# Juz 4: The Final Moments of This Life | Ahmad Hraichie ( The Muslim Undertaker)

**Author:** Dr. Omar Suleiman
**Series:** Qur’an 30 for 30 | Season 7
**Published:** 2026-02-21
**YouTube:** https://youtu.be/tHL82zmafoM
**URL:** https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/quran-30-for-30-season-7/quran-30-for-30-season-7-juz-4
**Topics:** Faith, Quran

## Summary
This episode of Yaqeen Institute's Quran 30 for 30 series focuses on Juz 4, centered on the theme of death as the ultimate certainty (yaqeen). Host Omar Suleiman is joined by Ahmad Hraichie, known as 'the Muslim undertaker,' and Sheikh Abdullah, for a deeply personal and spiritually rich discussion. The episode begins with a thematic connection between Juz 3 and Juz 4 of Surah Ali 'Imran: Allah's declaration as Malikal Mulk — the one who transitions night to day and life to death — sets the stage for the Juz 4 verse about the shuhada (martyrs) being alive with their Lord [Ali 'Imran 3:169]. The verse 'lan tanalu al-birra hatta tunfiqu mimma tuhibbun' (You will not attain righteousness until you spend from what you love) [Ali 'Imran 3:92] is explored through the story of Maryam's mother dedicating her unborn child to Allah, and through the ultimate sacrifice of the martyrs who give their lives. Ahmad Hraichie shares powerful real-life stories from his work as a Muslim undertaker: a new Muslim named Joe who studied the questions of the grave the night before he died; a woman who passed away in childbirth after years of trying to conceive; a man who prayed Tahajjud every night for nine years after being diagnosed with cancer until his death; and a man who lost his wife and three children in a car accident in a single day, who now spends his evenings at the cemetery and has transformed spiritually. Sheikh Abdullah shares the personal story of his non-Muslim sister Sakina, to whom he recited the shahada in her final moments. The episode emphasizes that grief is a natural human process, that death should be prepared for rather than feared, that the Akhirah is 'better and everlasting' [Al-A'la 87:17], and that proximity to death — when understood through an Islamic lens — can be a profound catalyst for spiritual transformation.

## Key Points
- Death is described in the Quran as 'yaqeen' (certainty) — the one thing every soul is guaranteed to experience.
- Juz 4 connects thematically to Juz 3: Allah's attributes as Malikal Mulk (King of all dominion) who transitions life and death set the context for the verse about martyrs being alive with their Lord [Ali 'Imran 3:169].
- The verse 'You will not attain righteousness until you spend from what you love' [Ali 'Imran 3:92] encompasses all forms of sacrifice — wealth, time, ego, and even life itself.
- The martyrs are described as alive, provided for, happy, receiving Allah's bounty, and rejoicing — Allah answers every possible concern about what they 'gave up.'
- The Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) encouraged frequently remembering death, calling it 'the destroyer of pleasures' (hadim al-ladhdhaat), as a means of spiritual recalibration.
- Grief after loss is a natural and human response; the Islamic framework acknowledges this while guiding believers to ultimately say only what pleases Allah.
- Ahmad Hraichie's real-life stories — including a new Muslim who reviewed the questions of the grave the night before he died — illustrate how Allah can grant blessed endings to unexpected people.
- Proximity to death, whether through personal loss or professional work, can be a powerful catalyst for spiritual transformation and a deeper understanding of life's true purpose.
- The Akhirah (afterlife) is described as 'better and everlasting' (khayrun wa abqa) [Al-A'la 87:17], and this perspective is essential for coping with loss in a healthy way.
- Preparing for death by building one's relationship with Allah reduces death anxiety, since fear of death is largely rooted in fear of the unknown.

## Chapters
- 0:00 Up close with death all the time
- 3:25 Being mindful of al-Rahman
- 4:40 When you sacrifice for Allah
- 11:22 Why we should remember death often
- 15:12 A convert learns of the questioning in the grave
- 17:12 A mother martyred while giving birth
- 18:35 9 years of tahajjud after cancer
- 19:25 When the body rushes towards the grave
- 23:12 Living for Allah after the death of a loved one
- 26:27 Do you get turned off by death?
- 27:38 A man who lost his entire family

## Transcript
**[0:05]** We live our lives thinking we're here forever. Death, as harsh, as hard as it seems, we have to accept it. And for a believer, it's a prize. The fact that you're sad, sometimes you're angry, it's human at a point. But we will not say except that which pleases

**[0:20]** Allah سبحانه وتعالى. Verily, Allah سبحانه وتعالى has purchased from the believers their selves and their wealth, in return for which is Jannah. السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته everyone. Welcome back to Quran 30 for 30. الحمد لله

**[0:37]** رب العالمين. We are now on night four. We want to remind you, dear brothers and sisters, please بإذن الله تعالى. Donate to Yaqeen. I hope you're following the series, إن شاء الله, Ramadan series, Quran 30 for 30, and all the other great work. I hope you're seeing the way that we have elevated, الحمد لله رب العالمين, our resources to try to be better suited بإذن

