Explanation of the hadith of Umm al-Fadl (may Allah be pleased with her) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) entered upon al-Abbas while he was complaining of pain, so he wished for death, and he said: O al-Abbas, the uncle of the Messenger

The Shaykh : Today’s hadith begins with the forty-seventh hadith from my copy, and it is an authentic hadith. It is the statement: And from Umm al-Fadl (may Allah be pleased with her): that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) entered upon al-Abbas while he was complaining of pain, so he wished for death, and he said: O al-Abbas, the uncle of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) . It was narrated by Ahmad and al-Hakim, and the wording is his, and it is more complete, and he said it is authentic according to their conditions.
This hadith is among those hadiths some of which were mentioned in the previous lesson, and they encourage the Muslim not to wish for death due to a calamity or harm that has befallen him, but rather to wish from Allah (Mighty and Majestic) for a good and blessed life, as has been mentioned in many hadiths, the most comprehensive of which is His statement (peace and blessings be upon him) . If a person’s life is long and he is a Muslim doing righteous deeds, then it is a loss for him to wish from Allah (Mighty and Majestic) to hasten his death. Therefore, when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) heard from his uncle al-Abbas, who was in a state of severe and painful illness, it seems that this caused him to lose his patience and wish for death from his Lord (Blessed and Exalted is He), so the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) admonished him with his statement . If you wish for death, it is in one of two states: either you are doing good, in which case your good deeds will end with the end of your life, so wishing for death is not in your interest. Do not wish for death; if you are doing good, you will increase in good, and that is better for you. This is clear. And conversely, if you are doing evil, then if you are delayed, you will seek forgiveness, meaning you seek pardon from Allah (Mighty and Majestic) by repenting to Him and making up for the righteous deeds you missed. It is also better for you to be delayed and seek forgiveness for your evil, repent from it, turn to Allah, and seek His pleasure. So, it is better for the Muslim to live a long life, not to hasten matters, and not to ask for death, even if he is doing evil in his deeds, because he finds an opportunity to make up in the remaining life what he missed of sincere and prompt repentance.
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The second hadith, which is similar in meaning to the first but with other benefits, where he said: and it is the forty-ninth hadith, the hadith of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said . It was narrated by al-Bukhari, and the wording is his, and by Muslim.
And in a narration by Muslim .
The first wording, which is that of Imam al-Bukhari, matches exactly the hadith of Umm al-Fadl (may Allah be pleased with her).
Here is an observation from the Arabic perspective: in the first hadith it is a direct prohibition addressed to his uncle al-Abbas, whereas the second hadith says , which is a negation meaning prohibition, and the wording is different . The wording differs between being a prohibition and being a negation, so the negation means prohibition. This is the narration of al-Bukhari , whereas the wording of Imam Muslim is . Here, in the wording of Muslim, there is an additional word which is an alert to a matter in which many people fall, because wishing for death is less than a person invoking death upon himself. So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) here prohibits two things: wishing for death, and what is more than that, which is a person invoking destruction upon himself. Undoubtedly, this prohibition includes not invoking death upon oneself, but also invoking death upon those one loves, such as one’s children, spouse, and family. It is also not permissible for a Muslim to invoke not only death upon himself, but also upon those he approves of as a companion, spouse, or child, because among the principles of Islam is His statement (peace and blessings be upon him) . So what your Lord or your Prophet has prohibited you from, you must also not approve of it for others who share your faith, especially if there is affection or a family tie between you and them.
. We should note that there is a custom among some women, as if it is a habit among them, where they invoke death upon themselves for the most trivial reasons. This is something that a Muslim should not accustom his tongue to; rather, he should refine it and stay away from everything that contradicts the Shari'ah, even if the contradiction is verbal. One might say that the one who invokes death upon himself or another is just saying a word and does not mean what he says. If we assume that is the case, it does not save him from falling into contradicting the prohibition of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in his statement .
Here is an observation where the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said . It indicates something that some people may not be aware of its reality, which is that a person may fall ill with the illness of death and feel it, developing a special sensitivity. He develops a special sensitivity, and there are many, many factors by which a man who is approached by the illness of death feels that it is the illness of death. Therefore, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said . But if it comes to him and he knows that, it is better for him to rest from the narrowness or severity surrounding death, and people differ greatly in this.
I want to say that this is not from knowing the unseen, because some of our Salafi brothers who want to adhere strictly to the texts of the Book and the Sunnah, and for that reason fight everything that contradicts the Book and the Sunnah, claiming it is a karamah (a miracle granted to a righteous person) or revelation or the like, should know that there are specific matters that one should not rush to deny, because they are not from the category of knowing the unseen, for only Allah knows the unseen. Rather, it is from the category of suspicion, from the category of inspiration, and the door of inspiration has not been closed and will not be closed until the Hour stands. For that reason, it was narrated from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in Sahih al-Bukhari that he said: , meaning inspired ones. There is no confusion between inspiration and revelation, except that revelation is protected from error, whereas inspiration is not protected from error. A person may be inspired with something, then it becomes clear to him that he was mistaken, and reality and events confirm... or verify it. This is from the difference between revelation and inspiration in two aspects. The first aspect is that revelation is specific to the prophets and messengers, and they are protected from error. As for inspiration, it also relates to the righteous among the believers, and it differs from revelation in that it may contain error. Another difference is that the one to whom revelation is revealed from the prophets and messengers, when he speaks with the revelation, speaks with certainty and conviction, because Satan does not approach such a person chosen by Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He). As for the one who is inspired, he does not have such certainty; it may predominate in his opinion that it is as he was inspired, but he does not have that protection given to the prophets and messengers (peace and blessings be upon them). So if the illness of death befalls a person, wishing for death is permissible. In fact, there is another state that is an exception to this prohibition in these hadiths . That state is when trials multiply, as came in the long hadith of Mu'adh ibn Jabal, where he said at the end . So here it is also permissible
This is the supplication for deliverance from the evil of trials. It is noted that the prohibition of wishing for death is due to the pressure one has fallen into from poverty, illness, or the like, which does not involve a trial in his religion or his creed, but rather exposes him to some troubles and difficulties. Here, the Muslim should receive that with beautiful patience so that he is rewarded by Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He). It has come in the authentic hadiths that no Muslim is struck by a calamity, from a thorn or greater, except that Allah writes for him thereby a good deed, removes from him thereby a bad deed, and raises for him thereby a degree.
So this person should not invoke destruction upon himself, but rather he should be patient. He may be doing good and increase in good, as you heard, or he may be doing evil, and there will be an opportunity for him to return to Allah (Mighty and Majestic) and seek His pleasure by repenting to Him and seeking His forgiveness.
In the narration of Muslim, is an explanatory clause . Therefore, this clause explains the reason for the prohibition by the Messenger (peace be upon him) of his community from invoking death upon themselves or wishing for it.
The last hadith in this chapter is also authentic. It states: And from Anas, he said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: . It was narrated by al-Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Dawud, al-Tirmidhi, and al-Nasa'i.
In this hadith of Anas, there is this benefit, this addition, and it contains a new benefit not mentioned in the previous hadiths, which is his saying (peace and blessings be upon him): . This means that his boredom and weariness of life, for one reason or more, reached the point where he wished for death.
Therefore, let him adjust his position in wishing and say: "O Allah, keep me alive as long as life is better for me, and cause me to die when death is better for me." In this is the submission of the Muslim and his satisfaction with the divine decree and destiny of Allah for him, for he does not know what good or evil has been decreed for him. He does not know whether hastening his death is better for him or delaying it. So he turns to Allah (Mighty and Majestic), the All-Knowing of everything and of the outcomes of affairs, and he addresses his Lord (Mighty and Majestic) humbly, supplicating to Him by saying: Let him say, "O Allah, keep me alive as long as life is better for me, and cause me to die when death is better for me."
So we conclude our lesson from this book with this same supplication with which the author concluded these principles. We say: Considering that we live in a time of trial, indeed trials that have spread and overwhelmed, we say: "O Allah, keep us alive as long as life is better for us, and cause us to die when death is better for us."
And our appointment, if Allah wills, is in the next lesson: Encouraging fear and its virtue, and praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds.