Chapter on What Stirs One to Know the Aversion to Death and Its Anguish
"Has the household been swept and adorned for him, and the house made ready?" The people of the absent one who is coming may indeed do that with regard to their absent one, having magnified his worth and prepared themselves for his arrival.
Likewise, the one who shortens his hopes, appearing prepared, adorned — to make known to God, Exalted and Glorious, that he has magnified the worth of meeting his Lord, and adorned and made himself outwardly ready for His encounter, lest He be displeased with him, and so that He may accept him and be pleased with him.
The servant is stirred only by the mention of the threat of death's haste — what I have already informed you about regarding the passing of times in which there is no security for him.
Likewise, it is reported from Luqmān, peace be upon him, that he said: "We do not know when death will meet us, so prepare for it before it takes you by surprise."
Likewise, one of the sages said: "Your grave is in the hand of someone other than you ; you do not know when it will overtake you."
And Luqmān said to his son: "O my son, do not delay tawba (repentance), for the angel of death comes suddenly."
It has been reported about one of them that he spent the night turning left and right ceaselessly until morning. He was asked about that, and he said: "I was watching from which direction the angel of death would come."
And it was said to al-Rabīʿ ibn Khuthaym: "How have you risen this morning?" He said: "We have risen weak and sinful; we eat our provisions and await our appointed terms."
And a man said to Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyab: "How have you risen this morning?" He said: "I expect death without any preparation."
Chapter on What Stirs One to Know the Dreadfulness and Distress of Death
As for what stirs one to know the dreadfulness and distress of death and what overwhelms one from its terror: the son of Adam feels pain from every part of his body. If a thorn strikes him, he finds pain in his soul beyond it [i.e., beyond the site of the wound].
Would he not have found pain were he burned with fire? «Do you not see it when the spirit exits from it?» Were it not for that, he would not have found pain at all. Is it not so for that reason?
If the body only feels pain through the spirit, then what is your estimation of the spirit when it is the one being drawn out from every vein and every joint, and the root of every hair and every pore from its uppermost to its lowermost parts, and while it is with its body? So do not ask about its pain, its anguish, and its agony.
And it has been narrated that death is more severe than striking with swords, and sawing with saws, and cutting with shears — because the striking of swords and the sawing with saws only causes the body pain through the spirit. But if the spirit is the one directly subjected to the seizing and the drawing out, then that is more severe in pain and agony. The one struck with the sword and the like cries out for help and screams, because the faculties still remain in him and the tongue is free. But the voice of the dying one is cut off, because the anguish has overwhelmed and risen over every place, extinguishing every strength and breaking every limb. It overcomes the mind and causes the tongue to retract, rendering it mute. If any remnant of strength remains in him, you hear from him a bellowing from the drawing out of his spirit, and groaning, and a gurgling of his spirit in his throat. His color has changed because of that, until there appears from him the foundation of his original nature from which he was created and upon which he was fashioned.
You see it like dust upon his face; his color has changed and every vein along his sides has been drawn taut. The two pupils rise to the tops of the eyelids, and the tongue retracts to its root, and the two lips dry up and contract, and the two nostrils rise up toward the two sides of the nose. And [as for] the woman, her two breasts [contract] until nothing remains except the least of them. And the sinews dry up and [damaged].
So do not ask about a body in whose limbs, member by member, and whose veins and sinews and skin are being drawn out along its sides, member by member. Then his fingertips turn green, then his two feet grow cold, then his two shins grow cold from the stupors of death, and anguish overtakes him — anguish upon anguish, agony after agony, and stupor after stupor with each drawing — truly so.
«it has reached the throat» [56:83]. At that point, knowledge of the world and its people is cut off from him, and tawba (repentance) is removed from his acceptance, and remorse and anguish come upon him.
And likewise it is narrated from the Prophet ﷺ that he said:
"One's repentance is accepted as long as he has not begun to make the death-rattle."
And Mujāhid said regarding the words of God, Exalted and Glorious: «Repentance is not for those who go on doing evil deeds until, when death comes upon one of them» [4:18] — he said: When he beholds the messengers, at that point there appears to him the face of the angel of death.
