—among the elderly—may sometimes hurt their families even more than small children do, for they once possessed full understanding. For that reason the Prophet ﷺ sought refuge with Allah from being returned to the most abject stage of life.

We ask Allah to protect us and you from reaching that stage, for when a person is reduced to it he suffers himself and makes others suffer. Those nearest to him may even wish for his death because of the trouble he causes; if they do not voice the wish, their very conduct may betray it.

Fifth: “the sudden, dispatching death.” It is that a person passes away without warning. He may die asleep in his bed, seated at his workplace, or walking along the road. Once he dies his deeds come to an end, as the Prophet ﷺ said: “When the son of Adam dies, his works cease except for three: a continuous charity, knowledge from which people benefit, or a righteous child who prays for him.” So hasten to righteous deeds before that sudden death overtakes you, for it will strike without granting any respite.

Sixth: “or the Dajjāl, for he is the worst absentee whose arrival is awaited.” The name Dajjāl is an intensive form of dajl, meaning deception and fraud. He is a man whom Allah will send at the end of time; his trial (fitnah) will reach the point that he claims lordship itself, asserting that he is God, and he will remain in that trial