punishment
of the grave.
And he will be protected from the greatest
punishment on the day of judgment.
And he will be given intercession in 70
of his relatives.
So these are some of the qualities that
the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم has mentioned
about a shaheed, the martyr.
One that is relevant to us today is
that he will be protected from عذاب القبر,
from the punishment in the grave.
So this is an honor that is reserved
for a shaheed.
So it's a good sign if a person
dies as a martyr.
The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم he said
and explained that martyrdom in the Ummah of
Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم is not restricted
to the battlefield.
But extends to other types of deaths as
well.
And that type of martyrdom is also a
good sign if a person is chosen for
it.
Doesn't ask for it necessarily.
Because some of these things are afflictions.
But what he does, that what happens is
that Allah عز و جل selects him for
it.
And it happens.
So the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم he
said, asked the companions, Whom do you consider
to be a martyr among you?
ما تعدون الشهيد فيكم?
So who is a shaheed among you that
you would call a shaheed?
They said, Oh Prophet of Allah, the one
who dies in the battlefield.
That is the one that we call a
shaheed.
He says, Then the shuhada, the martyrs of
my Ummah there will be few of them.
They said, Oh Prophet of Allah, then who
is the shaheed?
He says, Then the one who has died
in the sake of Allah, meaning in the
battlefield, that is a shaheed.
And the one who dies while on the
path of Allah, trying to please Allah عز
و جل, that could be in battle, but
he is not killed.
But in battle or in the pursuit of
battle that pleases Allah, he is a shaheed.
And the one who dies in the plague,
he is a shaheed.
And the one who dies because of a
stomach pain or an illness, he is a
shaheed.
And the one who drowns is a shaheed.
So all of these things in Islam, all
of those people in Islam are called shuhada.
But they are not at the same rank
as the one who dies in the battlefield.
The one who dies in the battlefield has
the highest level of shahada.
And they have special treatment.
But if somebody drowns, he is a shaheed,
but not at the same rank.
So you still wash the body, and you
still offer janazah prayer for them.
But no one who is martyred in the
battlefield, he is exempted from all of this.
So, if one dies in a plague, one
dies because of stomach pain or illness, and
if somebody drowns, he added, alayhis salatu was
salam, al-mat'onu, which is the one
who dies in a plague, al-mat'onu,
the one who dies because of an illness
in their stomach, the one who drowns, the
one who dies under a rubble, and then
the martyr in battle.
And he also added, alayhis salatu was salam,
in yet another hadith, the one who dies
in a fire is also a shaheed.
All of these instances, all of these types
of deaths is considered to be a shahada.
And all of them would be considered something
of a good sign if a person receives
them, but one does not ask to die
that way, except for to be martyred in
the battlefield.
That's the exception.
But no one who hears this should ask
Allah azawajal, let me drown.
I ask you Allah that I drown.
I ask you Allah azawajal that you would
give me this and that disease.
You wouldn't.
Because there's another hadith of our Prophet, salallahu
alayhi wasalam, where he sought Allah's protection from
similar deaths.
So if Allah chooses that for you, good
and well.
You accept that from Allah azawajal.
And that could be a good sign.
If Allah does not choose that for you,
good and well.
So you leave that to Allah azawajal.
Number seven.
A woman who dies because of pregnancy or
childbirth.
So this is exclusive to women.
So he said, salallahu alayhi wasalam, المرأة يقتلها
ولدها جمعا شهادة يجرها ولدها بسرره إلى الجنة
Says a woman who dies in her pregnancy
is a martyr.
Her child will lead her with his umbilical
cord to Jannah.
So if a woman is pregnant and she
dies because of that child that she's carrying,
that is considered a shahada.
Or she is pregnant and she dies because
of childbirth, that is considered also martyrdom because
he said, salallahu alayhi wasalam, النفساء شهادة Number
eight and then number nine.
So number eight is a person who dies
defending himself, his family and property.
That is also considered shahada.
Though it is not in the battlefield.
Though it's not technically for the sake of
Allah azawajal.
But a person is allowed to defend themselves.
And if somebody kills them unjustly, that is
considered shahada.
So he said, salallahu alayhi wasalam, من قتل
دون ماله فهو شهيد If a person dies
defending his wealth and property, he's a shaheed.
ومن قتل دون أهله فهو شهيد If he
dies defending his family, he's a shaheed.
ومن قتل دون دينه فهو شهيد If he
dies defending his religion, he's a shaheed.
ومن قتل دون دمه فهو شهيد And if
he dies defending his life, he's a shaheed.
This does not have to be for the
sake of Allah azawajal.
Somebody wants to take your money, you defend
it, he kills you, that's shahada.
