of life, for a person in good health imagines death to be far off—even though it may strike him unannounced—whereas the sick know that death is closing in.

His words, “and you fear poverty,” mean: you fear it because you expect to live long; the longer one lives, the more he dreads that his wealth will be depleted. Therefore the best time to give is while you are healthy yet reluctant to part with your money.

“Do not neglect”—that is, do not abandon charity—“until, when it reaches the throat you say, ‘Give such-and-such to so-and-so and such-and-such to so-and-so.’” In other words, do not delay charity until death overtakes you and your soul has risen to your throat and you know you are leaving this world. At that point you declare, “Give so-and-so this,” intending it as charity, and “Give so-and-so that,” likewise as charity, even though “it has already come to belong to so-and-so”—meaning the wealth is now someone else’s, namely your heir. Once a person dies, his ownership ceases and nothing of the estate remains his.

This ḥadīth proves that one should hasten to give charity before death arrives, and that a donation made only at the moment of death is less meritorious than one made while a person is healthy and tight-fisted.

It also shows that a dying person’s statements are valid so long as he is still conscious; if he becomes confused and no longer grasps what he is saying, his words carry no legal weight. This is inferred from the Prophet’s words: “until, when the soul reaches the throat, you say, ‘Give so-and-so this and so-and-so that,’ while it has already come to belong to so-and-so.”

Furthermore, the ḥadīth indicates that the soul departs from the lower part of the body, rising until it reaches the upper part, where it is then taken. Hence the wording, “until it reaches the throat,” mirroring the Almighty’s saying: “So why, when it (the departing soul) reaches the throat, and you are at that moment looking on…”