Book: Al-Muhtadirin [The Dyings] by ibn-abi-duniya

Chapter: The Importance of Having Good Thoughts of God at The Time of Death

16 - Abdullah narrated to us, he said: Abu Khaythama narrated to us, he said: Shababa bin Sawwar narrated to us, from Hisham bin Al-Ghaz, he said: Hayyan Abu al-Nadr told me, he said: Wathila bin Al-Asqa' told me: Bring me to Yazid bin Al-Aswad, for it has reached me that he is unwell. He said: So I went to him. He was visibly weak and his sensibility was fading. He was called thrice, then I said: This is Wathila, your brother. Perhaps God preserved from his senses enough to hear that Wathila had come. He reached out, feeling around, so I understood what he needed and took the palm of Wathila and placed it in his palm.

Indeed, he wanted to place his hand in Wathila's hand because Wathila had touched the hand of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him. He began to place it once on his chest, once on his face, and once to his mouth. Then Wathila said: Won't you tell me something I ask you about? How do you consider God?

He said: I am drowning in my sins, and I despair at my ruin, but I hope for the mercy of God. Wathila and the members of the house cried out in praise. He said: I heard the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, say: "God says: I am as my servant thinks of me, let him think of me as he wills".

17 - Abdullah narrated to us, saying: "Harun ibn Abdullah, and Abdullah ibn Abi Ziyad informed me: Saying, 'Sayyar ibn Hatim said: Ja'far told us, meaning Ibn Sulayman, he said: 'Thabit Al-Bunani narrated to us, from Anas bin Malik, he said:

'The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, visited a young man who was on his deathbed, and he asked him, 'How do you find yourself?

The young man replied, 'I hope in Allah, O Messenger of Allah, and I am afraid of my sins.' Then the Messenger of Allah, upon him be peace and blessings, said: 'These two feelings are not combined in the heart of a servant in such a situation, but that Allah gives him what he hopes for, and protects him from what he fears.'

18 - Abdullah narrated to us, he said: Abdullah ibn Abi Ziyad and Harun ibn Abdullah told us. They said: Sayyar told us. He said: Ja'far told us (34) he said: I heard Thabit Al-Bunani say: "There was a young man who had arrogance, and his mother used to advise him, saying: 'My son, you have a day, so remember your day, you indeed have a day, so remember your day.' So, when the command of Allah came, his mother was devastated and began to say: 'My son, I used to warn you of this demise and tell you: you indeed have a day, so remember your day.'

He said: 'Oh my mother, I have a Lord who is full of kindness, and I hope that He would not deprive me today some of the benevolence of my Lord, that He would forgive me.' Thabit said: May Allah have mercy on him for his good expectation of his Lord in that condition."

19 - Abdullah told us, he said: Muhammad bin Abdulaziz Al-Marwazi told us, he said: Ali bin Shafiq told us, he said: Hussein bin Wakid informed us, from Abu Ghalib, he said: "I used to travel to Syria on trade trips and mostly because of my relationship with Abu Umamah. There was a man from Qais tribe, among the best of people. I used to stay at his place, and with us was a nephew of his, who was disobedient; he used to command him, forbid him and beat him, but he would not obey him.

Then the young man fell ill, and he sent for his uncle, who refused to come to him. So I took him to his uncle, and he started yelling at him, saying: 'Oh enemy of Allah, you vile one, didn't you do this and that?' The young man asked: 'Have you said enough uncle?' He replied: 'Yes.' The young man said: 'Suppose Allah had taken me to my mother, what would she have done to me?' He said: 'By Allah, she would have put you in heaven.' The young man said: 'By Allah, Allah is more merciful to me than my mother.'

The young man then passed away. Abdul Malik bin Marwan came out for him. I entered the grave with his uncle, they drew a line for him. They didn't dig a niche for him, they said: 'With milk.' So we set it straight. He said: 'A brick fell from it, his uncle jumped and backed away.' I asked: 'What's the matter?' He said: 'His grave was filled with light, and it expanded like the distance one could see.'"

