It is also established in Imam Ahmad’s Musnad, in the hadith of Anas, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, visited a man from the Ansar and said, “Maternal uncle, say: ‘There is no god but Allah.’” The man asked, “A maternal uncle or a paternal uncle?” He replied, “A maternal uncle.” The man then asked, “Will it be good for me if I say, ‘There is no god but Allah’?” The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, replied, “Yes.”1
One of the remarkable accounts narrated in this regard is the story of the imam and hadith scholar Abū Zurʿa al-Rāzī, may Allah have mercy on him, when death approached him. It is an established account related by more than one scholar from Abū ʿAbd Allah Muhammad ibn Muslim al-Bādī, who said:
“I was with Abū Hātim Muhammad ibn Idrīs at the bedside of Abū Zurʿa ʿUbayd Allah ibn ʿAbd al-Karīm al-Rāzī while he was in the throes of death. I said to Abū Hātim, ‘Come, let us prompt him to recite the declaration of faith.’ Abū Hātim replied, ‘I would be ashamed to prompt Abū Zurʿa to recite the declaration of faith. Instead, come and let us review the hadith together; perhaps when he hears it, he will recite it himself.’
“Muhammad ibn Muslim continued: I began, saying, ‘Abū ʿĀsim al-Nabīl narrated to us: ʿAbd al-Hamīd ibn Jaʿfar narrated to us…’ But then I could not recall the hadith, as though I had never heard or read it. Abū Hātim then began, saying, ‘Muhammad ibn Bashshār narrated to us: Abū ʿĀsim al-Nabīl narrated to us, from ʿAbd al-Hamīd ibn Jaʿfar…’ But he too could not recall it, as though he had never read or heard it.
“Then Abū Zurʿa—while in the throes of death—began, saying, ‘Muhammad ibn Bashshār narrated to us: Abū ʿĀsim al-Nabīl narrated to us: ʿAbd al-Hamīd ibn Jaʿfar narrated to us, from Sālih ibn Abī ʿArīb, from Kathīr ibn Murra, from Muʿādh ibn Jabal, who said: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Whoever’s final words in this world are: ‘There is no god but Allah—’”’ His soul departed as he uttered the final h sound, before he could say, ‘will enter Paradise.’”2