So do not ask about the taste of the bitterness of death and its agonies, when the great distress swells within him and the death-pangs converge upon him.
And the following is among what is narrated from the Prophet ﷺ in the traditions — and it is a marvelous account: that a group from the Children of Israel passed by a graveyard, and some of them said to others: "If only we were to call upon God, Exalted and Glorious, to bring forth for you someone from this graveyard whom you might question." So they called upon God, Exalted and Glorious, and behold, there was a man of dark complexion with the mark of prostration between his eyes, who had emerged from a grave among those graves. He said: "O people, what do you want from me? I died fifty years ago, and the bitterness of death has not yet subsided from my qalb (heart)."
And Makhūl narrated from the Prophet ﷺ that he said:
"If a single hair of the dead person were placed upon the inhabitants of the heavens and the earth, they would perish, because in every hair there is the essence of death, and death does not fall upon anything except that it dies."
And it is narrated: "If a drop of the death-agony were placed upon all the mountains of the world, they would melt."
And it is narrated that God, Exalted and Glorious, said to Abraham ﷺ when he died: "O My beloved, you have died. O
"My intimate friend (khalīl), you have died, O my intimate friend, you have died." He said: "How did you find death, O my intimate friend?" He said: "Like a skewer placed in moist, raw wool being pulled out." He said: "Indeed, We have already made it easy upon you."
And it is narrated concerning Moses — peace be upon him — that when his spirit passed to God, blessed and exalted, his Lord said to him: "O Moses, how did you find death?" He said: "I found myself like a sparrow upon the frying pan: it is not slaughtered that it might find rest, nor does it escape that it might be delivered."
And it is also narrated that he said: "I found myself like a living sheep being skinned by the hand of the butcher."
And it is narrated concerning the Prophet — peace be upon him — that he had a cup of water near him at the time of death, and he would insert his hand into the water, then wipe his face with it, saying: "O God, ease upon me the agonies of death." And Fatima — may God be pleased with her — was saying: "O the distress of my father! What great distress!" And he was saying: "There shall be no distress upon your father after this day."
And Jesus — peace be upon him — said: "O company of the disciples, ask God, exalted and majestic, to ease this agony upon me" — meaning death — "for I have feared death with such a fear that my dread of death has halted me at the verge of death."
And 'Umar ibn Rizq Allah said: "Were it not that I fear being in a state where I do not submit to His decree, I would swear that I shall not rejoice in anything of this world until I know what [God has in store] for me, to my Lord's face."
These then are the friends of God and His beloved ones — the agonies and sorrows of death did not cease from them despite its being eased upon some of them. So what of your awareness of the sorrows, distress, and severity of death upon the erring ones! Along with what has gathered upon them of anguish, remorse, and regret over what has already passed — until distress reaches its utmost extent among them, and [despair] reaches its furthest limit among them. At that point, the Angel of Death appears to them face to face.
And likewise it is narrated in some versions of the hadith of the Mi'raj (Night Ascension) that he asked about that — meaning the angel of death — and he said: "I command my assistants from among the angels to treat his soul, until when the veins have been reached and they begin, and it is taken to its end, then what do you suppose about gazing upon the face of the angel of death?" — if he was among the people of wretchedness and enmity, then do not ask about his ugliness and the repulsiveness of his face. At that point the soul senses tribulation, ruin, and destruction.
And it has been narrated from Ikrimah, from Ibn Abbas, may God be pleased with him, that "Ibrahim, peace be upon him, was a jealous man, and he had a house in which he would worship, and when he went out he would lock it. One day he locked it and went out, then he returned, and behold there was a man inside the house! So he said:
Who let you into my house?
He said: Its Lord let me in.
He said: I am its lord.
He said: The One who let me in owns it — from you and from me.
He said: Then who among the angels are you?
He said: I am the angel of death.
He said: O angel of death, are you able to show me the form in which you seize the soul of the believer?