**[0:54]** الله تعالى to instilling Yaqeen in people around the world. Today, سبحان الله, we're going to have a very special episode because we will be talking about what Allah refers to as Yaqeen in the Quran, as certainty in the Quran, which is death. And in a very specific way, الحمد لله, we're joined by our brother Ahmad

**[1:12]** Tureis, the Muslim undertaker, ماشاء الله. I learned that you don't like being called Sheikh Ahmad, so if I slip, you know, it is what it is, you know? No, it's fine, Sheikh. It's سبحان الله. I'll take the old version, the Sheikh meaning the old man. So I'll take that part. حياك الله. سبحان الله, we're

**[1:30]** really happy to have you. Always a pleasure to be with the Yaqeen boys and obviously the company of all you guys, man. والله, we're here on a temporary time. We're all travelers, سبحان الله. We ask Allah to accept it from us and keep this دعوة going for generations after we've left

**[1:45]** this earth. يا رب. آمين. آمين يا رب. Sheikh, سبحان الله, when you and I did that conversation on the bench after last year's Ramadan series, you know, I heard some people say that's better than the whole Ramadan series. I was like, "Alright, الحمد لله." But we just had a conversation, right? And الحمد لله, I think

**[2:02]** that when you're so up close and personal with death all the time, today, سبحان الله, was today. I prayed جنازة on one brother, witnessed another brother who had a heart attack, almost died, and then actually entered into a home after a sister passed

**[2:18]** away just a few minutes. When you're that up close to death, it really changes your perspective. It calibrates you in a certain way. And you're always like one, سبحان الله, word away from breaking into tears and remembering a story of death because you

**[2:34]** accompany it all the time. All the time. Even when you travel? Even when I travel, I'm doing janazas and burying people I didn't even know. And I say, "Insha'Allah, they're witnesses for me on that Day of Judgment when my time turns and comes to enter barzakh,

**[2:49]** that they are witnesses for me, Insha'Allah, ya Rabb." Ameen, ya Rabb. But these are real people. These aren't stories. These are real souls, real humans, real people. I mean, you prayed the janaza on our brother who I trained two months ago with in Dubai in the gym. Subhanallah. You know, this is happening in real time. But

**[3:06]** us, the living, become oblivious to it. We think that we have more time. But when you're up and close and then you're hearing the stories, these stories that are real, that are like everyday occurrences that we go through, but you say, "Subhanallah,

**[3:21]** it's them and not me. How would I deal with it when that calamity hits me?" Ahmad, is there a name of Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala that you connect to frequently, a particular name? Ar-Rahman. What is it about Ar-Rahman? Just mercy. Just be merciful

**[3:38]** to everyone around you in this world. You know, I speak it to some boys outside. And you know, this world has politics in it. And sometimes directly or indirectly, you're involved. And I just looked straight at the camera and I said to the camera, "You know, my brothers, these regrets and this bitterness

**[3:57]** sometimes we hold and grudges in our hearts, in the grave, they don't exist anymore. So why are we holding them? Why are we giving free rent in our mind for this stuff when it's all done and dusted? It ain't going to mean anything. It may be against you in the grave. So why do we live

**[4:13]** our lives moving through these hardships when they're not really hardships meant for us? We make them hardships for us." Allahu Akbar, Sheikh Ahmad. We're so happy to have you, my brother. We're looking forward to this. So for those of you that are tuning in, this will be a different type of episode. We'll do

**[4:29]** an overview of the juz' bi'idhnillahi ta'ala. We'll talk about the tafsir of some of the ayat, Insha'Allah. We'll reflect, and then we'll go into some real-life stories that match these ayat bi'idhnillah. We're in juz four, and a lot of people forget that juz four also includes Surah Ali 'Imran.

**[4:46]** They correlate juz to surah. And I was thinking about this deeply. If you could correlate some of the deep themes of how Allah talks about Himself and what He does in juz three to juz four within Surah Ali 'Imran itself. So in Juz

**[5:03]** 3, Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala says, قُلِ اللَّهُمَّ مَالِكَ الْمُلْكِ تُؤْتِي الْمُلْكَ مَن تَشَاءُ وَتَنْزِعُ الْمُلْكَ مِمَّنْ تَشَاءُ وَتُعِزُّ مَنْ تَشَاءُ وَتُذِلُّ مَنْ تَشَاءُ بِيَدِكَ الْخَيْرُ إِنَّكَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ تُولِجُ اللَّيْلَ فِي النَّهَارِ وَتُولِجُ النَّهَارَ فِي اللَّيْلِ وَتُخْرِجُ الْحَيَّ مِنَ الْمَيِّتِ وَتُخْرِجُ الْمَيِّتَ مِنَ الْحَيِّ

**[5:22]** وَتَرْزُقُ مَنْ تَشَاءُ بِغَيْرِ حِسَابٍ Allah says, say, "Allahumma Malikal Mulk, the possessor of all possessions, the owner of all dominion, the King of Kings, Subhanahu wa Ta'ala. You give of this

**[5:38]** dominion to whom you will and you take it away from whom you will. You honor whom you will and you humiliate whom you will. In your hand is all good and you have power over all things. You are the one who enters night into day and brings day out of night. And the same thing is true for

