When his final moment came, he wept and said: “I know that a day filled with calamities is about to come upon me. That day is a day of intense grief. Indeed, He alone is the True Lord Who has decreed death for His creation.”

He then recited the following verse from Juzˈ 29, Surah al-Mulk:

الَّذِیْ خَلَقَ الْمَوْتَ وَ الْحَیٰوةَ لِیَبْلُوَكُمْ اَیُّكُمْ اَحْسَنُ عَمَلًاؕ

He who created death and life to test you as to which of you is better in virtue^[1]

After reciting this, he took his final breath and departed from this world.^[2]

Strange are those who celebrate the Reduction of Life

O devotees of the beloved Prophet! Indeed, this is a moment for deep reflection. These days and nights are cutting away at our lives like scissors. With every passing day and every passing night, we are drawing closer to death. Unfortunately, we reject advice, remain lazy, persist in sins, and sink deeper into heedlessness.

How strange it is that two days ago the year came to an end, one year of our lives was reduced, yet people were celebrating it while indulging in sins.

The great scholar Ibn Rajab al-Ḥanbalī رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَـلَيْه states: “O you who rejoice at the passing of a year! In reality, you are rejoicing at the reduction of your lives.”^[3]

He further states: “O you whose years pass one after another, yet you do not awaken from the sleep of heedlessness! O you whose year has passed, yet you remain drowned in the ocean of sins!”^[4]

On the Day of Judgement, when you stand before Allah Almighty, what excuse