Ruling on wishing for death

Firstly: A long life in which a believer does righteous deeds
is better for him than death. 

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
said: “The best of people is the one who lives long and does good.” Narrated
by Ahmad and al-Tirmidhi, 110; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh
al-Tirmidhi. 

And he (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:
“Glad tidings to the one who lives long and does good.” Narrated by
al-Tabaraani and Abu Na’eem, classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh
al-Jaami’, 3928. 

Ahmad (8195) narrated that Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be
pleased with him) said: Two men became Muslim with the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him). One of them was martyred, and the
other remained for another year. Talhah ibn ‘Ubayd-Allaah said: I was shown
Paradise (in a dream), and in it I saw that the one who was delayed was
admitted before the martyr. I was surprised by that, so the next morning I
told the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) about that. The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) said: “Did he not fast Ramadaan after he was gone, and pray six
thousand rak’ahs, or such and such a number of rak’ahs, the prayers of one
year?” Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in al-Silsilah al-Saheehah,
2591. al-‘Ajlooni said in Kashf al-Khafa’: its isnaad is hasan. 

A man said: “O Messenger of Allaah, which of the people is
best?” He said: “The one who lives long and does good.” He said: “Which of
the people is worst?” He said: “The one who lives long and does evil.”
Narrated by Ahmad and al-Tirmidhi, 2330; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in
Saheeh al-Tirmidhi. 

Al-Teebi (may Allaah
have mercy on him) said: Time is like the capital of a businessman, and it
should be invested in such a way as to make a profit.  The greater the
capital, the greater the profit. Whoever benefits from his life by doing
good deeds will succeed and prosper, but whoever wastes his capital and does
not prosper will evidently lose out. End quote. 

Hence it was said to one of the salaf: Death is a good
thing. 

He said: O son of my brother, do not do that, for an hour of
life in which you ask Allaah for forgiveness is better for you than an
eternity of death. 

It was said to an old man among them: Would you not like to
die? He said: No, for youth and its evil have gone, and old age and its
goodness have come. When I get up, I say Bismillaah (in the name of Allaah),
and when I sit I say Al-hamdu Lillaah (praise be to Allaah), and I would
like this to continue. 

Many of the salaf would weep when they were dying, in sorrow
for the cessation of their righteous deeds. 

Hence the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) forbade wishing for death, because it deprives the believer of the
goodness of obedience and the joy of worship, and of the opportunity to
repent and make up for what one has missed. 

It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with
him) that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) said: “No one of you should wish for death or pray for it before
it comes, for when one of you dies, his good deeds come to an end and for
the believer a long life will not increase him in anything but good.”
Narrated by Muslim, 2682 

So he mentioned the prohibition of wishing for death
alongside the prohibition on praying for one’s own death. 

A version narrated by al-Bukhaari says: “No one of you should
wish for death. Either he is a doer of good and will do more, or he is a
doer of evil but perhaps he may stop.” 

Al-Nawawi said: This hadeeth clearly indicates that it is
makrooh to wish for death because of some harm that has befallen one, such
as loss or distress caused by an enemy, or other such hardships of this
world. But if a person fears harm or fitnah with regard to his religious
commitment, it is not makrooh to wish for death, according to this hadeeth,
and several of the salaf did that. 

There is another reason why wishing for death is not
allowed: 

The throes of death are very hard, and the terror of seeing
one’s end draw nigh is immense. Man is faced with nothing else like it.
Moreover, no one knows what awaits him after death. We ask Allaah to keep us
safe and sound. Wishing for death is seeking something which is unknown. 
Perhaps if he wishes for death because of some hardship that he has fallen
into, he may end up like one who jumps out of the frying pan and into the
fire, and after death he may find himself in an even worse situation. In
that case, wishing for death is akin to seeking to hasten calamity before it
happens. No wise man should do that, as the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Do not wish to meet the enemy, and
ask Allaah to keep you safe and sound.” (Agreed upon). A hadeeth to this
effect has been narrated, but it is da’eef (weak).  

It was narrated that Jaabir ibn ‘Abd-Allaah (may Allaah be
pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) said: “Do not wish for death, for the terror that
follows death is immense. It is a sign of blessing to live long and be
guided by Allaah to repent.” Narrated by Ahmad; classed as da’eef by
al-Albaani in Silsilat al-Ahaadeeth al-Da’eefah, 885. 

Ibn ‘Umar heard a man wishing for death and he said: “Do not
wish for death, for you are going to die. Ask Allaah to keep you safe and
sound, for the dying person is exposed to great terror.”  

Ibn Rajab (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: Many righteous
men have wished for death when they were healthy, then when it came they
hated it because it is so difficult, such as Abu’l-Darda’ and Sufyaan
al-Thawri, so what do you think about people other than them? 

Wishing for death, if the reason for it is difficulties in
worldly matters, is forbidden because wishing for death in that case is
indicative of impatience or panic as a result of the calamity that has
befallen. 