Somebody wants to harm you, you defend yourself,
he kills you, that is a shahada.
So that is the vast mercy of Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala.
The last one is the one who dies
while stationed in the cause of Allah عز
و جل, meaning in jihad, in battle.
He is stationed to observe, to protect, to
be a scout, and then he is killed.
This is al-murabit.
And listen to the immense reward that Allah
عز و جل gives such a person.
He said, رِبَاطُ يَوْمٍ وَلَيْلَ خَيْرٌ مِّن صِيَامِ
شَهْرٍ وَقِيَامِهِ He says, رِبَاطُ يَوْمٍ If you
are stationed for one day and night, this
is better than fasting an entire month and
a night prayer of an entire month.
وَإِن مَاتَ جَرَ عَلَيْهِ عَمَلُهُ الَّذِي كَانَ يَعْمَلُهُ
وَأُجْرِيَ عَلَيْهِ رِزْقُهُ وَأُمِنَ الْفَتَّانِ And He said,
if a person dies during it, his deeds
will continue perpetually.
Meaning whatever he was doing will continue to
be written for him perpetually.
And he will receive his provision in the
next life and he will be saved from
the trial of the grave.
And again, this is to tell you about
the immense reward that Allah عز و جل
had for those who give their lives for
Allah عز و جل.
He says, one day and one night, that's
better than the fasting of a whole month
and the prayer of a whole month.
And then of course, he will be protected
from the trials of the grave.
Now, those are the signs.
Now, what do they mean?
And what do they not mean?
And how do you interpret them if you
find them?
And how do you interpret them if you
do not find them?
Now, if you find some or several of
these signs, then we say that these are
good signs.
And we praise Allah عز و جل for
them.
At the same time, we do not conclude
some pimply based on them that this person
is definitely in Jannah.
Because they are signs.
We remain hopeful.
But we do not place a person in
Jannah unless Allah and His Prophet عليه السلام
tell us so clearly.
Otherwise, we just hope for that person.
This is why.
Because we can think that a person had
died in battle and we could call him
a shaheed and we could think that he
is in Jannah.
But he may not be.
And Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم, there are
couple of hadiths about that.
One was a servant of the Prophet عليه
السلام, and then a random arrow came and
killed him.
So the sahaba commented and they said, great
news for him being martyred for the sake
of Allah عز و جل.
Then Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم replied and
he said, no.
إن الشملة التي غلها لتشتعل عليه نارا He
says, what he had took unlawfully from the
battlefield, a piece of clothing, a shamla, it
is turning fire and burning him at this
moment.
It had turned into fire and it's burning
him at this moment.
So you could see things with your eye,
but the reality with Allah عز و جل
could be unlike that.
So we don't put a person in Jannah,
but we hope for them.
Right?
So that is if you see these signs.
What is if you don't see these signs?
Is that bad?
We say, not necessarily.
A person could die on a Thursday, on
a Saturday, on a Sunday.
And if they die on any other day
other than Friday, it doesn't mean that they
are less than the person who died on
a Friday.
Right?
And we don't expect that all the believers
will just die on a Friday.
And the rest would be spread out throughout
the week.
You could die any day of the week.
And Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم died on
a Monday, not a Friday.
So it doesn't mean that if my father
died on a Friday, he's better than your
father who died on a Saturday.
Right?
It doesn't work like that.
Allah عز و جل could grant this person
this sign, but not that one.
That one, but not this one.
A person could die with a sweaty forehead,
the other may not.
Maybe the other person is better than the
one who died with a sweaty forehead.
You cannot rank people based on the signs
that you see.
You can only hope for them.
And you cannot exclude them from Allah's mercy
based on the absence of some of these
signs, or most of them.
What would be sad, what would be alarming,
is for you to see bad signs at
the person's time of death.
And what would these signs be?
Lack of iman, rejection of iman, rejection of
لا إله إلا الله, doing something bad, and
then dying right after, or while doing it.
These are the terrible signs.
Right?
And this refuses to stay up, so make
dua for it.
Okay.
So if a person, this is a bad
sign.
If a person commits a sin, and then
die right after, or while doing that, that's
a bad sign.
Now, if that happens, do we say this
person is in jahannam?
No.
We fear for him, we hope for him,
we make dua for them.
But we have to confess and say, that's
not a good sign.
Right?
If a person is offered the opportunity to
say the shahada, but they reject it, it's
not that they die before they're able to
say it, it's not that.
They're offered the opportunity, and they refuse.
I don't want to say it.
Or they say, I cannot say it.
And Ibn al-Qayyim and others have reported
instances where people actually were met with that
end.
