Death is inevitable and it can strike anytime anywhere without warning. Our time of death is already with Allah, and as each minute pass we are getting ever more close to it. A person may be alive and healthy in the morning and by evening be buried, facing the tribulations of the grave.
Allah the Majestic Says: "Every soul shall taste death" (Quraan 29:57)
Allah has created the earth, and created us only to test amongst us who is best in deed and Allah has created us none other than for us to worship him alone.
Allah the Majestic Says: "Blessed is He in Whose Hand is the dominion of the Universe, and Who has power over everything; Who created death and life that He might try you as to which of you is better in deed. He is the Most Mighty, the Most Forgiving" (Quraan 67:1-2)
He the Glorified also Says: "And I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me" (Quraan 51:56)
Everything that happen in this earth; happiness, sadness, anger, being in debt, losing a loved one, good or bad health are only from Allah to test our patience in times of hardship, and how grateful we are to Allah in times of happiness. Some of these trials are means of expiation for the past sins of the believers.
Allah the Majestic Says: "Verily We have created man into toil and hardship."
All our trials and tests come to an end the moment we die. The outcome of our next life, which is eternal, will be based on how we have performed in our ibadhah or Servitude to Allah in this life, and how patient we were in accepting His Decree when calamity or hardship fell, and how thankful we were to the blessings of Allah we have been given without even asking for it.
As no one knows the time when death will arrive, it is very important that each and every one of us is ready for death at all times. We are getting ourselves ready for the next life and this world is short-lived. We must live in this life as a stranger who has stopped for a rest before continuing with the journey.
So, what if you were to learn that today was your last day? What would you do? Where would you go? What would you eat? How will you dress? Whom will you meet? If you knew it was your last day, certainly, you will not go against the legislation of Allah even for one second of that day. You will not even raise your head from prostration.
None of us knows the time of death, except that it's approaching, and that it may even be within the next few hours. So what have we done to get ready for death? How are we preparing for that final moment in life in which our fate will be decided? Who will not want his soul to be taken out in a state which Allah is Pleased with him?
I will list a few things which we can do starting from now, in order to be ready for death.
Repentance (Thawba):
If you have committed a sin and had not repented, then this is the time for you to repent. Allah accepts all sincere repentance before death rattle begins and before sun rises from the west, and there is no sin which Allah does not Forgive if His slave asks from Him sincerely. Allah says: [Say, "O My servants who have transgressed against themselves [by sinning], do not despair of the mercy of Allah. Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. Indeed, it is He who is the Forgiving, the Merciful." Quraan 39:53]. There is no sin that Allah cannot Forgive, because no matter how big our sins are, Allah's Mercy is even Greater.
Restoring debt and the rights of others:
If you have a debt for someone, clear it off, as prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) stated in the hadith, "By the One in Whose hand is my soul, if a man were killed in battle for the sake of Allaah, then brought back to life, then killed and brought back to life again, then killed, and he owed a debt, he would not enter Paradise until his debt was paid off.” Classed as hasan by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Nasaa’i, 4367.
And also, prophet Muhammad refrained from offering the funeral prayer for one who had died owing two dinars, until Abu Qataadah (may Allaah be pleased with him) promised to pay it off for him. When he saw him the following day and said, I have paid it off, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Now his skin has become cool for him.” Musnad Ahmad (3/629); classed as hasan by al-Nawawi in al-Khalaasah (2/931) and by Ibn Muflih in al-Adaab al-Shar’iyyah (1/104).
Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: “The soul of the believer is held hostage by his debt in his grave until it is paid off.” Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 1078.
In Musannaf ‘Abd al-Razzaaq (3/57) it says: Ibn ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: O Humraan, fear Allaah and do not die in debt, lest it be taken from your good deeds when there will be no dinars and no dirhams.
So the issue of being in debt is serious, and those who do not pay off their debts may have to pay it off on the Day of Judgment with his or her good deeds, and if the good deeds run out, the bad deeds of the person whom that person owes to will be thrown on to him until he has paid for what he has owed. We ask Allah for an easy Judgement.
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
said to his companions one day: “Do you know who is the one who is bankrupt?” They said:
“Among us, the one who is bankrupt is the one who has no dirhams and no
goods.” He said: “Rather the one who is bankrupt amongst my ummah is the one
who will come on the Day of Resurrection with prayer, fasting and zakaah,
but he will come having insulted this one, slandered that one, consumed the
wealth of this one, shed the blood of that one and beaten this one, all of
whom will be given some of his hasanaat (good deeds), and if his hasanaat
run out before the scores have been settled, some of their sins will be
taken and thrown onto him, then he will be cast into the Fire.” Narrated by
Muslim, 2581.
Even if a person owes one cent to someone, it has to be paid off because it is a right of someone.
Sheikh Muhammad Al-Munajjidh wrote: "The debt for which a person will be kept out of Paradise – and Allaah knows best – is that for which he left behind enough to pay it off but he did not leave instructions to that effect, or he was able to pay it off but did not do so, or he took the loan for some unlawful or extravagant matter and died without having paid it off.
The same goes to the person who has stolen anything. What ever that has been stolen must be returned. You do not have to tell that you had stolen it from that person, rather the point is to return what has been stolen to its rightful owners in whatever way possible.
Establish servitude towards Allah:
If you are a person who rarely find himself being obedient to Allah, start off by repentance and then with obligatory duties such as the 5 prayers, increasing family ties, serving your parents and fasting in Ramazan. Then you can start off with voluntary deeds like night prayers, sunnah prayers and charity which will add up to your record of deeds. Voluntary good deeds bring the servant of Allah closer to Him.
Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: Messenger of Allah (sallallaahu ’alayhi wa sallam) said, "Allah, the Exalted, has said: `I will declare war against him who treats with hostility a pious worshipper of Mine. And the most beloved thing with which My slave comes nearer to Me, is what I have enjoined upon him; and My slave keeps on coming closer to Me through performing Nawafil (voluntary prayers or doing extra deeds besides what is obligatory) until I love him, (so much so that) I become his hearing with which he hears, and his sight with which he sees, and his hand with which he strikes, and his leg with which he walks; and if he asks Me something, I will surely give him, and if he seeks My Protection (refuge), I will surely protect him".
[Al-Bukhari]
Clean your heart:
Allah looks in to the hearts of His servants. This is why it is extremely important that we remove all impurities from our hearts, making it humble and sincere to Allah alone before we die. Jealousy, pride and hatred towards the believing slaves of Allah can make the heart impure, and it may cause our good deeds to be blown in to air.
Sins can cause the heart to die and become hard. This deprives the person from listening to Quran making him uneasy to be where Quran is being recited. If the heart becomes corrupt with sins, jealousy or pride, the outcome can be seen from the activities of everyday life. The person will tend to be more angry for small issues, can get upset or sad on losing something small. Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: “In the body there is a piece of flesh: if it is sound the whole body will be sound and if it is corrupt then the whole body will be corrupt.”
So from this we can say that hidden acts of the heart can have a great influence on the outwards (physical) actions.
Cleaning our hearts from the evil of envy and pride can help us attain Jannah, as it was a reason which brought the happy news of Jannah to one of the companions of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) before he died, as in the following narration:
Anas Ibn Malik (radhi allahu anhu) reported that he and other companions were sitting with the Messenger (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam), who said: "A man from the people of Paradise will enter now." And a man from al-Ansar entered, with his beard dripping with water from Wudhu (ablution), and holding his sandals in his left hand.
The following day, the Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam) said the same thing and the same man entered.
On the third day, the Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam) again repeated his statement and the same man entered with water dripping and holding his sandals.
When the Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam) left, Abdullah Ibn Amr Ibn al-As (radhi allahu anhu) followed the man and said: 'I quarreled with my father and I swore I would not go to him for three days and night. Would you shelter me for these days?' the man replied: 'Yes.'
Anas said: 'Abdullah said that he stayed with this man for three nights and he did not see him praying at night, but every time he moved and changed position in bed he would remember Allah saying, 'Allahu Akbar' Until Salat-ul-Fajr."
Abdullah said: 'I didn't hear anything from him but good. When the three nights had passed… I said: 'O slave of Allah! I really didn't abandon my father nor was I angry with him. But, I heard the Messenger of Allah speaking of you on three separate occasions, the Prophet had said that a man from the people of Paradise would enter, and you were the one to enter on all the three times. So, I wanted to stay with you to see what you do so that I could follow you. But I have not seen you doing much. So what is that you do for Allah's Messenger (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam) to say what he had said?'
The man replied: 'It is nothing more than what you saw.' When it was time to leave, he called me back and said: 'Yes, it is nothing more than what you saw, except that I have no place in myself for ill-intentions or Hasad towards any Muslim and what Allah has given them.' Abdullah said: 'This is what has made you deserving of the praise and this is what we cannot do." [Musnad Ahmad]
