Ihzar Su al-Khatima
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Ihzar Su al-Khatima (Arabic: احذر سوء الخاتمة, lit. 'Beware of an Evil End') is a short hortatory Islamic treatise by the contemporary author Azhari Ahmad Mahmoud, focusing on the danger of meeting death in a state of sin or disbelief (su' al-khatima) and urging prompt repentance and spiritual vigilance .
Core Themes and Precedents
The author opens the treatise by describing the final moment of life (al-khatima) as a critical threshold that causes deep apprehension among the righteous, citing the Prophetic traditions emphasizing that deeds are judged by their conclusions: وإنما الأعمال بالخواتيم ("Deeds are judged only by their endings") and that a person may perform the actions of the people of Paradise for a long time yet finish with the actions of the people of the Fire . Drawing on reflections by Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali, the work notes that outward conclusions are the product of preceding inner states .
To illustrate the gravity of this station, the text recounts the profound fear of the end expressed by early figures:
- Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak's warning that discerning believers do not feel secure regarding past sins, remaining life, divine gifts that may be tests, or sudden lapses of the heart .
- Al-Hasan al-Basri's urging to seize passing breaths before life is cut short .
- Umar ibn al-Khattab weeping after being fatally wounded by Abu Lu'lu'ah out of concern over his final destination .
- Sayings and weeping at the time of death reported from Sufyan al-Thawri, Malik ibn Dinar, Hatim al-Asamm, and Sahl al-Tustari .
Causes and Deathbed Accounts
The work identifies persistence in major sins (al-israr 'ala al-kaba'ir), spiritual heedlessness, prolonged worldly hopes (tul al-amal), and corruption of inner belief as the principal causes of an evil end . Quoting Abu Muhammad Abd al-Haqq, the text highlights that an evil ending does not strike a person whose outward conduct is righteous and whose inner heart is sound; rather, it befalls those persisting in major sins or those who abandon uprightness .
To admonish the reader, the author includes anecdotal reports (masari' al-mudhnibin) of individuals who suffered bad endings due to habitual sins:
- A dying alcoholic who, when prompted to recite the testimony of faith (la ilaha illa Allah), stated that he disbelieved in it .
- A knowledgeable man who was unable to utter the shahada at death due to undutifulness to his parents (uquq al-walidayn) .
- Dying individuals whose final words reflected their worldly obsessions—such as a broker calling out commercial prices ("three and a half, four and a half") or another dictating household maintenance rather than the words of faith .
Exhortation to Repentance
The booklet concludes with a direct appeal to the reader to engage in sincere self-examination (muhasaba), abandon persistent disobedience, and hasten to repentance before death arrives unexpectedly and closes the opportunity for redemption .
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