20 - Abdullah narrated to us. He said: Al-Hussein bin Amr bin Muhammad Al-Qurashi and Muhammad bin Yazeed bin Rifa'a narrated to me from Al-Hussein bin Ali Al-Ju'fi ⦗36⦘, from Muhammad bin Aban, from Humaid who said, "

"I had a sickly nephew, he fell ill. His mother sent for me, so I came to her. There she was, at his head, crying. He asked, 'O uncle, what is making her cry?' I said, 'You are what she knows is hurting her.' He replied, 'Is she not merely showing me compassion?' I said, 'Yes, indeed.' He stated, 'Verily, Allah is more merciful towards me than she is.'

"When he passed away, I lowered him into the grave along with someone else. I was smoothing his brick when I looked into the grave. To my surprise,‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍ he was as far as my sight could reach. I said to my companion, 'Did you see what I saw?' He replied, 'Yes, may this be good tidings for you.' I then thought, it was for the statement he had made."

21 - Abdullah reported to us and said: Hussein bin Amro told me, from Yahya bin Yaman, who said: Sufyan al-Thawri (37) stated: "I would not prefer that my account be given to my mother, my Lord is better for me than my mother."

22 - Abdullah told us, he said: Abu Ishaq Al-Riyahi told me, he said: Murajah bin Wada'a told us, he said: "There was a young man who was very ill. As he was about to pass away, his mother asked him, 'My son, is there any particular wish you have?' He replied, 'Yes, my ring. Don’t rob me of it, for it reminds me of Allah the exalted, perhaps Allah will have mercy on me.' He was seen in a dream, he said: 'Tell my mother that the remembrance of God indeed benefited me, and that Allah has forgiven me.'

23 - Narrated to us by Abdullah, he said: Mufaddal bin Ghassan narrated to me, from his father, he said: Nadhir bin Abdullah bin Hazim was on his deathbed, it was said to him: Rejoice. So, he said: "By Allah, I do not care, whether I die, or am taken to Ubulah, by Allah, I never move from the authority of my Lord to another, and my Lord has never changed me from one state to another, except that what He has moved me to is better for me than from what He has moved me."

24 - Abdullah narrated to us, saying: Hasan ibn Jahoor told me, from Idris ibn Abdullah al-Marwazi who said: "An Arab man fell ill, and it was said to him: You are dying. He asked: Where am I being taken to? He was told: To Allah. He replied: Why would I dislike going to the one from whom I see nothing but goodness?"

25 - Abdullah told us, he said: Muhammad bin Idris told me, he said: Abu Umayya Muhammad bin Ibrahim Al-Khuzai told us, he said: Abu Bakr bin Ghazwan bin Asim told me, my father told me, from Shahr bin Hawshab, he said: "I wanted to go on a raid and I had a young nephew. I hated to leave him behind, so I took him with me.

When we stopped, he fell severely ill. I entered one of those hermitages and started praying. The hermitage split open, and two white angels and two black angels entered. The white ones sat on his right, and the black ones on his left. The white ones touched him with their hands. The black ones stated: 'We have more rights over him.'

However, one of the white ones objected vehemently: 'No, he is not yours.' He then inserted his two fingers into the lad's mouth and turned his tongue around, and proclaimed: 'Allahu Akbar! We have more rights over him.'

Get up, the victorious proclamation of Takbeer as on the day of Antioch's conquest resounded. Then Shahr stepped out and proclaimed: 'Whoever wishes to attend the funeral of a man from the dwellers of paradise, let him attend the funeral of my nephew.'

The people exclaimed, 'Has Shahr lost his sanity? Yesterday he was saying what he was saying, and today he says he is from the dwellers of paradise.'

When the news reached the prince, the prince sent for him. When Shahr told him what he saw, both the prince and the people offered the funeral prayer."

26 - We were informed by Abdullah who said: We were informed by Sawwar bin Abdullah Al-Anbari who said: we were informed by Mu'tamir b. Sulayman who said: My father said when he was on his deathbed, "Oh Mu'tamir, inform me of the dispensations, perhaps I will meet Allah while I have good thoughts of Him."

27 - Abdallah reported to us, he said: Amro ibn Muhammad informed us, he said: Khalaf ibn Khalifa narrated to us from Husayn, from Ibrahim who said: "They used to prefer teaching the servant his good deeds at the time of his death; in order to reassure him about his Lord."