Chapter: What to Say When One Despairs of His Life

911 – ʿĀʾishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: “I heard the Prophet ﷺ, while he was leaning against me, saying, ‘O Allah, forgive me, have mercy on me, and join me to the Highest Company.’” Agreed upon.

And she said: “I saw the Messenger of Allah ﷺ in the throes of death. A cup of water was beside him; he would dip his hand into the cup, wipe his face with the water, and say, ‘O Allah, help me against the agonies and stupors of death.’” Reported by al-Tirmidhī.

[Commentary]

The author, may Allah have mercy on him, states in Riyāḍ al-Ṣāliḥīn: “Chapter on what one should say when he despairs of his life.”

True despair of life is only known once death is actually present; before that, no matter how severe the illness, a person should not give up hope. How many people have fallen so gravely ill that their families gathered the water for washing the corpse, the ḥanūṭ (camphor perfume for shrouding), and the shroud itself—yet Allah then restored them to health.