Take A Moment to Think...

All right, so I don't mean to scare anyone off or anything by talking about death, but I just though it was really interesting how the following are all signs of how the believer would die. It really makes you wish that whenever your time comes, your death would happen in one of these ways:

1. Saying the Shahadah (testimony of faith that there is no deity but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah) upon death, for Al-Hakim and others stated that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Whose last words were, ‘There is no deity but Allah,’ will be admitted to Paradise.”

2. Dying while having sweat on the forehead, for Buraydah ibn Al-Husayb narrated that Allah’s Messenger said, “The believer dies while having sweat on his forehead.” (Ahmad and At-Tirmidhi).

3. Dying on a Friday night or day, for Allah’s Messenger said, “There is not a Muslim who dies on Friday, by day or night, but Allah safeguards him against the trial of the grave.”

4. Being martyred while fighting in the cause of Allah, dying in the way of Allah, dying of plague, dying of an abdominal disease, and dying of drowning. This is because Imam Muslim states in his authentic Book of Hadith: “Allah’s Messenger asked, “Whom do you consider a martyr?” They (the Companions) replied, “O Messenger of Allah! The one who is slain in the cause of Allah is a martyr.” He said, “(If so,) then the martyrs of my nation are few.” They asked, “O Messenger of Allah! Who are they (the martyrs) then?” He said, “The one who is slain in the cause of Allah is a martyr, the one who dies in the way of Allah is a martyr, the one who dies of plague is a martyr, the one who dies of an abdominal disease is a martyr, and the one who dies of drowning is a martyr.” In addition, the one buried alive is a martyr, for Al-Bukhari and Muslim stated that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Five are martyrs: The one who dies of plague, the one who dies of an abdominal disease, the one who dies of drowning, the one who is buried alive and dies, and the one who is killed in the cause of Allah.”

5. The woman who dies in her puerperium [the period after childbirth] because of her baby or even died while being pregnant because of her baby is a martyr, for Imam Ahmad and other compilers of Hadith narrated with authentic chains of transmission that `Ubadah ibn As-Samit reported the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) as saying about martyrs, “The woman who is killed by (the delivery of) her baby is a martyr; her baby will drag her with the umbilical cord to Paradise.”

6. Being killed by fire or as a result of a pleural tumor is a martyr, as stated by the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) while listing the kinds of martyrs.

7. Dying of tuberculosis, as the Prophet stated that whoever dies of tuberculosis is a martyr.

8. There are other kinds of martyrs indicated in the following hadith narrated by Abu Dawud, An-Nasa’i and other compilers of Hadith, in which the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “He who is killed while defending his property is a martyr; he who is killed while defending his religion is a martyr; and he who is killed while defending his blood is a martyr.”

9. Dying while performing sentry duty in the cause of Allah, for Imam Muslim stated that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Keeping watch for a day and a night (in the cause of Allah) is better (in reward) than fasting for a whole month and standing in Prayer every night. If a person dies (while performing such a sentry duty), his (meritorious) activity will continue, he will go on receiving his reward for it perpetually, and will be saved from the torture of the grave.” The men and women of security forces and land, sea, or air border patrols must be the happiest with this hadith, regardless of their positions, provided they seek the divine reward through doing these national duties.

10. Dying while performing a righteous deed, for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “He who dies upon saying ‘There is no deity but Allah,’ seeking Allah’s pleasure, will be admitted to Paradise; and he who dies upon performing a deed of charity will be admitted to Paradise” (Ahmad and other compilers of Hadith).

This is not intended to be a gloomy post, but just a reminder to make you think. People are always avoiding the topic of death because they don't like thinking about death, but once in a while, it's important to remind yourself that your time too will come. It really does open your eyes...

btw, i don't know why the colors are kind of off...just ignore them =)

Ma'Assalama,
Hena