By Shaykh Syed Anisul Haque
24 October 2025

﷽ 

Brothers and sisters, what if today was our last day on earth? Or tomorrow? We all know that death is the only certainty – it can come at any time, in any place. But how awake are we to this truth? And how differently would we live if the reality of death was always at the forefront of our hearts and minds?

Just a few days ago, a close friend of mine called and shared some devastating news – his nephew, a young man just 30 years old, passed away suddenly in his sleep. No warning, no illness, no farewell. He had returned home after work, spent some time in the living room, and when his mother came for Fajr, she found he had passed away. Just like that. Gone. 

SubhanAllah. Just weeks before that, another young brother from our community died in his sleep while on a holiday in Turkey. Two children now fatherless. A wife now a widow.

Stories like these are not just tragic – they are wake-up calls. They force us to confront a reality that we prefer to ignore: death.

The Prophet ﷺ told us that one of the signs of the nearness of the Final Hour is the increase in sudden, unexpected deaths:

From the signs of the nearness of the Hour is that sudden death will become widespread.

Sudden death is when there is no hospital bed, no last words, no repentance, no final supplication. Just… the end. Sudden death is meant to shake our hearts and make us ask the question: What if today was my last day?

What if the Angel of Death has already been sent for us? What if this sunrise was our final one? Would we hug our kids differently? Pray with more focus? Would we finally let go of those grudges, finally seek forgiveness, finally repent? Would we stop saying, “I’ll change later”?

Brothers and sisters, the truth is that that day will come. Whether we think about it or not. Whether we prepare for it or ignore it. It will come. As Allah reminds us:

Not every soul shall taste love, fame, or fortune – but every single one of us will taste death.

And here’s what many of us get wrong: we think death is the end. But in reality, it is only the beginning. The Prophet ﷺ said:

Verily, the grave is the first stage of the Hereafter. If one is saved from it, what follows is easier. If one is not saved from it, what follows is even harder. I have never seen anything more frightening than the grave.

The moment we die, the exam ends. No more second chances. The distractions of the dunya – phones, money, status – will vanish. Nothing will follow us into that grave except our deeds.

Allah describes the terrifying moment of death in the Qur’an:

The Prophet ﷺ described how the soul will be addressed at that time. To the righteous soul, the angels will say:

O good soul, come out to the forgiveness and pleasure of your Lord.

But to the wicked soul, it will be:

O wicked soul, come out to the anger and wrath of your Lord.

So we must ask: Which one will we be?

The pious predecessors understood this reality better than us. Ibn Qudamah (d. 620 AH / 1223 CE) mentions that some of the righteous would dig their own graves, lie down in them, and speak to their own nafs:

“O nafs, you are dead. What do you wish for?”

And the soul would reply:

“To return to the world and do good.”

So they would tell themselves:

“Your wish is granted – get up and do good.”

They didn’t wait to regret after death. They imagined the regret now, and they used it as fuel to change.

‘Uthman ibn ‘Affan رضي الله عنه once gave a short but powerful reminder:

“O son of Adam, the Angel of Death who has been assigned to you continues to pass by others and then move on to you. So prepare for him. Do not forget him, for he has not forgotten you.”

And the Prophet ﷺ summarised it beautifully:

Be in this world as if you are a stranger or a traveller.

A traveller doesn’t build palaces on the side of the road. He doesn’t get too comfortable. He knows this is not home. And yet many of us are living like this dunya will never end.

But death, my brothers and sisters, is not a theory. It is a certainty. It is the only thing guaranteed. And the biggest deception is to treat the one thing guaranteed as if it's the least likely to happen.

Allah warns us clearly:

So I end this reminder with the very question I started with: What if today was your last day?

Let us repent sincerely. Let us repair our hearts. Let us not delay what matters most.

May Allah make us among those whose souls are welcomed with glad tidings. May He grant us a good ending, protect us from heedlessness, and allow us to live in a way that prepares us for the meeting with Him.

Ameen.

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