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سلسله احاديث صحيحه
Silsilah Sahihah
الايمان والتوحيد والدين والقدرBook of Faith, Monotheism, Religion, and Divine Decree
Prompting the dying to say the testimony of faith
Hadith 36
اُردوEn
- " أكثروا من شهادة أن لا إله إلا الله، قبل أن يحال بينكم وبينها ولقنوها موتاكم ".
It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Frequently bear witness to the oneness of Allah, the only true deity, before there comes a barrier between you and it, and prompt those near death to say it.”
Explanation & Benefits
Hafiz Mahfooz Ahmad
Benefits:
Imam al-Albani rahimahullah writes: From the second part of this hadith, it is understood that a person near death should be prompted (talqin) with the kalimah of tawhid, so that at the end of his life he may say this kalimah and attain success. In this hadith, by «موتا كم» is meant those who are near death, because only a living person can be held responsible for reciting the kalimah. It is possible that such a person may be prompted and he says «أَشْهَدُ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا الله», thus becoming deserving of Paradise. As for the issue of other people reciting this kalimah at the side of the deceased, this is an innovation (bid‘ah); it is not mentioned in any hadith, and it will not benefit the deceased, because he has already moved from the abode of responsibility (dar al-taklif) to the abode of recompense (dar al-jaza).
In this hadith, the command is given to prompt the person near death with the testimony of faith (kalimah shahadah), and the manner of prompting is to command him to say it. What is written in some books, that the kalimah should be recited in the presence of the deceased and not commanded to him, this is contrary to the Sunnah of the Noble Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. I have clarified this in [كتاب الجنائز: ص 10 - 11]. [صحيحه: 467]
Imam al-Albani rahimahullah said in [كتاب الجنائز: ص 10 - 11]: The meaning of talqin is not that the kalimah shahadah should merely be mentioned in the presence of the person near death and made to be heard by him, as some people have misunderstood. The meaning of talqin is that he should be commanded to recite this kalimah, as Sayyiduna Anas radi Allahu anhu narrates that the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam went to visit an Ansari man who was ill and said: «يَا خَالُ: قُلْ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللهُ» meaning: “O uncle! Say la ilaha illallah.” [مسند احمد: 152/3، 154، 268]
Generally, among us there is the notion that the person near death should not be commanded to recite the kalimah shahadah, but rather it should be recited in his presence, because it is possible that he may refuse in response to the command. This is a mental fabrication and self-invented idea of the common people; this suspicion and assumption is not required by any hadith. We should consider that if we start reciting the kalimah in the presence of such a person, he may also say: “What is all this commotion you people are making? Be quiet.”
The reality is that Allah Ta‘ala keeps His servants firm. We should act upon the hadith of the Messenger sallallahu alayhi wa sallam and gently encourage the person near death to recite the kalimah shahadah, so that his Hereafter may be improved.
Imam al-Albani rahimahullah writes: From the second part of this hadith, it is understood that a person near death should be prompted (talqin) with the kalimah of tawhid, so that at the end of his life he may say this kalimah and attain success. In this hadith, by «موتا كم» is meant those who are near death, because only a living person can be held responsible for reciting the kalimah. It is possible that such a person may be prompted and he says «أَشْهَدُ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا الله», thus becoming deserving of Paradise. As for the issue of other people reciting this kalimah at the side of the deceased, this is an innovation (bid‘ah); it is not mentioned in any hadith, and it will not benefit the deceased, because he has already moved from the abode of responsibility (dar al-taklif) to the abode of recompense (dar al-jaza).
In this hadith, the command is given to prompt the person near death with the testimony of faith (kalimah shahadah), and the manner of prompting is to command him to say it. What is written in some books, that the kalimah should be recited in the presence of the deceased and not commanded to him, this is contrary to the Sunnah of the Noble Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. I have clarified this in [كتاب الجنائز: ص 10 - 11]. [صحيحه: 467]
Imam al-Albani rahimahullah said in [كتاب الجنائز: ص 10 - 11]: The meaning of talqin is not that the kalimah shahadah should merely be mentioned in the presence of the person near death and made to be heard by him, as some people have misunderstood. The meaning of talqin is that he should be commanded to recite this kalimah, as Sayyiduna Anas radi Allahu anhu narrates that the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam went to visit an Ansari man who was ill and said: «يَا خَالُ: قُلْ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللهُ» meaning: “O uncle! Say la ilaha illallah.” [مسند احمد: 152/3، 154، 268]
Generally, among us there is the notion that the person near death should not be commanded to recite the kalimah shahadah, but rather it should be recited in his presence, because it is possible that he may refuse in response to the command. This is a mental fabrication and self-invented idea of the common people; this suspicion and assumption is not required by any hadith. We should consider that if we start reciting the kalimah in the presence of such a person, he may also say: “What is all this commotion you people are making? Be quiet.”
The reality is that Allah Ta‘ala keeps His servants firm. We should act upon the hadith of the Messenger sallallahu alayhi wa sallam and gently encourage the person near death to recite the kalimah shahadah, so that his Hereafter may be improved.
Source: Silsilah Ahadith Sahihah: Commentary by Muhammad Mahfooz Ahmad, Page: 36
