What is to be said when visiting a dying person (1/2)

The speech here will be about what is to be said when visiting a dying person and what should a dying person say when approaching death.

The most important thing is to invoke Allah for him and saying nice words. It was reported in Sahih Muslim on the authority of Um Salamah, may Allah be pleased with her, who narrated that the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said: «When you visit a sick or a dying person, you should utter good words because the angels say: Amen at what you are saying.»

A dying person should be taught the phrase of monotheism "La Ilaha Illa Allah (i.e., No god but Allah)" in order to be the last of his words in the world. Abu Sa`id Al Khudry, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated that the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said: «Exhort your dying people to recite: La ilaha illallah (There is no true god except Allah).» (Sahih Muslim No. 916). The meaning of «your dying people» is those who are about to die not the dead.

Mu`adh ibn Jabal, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated that the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said: «He whose last words are: La ilaha illallah (There is no true god except Allah) shall enter Paradise.» (1).

`Uthman ibn `Affan, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated: The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said: «He who dies while knowing (fully well) that there is none worthy of worship (in truth) but Allah shall enter Paradise.» (Sahih Muslim No. 26).

It was authentically reported in Musnad Imam Ahmad from the Hadith of Anas, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, visited a man from the Ansar (The Helpers) and said: «O my maternal uncle, say: La Ilaha Illa Allah (There is no god but Allah).» The man said: Did you say: O my maternal or paternal uncle? He (the Messenger) said: «Maternal uncle.» He asked: Is it better for me to say: La Ilaha Illa Allah? The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, replied in affirmative: «Yes.» (2).

Of the nice narrations reported in this regard is the story of Imam Abu Zur`ah Ar-Razy, may Allah bestow mercy on his soul, when he was dying which is an authentic story reported by many scholars from Abu `Abdullah Muhammad ibn Muslim Al Bady who said: I came with Abu Hatim Muhammad ibn Idris to Abu Zur`ah `Ubaydullah ibn `Abdul-Karim Ar-Razy when he was dying. I said to Abu Hatim: Come so as to exhort him to pronounce the testimony of faith. Abu Hatim said: I feel shy to exhort Abu Zur`ah to pronounce it, but come to study aloud the Hadith perhaps when he hears the Hadith, he pronounces it. Muhammad ibn Muslim said: I started to say: Abu `Asim ibn An-Nabil told us that `Abdul-Hamid ibn Ja`far said: Then I forgot the Hadith as if I am hearing it for the first time. Thereupon, Abu Hatim started to say: Muhammad ibn Bashshar told us that Abu `Asim An-Nabil told him that `Abdul-Hamid ibn Ja`far told him: Then he forgot the Hadith as if he had not heard or read it before. Thereupon, while Abu Zur`ah was dying, he started to say: Muhammad ibn Bashshar told us that Abu `Asim An-Nabil told him that `Abdul-Hamid ibn Ja`far told him that Salih ibn Abu Gharib told him that Kathir ibn Murrah narrated from Mu`adh ibn Jabal that he heard the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, saying: «He who dies while knowing (fully well) that there is none worthy of worship (in truth) but Allah shall enter Paradise.» Then his soul got out with the last letter without saying «shall enter Paradise.» (3).

Of the great invocations which a dying person should say is asking Allah, Glory be to Him, for forgiveness and mercy. It was reported in Sahih Al Bukhari and Sahih Muslim on the authority of `A'ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, that she heard the Prophet, peace be upon him, before his death while he was leaning his back saying: «Allahumma-ghfir li, warhamni, wa alhiqni bir Rafiqil-A`la (O Allah, forgive me, bestow Your Mercy on me and let me join the exalted companions.» (4).

It is desirable to remind the dying person of good thinking of his Lord. Jabir ibn `Abdullah, may Allah be pleased with them, narrated I heard the Prophet, peace be upon him, three days before his death saying: «None of you should approach death but he is hoping good from Allah.» (Sahih Muslim No. 2877).

Ibn Abu Ad-Dunya reported in his book (Husnu Azh-Zhan Billah) on the authority of Ibrahim An-Nakh`y who said: People liked to remind righteous people of their righteous actions so that they would have good thinking of Allah, Glory be to Him. (Husnu Azh-Zhan billah: No. 30).

There was no authentic Hadith reported about the permissibility of reciting some portions of the Qur'an at the dying person. As for the Hadith of "Recite Surat Ya Sin at your dying people," it is a weak Hadith and was not reported from the Prophet, peace be upon him, as many scholars said. [See: Irwa' Al Ghalil 3 / 155].

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(1) (Sunan Abu Dawud No. 1631, and Al Albany (may Allah bestow mercy on his soul) graded it as authentic in Sahih Al Jami` No. 6479).

(2) (Musnad Imam Ahmad (3/154), and Al Haytamy said in Majma` Az-Zawa'id (5/305): Its narrators are the narrators of authentic Hadiths).

(3) (Reported by Ibn Al Banna in the virtue of At-Tahlil [saying: La Ilaha Illa Allah] and its great reward (P. 81-85), see the abridged story with the narration of `Abdur-Rahman ibn Abu Hatim in his book Al Jarh wat-Ta`dil (1/ 345 - 346)).

(4) (Sahih Al Bukhari No. 4440 and Sahih Muslim No. 2444).