In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
The life of the salaf was defined by the harmony between their words and their deeds.
Consider the state of the salaf at the time of death.
The importance of remembering death and preparing for it.
Safiyyah bint ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) related:
A woman once complained to ‘A’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) about the hardness of her heart.
She replied, "Increase your remembrance of death."
"Your heart will soften."
She did so, and her heart softened.
She then came to thank ‘A’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her).
‘Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) said:
"Whoever anticipates death hastens to perform good deeds."
Abu al-Darda’ (may Allah be pleased with him) said:
"No servant increases his remembrance of death
except that his joy diminishes and his envy decreases."
Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) said:
"When a person dies,
the angels ask,
'What has he sent ahead?'
while the people ask,
'What has he left behind?'"
It is narrated that Sa‘id ibn Jubayr (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
"If the remembrance of death were to depart from my heart,
I would fear that my heart would become corrupted."
Mutarrif ibn al-Shikhkhir (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
"Indeed, this death has spoiled the comforts of those who live in luxury.
Therefore, seek a comfort in which there is no death."
Malik ibn Dinar (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
"How strange it is for one who knows that death is his destination,
and the grave is his final resting place,
that his eyes find comfort in this world,
or that he finds life in it pleasant."
Then he wept.
A poet said:
"We go and come for our needs,
and the needs of the living never cease.
A person’s needs die with him,
yet one need remains for him as long as he remains."
Ma‘ruf al-Karkhi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
"I saw Ahmad ibn Hanbal,
and upon him were the signs of devotion.
I heard him speak words that encompassed all goodness.
I heard him say:
'Whoever knows that when he dies he will be forgotten,
he will do good and will not do evil.'"
What has been said regarding death and its awe.
‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) was asked:
"Regarding two souls whose death occurred at the exact same moment,
one in the East and one in the West,
how is the Angel of Death capable of reaching both?"
He said:
"What is the power of the Angel of Death over the people of the East and the West,
and the darkness, the air, and the seas,
but like a man with a table before him,
taking from whichever part of it he wishes?"
Ka‘b al-Ahbar (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
"Whoever truly knows death,
the calamities and sorrows of this world become insignificant to him."
‘Umar ibn ‘Abd al-‘Aziz (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
"This death has disturbed the people of the world in the midst of their worldly splendor and blossoms.
While they are in the midst of it and occupied by it,
a herald of death comes to them,
and snatches them away from what they are in.
Woe and regret, then, to those who did not fear death
and remember it during times of ease,
so that they might send forth good for themselves to find after they depart from this world and its people."
Then ‘Umar wept until he was overcome by his tears,
and he stood up.
‘Abd al-‘Aziz Abu Marhum said:
"We entered with al-Hasan al-Basri (may Allah have mercy on him) upon a sick man to visit him.
When he sat beside him, he said:
'How do you find yourself?'
He replied, 'I find that I crave food,
but I cannot swallow it.
I crave drink,
but I cannot gulp it down.'
He said:
Al-Hasan wept,
and said:
'This abode was founded upon sickness and disease.
Even if you were to recover from these ailments and be cured of these diseases,
would you be able to escape death?'"
He said:
The house erupted in weeping.
He (may Allah have mercy on him) also said:
"The healthy among you is merely awaiting an illness to strike him,
the youth among you is awaiting old age to consume him,
and the elder among you is awaiting death to fell him.
Are these not the ends you hear about?
Is it not tomorrow that the soul will depart the body?
Tomorrow, the one who is stripped of his family and wealth,
tomorrow, the one wrapped in his shroud,
tomorrow, the one left in his pit,
tomorrow, the one forgotten by the hearts of his loved ones,
those for whom his efforts and sorrows were intended.
O son of Adam,
death has descended upon you.
You see no one arriving,
you do not come as a visitor,
you do not speak to a relative,
and you do not recognize a loved one.
You are called, but you do not answer;
you hear, but you do not comprehend.
Your homes have been ruined,
your children have been orphaned.
Your gaze has become fixed,
and your soul has departed.
Your teeth have clenched,
your knees have weakened,
and your children have become strangers
in the care of others."
He (may Allah have mercy on him) also said:
"Death has disgraced this world,
leaving no joy in it
for any person of intellect."
Abu Bakr ibn Abi al-Dunya said:
"I found a note at a funeral
on which was written:
'You have given your concern to the world,
and have forgotten the swift arrival of death.
By Allah,
there shall descend upon you
a dark day of death
that will make you forget the long enjoyment of worldly blessings.
You shall surely regret it,
but regret will not avail you.
Beware, beware!
Beware before the suddenness of death
and dwelling among the people of the graves.'"
A man said to one of the salaf:
"Advise me."
He replied, "The army of death is waiting for you."
Zayd ibn Aslam
(may Allah have mercy on him) said:
"If there remains for a believer
any of his sins
that he has not reached through his deeds,
death is made severe for him
so that he may reach his rank in Paradise
through the agonies and hardships of death.
And if a disbeliever
has performed any good deed
in this world,
death is made easy for him
so that he may complete the reward for his good deed in this world,
then he proceeds to the Fire."
