three days before he passed away, saying, “Let none of you die except while thinking well of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic.” Reported by Muslim.

447 – Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say: “Allah, Exalted be He, declares: ‘Son of Adam, as long as you call upon Me and place your hope in Me, I shall forgive you whatever you have done, and I do not mind. Son of Adam, were your sins to reach the clouds of the sky and you then asked Me for forgiveness, I would forgive you, and I do not mind. Son of Adam, were you to come to Me with sins filling the earth, yet meet Me without associating anything with Me, I would come to you with forgiveness equal to it.’” Narrated by al-Tirmidhī, who said: “A ḥasan (good) hadith.”

“ʿAnān al-samāʾ (the clouds of the sky)”—with a fatḥa on the ʿayn—has been explained as that part of the sky that first appears when you raise your head; others say it refers to the clouds. “Qurāb al-arḍ (what fills the earth)”—with a ḍamma on the qāf, though some read it with a kasra, and the ḍamma is the sounder and better known pronunciation—means that which is nearly the earth’s full measure. Allah knows best.

53 – Chapter: Combining Fear and Hope

Know that what is preferable for a servant while he is healthy is to be both fearful and hopeful, with his fear and hope equal; but when he is ill, hope should predominate. The principles of the Sacred Law—drawn from the texts of the Quran, the Sunnah, and other evidences—concur on this.

Allah the Exalted says: “No one feels secure from Allah’s scheme except the losers.” (al-Aʿrāf 99)
He also says: “Indeed, none despairs of Allah’s mercy (1) except the disbelieving people.” (Yūsuf 87)
And He says: “On the Day when faces will turn white and faces will turn black.” (Āl ʿImrān 106)
And He says: “Indeed, your Lord is swift in punishment, yet He is Forgiving, Merciful.” (al-Aʿrāf 167)
And He says: “Surely the righteous will be in bliss, whereas the wicked will be in a blazing Fire.” (al-Infiṭār 13–14)