It was narrated from Anas ibn Maalik (may Allaah be pleased
with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
said: “No one of you should wish for death because of some harm that has
befallen him, but if he must do that then let him say: ‘O Allaah, keep me
alive so long as life is good for me, and cause me to die when death is good
for me.’” Agreed upon. 

What is meant by “some harm that has befallen him” is worldly
harms such as sickness, loss of wealth and children, and the like. But if he
fears harm to his religious commitment, such as fitnah, then there is
nothing wrong with wishing for death in that case, as we shall see below. 

Perhaps the one who wishes for death in order to find relief
from the harm that has befallen him will only increase in exhaustion and
pain, he does not know.  

It was narrated that ‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with
her) said: It was said: “O Messenger of Allaah, So and so has died, and has
found relief.” The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) got angry and said: “Only the one who is forgiven finds
relief.” Narrated by Ahmad, 24192; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in
al-Silsilah al-Saheehah, 1710. 

Secondly: There are some cases in which it is prescribed to
wish for death, such as the following: 

1 – One who fears for his religious commitment because of
fitnah 

Undoubtedly death which takes a person away from fitnah
(tribulation, temptation that takes one away from religious commitment),
even if his righteous deeds are few, is better for him than being subjected
to tribulations with regard to his religious commitment. We ask Allaah to
keep us safe and sound. 

It was narrated from Mahmoud ibn Labeed (may Allaah be
pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) said: “There are two things that the son of Adam dislikes: death,
although death is better for a believer than fitnah; and he dislikes having
little wealth, but less wealth means less reckoning.” Narrated by Ahmad;
classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in al-Silsilah al-Saheehah, 813. 

The fact that wishing for death in this situation is also
prescribed is  indicated by the words of the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) in his du’aa’: “If You should decree fitnah
for Your slaves, then take my soul (in death) before I am put to trial.”
Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 3233; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh
al-Jaami’. 

Ibn Rajab (may Allaah
have mercy on him) said: This is permissible according to the majority of
scholars. 

Based on this, the reports of the salaf wishing for death are
to be understood as meaning that they wished for death for fear of fitnah. 

Maalik narrated that
Sa’eed ibn al-Musayyab said: When ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab came from Mina, he
made his camel kneel at al-Abtah, and then he gathered a pile of small
stones and cast his cloak over them and dropped to the ground. Then he
raised his hands to the sky and said, ‘O Allaah! I have become old and my
strength has weakened. My flock is scattered. Take me to You with nothing
missed out and without having neglected anything.’

Sa’eed said: Dhu’l-Hijjah did not end before ‘Umar (may
Allaah be pleased with him) was murdered. 

Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: Whoever
sees death offered for sale, let him buy it for me! 

Al-Thabaat ‘inda al-Mamaat, by
Ibn al-Jawzi, p. 45 

2 – When his death is martyrdom for the sake of Allaah, may
He be glorified and exalted. 

There are many ahaadeeth which indicate that wishing for
death in this case is prescribed, such as the following: 

It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with
him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:
“Were it not that it would be too hard for my ummah, I would not have stayed
behind from any campaign. Would that I could be killed for the sake of
Allaah, then brought back to life then killed, then brought back to life
then killed.” Agreed upon.  

The Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) wished to be killed for the sake of Allaah, and that was only because
of the great virtue of martyrdom. 

Muslim (1909) narrated that the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever asks Allaah sincerely for
martyrdom, Allaah will cause him to attain the status of the martyr, even if
he dies in his bed.”  

The salaf (may Allaah be pleased with them) loved the idea of
dying for the sake of Allaah. 

Abu Bakr (may Allaah be pleased with him) said, concerning
the liar Musaylimah, when he claimed to be a prophet: “By Allaah, I will
fight him with people who love death as they love life.” 

Khaalid ibn al-Waleed (may Allaah be pleased with him) wrote
to the people of Persia saying: “By the One besides Whom there is no other
god, I shall send against you people who love death as you love life.” 

This status is something desirable – may Allaah not deprive
us of it – and seeking it is something that is praiseworthy, because the one
who is given it will not be deprived of the reward for righteous deeds for
which a person may want to live and which may be better for a person than
death. Moreover Allaah will spare the one who attains this status from the
torment of the grave. 

It was narrated that Salmaan (may Allaah be pleased with him)
said: I heard the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) say: “Standing on guard at the border for one day and one night is
better than fasting and praying qiyaam for a month, and if he dies, will be
given the reward for the good deeds that he used to do, and he will be given
provision, and he will be kept safe from al-fattaan [i.e., Munkar and
Nakeer, the two angels who question the deceased in the grave].”  

Muslim, 1913. 

Conclusion: It is makrooh for a Muslim to wish for death if
the reason for that is some worldly harm that has befallen him. Rather he
must be patient and seek the help of Allaah. We ask Allaah to grant you
relief from the distress that you are suffering. 

See also question no. 22880. 

And Allaah knows best.