for gaining respect and fame. However, none of us have the guarantee of our faith remaining intact at the time of death. مَعاذَ الـلّٰـه What will we do if our faith is taken from us due to the evil of our sins? Sayyiduna Abu Darda رَضِىَ الـلّٰـهُ عَـنْهُ would say, “By Allah! No one can be certain about whether his faith will remain intact or not at the time of death.”^[1]

Satan taking the Form of Friends

Hujjat al-Islam Imam Muhammad Ghazali رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَلَيْه states: When the soul begins to leave a person’s body, the Devil arrives with his followers and takes the form of his deceased relatives, e.g., his parents, brothers, sisters and friends. The Devil says to him, “O so-and-so! Soon you will die whereas we have already experienced death. Thus, [leave the fold of Islam and] embrace such-and-such religion as it is accepted in the court of Allah the Merciful.” If the dying man does not accept the Devil’s claims, the Devil and his followers take the form of his other friends and say, “[Leave Islam] and accept such-and-such religion.” Like this, they remind him of all the false beliefs of every religion. Thus, the one who is destined to lose his faith, deviates in that moment and adopts a false religion.^[2]

صَلُّوۡا عَلَى الۡحَبِيۡب                                                                 صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلٰى مُحَمَّد

Dear Islamic brothers! You have heard how difficult and dangerous the trials of death are. At that time, you will be gasping for breath, you will not be in the right frame of mind, you will feel severely thirsty, and whilst this is occurring, the accursed Devil and his offspring come to you, not in their original forms, but in forms resembling your relatives, parents, siblings and friends. By doing so, he attempts to take Iman away from the believers in various ways. Our pious predecessors رَحْمَۃُ الـلّٰـهِ عَلَیْہِمْ اَجْمَعِیْن