Ahwal al-Muhtadar
- Author died
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- Editions
- al-Jāmiʿah al-Islāmīyah bi-al-Madīnah al-Munawwarah
Ahwal al-Muhtadar (The States of the Dying Person) is a creedal and scholarly study by Muhammad Abd al-Aziz Ahmad al-Ali examining the states, experiences, and tribulations of an individual at the time of death according to the Quran and the Sunnah .
Purpose and Scope
The author compiled the work to fill an observed void in Islamic literature regarding a specialized, critically verified monograph on the states of the dying person (ihtidar) . He noted that related topics were typically scattered across wider works on death and the Hereafter without critical verification, frequently mixed with uncorroborated narrations transmitted by preachers and storytellers . His stated aim was to compile and authenticate these matters based on primary scriptural proofs in accordance with the doctrine of Ahl al-Sunnah wal-Jama'ah . The study was published in the journal of the Islamic University of Madinah (Majallat al-Jami'ah al-Islamiyyah) .
Structure and Contents
The work is arranged into an introduction, a preparatory chapter (tamhid), ten thematic sections (mabahith), and a conclusion :
- Preparatory chapter: Defines the terms ihtidar (the arrival and descent of death upon a person), mawt (death), and wafat (passing away), and establishes that death is an inevitable certainty decreed for every created being at an appointed time .
- Section 1: Addresses the agonies and stupors of death (sakarāt al-mawt wa-ghamaratuh), covering their definitions, scriptural evidences, and the fact that they afflict all creatures with varying degrees of severity .
- Section 2: Describes how the angels seize the souls of disbelievers .
- Section 3: Discusses the angels accompanying the Angel of Death to extract the soul, the assistance they render, the glad tidings of Allah's mercy given to believers, and the tidings of punishment delivered to disbelievers .
- Section 4: Examines the closure and cessation of repentance once death is present .
- Section 5: Discusses the dying individual's plea to be returned to worldly life .
- Section 6: Details the presence of Satan attempting to misguide and tempt the servant during the death throes .
- Section 7: Details the legal prescription of prompting the dying person with the testimony of faith (talqin la ilaha illa Allah ) and speaking only good words in their presence .
- Section 8: Addresses the obligation of maintaining positive expectations of Allah (ihsan al-zann billah), particularly when death approaches .
- Section 9: Covers the reports concerning prophets being given a choice between life in this world and the Hereafter prior to death .
- Section 10: Discusses the principle that deeds are judged by their final outcomes (al-a'mal bi-l-khawatim), identifying the scriptural proofs, the signs of a good ending (husn al-khatimah), and the causes of an evil ending (su' al-khatimah) .
The conclusion summarizes the main findings, reiterating that the agonies of death serve either to expiate sins or elevate ranks for believers, while intensifying for disbelievers, and urges the Muslim to seek the causes of a good ending and guard against demonic temptations before the onset of death .
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