This article was originally published on ciibroadcasting.com and has been re-posted in a shortened form here.

Islam teaches us to think about death often and to ponder entering our eventual destination, the grave. We should strive to improve ourselves to make our death easy. Motivational and life coaches talk about thinking of death as a motivator for change. They use death to get more in this world, whereas we should think about death to get more in the aakhirah.

Something to consider about death is the condition in which you will leave this world. Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) said, “You will die as you live and you will be resurrected on the Day of Judgement as you had passed away.”

The following is the transcript of a lecture given by Sheikh Muhammad Abdul Jabbar:

A woman writes:  could you explain to me, did my husband die a good death or did he die a bad death? She writes that on one occasion she and her husband were sitting down and watching a football match. We were watching a football match because my husband really loved football and he was a supporter of Alan Shearer. He loved him. On his clothes he had an autograph by Alan Shearer. In his bedroom he had pictures of Alan Shearer. He had cards of Alan Shearer. She says one evening when my husband and I were sitting down and my husband said his back was hurting and his legs have become weak. She says she phoned the ambulance and after about 20 minutes the ambulance arrived. They brought a stretcher in, she says, and they put my husband on it and when they did this my husband grabbed my hand and said, ‘Look after the children.’ I said to my husband that in 20 minutes you will be in the hospital and you will be back out. They walked towards the ambulance and, she writes, my husband was looking at the house. It was like he was not going to return. The ambulance took them to the hospital. They checked my husband and we were told that he was dying of cancer and the cancer was so severe it had reached his brain. Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) said, “You will die the way you lived.” If you lived a life of disobedience and a life of sin then you will die the same way, and you will be resurrected the way you die. She writes that they put the machines on her husband and they said her husband would only last a couple of days or a few hours, so make the most of it. She sat next to her husband holding his hand and instructed him to say La ila ha illallah. Her husband looked out the window and all of a sudden started laughing. He started laughing. His laugh was so loud that the nurses and doctors came in. And when the doctors came in, she says her husband’s body lifted from the middle. And he started screaming and saying, ‘I’m Alan Shearer, I’m Alan Shearer.’ The machines turned off. Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) said, “You will die the way you lived.” If you lived a life of disobedience and a life of sin then you will die the same way. May Allah SWT save us.

Scary.


photo credit: Akuppa John Wigham Northern Rock CC and Ascension CC

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