Ibrahim ibn al-Ash‘ath
said:
"When we would go out with al-Fudayl
(may Allah have mercy on him) to a funeral,
he would not cease to preach, remind, and weep,
as if he were bidding farewell to his companions,
about to depart for the Hereafter.
When he reached the graveyard,
he would sit,
and it was as if he were sitting among the dead,
such was his grief and weeping,
until he stood up,
as if he had returned from the Hereafter
to tell us about it."
What has been said regarding funerals, graves,
and the moment of death.
Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) said:
"When the disbeliever is placed in his grave,
he sees his seat in the Fire.
He says,
'My Lord, send me back,
that I may repent and do righteous deeds.'
It is said to him,
'You were given a lifespan long enough to have done so.'
Then his grave constricts upon him,
and he is like one being bitten,
sleeping and waking in terror,
while the vermin of the earth swarm toward him,
its snakes and its scorpions."
Ibrahim al-Nakha‘i (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
"They used to attend a funeral
and remain sorrowful for days,
and that was evident in them."
He said:
"But you, in your funerals, talk
about the affairs of your worldly life."
Al-A‘mash (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
"We used to attend a funeral
and we would not know whom to console
because of the grief of the people."
He (may Allah have mercy on him) also said:
"I reached the people,
and when there was a funeral among them,
they would come and sit in silence,
not speaking.
When the body was placed down,
I would look at every man,
with his arms folded across his chest,
as if it were his father, his brother, or his son."
Salam ibn Abi Muti‘
(may Allah have mercy on him) said:
"I attended a funeral with Qatadah (may Allah have mercy on him),
He did not speak until he turned away.
I witnessed al-Hariri, may Allah have mercy on him, at a funeral.
He did not cease weeping until the people dispersed.
I witnessed Muhammad Ibn Wasi', may Allah have mercy on him, at a funeral.
He remained with his head covered and bowed.
He would not look to the right or to the left.
It was said to Sufyan Ibn 'Uyaynah, may Allah have mercy on him:
"Why is it recommended to lower one's voice at funerals?"
He said:
"They likened it to the gathering before Allah."
Have you not heard Him say:
﴾And voices have been humbled before the Most Merciful﴿.
“On that day they follow the summoner who deceiveth not, and voices are hushed for the Beneficent, and thou hearest but a faint murmur.” (20:108)
Al-Hasan, may Allah have mercy on him, was at a funeral.
He saw a man speaking to his companion and smiling at him.
He said:
"Subhan Allah!
Is there not enough in what is before you to occupy you from smiling?"
Al-Hasan said:
"They used to hold death in such reverence that no voice would be raised in its presence."
Muhammad Ibn Ka'b al-Qurazi said:
"I came to 'Umar Ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz, may Allah have mercy on him, while he was Caliph.
When I entered upon him, I stared at him.
He said:
'You are looking at me in a way you did not look at me in Medina.'
Meaning, when he was the governor there.
I said:
'Yes, O Commander of the Faithful.
I am amazed at how your body has wasted away,
how your complexion has changed,
and how your hair has thinned.'
He said:
'How would it be if you saw me three days after I am in the grave,
with my eyeballs fallen onto my cheeks,
and pus and worms coming out of my nostrils and mouth?
You would find me even more unrecognizable.'"
A man said to Imam Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, may Allah have mercy on him:
"Advise me."
He said to him:
"Look for the thing you most desire to have as a neighbor in your grave, and act accordingly."
[He acted upon it.]
The grave is the resting place of the believer.
Abu Ayyub al-Ansari, may Allah be pleased with him, said:
"When the soul of a servant is taken,
he is met by the people of mercy among the servants of Allah,
just as they meet a bearer of good news in this world.
They approach him to ask him,
and some say to others:
'Wait for your brother so he may rest,
for he was in great distress.'
Then they approach him and ask, 'What did so-and-so do?
What did so-and-so do?
Did she get married?'
If they ask about a man who died before him,
he says to them:
'He has already perished.'
They say:
“Who say, when a misfortune striketh them: Lo! we are Allah's and lo! unto Him we are returning.” (2:156)
'He was taken to his mother, the Abyss (Hawiyah).
What a wretched mother,
and what a wretched guardian!'
He said:
'Then his deeds are presented to them.
If they see good,
they rejoice and are glad,
and they say:
'This is Your favor upon Your servant,
so complete it.'
And if they see evil, they say:
'O Allah, return Your servant to the right path.'"
Masruq, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
"There is no house better for the believer than a niche in the grave,
in which he has rested from the worries of the world
and is secure from the punishment of Allah."
Instructing the dying person to testify to the faith.
'Umar Ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, said:
"Attend to your dying ones and remind them,
for they see what you do not see.
And instruct them to testify:
'There is no god but Allah.'"
Al-Hasan Ibn al-Rabi' said:
"I heard Ibn al-Mubarak, may Allah have mercy on him,
when death was upon him.
Nasir came to him and said:
'O Abu 'Abd al-Rahman,
say: There is no god but Allah.'
He said to him:
'O Nasir,
you see how difficult speech is for me.
If you hear me say it,
do not prompt me again
until you hear me
speak something else after it.'
For they used to love
that this be the last of a servant's speech."