He said: Yes. Turn away from me. So he turned away from him, then he turned back and behold he was a young man, handsome of face, fine of garments, and fragrant of scent. He said: O angel of death, if the believer were to encounter nothing at the time of death except your form, that would suffice him. Then he said:
The hadith of the Mi'raj has been transmitted by al-Bukhari in his Sahih: Chapter 14 of the Book of the Merits of the Ansar, Chapter 6 of the Book of Hajj, Chapter 1 of the Book of Prayer, Chapter 5 of the Book of the Prophets, Chapter 7 of the Book of Merits, and Chapter 7 of the Book of Tawhid; and Sahih Muslim, hadith 259, 233; and the Musnad of Ahmad ibn Hanbal 5/143, 3/148.
"O angel of death, are you able to show me the form in which the soul of the wicked is seized?"
He said: You cannot endure that.
He said: Indeed.
He said: Then turn away from me. So he turned away from him. Then he turned back, and behold there was a man, black, dark of hair, foul of smell, black of garments, from whose mouth and nostrils fire and smoke issued forth. Ibrahim, upon him be peace, fainted. Then he revived, and the angel of death had returned to his other form. Ibrahim said: O angel of death, even if the wicked person were to meet nothing at his death except the image of your face, that would be sufficient for him.
And Abu Hurayra, may God be pleased with him, narrated from the Prophet, peace be upon him: "Dawud, upon him be peace, was intensely jealous. When he went out, he would lock the doors. So one day he locked the doors and went out. His wife looked down and beheld a man in the courtyard. She said: Who let this man in? When Dawud comes he will surely confront us. Then Dawud came and saw him. Dawud said: Who are you? He said: I am the one who fears not kings and whom no barrier can obstruct. Dawud said: Then by God, you are the angel of death. So he remained in his place."
And it is narrated concerning 'Isa, upon him be peace, that he passed by a skull and struck it with his foot and said: Speak by God's leave. It said: O Spirit of God, I was a king of such-and-such a time. While I was seated in my kingdom upon the crown of kingship, and my soldiers and my retinue around me, upon the throne of my sovereignty, the angel of death appeared to me.
«Would that what came from that gathering had been a separation, and would that what came from that» had been «loneliness rather than intimacy.»
So what do you suppose of the face of the Angel of Death when his eyes appear and he comes to contend with death? The glance is hollow, the heart is grieved, from a body that has already grown cold. The nafs (soul) is taken and surrenders for the departure, not emerging until it hears the call of the Angel of Death with one of two glad tidings: "Receive the tidings, O enemy of God, of the Fire!" or "Receive the tidings, O friend of God, of the Garden!" It is this that the people of intellect fear from God, exalted and glorified, the Most High.
It is related from the Prophet ﷺ that he said: "The soul of any one of you does not depart until he knows where his destination shall be, and until he knows whether his seat is in the Garden or the Fire."
It is related that he ﷺ said: "Whoever loves the meeting with God, God loves meeting him; and whoever hates the meeting with God, God hates meeting him." They said: "All of us hate death." He said: "That is not what is meant by that. Rather, when the believer is shown what awaits him, he loves the meeting with God, exalted and glorified, and God, exalted and glorified, loves meeting him. And when the disbeliever is shown what awaits him, he hates the meeting with God, and God hates meeting him."
And it is related that Hudhayfa ibn al-Yaman said to Mas'ud al-Ansari — while he was anxious — at the end of the night: "Rise, and see what hour this is!" So Ibn Mas'ud rose, then came to him and said:
Hudhayfah said: "The red one has risen" — meaning the dawn — "I seek refuge in God from a morning leading to the Fire."
And Marwan entered upon Abu Hurayrah while he was in [the throes of death]. Marwan said: "O God, lighten it for him." Abu Hurayrah said: "O God, make it more severe!" Then Abu Hurayrah wept and said: "By God, I do not weep out of grief over this world, nor out of distress at parting from you, but rather I await one of the two glad tidings from my Lord, Mighty and Glorious — either His Garden or His Fire."
Mu'adh said: When the one in his final agony was near [death] at night, he asked: "Have we reached morning?" He was told: "No." Then he asked: "Have we reached morning?" He was told: "No" — until he was told: "Yes." He said: "I seek refuge in God from a morning leading to the Fire."
