Your
last moments are the most important
Death: 1st Station in Akhirah
When Uthman ibn Affan (RA) would see the burial process he would weep, so someone asked: 'When Jannah and Hell are brought up, we don't see it affecting you as much as when you see the burial in front of you.' So Uthman replied: 'This is the first station of akhirah, if it goes well
then everything after it will be easy, if it does not, then everything after it will be worse.'
The most important moments in your life are your last moments: "Your deeds are according to your endings."
[Hadith] So what happens to you in the end are the most important stages of your life.
One Bedouin made a very interesting duaa: Ya Allah! Make the best of my deeds my last deeds, and make the best of my life my last moments, and make the best day of my life, the day I meet You.
The evil endings
We should ask Allah to keep us away from an evil ending. Some people seem pious their whole life, but at the end everything just goes wrong.
- Hidden defects: Even though
a person seems to be righteous, somewhere deep in their heart, there is a hidden defect.
"One of you would do the deeds of the people of Jannah all the way, until you are one foot away from death, and then you would commit the act of Hell fire and you would die and end up going to Hell fire." [Hadith]
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala would not make someone completely righteous, be pious their whole life and then make them sin and then go to Hell fire. There must have been something wrong from the
beginning.
During end of life, Shaytaan will use his ultimate and most serious tricks as he knows it's the end, and the pressures will show defect, it will be too late to rectify it, an example of that is Iblees – hidden defect of kibr (arrogance). Take care of hidden defects of heart.
The Prophet(SAW) told "If someone has a single grain of arrogance in their hearts, they will not enter
Jannah."
The Prophet(SAW) also used to supplicate "O One who changes hearts, make our hearts steadfast on
Islaam."
- Insistence of a sin
A person knows that a sin is wrong but still does not give it up.
At the stage of transition between this world and next (sakaratul mawt),,
when the soul is getting ready to leave, a person will be between consciousness and
unconsciousness. 'The soul is in the knowledge of Allah'. Sleep is a form of death, immediate thought we have as soon as we wake up is what we had done the night before (so if you had listened to music, the tune is on your mind), sakaratul mawt is similar. The thing that concerns you the most is the thing that comes up in your mind when you are dying, so insisting on a sin, may cause that sin to come up in your mind during sakaratul mawt.
Imam Ad-Dahabi (wrote hadiths and books) said: Someone who was addicted to chess, was passing away, so they told him to say 'la ila ha ill Allah', he kept on saying 'checkmate, checkmate,' until he dies.
Someone else who was addicted to alcohol, told to say 'la ila ha ill Allah', he says 'bring me a drink', he wanted to drink alcohol. Last statement before he dies, wanted to drink alcohol.
We visited a man who was passing away, speakers were on very loud, playing the songs of an Arab female singer, so loud, we asked the family why don't you put on some Qur'aan, they said they did, but he kept on insisting to put on this singer. They could not change the music until he passed away.
Imam Hanbal rahim Allah said: According to the way you live, that is how you will die.
3. Shaytaan pulling your feet
Ibn Kathir mentions about three men from Bani Isra'il to go on Jihad, first Ummah to do Jihad, previously Allah would destroy the enemy by a miracle, like the people of Thamud, 'Ad (tornado), Lut (earth lifted uo by angels, turned upside down and then each of them was hit by a missile). The beginning of age if Jihad was Bani Isra'il.
Three men were commanded to go out, they had a sister, there was no one to look after her, so they thought that they should leave her with the Abid, as he was the most trusted person, they took their sister to the Abid, he was someone who lived in a monastery and devoted to worship, he said 'awuthubillah' and to get away, he was unmarried and at that time Shaytaan came to him and said she may be left with someone untrustworthy and that he should take care of her. He told them that they should leave her in a separate house to where he was staying. He would take food, leave it at his door step and then leave, he never met her. Days passed by and Shaytaan said, somebody may see her while she is walking out, so rather than her to come out and collect food, you can leave it at her doorstep, [so you can see how Shaytaan came and he listened, Shaytaan is making it seem that he is doing good], so after a while the Abid started to take food to the girl, and then he would leave it inside the room, and then he would keep her company, first from behind the door, the relationship builds and it is easier for Shaytaan to lead him, he says you can't talk to her from outside, people will see you, you should go inside, he goes in, they get closer and closer, eventually he commits zina, she becomes mother and has a boy, now when the brothers come back and see that she has a child the Abid will be in big trouble, only way to put an end to this issue is to kill the baby. Then Shaytaan says, do you think this woman will keep secret after you killed her own child? He killed her and the baby and buried them inside the house. When the brothers returned they asked about where their sister was, he said she had passed away and pointed to a fake grave. Shaytaan comes to the brothers in a dream and told the brothers that the man is lying and proof is that she is buried in another location, under a rock inside the house. In the morning the brothers spoke to each other and they all found out that they saw the same dream, there must be some truth in it. So they went and uncovered the grave that the Abid had told them about and found nothing, so they went to the house and found a rock, they dug beneath it, they found her there along with the child. They went to the Abid and made him disclose what happened, he told then exactly what had happened, so they took him to the king and were taking him to be executed, while he was being dragged to his execution spot, Shaytaan came to him and said I was the one in communication to you since the whole thin started, I am Shyataan, I can get you out of this trouble if you want, I'm the one who put you in this trouble in the first place, I can get you out of it. The man said what shall I do? Shaytaan said, make sujood to me, and then man did, as soon as he did that, Shaytaan ran away and the man was executed.
Who could imagine that the Abid would make sujood to Shaytaan? Or commit zina? Or murder?
Shaytaan's classic is a step by step method of misleading. Shaytaan tries to get to you, slowly but slowly approach, he tries to get kufr, if he can't he will settle with bid'ah, if he can't do that he will make you sin, if he can't do that he will make you do minor sins, if he can't do that he will make you waste your time on things that are mubah as long as they will take you away from things that are wajig, encouraging you to do good deeds tha ar less in value, Shaytaan will never give up! Continuous battle until you die.
Learn: even if you see something to be an insignificant sin be careful, as it may be a trap, Shaytaan may just be trying to trap you and it may just be the beginning of it anf not the end, just stay away from it.
The Prophet sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam said when Umar ibn al Khattab radi Allahu anhu took one step, Shyataan would take a step in the other direction, he would fear Umar.
Shaytaan does not blatantly tell you, he has had experience of doing this for 10's of 1000's of years. Very skilled, from Adam alayhi salaam to present day. 'Eat from that tree and it will give you eternal life.' He will approach you via your desires.
4. Weak Imaan
Another reason for an evil ending: weak imaan and being unprepared, train well to do well so that when you approach death you have prepared for it. You are ready for meeting your Lord.
Hadith Qudsi: If My servant likes to meet Me, I like to meet him; and if he dislikes to meet Me, I dislike to meet him. [Bukhari]
Sulayman ibn Abdul Malik (Ummayad Khalifah): He went to Makkah/Madinah and asked if tabi'een were around, so one of the scholars, Abu Hazm, came to him and had a meeting. Sulayman asked: "How comes we fear death?" Abu Hazm said: "Because you have built your dunya and you have destroyed your akhirah, so you hate going from what is constructed to what is destroyed."
These four above points are reasons for an evil ending.
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