For Those Left Behind
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Ep. 8: Do They Know What's Happening To Me? | For Those Left Behind
Do the dead know what is happening? How much of my current state are they aware of? Are they pleased or displeased by what is happening with me?
Chapters:
00:00 Introduction
00:27 The impact of death on faith
When someone righteous passes away, the grieving family often experiences a heightened sense of religiosity. This is sometimes followed by a decline because they didn't heed the lesson of death and adjust their lives accordingly.
No one grasped this lesson better than the companions after the death of the Prophet ﷺ. Their good deeds became more beloved to them. They feared hypocrisy and worried whether they would be among the righteous souls after they died.
02:22 Do the dead know what the living are doing? Do they know whether or not we're righteous?
The deeds of the living are shown to those who have passed away. If they see good (in the actions of their living loved ones), they are happy and delighted. If they see bad or hear bad things from those who are entering that realm, they are saddened and become worried.
Transcript
This transcript was auto-generated using AI and may contain misspellings. When someone righteous passes away, it's not just that we miss their company, but sometimes we also miss the influence that they used to have on us, right? So how many times do you see parents that were a positive influence on their children? They used to tell them to pray. They used to always remind them to do their good deeds, and now they're gone. And oftentimes when someone righteous passes away, the grieving family is going to experience a heightened sense of religiosity, but then there is sometimes a decline, you know, because there's some level of loss of purpose of sorts, and people go back to their own habits. So while they maintain an attachment to the dead, they haven't necessarily heeded the lesson of the death and try to adjust their lives accordingly, because all of this is to wake us all up, those of us that are still alive, because some of us are still asleep, though we're alive, and some of those that have passed away have awakened to that reality that we've all been told about so much. And this is, you know, none so more true than with the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam and what the companions experienced when he passed away. And I always start from that point because that's the supreme. Abdullah ibn Amr ma'a sallallahu alaihi wa sallam, he said that when we were with the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam, it was different. He said, for me to do a good deed now is twice as beloved to me as when the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam was with us. And they said, why? Why wouldn't it be more beloved to do a good deed in the presence of the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam? wa la kunna ma'a rasoolillahi sallallahu alaihi wa sallam ya haimuna al-akhira wa la tahimuna al-dunya. When we were with the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam, all we cared about was the hereafter. We didn't care about this dunya. But now things have changed and we worry about ourselves. And with the companions of the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam, with each one of them fearing hypocrisy so much, and I mean, imagine living in that generation and looking right and left
and seeing the incredible quality of people. When their brothers and their sisters passed away, they worried, am I going to be a martyr? Am I going to be amongst them or not? It starts off obviously with taqwa. Who sees my deeds? Allah. Who sees my heart? Allah. No one sees more than Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la and there's no sight I should fear more than the sight of Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la. However, don't you worry about disappointing your relatives and your loved ones who have gone before you and are now aware of your situation and wanting for you to be righteous and succeed. There's a powerful narration from Abu Darda radiAllahu ta'ala Anhu. And Abu Darda was one of the most righteous and most knowledgeable of the companions. But after his brother in Hijrah, Abdullah bin Rawaha passed away radiAllahu ta'ala Anhu. And you know, we know the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam paired the Muhajireen and the Ansar, the people of Mecca and the people of Medina, and he was his brother. So after he passed away, Abu Darda radiAllahu ta'ala Anhu used to actually say, Allahumma inniyaAAuudhu bika min an a'malaAAamalan ukhzaa bihi AAinda Abdullah bin Rawaha. Oh Allah, I seek refuge in you from doing something that would disgrace me in the sight of Abdullah bin Rawaha. What was that all about? When that conversation is taking place between those that have preceded us and those that preceded us as well, but a little bit later, and they're talking about those who have arrived and those that have been left behind. And they're hearing the news of those that have been left behind, meaning us. And they're saying, you know, how's their religiosity? Are they practicing more? Are the signs of religiosity more evident? Are their acts, their public acts, their ibadah, are they more present in the masjid? Are they more present in service? How are they? Right? And your name is not being mentioned favorably, then that is something for us to think about and can give us added motivation.
And some of us, subhanAllah, that are buried people that we truly love more than ourselves. You know, sometimes that's that added motivation that, ya Allah, I don't want my mother, I don't want my father, I don't want my brother, my sister, my spouse, my child to see me in a way that would shame me in their sight. Anas bin Malik radiAllahu ta'ala Anhu has this very powerful narration. It's a hadith that he narrates from the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam. And it's in Muslim Imam Ahmed, Imam al-Albani, who was of course a later muhaddith. He initially graded this as a weak hadith, then authenticated it. It's a powerful narration that the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam said, your deeds are shown to your loved ones from the deceased. The deeds of the living are shown to those who have passed away. And when they see those good deeds, if they are pleased with what they see, istabsharu bihi, then they're happy, right? They rejoice that alhamdulillah, this person is doing well. Alhamdulillah, this person is upon what I left them. Alhamdulillah, maybe my death caused the needed tawbah, the needed repentance in my child's life, in my brother's life, in my sister's life. Maybe this was the turn that they need. Alhamdulillah, they're on the right path to be joined with us, the righteous souls. So they're pleased if they see the good in those good deeds and they hear good news from those who are entering now into that realm. And if they see bad deeds or they hear bad things, then they would be sad and they would say, Allahumma la tumittum hatta tahdiya hum kama hadaytana. Oh Allah, don't let them die until you guide them the way that you've guided us. So they'd be worried about you. Because just like you care about them and you're sending good deeds on their behalf, and even if your religiosity is not where it needs to be, you still feel a connection to them. They also care about you and they also want to see you succeed. And they are seeing a reality, perceiving a reality that to this point you've only heard about. So they also want to hear that good news.
They also want to hear about those good deeds. Abu Ayyub al-Ansari radiAllahu ta'ala anhu, he said, the deeds of the people who are alive are shown to the dead. And if they receive good news, they become happy. If they see bad things, then they ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, Allahumma raji' bi abdika. Oh Allah, turn your servant away from this evil. Turn your servant away from this sin. So subhanAllah, I mean, there are numerous narrations that establish this idea. It seems to be that the exclusive route of sorts is that the people that are passing away between us and our loved ones are transferring that news and Allahu alim, what else exists in that regard. But just as we maintain the sense of muraqabah, observing the sight of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala upon us, and just as we maintain a connection to the dead by doing good on their behalf so that they can benefit from the good presence and the good impact that they had on us, let's not forget ourselves that we have to do the good things that are going to allow us to be in the place that we hope they are in right now.
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