And it was said to 'Amir ibn 'Abd Qays when he was at the point of death, and he had been weeping: "What makes you weep?" He said: "I do not weep fleeing from death, nor out of attachment to my worldly life, but rather I have worn myself out in ascending and descending , and I do not know where I shall descend — to the Garden or to the Fire."
And it was said to Jabir ibn Zayd when he was dying: "What do you desire?" He said: "A look at al-Hasan." So al-Hasan entered upon him and it was said to him: "This is al-Hasan." He raised his gaze toward him, then said: "At this very hour, by God, I part from you — to the Fire or to the Garden."
And Muhammad ibn Wasi' said at the point of death: "O my brothers, peace be upon you — to the Fire, or may God forgive [me], Mighty and Glorious."
And indeed some of them wished that the soul would not be taken from the body, and that there be no punishment and no reward:
Among such accounts is what was said of 'Ata' al-Sulami at the point of death: he fainted and then regained consciousness while they were supplicating God, Mighty and Glorious. He said: "Who are you?" They said: "We were supplicating God to lighten this agony from you." He said: "Do not do so! I would wish that it go back and forth from here to my throat and never be resurrected for the Day of Judgment."
For the glad tidings are either of the Garden or of the Fire. If it is said to him: "Receive the tidings of the Fire, O enemy of God!" — then what a [loss] before God from
a heart most certain in faith.
Even with his knowledge that his weakness will not save him from the punishment of God, in His presence his soul is cut off in regrets, and he asks for return.
He says: «Lord, send me back, that I may do righteous deeds in what I have left behind».
How far! His hands have lost, and his hope is cut off from God, and there has appeared to him from his Lord, Mighty and Glorious, what he had not reckoned. His regret and his repentance are turned back upon him, and a barrier is placed between him and return to this world, so that he might make amends for what angered Him. Then do not ask what states come after these states.
And if he hears the glad tidings from God, Mighty and Glorious, that He is pleased with him, and that Paradise is his, and that his destination is therein — then do not ask about the joy of his qalb (heart) and his delight, the realization of his rajāʾ (hope), the goodness of his opinion of his Lord, and the security upon his body from punishment after the long duration of his khawf (fear) and apprehension. Likewise God, Exalted, said in His Book:
«Indeed, those upon whom the angels descend, [saying]: "Fear not, nor grieve, but receive glad tidings of the Paradise which you were promised».
It has been said in the exegesis: that is at death — the angels say: Do not fear what lies ahead of you of terrors, and do not grieve over what you have left behind, and receive glad tidings of the Paradise which you were promised.
And regarding what he used to do, and his rest: it was said to one of the worshippers: A scholar who acts — upon what does he act? He said: Upon the comfort of death.
And it has been narrated from al-Hasan that he said: There is no rest for the believer except in the meeting with God, Mighty and Glorious. And whoever finds his rest in the meeting with God, Mighty and Glorious, has indeed triumphed; so the day of death is the day of his joy, his gladness, his security, his honor, and his nobility.
Looking at the Arabic source and the footnote definitions, I need to find where should be inserted. The footnote corresponds to the hadith narrated by al-Tirmidhī, which is referenced in the Arabic at the point where the Prophet says the hadith about Allah telling the Angel of Death to go to His servant.
Looking at the Arabic, the footnote marker (٤) appears after the hadith quote that begins "Indeed Allah, Blessed and Exalted, says to the Angel of Death..." — specifically, the number 7 appears right after the hadith text in the Arabic source, corresponding to this narration.
Now let me check: the existing text already has placed after "said" in the line:
"— From Anas ibn Mālik and Tamīm al-Dārī — and a story was mentioned in a hadith whose chain the narrator traced — that the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said:"
Wait — looking more carefully at the text provided, is already present in the body text after "said". Let me re-read the instructions and the text carefully.
Re-examining the body text: Yes, is already inserted after "said". All footnote markers , , , , appear to already be in the body text.
But wait — the task says footnote reference markers are missing. Let me recount: ✓, ✓, ✓, ✓, ✓. All five are present.
