Anas ibn Mālik (may Allah be pleased with him) traced this report back to the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), who said: “Among the signs of the Hour ... is that sudden death will become widespread” (1).
This is plainly observable in our time, for sudden death has become widespread among people. You see a man healthy and well, yet he suddenly dies. This is what people today call cardiac arrest. A sensible person should therefore take heed for himself, return to Allah Most High, and repent to Him before death overtakes him unexpectedly.
Imam al-Bukhārī (may Allah have mercy on him) used to say:
“Seize, in your leisure, the merit of bowing in prayer;
Perhaps your death will come and catch you unaware.
How many a healthy man, untouched by illness, have I seen
Whose sound soul departed suddenly!”
Ibn Hajar said: “One of the remarkable things is that this very thing—or something close to it—befell him, meaning al-Bukhārī” (2).