They will be asked, say لا إله إلا
الله.
He said, I can't say it.
They can speak, but say, my tongue cannot
say it.
Or when they are offered the opportunity to
say, لا إله إلا الله, their mind is
somewhere else.
They're thinking about their business, they're thinking about
their fun, and their entertainment, about music, about
sports.
They're not with you.
And so they are unable to say لا
إله إلا الله.
That is a bad sign.
But again, we hope for them, and we
fear for them, but we don't place them
in hellfire.
Or somebody losing their faith.
And we're gonna explain insha'Allah later, probably
not today, that the shaytan will attack, or
can attack the believer at the moment of
death.
And he will try his best to strip
them of their iman.
So a person can, if they are weak,
they could lose their faith.
At that fine vital moment, they could lose
it.
Now how could you be worthy of a
good end?
How could you receive it?
So if all of us want it, right?
And we've explained why it's important.
Do you remember why it's important?
Because how you die is how you will
come back to life.
Right?
How you die is how you come back
to life.
So in your head you say, I wanna
have the best death.
Now how can you have the best death
and you do not know when and where
you will die?
How?
So first of all, we say dua.
If you're worried about it, if you really
want it, dua.
And there's a hadith in the Prophet ﷺ
where he said, اللهم إني أسألك عيشة تقية
وميتة سوية ومرد غير مخزن Ya Allah, I
ask you for a pious living.
Living with taqwa.
وميتة سوية A good death.
ومرد غير مخزن And a return that is
free from disgrace.
Meaning on the day of judgment.
So a good death could mean two things.
Good religiously and good physically.
Physically in the sense of what?
Retain my iman.
Protect me.
Allow me to die on Pan Tawheed.
That's a good death.
And also a good death where I'm not
suffering.
It's not a terrible illness.
It's not a terrible disease.
I'm not in agony.
That's also a possibility.
ميتة سوية So that's one, dua.
Also, if our death determines our resurrection, our
life is what determines our death.
So this is how you can hope for
a better death.
How you live now determines it.
So your death really is that culmination or
condensation of how you lived.
Everything that you've done.
What you love, what you hate.
Your iman.
Your lack of iman.
Following the Prophet ﷺ.
Not following the Prophet ﷺ.
All of this gets condensed and will be
presented to you at the time of death.
So if you lived a good life, then
you're very likely to have a good death.
And if you've lived a bad life, it's
likely, it's not certainty, but it's likely that
you'll have a bad death.
So how you live also predicts how you
die.
As how you die predicts how you'll be
resurrected.
Now, there's a hadith that could be frightening
or could be misunderstood.
But it's important A.
To know it.
B.
To understand it.
And then C.
To be humbled by it.
So no one is proud because of what
they do.
Right?
So, he ﷺ said, He ﷺ said, He
says, One of you would do the actions
of the people of Jannah until only a
cubit stands between him and Jannah.
And then Allah's decree overtakes and He will
commit the actions of the people of Hellfire
and He will enter Hellfire.
And indeed, some of you will commit the
actions of the people of Hellfire.
Until there's only a cubit between him and
Heaven.
Between him and Hellfire.
And Allah's decree overtakes and He will commit
the actions of the people of Heaven and
He will enter it.
Right?
Now, the second one is not really problematic
for a lot of people, is it?
Like you wouldn't object to a person who
lives all of his life, maybe sinfully.
But towards the end, he repents, comes close
to Allah Azza wa Jal, Allah's mercy is
there, and he enters Jannah.
No one is gonna object to it.
Anyone is objecting to it?
You're not gonna have really a problem with
that, right?
We want everybody to be in Jannah, right?
So you have no issue with this.
Even if you're the worst person alive today,
right?
And this is contrary to what how some
people react emotionally.
Even if you're the worst person, think of
the worst person alive today.
Bring person in your head.
The worst.
You don't have to share that with me,
just think of the worst.
Now say to yourself, would you want that
person to accept Islam and enter Jannah?
Yes or no?
The answer should be yes.
Not like, I don't know.
See what he has done?
I wanna be punished for it.
Our job is not to punish people.
If we can save him, save him.
Right?
This is what you should want for everybody.
As far as the suffering, Allah compensate those
who have suffered.
Don't worry about it.
But we would want anybody to be in
Jannah.
So we have no issue if a person
repents and they come back to Allah.
The issue that we may have is with
the first one is, he does the actions
of the people of Jannah until there's just
a little bit between him and Jannah.
And then he does the actions of the
people of Hellfire and he goes to Hellfire.
How could this happen?
That's terrifying, right?
On the one hand, it's good that it's
terrifying.
I don't want it to be discouraging at
the same time.
Because a person could say, well, all that
I did is going to be wasted?
He says, no, no, no.
Listen to the other hadith from the Prophet,
that hopefully explains this.
قال إن الرجل لَيَعْمَلُ عَمَلَ أَهْلِ الجَنَّة He
said, the person will do the actions of
the people of Jannah as far as people
can see.
And he's of the people of Hellfire.
And a person will do the actions of
the people of Hellfire as far as people
can see.
And he's of the people of Jannah.
The pivotal phrase here is as far as
people can see.
As far as people can discern.
And again, the second one is not problematic.
He does the actions of the people, he
does the actions of the people of Hellfire
as far as people can see, but he's
gonna be in Jannah.
We have no issue with that.
He repents, he does good things.
What he's doing is hidden from us.
Allah will take him to Jannah.
No issue with this.
The first one though is enlightening.
He does good things.
And you think he's of the people of
Jannah, but only as far as you can
see.
In reality, it isn't.
In reality, Allah knows better.
And He will do eventually, at the end,
the actions of the people of Hellfire.
Meaning, his true nature comes through at the
end.
And that's a fulfillment again of what the
Prophet ﷺ said, إِنَّمَا الْأَعْمَالُ بِخَوَاتِيمِهَا Actions are
by their conclusions.
Whatever you are, surfaces at the end.
Subhanallah, how Allah reveals it, right?
So the scholars have said, commenting on the
first hadith, there's only a qubit between you
and Jannah, and then you do actions of
the people of Hellfire, you enter Hellfire.
They say it is impossible that someone would
be sincere and truly righteous, and Allah will
let him down at the end of his
life.
There has to be something wrong in what
he's doing, something wrong with his ikhlas, something
wrong with his deeds, something wrong with his
beliefs.
And that is the thing that lets him
down at the end.
And he cannot hold to his belief, he
cannot hold to his taqwa.
It leaves him, right?
And the hadith, where the Prophet ﷺ said,
إِنَّمَا الْأَعْمَالُ بِخَوَاتِيمِهَا Or actions are by their
conclusions, came at the end of an incident
that you may have heard before.
When the sahaba in one of those battles
noted the bravery of one of those men.
He was so brave, right?
Defending Muslims, killing the disbelievers, left and right,
left and right, until some of the sahaba
have said, no one did better today than
this man.
And again I want you as a Muslim,
not to only use your emotions.
I want you to remember this.
Not only you see something, and based on
your emotional attachment you say, it has to
be so.
Or as Allah Azzawajal could say, no, it
isn't so.
And the Prophet ﷺ could say, no, it
isn't so.
And then you come back and say, I'm
gonna lose my faith then.
You have to teach yourself a surrender, complete
surrender to Allah Azzawajal.
So again I want you to put yourself
in that situation, right?
Battle, facing the disbelievers.
And the bravest person who had fought the
disbelievers, and defended Muslims, and maybe led them
to victory.
And the Muslims are praising them, or some
of them are praising them.
And they say, oh Prophet of Allah, he
is the best among us today.
And the Prophet ﷺ said, he is the
people of hellfire.
Right?
What are you gonna believe?
Your eyes or the Prophet?
So that Sahabi said, I'm gonna follow this
man.
Because I wanna see how is he gonna
be of the people of hellfire.
While he is outperforming everybody else in the
battlefield.
Which is the ultimate test for iman, ultimate
test for bravery.
So he said, I knew then that his
death is not gonna be a good death.
When I heard that from the Prophet ﷺ.
So he says, I followed him.
And he got injured.
He panicked.
So he wanted to die quickly.
So he cut his body.
He cut his hand.
He bled to death.
And he said, I saw that in the
battlefield.
So I went to the Prophet ﷺ and
I told him this.
And I told him, I testify that you
are a Prophet of Allah.
He said, why are you saying this?
He says, because when you said that, and
that shocked us.
I went to verify what you said and
I saw the way that he died.
I testify that you are the Prophet of
Allah.
And that's where the Prophet ﷺ, he said,
that a person may do the actions of
the people of hellfire.
And he is of the people of Jannah.
And do the actions of the people of
Jannah.
And he is of the people of hellfire.
Actions are determined by their conclusions.
So something must be missing.
So again, this is all in answer to
a question of how do you have a
righteous death?
First of all, don't be self-conceited.
Don't be too proud of what you're doing.
If you know that all of it could
go away at the moment of death, you're
not gonna look at your salah and praise
yourself.
And admire how much you've prayed, how much
you've fasted, how much you've memorized of the
Qur'an, how much sadaqa you've given.