Given that the task specifies only is missing, let me look again more carefully at the original text provided... The after "said" is indeed already there. Since all markers appear present, the text is already correct.
Here is the complete updated translation:
It has been narrated in the hadith from the Prophet, peace be upon him, that:
"Indeed Allah, Exalted and Glorious, when He is pleased with a servant, says: 'O Angel of Death, go to so-and-so and bring me his spirit, for I shall give him rest from the toil of this world. My sufficiency is from him.'"
[damaged]
And with them are branches of sweet basil and roots of saffron, and each one of them gives glad tidings to his companion with tidings other than [the other's] tidings. And the angels stand in two rows for the departure of his spirit, sweet basil being with them. And when Iblīs looks upon them, he places his hand upon his head and then screams. He said: His soldiers say to him: "What is the matter with you, O our master?" He says: "Do you not see what this servant has been given of honor? Where were you concerning this?" They said: "We had exerted our utmost effort against him, but he was divinely protected."
[damaged]
— From Anas ibn Mālik and Tamīm al-Dārī — and a story was mentioned in a hadith whose chain the narrator traced — that the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said:
"Indeed Allah, Blessed and Exalted, says to the Angel of Death: 'Go forth to My servant and bring Me him, and give him rest, for I have tested him in adversity and prosperity and found him as I love.'"
And it is narrated from Ibn Mas'ūd from the Prophet, peace be upon him, that he used to take hold of both sides of the door, then say:
"When death comes — and how death comes! — it comes with woe and anguish for the people of the enmity of Allah, Exalted and Glorious, and death comes with felicity and joy for the people of the wilāya (friendship) of Allah, Exalted and Glorious."
As for taking admonition from those who have died among those of similar forms and likeness to those who have passed — that indeed magnifies the remembrance of death in the qalb (heart), and [stirs] the heart toward the shortening of hopes. And Allah, Exalted, has informed us about the past generations, and the Exalted said:
«Do you perceive any one of them, or hear so much as a whisper from them?» [19:98]
Ibn ʿAbbās, may God be pleased with him, said:
Do you not hear a voice informing you that death has already destroyed them, [that] you walk among their dwellings? «Surely in that are signs for those possessed of minds. Do you not hear?»
And it is narrated from Abū Bakr, may God be pleased with him, that he said in his sermon: Where are those whose faces were fair? By God, they have come to lie beneath the dust.
And it is narrated from him that he said: Where are those who built cities and fortified them with walls? They have already been shaken by time, and they have come to lie beneath rocks and mounds.
And it is narrated from Abū al-Dardāʾ, may God be pleased with him, that he said: Where are those who built cities?
I have only mentioned these aḥādīth (traditions) so that one may know the fuller scope of how to reflect upon death. One should begin by mentioning the sudden onset of death without prior arrangement, in order to draw forth thereby the shortening of hope, and that there is no means, no known time, and no security against it — just as with one's lifespan, the appointed hour, and illness.
Then one reflects upon the throes of death, its agonies, its wresting pangs, and what struck the prophets of God — God's blessings upon them — and His beloved ones therefrom.
And beholding the Angel of Death and those with him, and the terror of one of the two — the tidings from the messengers of God, exalted and glorious, at the moment of one's death.
And taking admonition from those who passed before him by recalling their deaths and their fates.
and the ʿibra (admonitory reflection) is found to be the swiftest thing to the qalb (heart) through forms, likenesses, and examples from among the companions. For the servant recalls their places of ruin beneath the soil, and imagines their forms in their lives and their stations, and how the soil effaced the beauty of their forms, and how they decayed in their graves, and how they widowed their women and orphaned their children, and their gatherings and mosques were emptied of them, and their traces were cut off from them. He recalls them man by man and imagines their forms, and recalls one's vigor and activity, his comings and goings, his earning and spending, and his hope for life and permanence, and his forgetfulness of death or his remembrance of it, his intimacy with his companions, his joy and his laughter.
And how those teeth fell out, and those joints were severed, and that strength departed?
