And prayers and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions.

The reader: In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions.
He (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "Chapter on what one says when he has lost hope in his life. Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) said: I heard the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) leaning against me saying:

O Allah, forgive me and have mercy on me and join me with the highest company.

اللهم اغفر لي وارحمني وألحقني بالرفيق الأعلى

Muwatta Malik 16:47

Agreed upon. And from her (may Allah be pleased with her) she said: I saw the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) while he was dying, with a cup containing water beside him. He would put his hand in the cup, then wipe his face with the water, and then say:

O Allah! Help me with the throes of death and the agony of death.

اللهم أعني على غمرات الموت أو سكرات الموت

Jami` at-Tirmidhi 978Hasan (Darussalam)

Al-Tirmidhi narrated it".

The Shaykh : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
The author (may Allah have mercy on him), al-Nawawi, said in his book *Riyad al-Salihin*: "Chapter on what one says when he has lost hope in his life". Despair of life is not known except when death is present. Before that, no matter how severe the illness, a person does not despair. How many people have had their illness become so severe that they gathered their family to prepare the water for their washing, their shroud, and their wrapping, and then Allah healed them and granted them well-being. And how many people have been on the verge of death in a desert, in a barren land, with no water or food, and then Allah the Exalted and Majestic saved them. Among such things is what the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: He lost it, meaning he lost his mount, and on it was his food and drink. He searched for it but did not find it, so he lay down under a tree waiting for death, having lost hope, and nothing remained for him but to die. While he was thus, he saw the rein of his camel hanging on the tree. Allah restored his lost property to him until it came to this tree to graze, and its rein, meaning its bridle, was tied to this tree. So the man took hold of its rein and said: But true despair is when a person faces death and is in the throes of dying. At that time, it is not possible for him to live. Allah the Exalted said: "Reached" means the soul has reached the throat, meaning the windpipe. The angels are closer to the person than his throat when he is dying. It is not possible. Can anyone return the soul after it has reached the throat? Absolutely not, it is absolutely impossible. Therefore, a person loses hope in his life when he witnesses death. So what does he say? Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) said: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to say: This is what the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said at his death, and he is the one for whom Allah had forgiven what had passed of his sin and what remained. He said: Who are the highest company? They are the prophets, the truthful ones, the martyrs, and the righteous, and excellent is that company. This is how the Messenger used to say at his death. And there was with him (peace and blessings be upon him) a vessel containing water, and he was given of the severity of death and its pangs what was not given to anyone, meaning the most severe person in the pangs of death is the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), because he (peace and blessings be upon him) would be ill with the illness of two men. The illness was intensified for him in the throes of death; it was intensified for him (may Allah's prayers and peace be upon him). Why? In order for him to attain the highest degrees of patience, because patience requires something for a person to be patient over. So Allah the Exalted and Majestic chose for His Prophet (may Allah's prayers and peace be upon him) that his illness be severe and his dying be severe so that he would attain the highest degrees of the patient ones (may Allah's prayers and peace be upon him). So he (peace and blessings be upon him) would put his hand in the vessel containing water and wipe his face with it and say: Or he said: Help me with it so that I can bear it, be patient, and reflect, and so that my mind does not waver until I know what I am saying, and until my end is sealed with the testimony that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. Because this is a great station, a station of terror and severity. If Allah the Exalted and Majestic does not help you, make you patient, and make you steadfast, you are in danger. For this reason, he used to say: And in other narrations he says: And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) spoke the truth: We ask Allah the Exalted to help us and you with the overwhelming terrors of death, and to make our ending and yours good, and to cause us to die upon faith and the oneness of Allah, and to cause us to die while He is pleased with us. Indeed, He is capable of all things.