How do you know that Allah accepted any
or all of that?
Right?
So, if you're afraid, you'll continue to do
more.
And you'll purify and continue to cleanse your
intention so that it is the purest of
intentions.
And you will not rely on what you
have done.
You'll rely on Allah's mercy.
You will do, but it would be as
if you've done nothing.
And that's important.
It's as if I did not pray.
It's as if I did not fast.
As if I'm hoping from Allah's mercy.
And you'll do more and more.
But rely on Allah Azza wa Jal.
So, if a person inside and outside are
clean, Allah saves them at the moment of
death.
يُثَبِّتُ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا بِالْقَوْلِ الثَّابِتِ فِي الْحَيَاةِ
الدُّنْيَا وَفِي الْآخِرَةِ Allah Azza wa Jal firmly
establishes the believers with the secure, established, firm
statements in the dunya and in the akhirah.
And they explain that as that steadfastness that
the believer will receive at the moment of
death.
So, there's a promise from Allah Azza wa
Jal that He will secure you at that
time.
So, you're not gonna be alone.
But what is the prerequisite for it?
الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا Those who have iman.
So, if you have iman and your inside
is for Allah Azza wa Jal, He will
secure you.
So, how do you get that good end?
As we said, du'a.
And do your best right now.
And when Allah Azza wa Jal said, اتقوا
الله حق تقاته Have the proper taqwa of
Allah Azza wa Jal and do not die
except as Muslims.
What does He mean?
He means do the righteousness right now.
So, when you're about to die, you die
righteous.
Because you do not know when and how
and where you will die.
And if you don't, the only thing that
is under your control is what you do
at this moment and what you plan to
do in the following moment.
And that's how you secure with the help
of Allah Azza wa Jal, your righteous death.
So, I wanna stop insha'Allah here and
open it up insha'Allah for your questions.
And I just wanna emphasize with Allah Azza
wa Jal before you ask.
Insha'Allah, don't jump ahead with your questions.
So, ask about what we talked about today
or last time.
But don't ask about the grave and the
angels when they come.
All of that insha'Allah is gonna be
laid out in some detail bi-idhnillah Azza
wa Jal.
So, let me know insha'Allah if you
have questions.
So, I neglected to say here that some
scholars add to martyrdom car crashes and cancer.
So, if a person dies in a car
crash, they say it is wallahu a'lam
because this is something novel, right?
It is wallahu a'lam like dying under
a rubble.
And some scholars have said and they do
actually disagree slightly upon this cancer.
Is it martyrdom or not?
Some say yes, it is because it's an
internal disease.
Others have said it's not a stomach pain.
So, it's not an internal disease.
So, wallahu a'lam.
Even if we do not say, even if
we take the other opinion that say it's
not martyrdom.
It's such a difficult trying disease that a
person is patient with Allah Azza wa Jal.
We hope that Allah would have cleansed them
completely of all sin.
And we ask Allah Azza wa Jal that
it actually be shahada and martyrdom.
And again, it's a hope, right?
So, that also answers this question here.
What if someone dies of lung illness?
So, if we say da'ul batni if
we say it's abdominal meaning just the stomach
illness a lung disease may not be.
But if we say it is internal illness
then it could be.
Then it could be, wallahu a'lam.
What are examples of a plague?
So, again disagreement here between the scholars when
they say al-mat'oon or al-ta
'oon they mean a specific type of plague
which is a plague of al-ta'oon.
Now, others add to it any other kind
of infectious disease that spreads like a plague.
And others restricted to it.
So, wallahu a'lam.
We could rely on Allah's mercy and say
that if a person or a community experiences
an infectious disease and they follow the Prophet's
command and the etiquette and how to handle
it and they are patient it could be
assigned the category of shahada.
wallahu a'lam.
So, I just want to say among the
brothers any hand?
I'm going to give you a couple of
minutes inshallah to think about questions if you
have any.
It says, we can always do better
do we have some tips to motivate us
to do better in our righteousness and prepare
for better deaths than just being complacent.
Now, hopefully a series like this motivates you
to do something because hopefully it injects two
things fear and hope.
So, if you become more fearful of Allah
azza wa jal based on what you will
hear you want to translate this into some
actions that reflect that fear or you become
more hopeful than some actions that reflect that
hope.
So, how do you materialize that fear or
materialize that hope is by adopting some extra
actions that would inshallah enable you to be
better prepared for death, for the grave and
for resurrection.
So, you think what can I do that
is extra and you can just attach it
to what you already are doing.
So, for instance if you do not come
to the masjid for salah at all we
say start frequenting the masjid a little bit
more once a day twice a week something
extra if you are not used to saying
the dhikr after salah adhkar salah right?
