What Should You Do When You Think Your Own Death is Close?

  • Pray for a good ending (ḥusn al-khātimah) and an easy death.
  • Supplicate with some of the final words of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ :
اَللّٰهُمَّ أَعِنِّيْ عَلَى غَمَرَاتِ الْمَوْتِ وَسَكَرَاتِ الْمَوْتِ

O Allah, help me with the pangs and agonies of death. (Tirmidhī)

اَللّٰهُمَّ اغْفِرْ لِيْ وَارْحَمْنِيْ، وَأَلْحِقْنِيْ بِالرَّفِيْقِ الْأَعْلَىٰ

O Allah, forgive me, have mercy upon me, and unite me with the highest company. (Bukhārī)

  • Yearn to meet Allah.
  • Hope for Allah’s mercy and fear your sins.
  • Try to stay clean and in a state of wuḍū.
  • Try to perform miswak or ask someone to do it for you.
  • Recite in abundance the kalimah of tawḥīd and shahādatayn.
، لَا إِلٰهَ إِلَّا اللّٰهُ وَاللّٰهُ أَكْبَرُ ، لَا إِلٰهَ إِلَّا اللّٰهُ وَحْدَهُ ، لَا إِلٰهَ إِلَّا اللّٰهُ وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِيْكَ لَهُ ، لَا إِلٰهَ إِلَّا اللّٰهُ لَهُ الْمُلْكُ وَلَهُ الْحَمْدُ
لَا إِلٰهَ إِلَّا اللّٰهُ وَلَا حَوْلَ وَلَا قُوَّةَ إِلَّا بِاللّٰهِ

There is none worthy of worship except Allah, and Allah is the Greatest, there is none worthy of worship except for Allah, alone, there is none worthy of worship except for Allah, alone, without any partner, there is none worthy of worship except for Allah, to Him belongs all that exists, and to Him is all praise, there is none worthy of worship except for Allah, there is no power in averting evil, or strength in attaining good except through Allah.

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “Whoever says the above dhikr in his illness, then dies, the Fire shall not consume him.” (Tirmidhī)

لَا إِلٰهَ إِلَّا اللّٰهُ

There is no god but Allah.

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “He whose last words are [the above] will enter Paradise.” (Abū Dāwūd)

  • Read Sūrah al-Fātiḥah, Āyat al-Kursī, Sūrah al-Ikhlāṣ, Sūrah al-Falaq, Sūrah al-Nās and supplications from the Sunnah.

Be Ready For Death: Practical Tips

Every person should prepare for a sudden death by:

  • Constantly remembering death.
  • Living a life of taqwā (piety and God-consciouness).
  • Visiting the graveyard, praying for a good death and the best eternal abode.
  • Preparing a list of items you own (solely or jointly) and what you have borrowed or lent including debts.
  • Sharing details of finance, businesses, bank accounts, passwords and important documents.
  • Writing instructions of how you would like your funeral to be carried out.
  • Preparing a shariah-compliant will.
  • Detailing any bequests you would like to leave in regards to one third of your wealth.
  • Notifying of any missed fasts etc.
  • Leaving special guidance behind for your children and spouse on how you wish them to spend their temporary life etc.

“Or were you present when death approached Ya‘qūb, when he said to his sons, ‘What will you worship after me?’ They said, ‘We will worship your God and the God of your fathers, Ibrāhīm and Ismā‘īl and Isḥāq – one God. And we are Muslims [in submission] to Him.’” (2:133)

What to Do When Your Loved Ones Are Dying
The Names of Allah