**[5:54]** life and death. Allah 'Azza wa Jalla brings life from the dead and death from life, or takes life and brings it into death." And Subhanallah, this set of descriptions of Allah 'Azza wa Jalla

**[6:10]** alternating night and day, alternating life and death, putting people here, putting them there, honoring some and humiliating some, Malikal Mulk. What do we find in this Juz? That's last Juz. In this Juz, Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala talks about how He honors the shuhada. And in one verse, وَلَا تَحْسَبَنَّ الَّذِينَ قُتِلُوا فِي سَبِيلِ

**[6:28]** اللَّهِ أَمْوَاتًا بَلْ أَحْيَاءٌ عِندِ رَبِّهِمْ يُرْزَقُونَ Allah talks about what true honor is, and Allah talks about what true life is. The one who gives honor and gives humiliation, He says, Subhanahu wa Ta'ala, He honors them through martyrdom. And what you perceive as

**[6:43]** death is actual life, right? Don't say that they're dead. Rather, they're alive. So there's a beautiful connection there that I was thinking about. The previous juz, Allah 'Azza wa Jalla sets the terms, and then Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala gives us a specific manifestation here when it comes to the verses of ash-shahadah. The second connection I

**[7:01]** was thinking about, and we're going to keep coming back to that verse about shahadah, which in the wake of Gaza, SubhanAllah, I mean, we've been forced to reckon with this verse quite a bit. Don't think of those who have been killed in the way of Allah as being dead. Rather, they're alive with their Lord being provided for.

**[7:16]** Juz four actually starts out with a declaration, لَن تَنَالُوا۟ ٱلْبِرَّ حَتَّىٰ تُنفِقُوا۟ مِمَّا تُحِبُّونَ You will not attain righteousness or the reward of righteousness, al-birr being righteousness and the reward being Jannah, until you spend from that which you love.

**[7:33]** You give from that which you love. And a lot of times we limit charity and sacrifice to money. But that's a problem. That's a flawed understanding of what sacrifice actually is. In Surah Ali 'Imran, what do you think that was when this woman who had been waiting for a child

**[7:50]** her entire life, finally in her old age, becomes pregnant? And she says, إِنِّي نَذَرْتُ لَكَ مَا فِي بَطْنِي مُحَرَّرًا I dedicate what is in my stomach to you, O Allah, fully, right? That she intended to dedicate her child to the masjid. And of course, it turned out

**[8:07]** to be a girl. رَبِّ إِنِّي وَضَعْتُهَا أُنثَىٰ I gave birth to a girl. وَاللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ بِمَا وَضَعَتْ وَلَيْسَ الذَّكَرُ كَالْأُنثَىٰ And the rest is history. وَإِنِّي سَمَّيْتُهَا مَرْيَمَ right? The story of Maryam (عليها السلام), right? And the mother of Maryam (عليها السلام),

**[8:23]** sacrificing what she loves. I mean, can you imagine? You've been waiting for a child your whole life. You finally get the child. And your intention from the very start is to sacrifice this for the sake of Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala, not by hurting the child, by dedicating the child for the sake

**[8:39]** of Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala. Look at that spirit of sacrifice. And of course, لَن تَنَالُوا الْبِرَّ حَتَّىٰ تُنفِقُوا مِمَّا تُحِبُّونَ. The shuhada give up their lives for the sake of Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala. The ulama mention in commenting on the verse,

**[8:55]** إِنَّ اللَّهَ اشْتَرَى مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ أَنْفُسَهُمْ وَأَمْوَالَهُمْ بِأَنَّ لَهُمُ الْجَنَّةَ ۚ That verily Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala has purchased from the believers themselves and their wealth in return for which is Jannah, right? And usually we're told

**[9:11]** to spend of our wealth and give ourselves. The shuhada, they take a higher level, right? We can spend of our wealth, but they give of themselves. And the lesson here is that you will not give anything for the sake

**[9:27]** of Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala, sacrifice anything for the sake of Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala, except that He will reward that sacrifice multifold. And He will reward it with something better. Anything you give of your wealth, anything you give of your time, anything you give of your ego, anything you give of yourself, Allah Subhanahu

**[9:44]** wa Ta'ala compensates generously and with honor. And Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala gives you more than what you gave. And that is true for the shuhada. So you're reading these verses about the shuhada, those who gave themselves, right, for the sake of Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala.

