Among the great supplications that a dying person would do well to make is to ask Allah, Glorified is He, for forgiveness and mercy. It is related in the two Sahihs that ʿĀʾisha, may Allah be pleased with her, said: “Before the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, died, I heard him and listened closely as he rested his back against me and said, ‘O Allah, forgive me, have mercy on me, and join me with the Highest Companion.’”1

The dying person should also be reminded to have good expectations of his Lord. Jābir ibn ʿAbd Allah, may Allah be pleased with them both, said: “Three days before the Prophet’s death, I heard him, peace and blessings be upon him, say, ‘Let none of you die except while having good expectations of Allah.’” Muslim related it.2

In his book Having Good Expectations of Allah, Ibn Abī al-Dunyā related that Ibrāhīm al-Nakhaʿī said: “They considered it recommended to remind a servant, at the time of death, of his good deeds so that he would have good expectations of his Lord, Mighty and Majestic.”3

No authentic hadith has been established from the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, indicating that it is prescribed to recite any portion of the Quran over a dying person. The hadith, “Recite Yā-Sīn over those among you who are dying,” is weak and has not been authentically established from the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, as more than one scholar has pointed out.4

There are also several matters that the dying person should observe and keep in mind:

One of these is that he should be content with Allah’s decree and patiently bear what He has destined, so that he may attain the reward of those who are patient and those who endure in hope of Allah’s reward. It is related in Sahih Muslim that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: