Monday, May 10, 2021

Du’aa: Ask Allah for a Good Ending (Husnul Khatimah)



 

Among some of the most important du’aa we should be asking Allah for this Ramadhan is to have a good ending; to depart this world in a state of Him being Pleased with us.
The magicians of Fir’aun – when they saw the mu’jizaat (the signs of Allah) of Prophet Musa – they fell into prostration, in true iman and repentance to Allah. And despite the severe death threats of mutilation and being crucified by Fir’aun, they stood firm in belief, and make the following du’aa for patience and a good end; a du’aa which we all can also continuously make:

رَبَّنَا أَفْرِغْ عَلَيْنَا صَبْرًا وَتَوَفَّنَا مُسْلِمِينَ
“Our Lord, pour upon us patience and let us die as Muslims (in submission to You!)” (Surah Al-A’raf 7:126)

Likewise, we can also make the Du’aa of Yusuf (alayhissalam):

فَاطِرَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ أَنْتَ وَلِيِّي فِي الدُّنْيَا وَالْآخِرَةِ ۖ تَوَفَّنِي مُسْلِمًا وَأَلْحِقْنِي بِالصَّالِحِينَ
“Creator of the heavens and earth, You are my protector in this world and in the Hereafter. Cause me to die a Muslim (in submission to you) and join me with the righteous." (Surah Yusuf 12:101)

The context of this du’aa is inspiring. Yusuf made this du’aa at the very end of the surah, after his dream came from of his parents and brothers making sujood (prostration) to him out of respect. This was after enduring a lifetime of patience and righteous deeds: of being oppressed by members of his own household, of being sold off as a slave, of refusing zina out of taqwa of Allah despite no one else being present, of being oppressively thrown into jail (and still giving da’wah there!), and finally, being appointed as Al-Aziz (minister) of Egypt, carried out his duties with absolute justice and transformative leadership – to the extent that a calamity-stricken country enduring SEVEN long years of drought was managed so well that they have so much abundance that they could afford to give charity to other neighboring nations!

YET – in spite of a LIFETIME of righteousness – he made du’aa to Allah, “تَوَفَّنِي مُسْلِمًا وَأَلْحِقْنِي بِالصَّالِحِينَ”, “cause me to die in a state of submission to Allah, and enjoin me among the righteous”.
Amazing!

And here’s another amazing du’aa that we should be making constantly. Umm Salamah (wife of Rasulullah ﷺ ) narrated that: the du’aa (supplication) the Prophet ﷺ said most frequently was:

يَا مُقَلِّبَ الْقُلُوبِ ثَبِّتْ قَلْبِي عَلَى دِينِكَ
“O Changer of the hearts, make my heart firm upon Your religion”

So Umm Salamah said: “O Messenger of Allah, why do you supplicate (this du’aa) so frequently?”  The Prophet ﷺ said,

يَا أُمَّ سَلَمَةَ إِنَّهُ لَيْسَ آدَمِيٌّ إِلاَّ وَقَلْبُهُ بَيْنَ أُصْبُعَيْنِ مِنْ أَصَابِعِ اللَّهِ فَمَنْ شَاءَ أَقَامَ وَمَنْ شَاءَ أَزَاغَ
“O Umm Salamah! Verily, there is no human being except that his heart is between Two Fingers of the Fingers of Allah, so whomsoever He wills He makes steadfast, and whomever He wills He causes to deviate.” (At-Tirmidzi who graded it hasan)

Notice: This du’aa wasn’t just “taught” by the Prophet ﷺ. He HIMSELF made this du’aa all the time. The one who is forgiven his past and future sins, the one guaranteed the highest level of paradise. The one whom, of all human beings in existence, would be the most immune to his heart falling into deviation.

What about you and I?!

Finally, we should also ask Allah to make us die amongst the martyrs (syuhada). Prophet Muhammad ﷺ  said:

مَنْ سَأَلَ اللَّهَ الشَّهَادَةَ بِصِدْقٍ بَلَّغَهُ اللَّهُ مَنَازِلَ الشُّهَدَاءِ وَإِنْ مَاتَ عَلَى فِرَاشِهِ
“Whomsoever asks Allah to be granted syahadah (martyrdom, to die as a syahid) sincerely in his heart,
Allah will grant him the rank among the syuhada’ (martyrs) even if he died on his death bed.” (Muslim)

Among the du’aa we can make is the du’aa that was made by Umar ibn Al-Khattab:

اللَّهُمَّ ارْزُقْنِي شَهَادَةً فِي سَبِيلِكَ
“Oh Allah, grant me syahadah (to die as a syahid) in Your Path” (Al-Bukhari)
When Umar made this du’aa, he also made an addition: “and cause me to die in the city of your Messenger ﷺ”. Which was something which the companions considered to be strange at the time. How could he be martyred – murdered – in the city of Madinah, which was the stronghold of the Muslim nation, and at the time, already included vast nations such as Persia and Egypt. Yet, Allah honored Umar and granted it to him, when he was murdered by Abu Lu’lu’ah.

It is interesting to reflect, though, that the Prophet ﷺ himself died on his deathbed. So did the best man after him ﷺ, Abu Bakr as-Siddiq. And in fact, the sword of Allah himself, Khalid bin Al-Walid, died on his deathbed at home despite years seeking martyrdom.
Yet out of His Mercy, if you sincerely ask Him, you will still get that reward!

اللَّهُمَّ اجْعَلْ خَيْرَ أَعْمَالِنَا خَوَاتِمَهَا، وخَيْرَ أَعْمَارِنَا أَوَاخِرَهَا، وخَيْرَ أَيَّامِنَا يَوْمَ نَلْقَاكَ
"Oh Allah, make the best of our deeds their endings,
and the best of our lives at their end,
and the best of our days when we meet You"

Amin, ya Rabb 🤲🏽
#TheBarakahEffect #husnulkhatimah #goodending #gooddeath #ramadan2021 #ramadan #LaylatulQadr #Duaa

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