**[9:59]** And Allah 'Azza wa Jalla is saying that not only are they still alive, right, because technically they gave up their lives, but actually they haven't given up their lives. They've exchanged temporary lives for eternal lives, right? So بَلْ أَحْيَاءٌ And not only have they not cut

**[10:16]** off their rizq in this world, cut off their sustenance in this world, يُرْزَقُونَ Allah is providing for them. And not only have they not given up their happiness and, you know, their joy in this life, فَرِحِينَ They're happy now. And not only have they not given to Allah Subhanahu

**[10:33]** wa Ta'ala, بِمَا آتَاهُمُ اللَّهُ مِن فَضْلِهِ They don't have a فضل on Allah, a virtue upon Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala now because no, Allah 'Azza wa Jalla is giving them from His bounty. And not only are they not sad about what they left behind, يَسْتَبْشِرُونَ

**[10:50]** They're rejoicing and waiting to receive their loved ones. So it's like Allah 'Azza wa Jalla answers every single facet that you could possibly think of, of someone that died for His sake and saying, not only has their life been replaced with something greater, everything they gave under the umbrella of life, Allah

**[11:09]** Subhanahu wa Ta'ala is giving them something better as a result of that. So may Allah 'Azza wa Jalla accept our شهداء in Gaza, in Sudan, all over the world. And may Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala give us the reward of شهادة even if we die in our beds. اللهم آمين. So Sheikh Abdullah, first of all, you know, what

**[11:24]** comes to your mind with the transition of this جزء here and the context? I mean, Subhanallah, the preparation, بِسْمِ اللَّهِ وَالصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ عَلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ how Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala prepares you when talking about, you know, the 'izzah and the dhul and how

**[11:41]** Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala prepares the reader to say, look, Allah is the one that can easily transition anything in any way how He pleases, night into day, وَالْحَيَّ مِنَ الْمَيِّتِ, you know, the life from the dead. It's an introduction for you to remember who Allah Subhanahu wa

**[11:56]** Ta'ala is and His capabilities. And that's so important in times of hardship, particularly that of what we're talking about in the next, in the verse that you mentioned, in the next juz, to understand that Allah is in control of everything. And so what's so important is that we as Muslims always have to remember in Ramadan, it's

**[12:12]** really activating those elements of belief that we have and bringing it to life, bringing it to our conscious. And what usually does that are events that we face, which serve as a huge opportunity when someone passes away. Is there going to be shukr? Is there going to be

**[12:28]** thankfulness? Is there going to be patience? Or is there going to be niyaha, you know, as the Prophet (ﷺ) mentioned, and wailing over, wailing over the dead, which can be a sign of the displeasure with what Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala has predestined. It's difficult at times because, you know, when the Prophet (ﷺ) a woman passed away and he came

**[12:44]** to her and said, "Be patient with the decree of Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala. Be patient with the predestination." What's beautiful as well is the perception that Allah is giving you in this particular verse when He's talking about بَلْ أَحْيَاءٌ Rather, you know, when He says بل, it's like rather. No, no, no, no, no, no. The correct perception

**[13:01]** is this. You know, in Islam, what's so beautiful is, you know, the concept of death. I think there's going to be a research paper coming out on death anxiety, you know, and, you know, the people fear death. But in Islam, Subhanallah, you know, the Prophet (ﷺ) what did he tell us in regards to this,

**[13:18]** this, this transition? And he said, أَكْثِرُوا مِنْ ذِكْرِ هَادِمِ اللَّذَّاتِ الْمَوْتِ to increase yourself in the destroyer of pleasures. And that is, that is death, which is just a transition. In the Quran,

**[13:33]** when Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala talks about that transition, actually we believe as Muslims there's an afterlife, وَهُوَ خَيْرٌ وَأَبْقَى It is better and everlasting. What do the people say when they speak to Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala? They say, قَالُوا رَبَّنَا أَمَتَّنَا

**[13:49]** اثْنَتَيْنِ وَأَحْيَيْتَنَا اثْنَتَيْنِ O Allah, You have caused us to die twice and give life twice. And the scholars differ which is the first death. Some say, okay, it was when you were in the womb of your mother. Then when you came to life, those are the first death and the first life. And then when

**[14:05]** you died is the second death. And the second life is the afterlife, which is in Surah Al-A'la [Al-A'la 87:17]: بَلْ تُؤْثِرُونَ الْحَيَاةَ الدُّنْيَا وَالْآخِرَةُ خَيْرٌ وَأَبْقَىٰ You prefer this life, but the Akhirah is better and everlasting. So it's just important for us to remember that in this hard time, and in reality,

**[14:24]** hard times serve as a huge opportunity for us to turn towards Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala. And if you think about it, that is why Allah, or from the kunuz, or the wisdoms of why Allah has put it there in the first place. He's put it there in the first

**[14:40]** place for you to make that decision. Are you going to be vulnerable to Him? Are you going to think about, "My mother passed away. What would she do that would make me pleased with her in this life?" Her friends, as the Prophet (ﷺ) mentioned, you know, mentioned, to give, to be good to the friends of your relative that's passed away, the ones that they

**[14:56]** are passionate about, are you going to show that level of reverence and respect to them? So just remembering the perception of this life that it is temporary and that it is ghurur, that it is a deception, but it is not a deception for the one that has the right perception of this life and how to appropriately live it,

**[15:12]** insha'Allah. Allah yibarik fikum, Sheikh Ahmad, any reflections? And also share with us some stories, Sheikh, of some people that you've seen that have these miraculous signs that we can, insha'Allah, soften our hearts by bringing this Quran to life

**[15:28]** and the stories of death that you give us. When you truly think that Allah is the turner of the hearts and you live in the Western culture and you see these people who come from the very worst beginnings and they get the very best endings. And those stories

**[15:44]** are countless from where we come from. You know, I'll give you one story of a brother whose brother became a Muslim a few years before him, and they were very hardcore Maronites. So nowhere near Islam. Mm-hmm. And he was about 52. His name was Joe.

