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Bismillāh ar-Raḥmān ar-Raḥīm. Al-ḥamdu lillāhi Rabbil-‘alāmīn. Wa salātu wa salāmu ‘ala ash-sharafi al-anbiyā’ wal-mursalīn, Muḥammadur Rasūlallāh ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa ‘alā ‘ālīhi wa saḥbihī wa sallam. Tasliman kathīran kathīrān. Umar Badu, my brothers and sisters, we ask Allāh subḥānahu wa ta’ālā to give us khatima bil-khayr. Because Rasūlullāh ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam said, innama al-amalu bi-l-khawātīm. He said the deed ends based on how it ends. So we ask Allāh subḥānahu wa ta’ālā for khatima bil-khayr.
Allāh subḥānahu wa ta’ālā spoke about our last moments. And Allāh said: فَلَوْلَا إِذَا بَلَغَتِ الْهُلْقُومُ وَعَنْتُمْ هِينَ إِذٍ تَنظُرُونَ وَنَحْنُ أَقْرَبُ إِلَيْهِ مِنْكُمْ وَلَكِنْ لَا تُبْصِرُونَ (inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji’un). Allāh subḥānahu wa ta’ālā said that when the breath is stuck in the throat—what we call *ghal ghala*—at the last moment of dying, when the breath is stuck in the throat and you are standing there looking on, Allāh said, “We are closest to them, but you cannot see Us.”
فَلَوْلَا إِن كُنتُمْ غَيْرَ مَدِيدِينَ تَرْجِعُونَهَا إِن كُنتُمْ صَادِقِينَ (inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji’un). Allāh subḥānahu wa ta’ālā says, if you have so much power, if you act in this world, live in this world, pretend to be so powerful, Allāh subḥānahu wa ta’ālā said, if you actually have this power, then return that breath. Return the breath which is stuck in the throat; give him relief. Give that person relief. I don’t know how many of you have actually stood by somebody when they were dying. I have stood; I have seen this happening. May Allāh have mercy on all of us, inshā’allāh.
The pain and suffering of the *sakrāt*, Allāh subḥānahu wa ta’ālā mentioned that in the Qur’an. And Allāh subḥānahu wa ta’ālā said, the *sakrāt* is ḥaqq. It is true; it will happen. May Allāh protect us from that, inshā’allāh. So we ask Allāh subḥānahu wa ta’ālā for khatima al-khayr. We ask Allāh subḥānahu wa ta’ālā to keep us healthy in all respects—physically, mentally, spiritually—and to keep us in a state where He is pleased with us until our end, and to take us in that state, inshā’allāh. Not to make us dependent on anybody or anything, either in this dunyā or in the next life, inshā’allāh.
The reason I am saying this is to remind myself and you that death is not the end. Right? We normally have this way of speaking, especially if somebody has been ill or suffering, or experienced some kind of pain, or hospitalization, or whatever. We say, “At least his suffering is over.” What do we say? “*Taglief* to khatam ho gaya na bhai”? “*Gita*, bichara *taglief* mein tha, o to khatam ho gaya”? We ask Allāh to make that true, but there’s no guarantee. Whether the *taglief* ended, or whether the *taglief* now starts, depends on the kind of actions the person did. That is why it is very important to understand life from the lens of Islam. Not just go by whatever the world says. The world is ignorant; the world does not know. Al-ḥamdulillāh, those who have the Qur’ān—which are the Muslims—may Allāh make us among those who actually have it in a real sense, meaning we understand it, and we reflect on it.
Allāh said: أَفَلَا يَتَدَّبَّرُونَ الْقُرْآنَ أَمْ لَقُلُوبٍ أَقْفَالُهَا (afala yatadabbaruna al-qur’an am la quloobin aqfaluha). Allāh said, “Do they not reflect upon the Qur’ān? Or is it that their hearts are locked?” There is a lock on the heart. May Allāh Ta’ālā not make us among those. So the idea of the Qur’ān al-Karīm is to reflect on this. If you reflect on the Qur’ān al-Karīm, then we know that when a believer has any suffering, and he or she bears this suffering with *sabr*, they do not complain, they do not moan and groan, they do not blame Allāh subḥānahu wa ta’ālā, and they do not say inappropriate things. When they bear the suffering with *sabr*, then Allāh subḥānahu wa ta’ālā wipes their sins and cleanses their sins. So by the time they come to their death, even if it was not a long period—maybe five minutes of suffering, right? Maybe one minute of suffering—when the person comes to his death, this person is completely clean, cleansed, and pure. And meets Allāh subḥānahu wa ta’ālā in a state where he or she is completely free from all sins. So suffering by itself is not necessarily a negative thing.
Similarly, if a person has no suffering, I have heard about many people; so-and-so passed away very peacefully, meaning the person was not even Muslim, non-Muslim, he passed away very peacefully, he had a smile on his face, he just died like this. It means nothing. Means nothing, right? So just because a person was not suffering, just because he lived a life of comfort and luxury, it does not mean necessarily that that death was a khatima bil-khayr; it was an ending, a good ending. And just because we saw some suffering, it does not mean that the death was bad. Rasūlullāh ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam himself had, when he was dying, such a severe headache, migraine, that he said that if it was more than ten migraines, more than a headache for ten people, and he had a cloth which was wrapped and tied very tight around his blessed head to somehow relieve the pain, in that state. So he had some suffering before he passed away. So the point is that it’s not a question of suffering; it’s a question of what state do you die in? If you die in a state of *īmān*, and if you die in a state where you have made *istighfār* and *tawbah*, then there is hope with Allāh subḥānahu wa ta’ālā, inshā’allāh, that Allāh will forgive us and Allāh subḥānahu wa ta’ālā will grant us Jannat. But if a person dies in the opposite state, where there is no *istighfār*, there is no *tawbah*, the person dies on *kufr*, the person dies on *shirk*, or even if a person dies on Islam but lives a life completely filled with all kinds of evil, then there is a different issue. So we ask Allāh subḥānahu wa ta’ālā not to put us in that state.
