Skip to main content

Worship during the last months of life

Question:

I have a family member who is suffering from a terminal illness and does not have long to live. I would like to know what a person in this situation should focus on with regards to their Islamic worship during the last months of life e.g. seek forgiveness, making up fasts?

Assalamu Alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh

Thank you for your question. I ask Allah Most High to make it easy for your loved one and the family.

A person with a terminal illness should prepare to meet Allah. This means rectifying themselves and their life by doing whatever Allah has enjoined on them that they had not been doing thus far, and refraining from what He has prohibited against that they haven’t yet left off. They should keep up what good they were doing with even more sincerity and focus as best they can.

They should take account of and fulfill any outstanding duties owed to Allah (such as making up missed prayers, compensating for missed fasts, zakat, Hajj, etc) and to people (debts, trusts, borrowed items, etc). If these cannot all be fulfilled, they should still intend to do so while striving their utmost, and seek forgiveness for what remains from Allah, and from the people they owed to.

Such a person should make tawbah (repentance) from all previous sins and resolve never to return to them. They should make peace with everyone around them, apologize to those they ever hurt, and completely forgive those who ever hurt them. Not a grain of negativity against any human or selfish desire from the world should remain in their heart.

They should prepare inwardly by increasing in remembrance (dhikr), gratitude and intimate discourse with Allah. They should work to free their hearts of any bitterness or complaint against what Allah had decreed for them in life, thinking only the best of Allah, and hope for the best from Him in what is to come. They should strive to understand the wisdom behind what they are going through, and approach Allah with serenity and peace of heart.

If possible, they should not leave off being productive in their daily lives: they should continue to pursue constructive endeavors with excellence, maintain a good appearance and diet, and enjoy Allah’s blessings. We are only on this earth for some time to please Allah in whatever we do.

Finally, we must remember that everyone’s life is terminal: the end is near for all of us. Allah Most High says, “Every soul shall taste death,” [Quran 3:185] and so this is a reminder for each of us. I ask Allah Most High to make things easy for your loved one, and your family, and keep everyone strong.

And Allah knows best.

Answered by Abdullah Anik Misra
SeekerGuidance

Culled from SeekersAnswer: http://www.seekersguidance.org/ans-blog.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Greet a Muslim in the right way!

❌ Salam (peace) ❌ (and peace) ❌ Slm/Wslm (no meanings) ❌ Aslm alkm/ Wlkm slm(no meanings). All the above words do not represent Islamic greetings. This is considered 🚫IMPOLITE 🚫UNWISE and 🚫UNEDUCATED to use these words as a way of greeting in islam, Some people have gone to the extent of abbreviating our Creator's Name (Allah S.W.T) into writing "Alh" ❌ or "Wlh" ❌ . INNALILLAHI WA INNA'ILAIHI RAJIUN! Why ❓ This is getting worst! Please my brothers and sisters in Islam, let us try and change for the sake of Allah. NOTE THAT: All the above words are not islamic and didn't represent Islamic greetings, but ✅ EDUCATED, ✅ WISE, and ✅CIVILIZED MUSLIMS write: ✔ Assalamu Alaikum = peace be upon you ✔Wa Alaykumussalam = and peace be upon you too. OR ✔Assalamu Alaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh = may peace, mercy and blessings of Allah be upon you. ✔ Wa'alaikumussala...

IKEJA TOASTMASTERS...WHERE LEADERS ARE MADE!

Knowledge is power. Information is liberating. Education is the premise of progress, in every society, in every family. -Kofi Annan "Ours is the only organization I know dedicated to the individual, we work together to bring out the best in each of us and then we apply these skills to help others."-Ralph Smedley, Founder of Toastmasters International Join us every Saturday between 10am and 12pm for scintillating session of communication and Leadership Skill acquisition at 3 5b, Adeniyi Jones, Ashogbon junction, Ikeja, Lagos. Please call 07045639818 or 08162726997 for more info.

Senate Debunks Recent Claims Of Data Support For Data Hike On Dailies

Vice chairman of the Committee on Communications Senator Solomon Adeola has debunked a recent claimed published in national daily that "Senate okays Data Price Hike." In a press statement, Media Adviser to Senator Solomon Adeola, Chief Kayode Odunaro said "Our attention has been drawn to a publication with the misleading title “ Senate Okays Data Price Hike, says NCC Acted in national Interest” in a national daily insinuating that the Senate through its Committee on Communications sanctioned data price increase by telecommunications service providers during an oversight visit to the Nigerian Communication Commission. "There is no iota of truth in the misleading title as the contrary is the case from what the Vice chairman of the Committee Senator Solomon Adeola said in his presentation during the briefing by NCC Executive Vice Chairman, Professor Umaru Dambatta. "Senator Adeola while commending the NCC for its achievements in recent times stated that the ac...