Death in Islam
The Death of
a Child
Narrated Usama, Once
while I was with the Prophet (salalahu
walayhe wa salam) and Sa'd, Ubai bin Ka'b
and Mu'adh were also sitting with him, there
came to him a messenger from one of his
daughters, telling him that her child was on
the verge of death. The Prophet (salalahu
walayhe wa salam) told the messenger to tell
her, "It is for Allah what He takes, and it
is for Allah what He gives, and everything
has its fixed time (limit). So (she should)
be patient and look for Allah's reward."
Bukhari, Volume 8 no. 599.
Narrated Abu Hurayrah, Abu Hassan
said to Abu Hurayrah: My two children had
died. Would you narrate to me anything from
Allah's Apostle (peace be upon him) a hadith
which would soothe our hearts in our
bereavements? He said: Yes. Small children
are the fowls of Paradise. If one of them
meets his father (or he said his parents) he
would take hold of his cloth, or he said
with his hand as I take hold of the hem of
your cloth (with my hand). And he (the
child) would not take off (his hand) from it
until Allah causes his father to enter
Paradise. This hadith has been narrated on
the authority of Tamim with the same chain
of transmitters. And he is reported to have
said: Did you hear from Allah's Apostle
(peace be upon him) anything which may
soothe our heart in our bereavements? He
said: Yes.
Sahih Muslim Number 1212
Narrated Abu Musa, the Prophet (peace
be upon him) said: When a child of a servant
of Allah dies, Allah inquires His angels:
Have you taken into custody the soul of the
child of My servant? They answer: Yes. Then
He inquires: Have you taken into custody the
soul of the flower of his heart? They
answer: Yes. Then He inquires: Then what did
My servant say? They answer: He praised Thee
and affirmed: To Allah we belong and to Him
we shall and return. Thereupon Allah says:
Build for My servant a mansion in Paradise
and name it `The House of Praise.'
Transmitted by Tirmidhi.
Narrated Abu Musa al-Ash'ari, Allah's
Messenger (peace be upon him) said, When a
man's child dies, Allah Most High asks His
angels whether they have taken His servant's
child and they reply that they have. He then
asks whether they have taken the fruit of
his heart, and when they reply that they
have, He asks what His servant said. On
their replying that he praised Allah and
said, "We belong to Allah and to Him do we
return," Allah says, "Build a house in
Paradise for my servant and call it the
house of praise."
Ahmad and Tirmidhi
transmitted it.
Abu Huraira, narrated that the
Prophet (salalahu walayhe wa salam) said,
"Every child is born with a true faith (i.e.
to worship none but Allah Alone) but his
parents convert him to Judaism or to
Christianity or to Magainism, as an animal
delivers a perfect baby animal. Do you
find it mutilated?" Then Abu Huraira recited
the holy verses: "The pure Allah's Islamic
nature (true faith i.e. to worship none but
Allah Alone), with which He has created
human beings." (30.30) Vol 2, 440 Bukhari
Narrated Abu Hurayrah, A woman came to
Allah's Apostle (peace be upon him) with her
child and said: Allah's Apostle (peace be
upon him) invoke Allah's blessing upon him
for I have already buried three. He
said: You have buried three! She said: Yes.
Thereupon he (the Prophet) said: You have,
indeed, safeguarded yourself against the
torment of Hell with a strong safeguard.
Umar has made a mention of his father,
whereas others have not made a mention of
his father.
Sahih Muslim 1213
Narrated Anas bin Malik, The Prophet
(salalahu walayhe wa salam) said, "None of
you should wish for death because of a
calamity befalling him; but if he has to
wish for death, he should say: "O Allah!
Keep me alive as long as life is better for
me, and let me die if death is better for
me.' " Vol 7, number 575 Bukhari
Narrated Hasana' daughter of
Mu'awiyah
She reported on the authority
of her paternal uncle: I asked the Prophet
(peace be upon him): Who are in Paradise? He
replied: Prophets are in Paradise, martyrs
are in Paradise, infants are in Paradise and
children buried alive are in Paradise.
