Death & the Afterlife

عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ رضي الله عنه أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ: «إِذَا مَاتَ الْإِنْسَانُ انْقَطَعَ عَنْهُ عَمَلُهُ إِلَّا مِنْ ثَلَاثَةٍ: إِلَّا مِنْ صَدَقَةٍ جَارِيَةٍ، أَوْ عِلْمٍ يُنْتَفَعُ بِهِ، أَوْ وَلَدٍ صَالِحٍ يَدْعُو لَهُ».

The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) informed that the deeds of a person come to a halt when he dies. No good deeds are recorded for him after death, except for these three things, as he was the cause behind them: First: Charity whose reward is enduring, permanent, and ceaseless, like endowment, building mosques, digging wells, etc. Second: Knowledge from which people draw benefits, like authoring books of knowledge or teaching knowledge to someone, who in turn disseminates this knowledge after his teacher's death. Third: A pious, believing child who supplicates for his parents.

• The scholars unanimously agreed that the rewards that reach a person after his death include ongoing charity, beneficial knowledge, supplication, and Hajj, as mentioned in other Hadīths.
• He singled out these three things in the Hadīth because they represent the foundations of goodness and they are mostly the things virtuous people want to endure after their passing.
• Any beneficial knowledge will bring reward, but at the top and pinnacle of it is the Shar‘i knowledge and the sciences that support it.
• Knowledge is the most beneficial of these three, because knowledge benefits the person who learns it, preserves the Shariah, and benefits people in general. Plus, it is more comprehensive and inclusive as people learn from your knowledge that exists during your lifetime and endures after your death.
• The Hadīth encourages us to raise righteous children, as they are the ones who will benefit their parents in the Hereafter, and an example of their benefit is that they supplicate for them.
• It encourages kindness to parents after their death, which is also a form of righteousness from which the child benefits.
• Supplication benefits a deceased person even if the supplicant is not his child. But, a person's child is specifically mentioned because he is mostly the one who continues to supplicate for his parents until he dies.

صحيح مسلم (3/ 1255) (1631)، البحر المحيط الثجاج في شرح صحيح الإمام مسلم بن الحجاج (28/ 413).

عَن هَانِئ مَوْلَى عُثْمَانَ رَضيَ اللهُ عنهُ قَالَ: كَانَ عُثْمَانُ إِذَا وَقَفَ عَلَى قَبْرٍ بَكَى حَتَّى يَبُلَّ لِحْيَتَهُ، فَقِيلَ لَهُ: تُذْكَرُ الْجَنَّةُ وَالنَّارُ فَلَا تَبْكِي، وَتَبْكِي مِنْ هَذَا؟ فَقَالَ: إِنَّ رَسُولَ اللهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ: «إِنَّ الْقَبْرَ أَوَّلُ مَنْزِلٍ مِنْ مَنَازِلِ الْآخِرَةِ، فَإِنْ نَجَا مِنْهُ فَمَا بَعْدَهُ أَيْسَرُ مِنْهُ، وَإِنْ لَمْ يَنْجُ مِنْهُ فَمَا بَعْدَهُ أَشَدُّ مِنْهُ».

When the Commander of the Believers, ‘Uthmān ibn ‘Affān (may Allah be pleased with him), would stand by a grave, he would weep until his tears would wet his beard. It was said to him: You remember Paradise and Hellfire and you do not cry out of longing for Paradise or fear of Hellfire, but you weep because of the grave?! So he said: Verily, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) informed that the grave is the first stage of the stages of the Hereafter; if one is saved and delivered from it, then what comes next will be easier. But if one is not saved from its torment, then what follows of the punishment will be even more severe than what is in it.

• Highlighting ‘Uthmān's fear of Allah Almighty although he was one of those given the glad tidings of entering Paradise.
• It is legitimate to weep upon remembering the horrors of the grave and the Day of Judgment.
• Establishing the bliss and torment of the grave.
• A stern warning against the torment of the grave.

سنن الترمذي (4/ 142) (2308). سنن ابن ماجه (5/ 333) (4267). مشكاة المصابيح، للتبريزي (1/ 48). تحفة الأحوذي بشرح جامع الترمذي، المباركفوري (6/ 490). مرقاة المفاتيح شرح مشكاة المصابيح، لعلي القاري (1/ 215).

عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ عُمَرَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمَا قَالَ: أَخَذَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ بِمَنْكِبِي، فَقَالَ: «كُنْ فِي الدُّنْيَا كَأَنَّكَ غَرِيبٌ أَوْ عَابِرُ سَبِيلٍ»، وَكَانَ ابْنُ عُمَرَ، يَقُولُ: إِذَا أَمْسَيْتَ فَلاَ تَنْتَظِرِ الصَّبَاحَ، وَإِذَا أَصْبَحْتَ فَلاَ تَنْتَظِرِ المَسَاءَ، وَخُذْ مِنْ صِحَّتِكَ لِمَرَضِكَ، وَمِنْ حَيَاتِكَ لِمَوْتِكَ.

Ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) mentioned that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) took him by the shoulder—the part that joins the arm with the shoulder—and said to him, Be in this world as if you are a stranger who arrived at a country where he has no house to shelter him and no one to keep his accompany. He is away from family, children, and relationships that are the cause behind one's distraction from the Creator. Rather, be more than a stranger, i.e., a wayfarer who passes by the way seeking his homeland. This is because the stranger may live in a foreign land and reside therein, unlike the wayfarer who passes by swiftly without stopping and whose main concern is to reach his homeland. Just as a traveler needs nothing beyond what helps him reach his destination, a believer needs nothing in this world beyond what helps him reach his destination in the Hereafter. Ibn ‘Umar acted upon this advice, and he used to say: If you reach the morning, do not wait for the evening; and if you reach the evening, do not wait for the morning, and count yourself among the grave dwellers. Given the fact that health and sickness are inevitable in one's life, then hasten to obedience when you are in good health before getting sick, and take advantage of your health in performing righteous acts before being prevented by sickness. Take advantage of your life in this world and do everything that could benefit you after your death.

• A teacher may put his hand on his student's shoulder as he instructs him as an expression of cordiality and to attract his attention.
• One may offer advice and guidance to those who do not ask for it.
• The Prophet's excellent approach in teaching by making convincing comparisons, as he said: "Be in this world as if you are a stranger or a wayfarer."
• People vary in their advance towards the Hereafter, bearing in mind that the status of the wayfarer is higher than that of the stranger in terms of asceticism.
• One should have simple ambitions in this world and should be prepared for death.
• The Hadīth does not denote the renunciation of sustenance or the prohibition of worldly pleasures; rather, it denotes asceticism in such things and consuming less thereof.
• Hastening to righteous deeds before one is unable to perform them due to sickness or death.
• The merit of ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) as he was influenced by this advice from the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him).
• Paradise is the believer's homeland; hence, he is a stranger in this world and a traveler to the Hereafter. He does not allow his heart to be attached to anything of this foreign land; rather, his heart is attached to his homeland, to which he will return. His stay in this world is to fulfill his needs and get prepared to return to his homeland.

صحيح البخاري (8/ 89) (6416). التحفة الربانية في شرح الأربعين حديثًا النووية، لإسماعيل الأنصاري (ص90). شرح الأربعين النووية، لابن عثيمين (ص390). فتح القوي المتين في شرح الأربعين وتتمة الخمسين، للنووي وابن رجب (ص131).