Remind those of you who are dying of: La ilāha illallāh (There is no god but Allah)
Narrator in the source: Abu Sa‘īd al-Khudri reported that the Messenger of Allah
Abu Sa‘īd al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: "Remind those of you who are dying of: La ilāha illallāh (There is no god but Allah)."- Grade in the source
- Authentic
- Reported by
- Narrated by Muslim
- Source entry
- HadeethEnc · 65546 ↗
Original Arabic wording
عن أَبِي سَعِيدٍ الْخُدْرِيَّ رَضِيَ اللهُ عنه قَالَ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللهُ صلَّى اللهُ عليهِ وَسَلَّم: «لَقِّنُوا مَوْتَاكُمْ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللهُ».Understand this hadith
The Prophet (ﷺ) encouraged that we prompt and remind those experiencing the throes of death to say the word of monotheism —"La ilāha illallāh" (There is no god but Allah) so that they may utter it, and it will be the last words they speak before dying.
Lessons from the hadith
- It is recommended to prompt the dying person to say the testimony of faith.
- It is disliked to excessively prompt or insist on it once the dying person has said the testimony of faith or understood it, so as not to distress him and cause him to utter something inappropriate.
- An-Nawawi said: If the dying person says the testimony of faith once, it should not be repeated for him, except if he speaks something else afterward; then it may be gently prompted again so that the testimony of faith becomes his last words.
- The Hadīth emphasizes being present with the dying person to remind him, offer comfort, gently close his eyes, and attend to his rights.
- The impermissibility of prompting the deceased (to testify to faith) after death and at the grave after burial, because the Prophet (ﷺ) did not do so.
References (original Arabic)
صحيح مسلم (2/ 631) (916). المفهم لما أشكل من تلخيص كتاب مسلم (2/ 569).