Nasai

1829. Commentary: "Sweat of the Forehead" — In Arabic, "jabīn" refers to the sides of the forehead, but here the entire forehead is meant, because sweat appears most on the forehead. In this hadith, the sign of a believer’s death is described as sweat on the forehead. This sweat may be due to the intensity of the soul’s departure (naz‘ al-ruh), so that the remaining sins of the believer are forgiven in exchange for this hardship, and he passes away purified. Or, this sweat may be the result of the shame that overtakes the believer at the thought of meeting Allah, thinking, "How will I meet Allah ta‘ala with my sins?" Clearly, only a believer can have such a thought. The hypocrite, even at that time, remains absorbed in the worries and concerns of the world. There may be some other reason for the sweat which we do not understand. In any case, this is a sign of the believer. Some scholars have considered it a metaphor for intensity, meaning that the believer passes away while striving and working hard—either for righteousness or for sustenance—i.e., the believer does not live a life of ease and comfort, but continues to work, sometimes for religion, sometimes for the world. And Allah knows best.

1:
That is, the believer is subjected to the severity of death so that it may become a means for the forgiveness of his sins,
(at the time of severity, sweat appears on a person's forehead), or it means that death overtakes him suddenly while he is so engrossed in earning lawful sustenance and fulfilling obligations that his forehead remains moist with sweat.

Benefits and Issues:

➊ (Jabeen)
The translation is generally rendered as "forehead."
However, Hafiz Salahuddin Yusuf rahimahullah has written in the Tafsir Ahsan-ul-Bayan, in the commentary of Surah As-Saffat, verse 103,
that every human face has two "jabeen" (the right and the left sides),
and in the middle is the "forehead" (jabhah).

➋
One meaning of the sweat on the "jabeen" is that,
due to the severity of death upon the believer, he begins to sweat.
Another meaning is that he does not experience extreme hardship,
but rather only a difficulty similar to sweating.
It is also possible that the meaning is that the believer, while striving and working hard to earn lawful (halal) sustenance,
or in his efforts to accumulate as many good deeds as possible, continues to exert himself,
until his final moment arrives.
And Allah knows best.

Lexical Explanation:
«بِعَرَقِ الْجَبِينِ» “Araq” — both the letters “Ayn” and “Ra” have a fathah. The meaning is: sweat, that which is excreted from the body due to one’s labor and toil or because of heat and warmth.

According to one opinion, what is meant by this hadith is that, at the time of death, sweat appears on the forehead of the believer as a means of purification from his sins.

And there is another opinion that this is a figurative expression, and the intent is to convey that the believer remains engaged in striving and exertion—whether in seeking lawful (halal) sustenance, performing fasting (sawm) and prayer (salat), and maintaining adherence to the commands of the Shari‘ah—until death overtakes him.

428