So I remind myself and you: let us reflect on this, let us think about this—where am I going? What is my life taking me to? Allāh subḥānahu wa ta’ālā again in the Qur’ān said: فَاِنْتَهَبُوا ثَابُونَ (fa-in-ta-thabun). Allāh asked this question; He said, “Where are you going?” The question is for us to reflect on this and say, “My life, where is my life taking me?” What am I doing in my life to prepare for the time when the malā’ikah will come, when the angels will come, when the curtain will be lifted? And when the curtain is lifted, then what happens? Because at that time, *tawbah* is not accepted. The door of *tawbah* is closed. At that time, any regret is a waste because you can’t do anything about it. If you have taken somebody’s ḥaqq, you cannot return it. If you have harmed somebody, you cannot seek forgiveness. Right? If you have not fulfilled the rights of Allāh subḥānahu wa ta’ālā, you can’t go and fulfill the rights now. Nothing can be done. But everything will be clear because Allāh subḥānahu wa ta’ālā said, “I will show you.”
Yara means to see. *Mizqala dharatin*. Wa man ya’malu mizqalad-dharati khayran yara. Yara means to see. Wa man ya’malu mizqalad-dharati sharran yara. So whether it is good or it is evil, Allāh says, “You will see it.” You will not just know it; you will not read about it in some newspaper, nor will you read about it even in your book of records. You will see. We will see. We ask Allāh subḥānahu wa ta’ālā to save us, to protect us, and to cover us with His mercy, His grace, and His *sattār*, so that we are not humiliated before the whole world and all our people where when we say “we will see,” they will also see. Because it will be in a way which Allāh subḥānahu wa ta’ālā knows, it will be made visible. So we ask Allāh to save us from that. And the way to do that is, first of all, to stay away from two things: one is to stop committing sins, and the second one is to make *istighfār* for what was already done.
Right? Because the point is that if you want to clean something, you have to first stop whatever is making it dirty. You cannot have a drain of dirty water flowing and then pour in clean water. What will happen? Nothing will happen. Because you have to first shut that drain. Stop that drain of dirty water coming in. If you don’t stop that, no amount of clean water will clean the place because as soon as the clean water comes in, the dirty water washes away; the dirty water comes again.
So in our lives, we must take stock and say: what are the sins I am committing? They must be stopped first. Before doing any good deeds, plug the holes first. If there is a barrel or a ship which is leaking, what do you do? Do you bail out the water or plug the holes? Which is more important? Very easy. You can bail out as much as you want, but if the holes are there, the water will keep coming. How long will you bail? So first and foremost, plug the holes.
Stop the actions which are displeasing to Allah ﷻ. Learn halal. Eat halal. Speak halal. Listen to halal. Look at halal. There is plenty. Alhamdulillah, you can have a beautiful life which is 100% halal. And don’t fall into this trap where people complicate their own lives. People say, “No, but what to do?” Today the whole system is full of interest (riba). The whole system. You are eating your own bank interest. There is interest in the whole world. Leave the world. If you are eating your own bank interest, then leave it. You are selling halal in the shop. So do what is in your control first.
People talk about how the whole world is full of interest. Forget the world; focus on your life. Are you earning halal? Check that first. Because if you are not earning halal, if your income is not halal, if you are buying and selling non-halal items, if you are taking bribes or earning/eating interest, then forget the rest of the world. You are doing it yourself. So stop that first. Let the world take care of itself. At least you will be able to say to Allahﷻ: “Ya Allah, whatever I could do, I did. The rest of it was not in my control.” If there is a fiscal policy of the government that is not in my control, I can’t help that. But what was in my control, you can say.
So this is all from shaitan. Shaitan has this way of making this whole thing global. We go out for dinner. In Hyderabad today, even if you eat one Italian dosa, you can eat it. Panjabi hai na. Average bill of any decent restaurant in Hyderabad today is Rs. 1,000 per person. If you go out anywhere and tell your driver to have his meal, how much money will you give him? Rs. 100. One-tenth! You are going into that restaurant and you are going to jack up the bill. If you go with your family, Rs. 5,000, Rs. 6,000. And I am not talking about some major fancy meal. Just go to a normal hotel. Average is Rs. 1,000. Driver, you are giving him Rs. 100. What is he going to get? He doesn’t have a belly. He doesn’t have a stomach. He is serving you. This is where we have to correct ourselves. Treat the other human being like you treat yourself. This is Islam. These are the rules in Islam for slaves. Think about it. Just think about it.
In the fiqh of Islam, if you have a slave, you are supposed to feed him what you eat. You are supposed to clothe him in the clothes that you wear—same kind of level of clothing. I am not saying if you are wearing an Armani suit, you buy him an Armani suit, but buy him decent clothing. Treat him respectfully. Treat him with dignity. We don’t have any slaves anymore; we are talking about people who are employed by us. So technically speaking, their rights are even more than the rights of a slave. So really, we have to ask ourselves this question: what is it that I am doing? How am I doing it?
So let us prepare for our deaths. Let us prepare for the day when we will not have anyone to speak for us, no one to make sifarish (intercession) for us, no one to intercede for us. We will stand alone before Allah with our deeds. Let us make sure that those deeds are at least something where we can hope for the mercy and forgiveness of Allah. We ask Allah to forgive us. We ask Allah to cover us with mercy. We ask Allah to be pleased with us and never to be displeased. And may Allah bless the noble Prophet ﷺ and his family and his companions. May Allah bless you. And may Allah bless you.