**[16:05]** And SubhanAllah, he took his shahada after his brother became Muslim, and they lived together in the same house. The night he died, they watched a lecture about the questioning of the graves. So after the lecture, Joe says to his brother, "Test me on those questions.

**[16:23]** Test me." And he tested him, the questions, just obviously, you know, a revert thinking, "I can answer them." The answer is like you write on an exam. And they went to bed. The brother, who was the older brother, who was the revert first,

**[16:38]** was in bed and felt that his brother was dying. So he got up to the next room and went into his brother's room, and his brother was having a heart attack. His ruh was coming out at that time. SubhanAllah, he started making shahada. And I've got all this on video. I've seen it all. And I thought

**[16:55]** to myself, moments before it, he was asking him, "Test me about the questioning of the graves," only to be put in the grave the next day. Mm-hmm. You know, this is one example of SubhanAllah, things that we think, "No way this person would ever change." But when

**[17:12]** you talk about these deaths that are miraculous or even not even, even the shuhada, you know, the levels of shaheed differ. We're not all going to get the ultimate level. But, you know, I remember not long ago a woman and her husband was

**[17:30]** telling me that they were trying for years to get pregnant, for years. And SubhanAllah, when she did finally get pregnant, as she was giving birth, she passed away. يا الله. And I remember during the funeral, it was just her husband there under

**[17:47]** the age of 30, both of them sleeping, leaning on her stomach, and the mother-in-law standing there with the baby in a cot. And I was looking from a distance, and it was a small funeral. And next to me was a big funeral happening with a lot of people. And I grabbed

**[18:05]** that funeral, people from that funeral, I said, "You know that? She's a شهيدة there. This is how she died." And والله, everybody walked over to there to give condolences to the father. But I thought all I could think about, she just wanted this child, and she never got to see this child. She maybe got a glimpse

**[18:21]** of it before she passed away. And again, it's another test that she was afflicted with and her husband. But, you know, these deaths, سبحان الله, I could tell you all day about them. I just had a friend recently pass away

**[18:37]** who nine years ago got stomach cancer in the stomach. Wasn't into the religion. But the day he got stomach cancer, he started to pray every day at 3 a.m. Tahajjud. Didn't miss a beat. Nine years in that state until the day he passed

**[18:54]** away, he prayed Tahajjud at 3 a.m. and died. It was like clockwork. And these are the things that we look at and we envy. والله، these levels are unbelievable. You've got brothers who, سبحان الله، سبحان الله، they—you would never think that Allah would give

**[19:11]** them a death like that. And then Allah سبحانه وتعالى is the turner of the hearts. And on their last days, they go to Makkah and they die in Umrah. And there were people that have never been there. You know, an example, سبحان الله، a young man has

**[19:28]** a young child playing. It was exactly this time last year during the holiday period. And the young boy kicks the soccer ball into the lake. As the family watches, as the father walks in, as the father goes, "I'll get the ball for you, my son." He's walking in knee-high deep water, waist

**[19:46]** deep, chest deep, and then goes down and never comes back again for a ball that was worth not even $5. At his funeral, I had two funerals that day, and he was a big man. I had another lady that day who was very

**[20:02]** small and petite. When we carried both coffins up to the mosque, I saw some people struggling with the first coffin. And I thought to myself, "That must be the bigger man," naturally being the bigger mass. And the other lady was flying. Well, that coffin was flying up the mosque.

**[20:19]** When both coffins were put in the mosque, I went back to get labels to mark which one is which again, so which one goes in which car, automatically assuming the second one that was the one that was going real quick was the lady. When I opened the cover, it was the bigger mass. It was the bigger

**[20:35]** shroud. It was the man. The one that was going quick was the man, and the one that they were struggling with was the lady. سبحان الله, he was flying to the جنازة." And I drove the funeral car that day. And this happens a lot. الله is my witness. Sometimes I'm braking, going up a

**[20:53]** hill because the car just wants to keep going. And we got speed limits. And obviously, with a funeral, you don't want to go too fast because families get lost and they don't know where they're going in the cemetery. So you're braking and you're thinking to yourself, "How's this car moving so quick?" Then you find out

**[21:09]** their deaths are that blessed, that's exactly what we've been told, that they say, "Take me, take me quickly. Hurry with me. Hurry to my place." والله, you don't understand until you are in that realm of working in

**[21:25]** that industry, seeing those smiles, seeing those شهادة. You know, when somebody shows you a video of her 97-year-old great-grandfather looking up, pointing, making shahada, saying, "لا إله إلا الله," and passing away after it, 97 years on the 'ibadah. سبحان الله. You

**[21:46]** know, my brothers, والله, it's, it's, it's to me, it gives me happiness that we still have hope, that we still have hope at the time of death, that we will say the right words, that we will have that, that, that blessed ending that we're working. I mean, we're