Start saying them and start small you can
say the tasbeeh wal tahmeed wal takbeer ten
ten ten right?
After each salah you can adopt that you
can say ayatul kursi after each salah right?
How quick is that?
And the prophet s.a.w. said that
if you say that if you maintain it,
the only thing that stands between you and
jannah is death So you can add that
So think about adhkar salah morning and evening
dhikr You don't have to say the whole
thing but just begin with ayatul kursi after
asr and ayatul kursi after fajr and then
add to it the three quls three times
three times three times three qul huwa allahu
ahad three qul a'udhu bi rabbil falaq
three qul a'udhu bi rabbil nas and
then maintain it until it's a habit and
when it's a habit you can add one
more dua and one more dhikr and so
on and so on you can just say
to yourself I'll give sadaqah it doesn't have
to be monumental one dollar a week if
you are not used to it but you
just commit to one dollar a week you
say but it's so little and so insignificant
no, you are establishing what?
a habit one dollar a week one dollar
a week until it's a habit then two,
then three you say I've been so distant
from the Qur'an you say ok inshallah
this motivates you hopefully khair alhamdulillah can you
read half a page you say yeah that's
easy half a page after isha like you
decide right now pick one salah where you
are free and you say half a page
after that salah everyday that's easy right?
you just commit to it until it's a
habit so this is how you start moving
inshallah from doing nothing or little to doing
a little bit extra and it's habitual and
then inshallah once a habit is established it
becomes easier to enhance it and augment it
so you mentioned
that to protect ourselves from dying with bad
end we should have iman but the guy
who killed himself had iman too no?
he said we do not strip him of
iman we do not claim that he had
no iman at all but did he have
enough iman and sincerity to protect him at
that moment so the issue here is not
having the minimal type of iman that would
qualify you to be called a muslim and
that's it because a person who kills other
people commits zina, drinks alcohol gambles, could still
have iman and be called a muslim they
are committing major sins but he still has
iman and be called a muslim but the
way that they will die may not be
righteous or good at all so what do
you mean by iman do you mean by
he had enough iman and that's why he
was fighting in battle they say well how
do we know how do we know that
he was fighting for Allah's sake not fighting
for any other ulterior motives how would you
know about his intention we assume that I
don't really want to talk about that person
Allah knows about him best we assume that
if a person is truly sincere and he
is willing to give his life to Allah
Allah will not disgrace him or let go
of him will not abandon him but if
the intention is corrupt even though apparently it
looks good then yes that could what abandon
him at the end of his life and
he does what Allah hates so what type
of iman he had Allah knows that best
but if he had the iman that Allah
loved and that was sufficient he would not
have done that is it that a person
dies on Friday or is it buried on
Friday dies on Friday so he dies on
a Friday not when he is buried because
burial could be at a different day delayed
or expedited if you die from a heart
attack or stroke what kind of death is
considered Allah knows again if it's internal if
we say that this is an internal illness
maybe it's martyrdom if not then Allah knows
it's a sudden death and we'll talk about
sudden death can we ask Allah to grant
us death with our partner rather than be
that specific ask Allah for the best because
you do not know if that is the
best so ask Allah that he would grant
you and your partner the best death and
maybe consult your partner if he really wants
to die that soon don't assume that he
or she really want to die necessarily at
the same time how to fight off the
whispers of shaytan on past sins when trying
to maintain steadfastness of course the shaytan is
going to try to undermine you whatever way
he can and you should expect it and
maybe one of the ways actually definitely one
of the ways is to resurrect your old
sins whether to try to invite you back
to them because it's a habit it's easier
to fall back into old habits and bad
old habits specifically or what he tries to
do is to discourage you by saying that
you have been such an awful sinful terrible
person how could you expect Allah to forgive
you either way so both of these things
should be considered whispers from the shaytan that
this is not coming from you obviously this
is not coming from Allah azawajal obviously so
where is it coming from when you identify
the source it's easier than to fight it
so isolate the source so we tell people
inshallah whenever you have bad thoughts regardless of
what these bad thoughts are isolate the source,
what's the source the source is not Allah
azawajal right and the source is not the
self and even if we were to say
argue hypothetically that the source could be the
self the shaytan rides on top of those
thoughts and gives them power so the shaytan
is involved regardless if the thought is bad
so once you isolate the source now you
know how to fight and always the first
thing you should say or do when you
realize that it's shaytan behind these thoughts, what
do you do a'udhu billahi minash shaytanir
rajim and that that is powerful when it
is said with intention and meaning I seek
Allah's protection from the shaytan meaning ya Allah
I'm defenseless and alone without you help me
against him see a lot of us may
think the shaytan is very strong and we
exaggerate the power of the jinn they could
do this and they could fly and they
carry and this and that but you understand
that what you have with you is greater
than anything that they have that is if
you just recite ayatul kursi you could burn
them if you just recite the adhan they
can't stand it they will run away they're
not strong against Allah azzawajal right?
