How To Prepare For Your Death

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate

Assalaamu alaykum

Dear Friends

I pray that you are well.

Death is not a person that you see, visit or meet. It is something you don't hear, see nor grasp. We need to reflect for a moment that death can come at any moment, night or day, during any condition and at any place, whether in your home, in the masjid, on the road, at work, at school, at the mall, in front of the TV, etc. If you think about this then you will be on the path of being serious to prepare for your death.

When you think that perhaps death can come upon you at any time, condition, and place, then you will be on the path of implementing the advice of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wassallam to think much about that which cuts off the pleasures of this world, which is death.

Abu Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wassallam said,

أكثروا ذكر هاذم اللذات يعني الموت

"Remember the terminator of all pleasures (death) much." [Tirmidhi].

This does not mean that we should be in a state of fear or paranoia but this is to understand, to know and to realize that Allah can take back the trust at any time. If you were to think a lot about death, perhaps before you go to sleep, when you wake up, when you leave the home and when you enter your home, inshaa Allah you are on the path of implementing the advice of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wassallam.

You need to have a conscious awareness that you are going to die at any time. If this is a part of your mental state this will lead you to the next mental state.

Upon what condition do you want to die? For example, if you want to die while you are praying, then you must have in your daily schedule prayers, both obligatory and supererogatory prayers. If you want to die while in the state of reciting or studying the Qur'an, then make reciting and studying the Qur'an as part of your daily routine. If you want to die while in the state of dhikr, then put a portion of dhikr in your daily task. If you want to die in a masjid, then pray the 5 daily prayers in the masjid. If you want to die in a state of seeking knowledge, then make it your daily activity. By doing this, you will increase your chance of dying in the state you want inshaa Allah. If Allah sees that you are sincere and implementing it in your daily life, inshaa Allah Allah will destine you to die in that state.

Upon which condition do you not wish to die? Obviously, we don't want to die while in sin or committing a sin, regardless whether it is a sin of the heart or a sin of the limb. So, we should avoid sin altogether and we need to repent for all of our sins. It is not enough to repent once in your life or once a day but it is important that we repent all the time.

The Prophet sallalahu has taught us to seek forgiveness at least 70 times per day, and in another narration, 100 times per day. This ties to repentance.

Say, Astaghfirullah (O Allah, forgive me)

If you were to spread out 100 istighfar (seeking forgiveness from Allah) over 24 hours, you will find that it encompasses the whole day.

There are certain blessed times for seeking forgiveness from Allah -- before sunrise, before sunset, before the coming in of fajr. So, don't miss these times to do istighfar. We should also remember to seek forgiveness before going to sleep because it is possible that we die in our sleep. When people are faced with certain conditions in their life, such as fatal disease, that puts the expectation of death in their mind but people often forget that every night when they go to sleep they might not wake up. So before you go to sleep, think to yourself that 'I might die tonight in my sleep.' And repent before going to sleep and make an intention that you will lead an obedient life if Allah were to grant you a long life. In this way, if you were to die in your sleep then you would have died in the state of repentance.

What can help us prepare for death?

1. Follow up a sin/mistake with a good deed

No one is saved from falling into error or sin. If you were to commit a sin, immediately follow it up with doing a good deed. Be quick to rectify that mistake without delay. Inshaa Allah the sin and its effects will be erased. If you were to commit a sin in a place, do not leave that place without doing an act of obedience to Allah. Don't wait because you can forget and that will be a problem for you.

2. Organize our day properly -- from the time we wake up until we go to sleep. Our day should be filled with beneficial deeds -- beneficial for Hereafter and beneficial for our living. When we fill our day with beneficial activities, then there is no empty moments for the chance of sin. Remember Allah sees everything we do.

Some beneficial deeds:

Praying obligatory and supererogatory prayers
Reciting the Qur'an
Memorizing Qur'an
Doing different forms of remembrance of Allah (Dhikr)
Visiting the sick
Helping someone in need
Giving charity
Seeking sacred knowledge
Doing some form of exercise and strengthen your body
Gathering with family and friends
Reflecting on the creation
Formulating a group program -- for example start a group for memorize Qur'an, learning Arabic and sacred sciences.

3. Have a daily accounting of our own self. You investigate what your faults are. Normally if you find faults in yourself, then the best thing to do is you try to fix it. If you find certain disease of the heart in your heart, the last thing you would want is to die when you have this disease. So you seek a treatment to cure that disease. If you find you have done some good deeds, you would express your gratitude to Allah and ask Allah to allow you to continue performing such good deed. If you find bad deeds, then seek forgiveness from Allah and resolve to not perform those bad deeds again and ask Allah to help you stay away from those bad deeds. The best time to take stock of your action is at the end of the day before you go to sleep because it is a completion of that day.

4. Make plentiful du'a for a beautiful ending

اللَّهُمَّ اجْعَلْ خَيْرَ عُمْرِي آخِرَهُ ، وَخَيْرَ عَمَلِي خَوَاتِمَهُ ، وَخَيْرَ أَيَّامِي يَوْمَ أَلْقَاكَ

"O Allah, make the best day of my life the end of it, the best of my actions the last of them, the best best of my days the day i which I meet You."

اللَّهُمَّ أَصْلِحْ لِي دِينِيَ الَّذِي هُوَ عِصْمَةُ أَمْرِي وَأَصْلِحْ لِي دُنْيَاىَ الَّتِي فِيهَا مَعَاشِي وَأَصْلِحْ لِي آخِرَتِي الَّتِي فِيهَا مَعَادِي وَاجْعَلِ الْحَيَاةَ زِيَادَةً لِي فِي كُلِّ خَيْرٍ وَاجْعَلِ الْمَوْتَ رَاحَةً لِي مِنْ كُلِّ شَرٍّ

"O Allah, set right for me my religion which is the safeguard of my affairs. And set right for me the affairs of my world wherein is my living. And set right for me my Hereafter on which depends my after-life. And make the life for me (a source) of abundance for every good and make my death a source of comfort for me protecting me against every evil."

Make these du'a frequently:

يَا مُقَلِّبَ الْقُلُوبِ ثَبِّتْ قَلْبِى عَلَى دِينِكَ

Yaa Muqallibal Quloob Thabbit Qalbee ‘alaa Deenik.

“Oh turner of the hearts (Allah, the Most High), keep our hearts firm on your religion”

يَا مُقَلِّبَ الْقُلُوبِ ثَبِّتْ قَلْبِى عَلَى دِينِكَ

“O, Turner of the hearts, turn our hearts to Your obedience.”

‏اللهم مصرف القلوب صرف قلوبنا على طاعتك

Allahumma musarrifal-qulubi, sarrif qulubana 'ala ta'atika

"O Allah! Controller of the hearts, direct our hearts to Your obedience."

‏اللهم إني أعوذ بك من شر ما عملت ومن شر ما لم أعمل‏

Allahumma inni audhu bika min sharri ma 'amiltu, wa min sharri ma lam a'mal

"O Allah! I seek refuge in You from the evil of that which I have done and the evil of that which I have not done."

5. Have positive thoughts of Allah -- that He will grant us a good ending, forgive us, have mercy for us and will overlook our shortcomings.

6. Make much dhikr of saying la ilaha illa Allah often daily . The more you say it with the tongue the more it takes residence in the heart. If the time of death comes you will be ready because that which occupy the heart will be spilled out at death. So, if your heart is engrossed with la ilaha illa Allah, then what we could possibly say at time of death is la ilaha illa Allah (there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah).

May Allah grant us an excellent ending. Ameen.

Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa 'ala aalihi wa sahbihi wassallam.

And Allah knows best and Allah alone grant success.
Wassalaam

Adapted from a lecture by Habib Hussein al-Saqqaf