**[22:02]** here as travelers for a blessed ending, for the mercy of Allah. But not one of us knows in which land we're going to die in, in what state or circumstances we're going to die in. سبحان الله, I'll use this as an opportunity to pay tribute to the mother

**[22:20]** of our brother Babar Ahmad, one of the Gitmo prisoners. He was one of the prisoners at Gitmo. His mother passed away رحمها الله. And I got to be there right after she passed away. And she was seeing the angels. So for the last

**[22:37]** week, she was seeing the angels as they were reading the Quran. When they'd read the Quran to her, she'd see the angels enter the room, and she would tell them, "I see them." سبحان الله. And when they would play the Quran from like a tablet or something, so like it's not coming, it's when they read the Quran physically in her presence, she would see them. الله يرحمها، there

**[22:54]** are stories upon stories, Sheikh. You know, by the way, سبحان الله, Ibn al-Qayyim رحمه الله's book, Kitab al-Ruh, is just full of these stories. Like he gives his principles of how to understand death and the soul. But then he gives a lot of these stories. And there's تجربة, right? There's experience, you know, people like yourself that have actually experienced

**[23:11]** the grave. I guess a question to both of you, Sheikh, I'll start with you. You know, Sheikh, like I remember in our community in Dallas, remember that young man that passed away and his friends were kind of lost. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Blinks there is all around. Yeah. And I remember

**[23:28]** you and I were talking about how to talk to his friends, الله يرحمه. How can people internalize death in a way that doesn't destroy them, right? Internalize شهادة in a way that doesn't make them disconnect from life, but instead live for the sake of الله سبحانه وتعالى and hope that Allah

**[23:44]** 'Azza wa Jalla also grants you shahada in the process of you living for His sake? Like how do you do this in a healthy way, Sheikh? Subhanallah. Yeah, may Allah have mercy on Nuh. That's Noah, the young man that, yeah, died at a young age. It was very tough on

**[24:00]** it was very tough on his mother and father, you know, very tough on them. And may Allah bless them with patience. آمين يا رب. Yeah. It's, it's firstly, it's accepting, you know, the grief, accepting and knowing that it's there. You know, even within the شريعة, it gives us for the woman that her

**[24:15]** husband passed away, it gives us a time period to grieve. So the fact that you're sad and the fact that even sometimes you're angry, it's human at a point. But, you know, as the Prophet (ﷺ) when his son passed away in his arms, after he acknowledged the emotional intelligence and acknowledged the sadness and the grief, he

**[24:32]** stopped and said, ولا نقول إلا ما يرضي الرب. "We will not say except that which pleases Allah سبحانه وتعالى." Yes, he said it at the moment, but for us, it may not be one moment. It may be a couple of days, weeks. You know, it's important for the relatives and for the people around that person that is

**[24:48]** grieving the most, the closest to that deceased person, to embrace their humanity and to understand that it is a process. But at that time, it's for the person themselves to say, "Okay, where am I grounded with Allah?" He has shown his power here. What am I doing?

**[25:04]** It's always about what am I doing? What am I doing? How I'm feeling is a reality, but what am I doing with those feelings and allowing that to bring me closer to Allah and trying my best going through those emotions? So I think that's what's important in these times, particularly سبحان الله.

**[25:22]** You know, as I'll share, I'm going to share one of these stories was, you know, my sister, she died of cancer, nine years younger than me, and they only allowed us to go into the hospital telling us that, "Okay, you have to come to give your condolences because we're going to take off the blood

**[25:37]** pressure machine, and then after that, she's going to go." And they let us in. And سبحان الله, as prayers are being done for her because she was a non-Muslim, you know, I went straight to her. I didn't care what was going to happen to me as far as the other people that were there. And I just pronounced the shahada, pronounced it, pronounced it,

**[25:54]** pronounced it. And it was her last, literally her last breath as her, her head just went down and just, you know, rested on her shoulder. I don't know if she said it. I don't know. And I'm going to be honest, I don't know if she said it. وأرجو, you know, You know, I hope that she did because I called

**[26:09]** her to Islam. My children called her to Islam. But—her name was Sakina. Yeah, her name was Sakina. Yeah, her name was Sakina. So just being content with Allah's Qadr and going through that process, it's just realizing it's a process. It's not an event. I think that's what's most important. Sheikh Ahmad,

**[26:27]** what do you say to someone who gets turned off by death, doesn't know how to internalize it in a way that's helpful? Naturally, for a human being, anything unknown gives us anxiety. If I was to tell you, "Pack your bag right now," or not even pack your bag, "Get in the car and we're

**[26:43]** going. We're never coming back," that's anxiety because of the unknown. But when we have a picture about what's going to happen and we have knowledge about what's going to happen slightly, and Allah knows best, then it gives

**[26:59]** us comfort. So prepare for it. Prepare for something that we are going 110% to. Death is guaranteed. حتم لازم, it's a decree ordained that will happen to every single one of us. We prepare every single thing

**[27:15]** in this world that is temporary and nothing for the next world that is the abode. Absolutely. Because the worst thing a human hates is to go from what he has built to what he has destroyed. We've built this world. It's comfortable to a degree, some others more than less. But the next world, we forget. And when