Sunan of Abu Dawud hadith 1041
Narrated Hudhayfah ibn Usayd, Allah's
Apostle (peace be upon him) said: When the
drop of (semen) remains in the womb for
forty or fifty (days) or forty nights, the
angel comes and says: My Lord, will he be
good or evil? And both these things would be
written. Then the angel says: My Lord, would
he be male or female? And both these things
are written. And his deeds and actions, his
death, his livelihood; these are also
recorded. Then his document of destiny is
rolled and there is no addition to and
subtraction from it. Sahih Muslim
Number 1216
Narrated Aisha, A child died and I
said: There is happiness for this child who
is a bird from amongst the birds of
Paradise. Thereupon Allah's Apostle (peace
be upon him) said: Don't you know that Allah
created the Paradise and He created the Hell
and He created the dwellers for this
(Paradise) and the denizens for this (Hell)?
Sahih Muslim 1225
Surah Baqarah Ayat 153 to 157
O ye
who believe! seek help with patient
perseverance and prayer: for Allah is with
those who patiently persevere. (Yaa 'ayuhal
latheena 'aamanuu, asta'eenu bi sabari was
salaah; inna Allaha m'a as-saabireen.)
And say not of those who are slain in the
way of Allah: "They are dead." Nay they are
living though ye perceive (it) not. ("Wa la
taquluu lima yuqtaluu fi sabeelillahi
amwaatun, bal, 'ahyaa'un wa lakin la
tash'uroon.")Be sure We shall test you
with something of fear and hunger some loss
in goods or lives or the fruits (of your
toil) but give glad tidings to those who
patiently persevere. (Wa lanab-luwanakum bi
shai'in minal khaufwal jue'i wan naqsin wa
minal amwaali wan nafsi wa thamaraat) Who
say when afflicted with calamity: "To Allah
we belong and to Him is our return."
They are those on whom (descend) blessings
from Allah and Mercy and they are the ones
that receive guidance.
Narrated Abdullah, Umm Habibah, the
wife of Allah's Apostle (peace be upon him)
said: O Allah, enable me to derive benefit
from my husband, the Messenger of Allah (May
peace be upon him), and from my father,
AbuSufyan, and from my brother, Mu'awiyah.
Allah's Apostle (peace be upon him) said:
You have asked from Allah about durations of
life already set, the length of days already
allotted, and the sustenances, the share of
which has been fixed. Allah will not do
anything before its due time, nor will He
delay anything beyond its due time. And if
you were to ask Allah to provide you with
refuge from the torment of the Hell-Fire, or
from the torment of the grave, it would have
good in store for you and better things for
you also. He (the narrator) added: Mention
was made before him of monkeys, and Mis'ar
(one of the narrators) said: I think that
(the narrator) also (mentioned) swine which
had suffered metamorphosis. Thereupon he
(the Holy Prophet) said: Verily, Allah did
not cause the race of those which suffered
metamorphosis to grow, or they were not
survived by young ones. Monkeys and swine
have been in existence even before (the
metamorphosis of the human beings). Sahih
Muslim 1226
Narrated AbuHurayrah,Allah's Apostle
(peace be upon him) said: None amongst you
should make a request for death, and do not
call for it before it comes, for when any
one of you dies, he ceases (to do good)
deeds and the life of a believer is not
prolonged but for goodness. Sahih
Muslim 1234
Narrated Usama bin Zaid,The daughter
of the Prophet (p.b.u.h) sent (a messenger)
to the Prophet requesting him to come as her
child was dying (or was gasping), but the
Prophet returned the messenger and told him
to convey his greeting to her and say:
"Whatever Allah takes is for Him and
whatever He gives, is for Him, and
everything with Him has a limited fixed term
(in this world) and so she should be patient
and hope for Allah's reward." She again sent
for him, swearing that he should come. The
Prophet got up, and so did Sad bin 'Ubada,
Muadh bin Jabal, Ubai bin Ka'b, Zaid bin
Thabit and some other men. The child was
brought to Allah's Apostle while his breath
was disturbed in his chest (the sub-narrator
thinks that Usama added: ) as if it was a
leather water-skin. On that the eyes of the
Prophet (p.b.u.h) started shedding tears.
Sad said, "O Allah's Apostle! What is this?"
He replied, "It is mercy which Allah has
lodged in the hearts of His slaves, and
Allah is merciful only to those of His
slaves who are merciful (to others)."
Volume 2, No. 373 Sahih Bukhari
Narrated Anas bin Malik, One of the
sons of Abu Talha became sick and died and
Abu Talha at that time was not at home. When
his wife saw that he was dead, she prepared
him (washed and shrouded him) and placed him
somewhere in the house. When Abu Talha came,
he asked, "How is the boy?" She said, "The
child is quiet and I hope he is in peace."