so if the shaytan is trying to use
this against you regardless whether it's this or
that a'udhu billahi minash shaytanir rajim see
if he's trying to discourage you by saying
that you are sinful and bad and this
and that say to yourself I'm not my
past sins and Allah azzawajal promised that he
will accept the repentance of those who repent
so renew your repentance and fight that again
and you know the good news is that
the more that you fight that sin when
it is resurrected it's as if you have
repented again from it so that is an
additional bounty from Allah azzawajal for you and
if he is simply trying to manipulate you
and invite you back to that sin understand
why you may drift back leave don't stay
alone because you'll be very vulnerable when you're
alone be with your sisters, be with your
brothers, be in the masjid, pick up the
Quran and you read it listen to a
mind a good reminder just do something read
the Quran, just do something to revive iman
and disassociate yourself from the place of the
actions that encourage that sin so if you
know that if I'm there I'm going to
do that sin don't be there, if I'm
with him I'm going to do that sin,
don't be with him, if I'm alone I'm
going to commit that sin, don't be alone
if the shaytan is going to trick you,
block it and keep blocking it and throw
yourself at the mercy of Allah azzawajal by
saying even if you make mistakes one and
twice and thrice and you continue to make
mistakes, say ya Allah I don't want to
do this, help me and keep saying this
and pleading with Allah and eventually Allah will
answer that dua so hopefully insha Allah that
helps so is riya part of human
nature yes if anyone is trying his best
to avoid it but sometimes they fall into
it will it lead into bad ending not
as long as you're fighting it so the
bad ending that we've described is one where
a person has accepted the riya as a
mode of living right not a person who's
fighting it of course any time that you
and every time you're going to go into
salah and people are watching you're going to
read Quran, you're going to do things publicly
you're going to have to fight that riya
in you I'm doing it for them or
for Allah azzawajal and when you let your
guard down you'll keep doing it for them
not for Allah you have to catch yourself
and say wait wait wait I'm praying for
them, why am I praying for them I'm
giving sadaqa for them I'm reading Quran for
them I'm pretending to be righteous for them
why am I doing this so you catch
yourself and you bring yourself back to a
better intention as long as you're fighting then
you are a mujahid that's a jihad jihad
requires an enemy how is Allah going to
reward you without an enemy so that's jihad
but when you surrender to it and you're
fine with it then that is the thing
that's going to lead to a bad end
and we know the hadith of the three
that the prophet s.a.w. said those
are the first three that will be thrown
in * fire and the first will be
brought to Allah azzawajal and he is called
a alim a scholar and Allah azzawajal will
ask him why did you learn all of
this, he says for your sake and to
teach people, he says you've lied you learned
it and you taught it so that people
will say that you know they've said so
go to * fire now he's what this
is what someone that you could call a
sheikh or an imam or a alim, right,
someone who's teaching you right but was he
fighting with himself was he struggling against the
bad intention no, he just did it for
dunya the second is a person who is
brought to Allah azzawajal and like the hadith
that we've mentioned today, he was killed in
battle he was called a shaheed he says
why did you fight, why were you killed
he said to elevate Allah azzawajal and his
prophet a.s.w. he says you've lied
you fought so that people will praise your
bravery they praised you, go to * fire
and the third is one who gave sadaqa
and he'll be brought similarly, why did you
give the sadaqa for the sake of Allah
azzawajal, no so that people will say that
you are generous and it was said, they
praised you go to * fire so the
difference between what we talked about and these
three is what, they've surrendered to that intention
we're not doing it for Allah azzawajal, then
they will have a bad end, and a
bad resurrection and a bad meeting with Allah
azzawajal because that is hypocritical what you're doing
seems pleasing taqwa but in reality it isn't
so you need to pull yourself back and
say why am I doing this but as
long as you're fighting with yourself then Allah
azzawajal will bless you so don't worry about
it most of the questions are coming from
online I think they've stopped I'll give you
inshallah a minute I'll
repeat your question but do you mean like
forever or for that deed, specific thing right,
yes for anything or just, oh not, not
for anything so the question is if a
person breaks somebody else's trust they reveal their
secret, right they betray them in one way
or another is it that they do not
receive good deeds, alright for whatever good that
they do because of that bad thing that
they've done they say no, that thing that
you've done is a sin so let's say
that you have revealed their secret, that's a
sin you betrayed their trust, that's a sin
but your good deeds are your good deeds
now, you're gonna still have to go and
ask for their forgiveness and you will need
their forgiveness and if they do not forgive
you in the dunya they may have to
take their right from you in the akhira
meaning they will take some of your good
deeds, not all of them so maybe they'll
take some of your sadaqah, not all of
it but also only what in proportion to
the gravity of that sin to how serious
that sin was so let's say for instance
you lied about them alright, and you said
this and that about them on the day
of judgment they may say, Allah I did
not forgive them in the dunya they did
that and that against me give me some
of their good deeds so they may take
five ten, twenty, a hundred Allah knows best,
the rest remains for you but it's not
that Allah azza wa jal will deprive you
of any good deeds for the rest of
your life ok brothers, go ahead peace be
upon you if
an animal defecated on a person's grave yes,
so if an animal defecates on a person's
grave, is that a bad sign?