**[27:33]** death comes in a way so quickly that someone just leaves, I'll give you—can I give you a little quick story? Please. I remember doing this funeral for a man who was in his late twenties, really respectable guy, very good business. And he gave me, you know, you

**[27:50]** know the, you know the hug you get at the top of death? It's not like any other hug. They don't let you go. Yeah, they gel in you and they grab you and your ribs seem to fit into them. Like you just—it's something that you can't explain. It's not like a hug of a mother or a wife or a

**[28:05]** child. It's a hug from a hug from the heart. And this man, after I buried his three kids and his wife, he hugged me at the cemetery right near the grave, the dirt, and he wouldn't let go. And you know, a hug will last three, four, five seconds, but he wouldn't let go. And then you

**[28:22]** could feel like he said when her سكينة's head just went down, I could feel his head just go down and his body just go loose. I finally got him loose. And you know, سبحان الله, he said to me, "Ahmad, 24 hours ago, my house was a home.

**[28:41]** I would come from work and trip over toys and smell the cooking and kids crying and, you know, three kids under the age of five." Wow. Oh man. He goes, "And that morning I got up, I tripped over a few Legos, moved something out of the driveway and went to work and didn't

**[28:58]** see them because I didn't want to wake them up. As a father, sometimes you don't want to disturb anyway." Goes to work and gets a phone call early afternoon that his three kids and his wife have been killed in a tragic car accident. He said to me,

**[29:14]** "It just hit me like a steam train, I didn't know what it was, what they were saying. Like, you know, it didn't make sense. سبحان الله, he said the first night he went home, that night and the house was empty." Oh man. He said, "It's not a home anymore. It's a house."

**[29:30]** It was cold. There was no smell of any happiness, any family in there. And he says, "Now I put my kids into a grave and the mother of my kids, my wife, into a grave. And how do I expect Ahmad to walk from here and live?

**[29:47]** How do I walk? Where do I go?" Oh man. He said, "All these people here aren't going to do anything for me." And he pointed, and there was a lot of people, and I could feel with him. And he's telling me this. I don't know him, but he knew he could find me because I see this every day. I said, "أخي، الله يعطي والله يأخذ،

**[30:04]** عندك الله. Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala is هو الحي القيوم، هو كل شيء، لا تيأس." Do not despair." What words can you give a man who's broken down like this? And as he's talking to me, I'm looking at three mounds of dirt and the bigger mound being the mother.

**[30:21]** And I said, "يا الله، لا تختبرني أبداً باختبار لا أستطيع تحمله." And to this day, I stay in contact with him. And you are never the same again, Sheikh. Now, this is an example of how quick your life can change,

**[30:37]** how quick a calamity can come to us in a day. Yet we live our lives thinking we're here forever. And I never forget his story and I never forget him. And to this day, he spends every single

**[30:53]** day at the cemetery. He comes from work and sits at the cemetery. He's got a permanent residence. I've seen him even wash his car at the cemetery and clean his car sitting there. And he says to me, "Ahmad, the best thing that happened to me is that I can now

**[31:11]** know what life is really about." He said, "When I see a جنازة come, I know the times now." He goes, "I get up and help straight away." You're talking about a man who was in the corporate world who wouldn't—if you said to him, "The cemetery," you'd say, "What for? Who died?" Now I call him من أهل القبور,

**[31:30]** of the cemetery. Yeah. You know, so sometimes we we don't we don't look at, you know, what the blessing of something that is so sad. And death, unfortunately, Sheikh, as harsh, as hard as it seems, we have

**[31:48]** to accept it. And for a believer, it's a prize. هادم اللذات when it comes to you, and it's هادم اللذات when it comes to you, Those close to you destroy pleasure. May Allah make it easy for that brother. May Allah عز وجل have mercy on his loved ones. And سبحان الله, like we would

**[32:06]** rightfully feel sorry for him in this dunya. And on the akhirah, I presume that we'd all envy him. And that's the whole point of خَيْرٌ وَأَبْقَى May Allah make it easy for him and for all of those that have lost loved ones. And may Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala accept all of the dead كشهداء. JazakAllah Khair, Sheikh

**[32:23]** Ahmad, for sharing these stories and for continuing to remind us of يَقِينٌ the real يَقِينٌ the certainty of death. May Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala reward you. And may Allah grant you and all of us an afterlife of ease and grant us حُسْن الْخِتَام a good ending. Allahumma, amin. Barakallah fiikum. JazakAllah Khair to all the

