by the fire; or we may die on some desolate stretch of land and be devoured by wild beasts; or at sea, to be eaten by fish. We simply do not know. What does matter is that every human being is bound for the Hereafter. Hence the Prophet’s supplication: “set right for me my Hereafter, to which is my return.” The soundness of the Hereafter lies in Allah’s saving you from the punishment of Hell and admitting you into Paradise. We ask Allah to set aright the Hereafter for me and for you.

He also prayed: “and make this life an increase for me in every good, and make death a relief for me from every evil.” When a person is granted success in this life and each day adds more goodness, acquiring righteous deeds and feeling their effect within, you will find him rejoicing whenever he performs a good deed, saying, “Praise be to Allah, who has guided us to this; had He not guided us, we would never have been guided” (Q 7:43). Day after day he grows: he prays, glorifies Allah, recites the Quran, enjoins right, forbids wrong, greets his brother with a cheerful face, and so on—an abundance of good works. The more a person’s life overflows with such good, the better that life becomes. Thus the hadith states: “The best of you is the one whose life is long and whose deeds are good.”

He further prayed: “and make death a relief for me from every evil.” Death is, plainly, the loss of worldly life, yet the Prophet ﷺ asked Allah to make it a relief from all evil. One never knows what may befall him in this world. He might remain alive for many years, only to suffer a relapse—Allah forbid—and see his religion ruined. He might live on and witness immense trials that wear him down until he cries, “Would that my mother had never given birth to me! Would that I had died before this and been forgotten, lost in oblivion!” Monumental tribulations may confront him, whereas an earlier death decreed by Allah could be a mercy and a relief from every evil. For this reason the Messenger ﷺ would beseech Allah with this very supplication.