we say the Prophet ﷺ did not refer
at all to that as being a bad
sign so if he did not we cannot
introduce it as a bad sign we cannot
believe that it's a bad sign so we
say that it's just a natural occurrence, if
it happens it's a natural occurrence alright, and
we don't associate good or bad with it,
it's just something that happens so that's a
good question in terms of we may see
several things that we in our heads associate
with a good ending or a bad ending
a good death or an honorable death or
a dishonorable death, but in fact Islamically, they're
unlinked to that end so, Alhamdulillah, we don't
have to kinda think the worst of people
because of it ok ok, the sisters are
good, ok yeah, go ahead peace be upon
you sure they
kept so when they're dying as they were
ok so I mean, both of these questions
inshallah, we're gonna have to answer them or
we will be able to answer them with
better detail, inshallah in the following sessions, inshallah
just very briefly, inshallah, you can delay the
burial especially if there's no urgency in it,
and to get more people to pray, you
could do that and we'll talk about, inshallah,
the merit of doing this, and whether it's
permissible or not to bury people at night
related to what you're talking about so that's
your second question the first question is about
a relative that had died, and a few
days before his death, he was seeing figures,
strange figures and he wanted people to remove
those figures away, and that is something, inshallah,
we're gonna be talking about next week, which
is at the moment of death, and the
descent of the angels, and can people see
angels and what type of people can what
type of angels can people see so it's
hard to judge what your relative saw, two
days or three days before his death was
it hallucination?
possible, was it manifestation of jinn?
possible, was it angels?
possible though the angels typically if you were
to see them, you will see them just
before your death, right so we can't emphatically
say A, B or C but let's inshallah
kinda delay this till we were talking about
the angels and what people see when they
see the angels, and maybe that could help
and maybe it wouldn't we don't necessarily understand
every single thing about death so hopefully inshallah
next following sessions inshallah will help answer your
questions better inshallah go ahead I'm
sorry ok
I don't know, because that is not death
because of nifas right, so he's asking if
a woman dies during the period of nifas
40 days or so and she dies because
of that illness right another illness, not because
of childbirth but because of another illness is
that considered martyrdom right, so we say wallahu
alam it's not because of childbirth that she
died but because of that illness so if
that illness is an illness that qualifies as
martyrdom, then yes but if it's not then
probably it's not martyrdom because she didn't die
because of the child she died because of
somebody else ok inshallah there's still one
ok and
here can you be buried with your spouse
I mean I imagine next to them right
so you can inshallah there's nothing to prevent
that if my initial intention for an act
was to please Allah but later I find
myself enjoying praise for it does not negate
my good intention so if this happens after
the act is concluded it does not negate
your good intention and then you just have
to check why you're enjoying that praise and
redirect your intention so that it is for
Allah azza wa jal and it's not to
seek people's or to heap praise for them
to heap praise upon you so don't let
it corrupt your intention but rather redirect it
to say this is a sign that Allah
azza wa jal was happy with what I've
done so make it a sign of Allah's
pleasure that rather than an independent thing that
you seek I'm gonna do better for their
sake so if that praise happens after the
deed is concluded it does not hurt you
if it's happening while the deed is taking
place and it's corrupting your intention you have
to fight it and if you don't fight
it, it could derail the whole thing or
at least take part of it out of
the equation so part of your deed is
for Allah part of your deed is not
or it could corrupt the whole thing so
that's why it's important if you are worshipping
Allah azza wa jal while you're in it
you fight so that your intention is as
pure as you can and Allah compensates you
for what you cannot wallahu a'lam so
we'll conclude here and next week if Allah
extends our life we will be talking begin
to talk about that moment of death itself
As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh