Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah said:
Whoever thinks that a person who has committed sin and then repents will be lacking is making a great mistake, for the condemnation and punishment that may befall the sinner do not affect the one who repents from sin at all. If he hastens to repent from sin then nothing will affect him, but if he delays repentance then he may be affected by some condemnation and punishment during the period between committing sin and repenting.
Majmoo’ al-Fataawa, 10/309.
And he said:
But a person may do something haraam and then repent, and that is good for him if he repents from it, and by repenting he may become humble and soft-hearted, and more devoted to Allaah. Sins may serve an interest if one repents from them, because if a person does not commit sin he may become arrogant, filled with self-admiration and hard-hearted, but if he commits sin, that humbles him and softens his heart because of his repentance.
Majmoo’ al-Fataawa, 14/474
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The best of people is the one who lives long and does good.” Narrated by Ahmad and al-Tirmidhi, 110; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Tirmidhi.
And he (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Glad tidings to the one who lives long and does good.” Narrated by al-Tabaraani and Abu Na’eem, classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Jaami’, 3928.
Ahmad (8195) narrated that Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: Two men became Muslim with the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). One of them was martyred, and the other remained for another year. Talhah ibn ‘Ubayd-Allaah said: I was shown Paradise (in a dream), and in it I saw that the one who was delayed was admitted before the martyr. I was surprised by that, so the next morning I told the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) about that. The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Did he not fast Ramadaan after he was gone, and pray six thousand rak’ahs, or such and such a number of rak’ahs, the prayers of one year?” Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in al-Silsilah al-Saheehah, 2591. al-‘Ajlooni said in Kashf al-Khafa’: its isnaad is hasan.
A man said: “O Messenger of Allaah, which of the people is best?” He said: “The one who lives long and does good.” He said: “Which of the people is worst?” He said: “The one who lives long and does evil.” Narrated by Ahmad and al-Tirmidhi, 2330; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Tirmidhi.
Al-Teebi (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: Time is like the capital of a businessman, and it should be invested in such a way as to make a profit. The greater the capital, the greater the profit. Whoever benefits from his life by doing good deeds will succeed and prosper, but whoever wastes his capital and does not prosper will evidently lose out.
End quote.
It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “No one of you should wish for death or pray for it before it comes, for when one of you dies, his good deeds come to an end and for the believer a long life will not increase him in anything but good.” Narrated by Muslim, 2682
A version narrated by al-Bukhaari says: “No one of you should wish for death. Either he is a doer of good and will do more, or he is a doer of evil but perhaps he may stop.”
Al-Nawawi said: This hadeeth clearly indicates that it is makrooh to wish for death because of some harm that has befallen one, such as loss or distress caused by an enemy, or other such hardships of this world. But if a person fears harm or fitnah with regard to his religious commitment, it is not makrooh to wish for death, according to this hadeeth, and several of the salaf did that.
It was narrated that Jaabir ibn ‘Abd-Allaah (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Do not wish for death, for the terror that follows death is immense. It is a sign of blessing to live long and be guided by Allaah to repent.” Narrated by Ahmad; classed as da’eef by al-Albaani in Silsilat al-Ahaadeeth al-Da’eefah, 885.
Ibn ‘Umar heard a man wishing for death and he said: “Do not wish for death, for you are going to die. Ask Allaah to keep you safe and sound, for the dying person is exposed to great terror.”
Ibn Rajab (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: Many righteous men have wished for death when they were healthy, then when it came they hated it because it is so difficult, such as Abu’l-Darda’ and Sufyaan al-Thawri, so what do you think about people other than them?
It was narrated from Anas ibn Maalik (may Allaah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “No one of you should wish for death because of some harm that has befallen him, but if he must do that then let him say: ‘O Allaah, keep me alive so long as life is good for me, and cause me to die when death is good for me.’” Agreed upon.
What is meant by “some harm that has befallen him” is worldly harms such as sickness, loss of wealth and children, and the like. But if he fears harm to his religious commitment, such as fitnah, then there is nothing wrong with wishing for death in that case, as we shall see below.
It was narrated that ‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her) said: It was said: “O Messenger of Allaah, So and so has died, and has found relief.” The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) got angry and said: “Only the one who is forgiven finds relief.” Narrated by Ahmad, 24192; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in al-Silsilah al-Saheehah, 1710.
Secondly: There are some cases in which it is prescribed to wish for death, such as the following:
1 – One who fears for his religious commitment because of fitnah
Undoubtedly death which takes a person away from fitnah (tribulation, temptation that takes one away from religious commitment), even if his righteous deeds are few, is better for him than being subjected to tribulations with regard to his religious commitment. We ask Allaah to keep us safe and sound.
It was narrated from Mahmoud ibn Labeed (may Allaah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “There are two things that the son of Adam dislikes: death, although death is better for a believer than fitnah; and he dislikes having little wealth, but less wealth means less reckoning.” Narrated by Ahmad; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in al-Silsilah al-Saheehah, 813.
The fact that wishing for death in this situation is also prescribed is indicated by the words of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) in his du’aa’: “If You should decree fitnah for Your slaves, then take my soul (in death) before I am put to trial.” Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 3233; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Jaami’.
Ibn Rajab (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: This is permissible according to the majority of scholars.
Based on this, the reports of the salaf wishing for death are to be understood as meaning that they wished for death for fear of fitnah.
Maalik narrated that Sa’eed ibn al-Musayyab said: When ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab came from Mina, he made his camel kneel at al-Abtah, and then he gathered a pile of small stones and cast his cloak over them and dropped to the ground. Then he raised his hands to the sky and said, ‘O Allaah! I have become old and my strength has weakened. My flock is scattered. Take me to You with nothing missed out and without having neglected anything.’
Sa’eed said: Dhu’l-Hijjah did not end before ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him) was
murdered.
Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: Whoever sees death offered for sale, let him buy it for me!
Al-Thabaat ‘inda al-Mamaat, by Ibn al-Jawzi, p. 45
It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Were it not that it would be too hard for my ummah, I would not have stayed behind from any campaign. Would that I could be killed for the sake of Allaah, then brought back to life then killed, then brought back to life then killed.” Agreed upon.
The Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) wished to be killed for the sake of Allaah, and that was only because of the great virtue of martyrdom.
Muslim (1909) narrated that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever asks Allaah sincerely for martyrdom, Allaah will cause him to attain the status of the martyr, even if he dies in his bed.”
Abu Bakr (may Allaah be pleased with him) said, concerning the liar Musaylimah, when he claimed to be a prophet: “By Allaah, I will fight him with people who love death as they love life.”
Khaalid ibn al-Waleed (may Allaah be pleased with him) wrote to the people of Persia saying: “By the One besides Whom there is no other god, I shall send against you people who love death as you love life.”
It was narrated that Salmaan (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: I heard the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say: “Standing on guard at the border for one day and one night is better than fasting and praying qiyaam for a month, and if he dies, will be given the reward for the good deeds that he used to do, and he will be given provision, and he will be kept safe from al-fattaan
Muslim, 1913.