**[32:40]** brothers and sisters for tuning in. والسلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته.

## Other Episodes in "Qur’an 30 for 30 | Season 7"
- [Juz 30: Love Al-Razzaq More Than Rizq | Sh. Navaid Aziz](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/quran-30-for-30-season-7/quran-30-for-30-season-7-juz-30.md)
- [Juz 29: Your Spiritual Report Card  | Dr. Nazir Khan](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/quran-30-for-30-season-7/quran-30-for-30-season-7-juz-29.md)
- [Juz 28: How To Truly Be Conscious of Allah | Dr. Jinan Yousef](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/quran-30-for-30-season-7/quran-30-for-30-season-7-juz-28.md)
- [Juz 27: The Night You Give Everything | Sh. Abu Bakr Zoud](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/quran-30-for-30-season-7/quran-30-for-30-season-7-juz-27.md)
- [Juz 26: Don’t Run From Struggle | Sh. Mikaeel Smith](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/quran-30-for-30-season-7/quran-30-for-30-season-7-juz-26.md)
- [Juz 25: God Is Not A Mystery | Sh. Ibrahim Hindy](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/quran-30-for-30-season-7/quran-30-for-30-season-7-juz-25.md)
- [Juz 24: Candid Conversations with Allah | Mufti Abdul Rahman Waheed](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/quran-30-for-30-season-7/quran-30-for-30-season-7-juz-24.md)
- [Juz 23: Facing Your Trials With Honor | Dr. Farah Islam](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/quran-30-for-30-season-7/quran-30-for-30-season-7-juz-23.md)
- [Juz 22: Appreciating Muhammad ﷺ | Sh. Omar Hajjaj](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/quran-30-for-30-season-7/quran-30-for-30-season-7-juz-22.md)
- [Juz 21: Allah Is The Author of History | Sr. Sarah Sultan](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/quran-30-for-30-season-7/quran-30-for-30-season-7-juz-21.md)
- [Juz 20: Allah’s Loud and Silent Revelations | Sh. Hisham Abu Yusuf](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/quran-30-for-30-season-7/quran-30-for-30-season-7-juz-20.md)
- [Juz 19: What Makes You Valuable to Allah? | Ust. Roohi Tahir](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/quran-30-for-30-season-7/quran-30-for-30-season-7-juz-19.md)
- [Juz 18: The Qur’an Is A Cure | Dr. Tesneem Alkiek](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/quran-30-for-30-season-7/quran-30-for-30-season-7-juz-18.md)
- [Juz 17: When Allah Chooses You, How Will You Respond? | Sh. Yousef Wahb](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/quran-30-for-30-season-7/quran-30-for-30-season-7-juz-17.md)
- [Juz 16: Can You Be Patient With Allah? | Ust. Lobna Mulla](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/quran-30-for-30-season-7/quran-30-for-30-season-7-juz-16.md)
- [Juz 15: Join the Heavens in Glorifying Allah | Sh. Mohamud Mohamed](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/quran-30-for-30-season-7/quran-30-for-30-season-7-juz-15.md)
- [Juz 14: The Surah of Blessings | Ust. Taimiyyah Zubair](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/quran-30-for-30-season-7/quran-30-for-30-season-7-juz-14.md)
- [Juz 13: What Is 1% of Allah’s Mercy? | Dr. Mohamed AbuTaleb](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/quran-30-for-30-season-7/quran-30-for-30-season-7-juz-13.md)
- [Juz 12: Allah Is Not Far | Sh. Omar Hedroug](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/quran-30-for-30-season-7/quran-30-for-30-season-7-juz-12.md)
- [Juz 11: Stop Playing Games | Dr. Ovamir Anjum](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/quran-30-for-30-season-7/quran-30-for-30-season-7-juz-11.md)
- [Juz 10: When Allah Goes To War For You | Dr. Suleiman Hani](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/quran-30-for-30-season-7/quran-30-for-30-season-7-juz-10.md)
- [Juz 9: How To Memorize Allah’s Names | Dr. Haifaa Younis](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/quran-30-for-30-season-7/quran-30-for-30-season-7-juz-9.md)
- [Juz 8: Whose Validation Do You Need? | Sh. Shabbir Hassan](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/quran-30-for-30-season-7/quran-30-for-30-season-7-juz-8.md)
- [Juz 7: They Know Al-Lateef in Gaza | Dr. Farhan Abdul Azeez](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/quran-30-for-30-season-7/quran-30-for-30-season-7-juz-7.md)
- [Juz 6: Signs of A Hypocrite | Sh. Asim Khan](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/quran-30-for-30-season-7/quran-30-for-30-season-7-juz-6.md)
- [Juz 5: You Can’t Fight Fire with Fire | Ust. Fatima Lette](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/quran-30-for-30-season-7/quran-30-for-30-season-7-juz-5.md)
- [Juz 3: How The Qur’an Makes You Rich | Dr. Tahir Wyatt](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/quran-30-for-30-season-7/quran-30-for-30-season-7-juz-3.md)
- [Juz 2: The Lord of Rituals | Mufti Menk](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/quran-30-for-30-season-7/quran-30-for-30-season-7-juz-2.md)
- [Juz 1: Allah’s Names in the Qur’an | Sh. Mohammad Elshinawy](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/quran-30-for-30-season-7/quran-30-for-30-season-7-juz-1-mohammad-elshinawy.md)
- [TRAILER | Qur’an 30 for 30 Season 7 | Dr. Omar Suleiman and Sh. Abdullah Oduro](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/quran-30-for-30-season-7/quran-30-for-30-season-7-trailer.md)