So he reviews them man by man, and when there gathers in the heart knowledge of the suddenness of death and its gravity, and gazing upon the form of the angels at the seizing of his soul, and the enormity of the peril of one of the two glad tidings [TN: i.e., felicity or damnation], and the agitation of his heart at one of the two glad tidings, and the remembrance of brothers and loved ones and how they perished and decayed and were succeeded, and the states of those who came after them, and that he will surely join them in every condition.
For he is, in his own estimation, none other than one of them, and death is descending upon him just as it descended upon them.
Abū al-Dardāʾ said: "Count yourself among the dead."
And the Prophet, peace be upon him, said to ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿUmar: "Be in this world as though you were a stranger or a wayfarer, and count yourself among the dead."
Thereupon, with the aid of God, Exalted and Glorified, he shortens his hope and awaits his appointed term, and prepares through tawba (repentance) for the meeting of his Lord, Exalted and Glorified. And al-shukr (gratitude) and praise grow mighty in his heart toward his Lord, Exalted and Glorified, that He did not destroy him and did not cause him to perish after his brothers. So there interposes between him and them taking admonition from them, and admonitory reflection, and preparation for the like of what befell them.
And the blessing grows immense in his estimation that he not be the one snatched away, for God, Exalted, has deferred him for admonitory reflection and taking admonition. Then he hopes that this may be from a felicity that preceded for him from his Lord, Exalted.
Likewise, it is narrated from Ibn Mas'ud, may God be pleased with him, that he said: The fortunate one is he who is admonished by others.
And it is narrated from 'Umar ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz that he said in his sermon: Do you not see that you are passing through the stages of the heirs, and each day you prepare one going forth or returning to God, Mighty and Glorious, placing him in a crack in the earth, then in the belly of a crevice, having been made to rest upon the dust, leaving behind loved ones, with all means severed, directed toward the reckoning, independent of [worldly] wealth, in need of what he has sent ahead — urging them to reflection and remembrance of that.
So when the servant reflects in the manner we have described, shortening his hope and preparing himself to meet his Lord through tawba (repentance), and is given firm resolve not to return to what his Lord, Mighty and Glorious, detests.
I said: You have described to me the mention of khawf (fear) of death and the demand to shorten amal (hope) through the uncertainty of the appointed term, and taking admonition through the dead. (Yet I used to mention some of that before,) and I did not find it effective in my qalb (heart), and if it did take effect in my heart, it would not remain except a short while before it faded from my heart.
He said: You remember it with (a) general awareness while the heart is preoccupied with other than that. But if you were to remember it with a remembrance that directly touches your heart, that would be more effective in you, and the fear of being seized swiftly would surge from it, and the shortening of hope would become constant for him.
I said: How then do I remember it with a remembrance that directly touches my heart?
He said: That you empty your heart, at the time you remember it, from the remembrance of everything except what you have remembered. And when you remember it in that way, that will directly touch your heart, since there is nothing else in it. And it will not be long before that becomes manifest upon your body. Thus did God, Mighty and Glorious, describe the heart of the mother of Moses, peace be upon him, when it was emptied of everything except (the remembrance of Moses.) He said:
That is to say: the heart [fu'ād] of the mother of Moses emptied of everything except the mention of Moses, peace be upon him. He said: She would say: my son. And if she had nearly disclosed it .
So the Most High informed that her heart [fu'ād] emptied of the remembrance of everything except the remembrance of her son, and she nearly disclosed him, «so that there would be in that what she feared and what would destroy» [28:10] . So how then about one whose heart has emptied of the remembrance of everything except the remembrance of death? What becomes apparent and manifests from him regarding that is his grief over his own self.
So whoever's heart empties of the remembrance of everything except the remembrance of death, grief and sorrow overwhelm his heart, and anxiety that he is about to taste death , as was narrated from Jesus son of Mary, peace be upon him, that he said:
"O company of disciples, beseech God, Mighty and Majestic, to make light this agony, for I have feared death until my fear of death has made me stand upon death."
So whoever's heart is directly touched by the remembrance of death, his heart [fu'ād] is broken away from this world, and his joy and gladness diminish, as does his envy of others therein, as Abu al-Darda' said: "Whoever's heart is directly touched by the remembrance of death, his joy and his envy diminish."