Abu Talha thought that she had spoken the
truth. Abu Talha passed the night and in the
morning took a bath and when he intended to
go out, she told him that his son had died,
Abu Talha offered the (morning) prayer with
the Prophet and informed the Prophet of what
happened to them. Allah's Apostle said, "May
Allah bless you concerning your night. (That
is, may Allah bless you with good
offspring)." Sufyan said, "One of the Ansar
said, 'They (i.e. Abu Talha and his wife)
had nine sons and all of them became
reciters of the Quran (by heart).'
vol.
2, no. 388 Sahih Bukhari
Narrated Ibn Shihab, The funeral
prayer should be offered for every child
even if he were the son of a prostitute as
he was born with a true faith of Islam (i.e.
to worship none but Allah Alone). If his
parents are Muslims, particularly the
father, even if his mother were a
non-Muslim, and if he after the delivery
cries (even once) before his death (i.e.
born alive) then the funeral prayer must be
offered. And if the child does not cry after
his delivery (i.e. born dead) then his
funeral prayer should not be offered, and he
will be considered as a miscarriage. Abu
Huraira, narrated that the Prophet said,
"Every child is born with a true faith (i.e.
to worship none but Allah Alone) but his
parents convert him to Judaism or to
Christianity or to Magainism, as an animal
delivers a perfect baby animal. Do you find
it mutilated?" Then Abu Huraira recited the
holy verses: "The pure Allah's Islamic
nature (true faith i.e. to worship none but
Allah Alone), with which He has created
human beings." (30.30).
Volume 2, no.
440 Sahih Bukhari
Ruling concerning wishing for death due to harm that has come
Question: I have faced so many difficulties in my life that it has made me hate this life. Every time I turned to Allaah, I pleaded for Him to take my life away from me at the earliest. This is my wish until now as I do not see any solutions to my problems except death; it is the only thing that can save me from this punishment. Is this behavior forbidden for me?
Response: When a person wishes for death because of something that has afflicted him, he is doing something that the Prophet (sal-Allaahu `alayhe wa sallam) has prohibited. The Prophet (sal-Allaahu `alayhe wa sallam) said:
((None of you should hope for death because of some harm that has come to him. If he has wish such, he should say, 'O Allaah, give me life if You know that life is better for me. And give me death if You know that death is better for me)).
Therefore, it is not allowed for anyone to wish for death because of some harm, hardship or difficulty that has come to him. In fact, he should have patience and expect a reward from Allaah for what he is passing through. He should also wait for relief to come, as the Prophet (sal-Allaahu `alayhe wa sallam) has said:
((Know that victory comes with patience, relief with distress and ease with hardship)).
The one who is afflicted with any affliction should know that those afflictions expiate some of the sins that he has committed. No believer is afflicted with any kind of worry, grief or pain except that Allaah expiates sins for him due to that, even the pricking of a thorn. When the person has patience and expects rewards from Allaah, he reaches the stage of being among the patient. This stage is a very elevated stage. Allaah has stated about its inhabitants:
{And give glad tidings to the patient. Who, when afflicted with calamity, say, 'Truly, to Allaah we belong and, truly, to Him we shall return}, [Soorah al-Baqarah, Aayahs 155-156].
The woman in the question feels that there is no solution for her problems except death. I believe that this is a mistaken view. Death does not solve any problems. In fact, the situation of adversity may get even worse. How many humans die while being afflicted with pain and problems but they had been wronging themselves and did not give their sins and repent to Allaah. Then his death is just a quicker coming of his punishment. If he remained alive, perhaps Allaah would have guide him to repentance, seeking forgiveness, patience, facing the problem and expecting relief. This all would have been good for him. Therefore, you, the questioner, must be patient and expect relief from Allaah. Allaah says in His book: {So, verily, with the hardship there is relief. Verily, with the hardship, there is relief}, [Soorah ash-Sharh, Aayahs 5-6]. And the Prophet (sal-Allaahu `alayhe wa sallam) stated, in an authentic narration:
((Know that victory comes with patience, relief with distress and ease with hardship)).
Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymeen Fataawa al-Mar.ah
Al Yusra Musings
-
Al Yusra
"Your life is a result of the choices you make...If you don't like your life it is time to start making better choices."
-
Ibn Abbas
Ibn Abbas was asked about those who fear. He said: "Their hearts are pleased with fear, their eyes weep, they say: "How can we be content when death is behind us and the grave is in front of us, judgement is our promised (time). Hell is on our way, and we have to face our Lord. "