Big welcome sister. 

May the guidance, protection and blessing of The Almighty be with all true believers.

Alhumdulilah.  I'm fortunate to get such wise answers from my dear brother and sisters. 

You're right brother TS.  I too don't think she knew she was leaving the next day.  Very likely it was a feeling Allah Almighty put in her heart for a final earthly communication because Allah knew she wouldn't be visiting their earthly home again.   And yes, absolutely true, death is simply a transition from the temporary to the Permanent world.  Every sincere believer must take that for granted.

Allah bless you all.

 

Those are two very relevant points, sisters.   Absolutely correct.

Walaykum salam.     That's a very interesting story sister.  It's extremely thought provoking.  Indeed, if I was in their shoes, I would have been similarly moved. 

You know, such incidents are again just as hard to interpret as dreams.   No one but Allah would know what exactly that elderly lady had in mind when she repeatedly waved goodbye to her loved ones, something she wasn't inclined to normally.   Even if she felt that the final Journey was close, it's impossible to confirm if she knew she was leaving the very next day.    It is  likely that The Almighty put this desire in her to connect more closely with her loved ones because her time here was almost over.  But whether or not she knew that cannot be confirmed.   In my opinion, I don't think she knew it.   Only Allah would know what precisely she was thinking at that time or how she felt.

Only Allah Almighty decides the exact time of death of every living being.   Sometimes the bereaved argue why they lost their loved ones.  Such an attitude is not becoming of a sincere believer who believes in the Will of Allah and accepts it, which all believers must.    As clarified by Al-Ghazali in the 12th century,  no one can predict death nor its time.   It can happen any time to any one.  Only Allah knows it.  We only know that death is inevitable, that it's a gateway from this fleeting life on earth to an existence of immortality in the Hereafter.     Yes, some people can have an inexplicable feeling that perhaps their time is coming near to leave the temporary world for the permanent one, but they can never know the exact time of departure. 

Moreover, such inexplicable feelings don't always come true.  Either because of emotional or physical stress, a person may sometimes feel that way.  In some cases it may come true soon enough, but in other cases such persons may recover and their death may occur several years or many years later.   Exact knowledge of departure is only with Allah.

The important point to mention here is that whether or not such a feeling comes true, it is insignificant.  It has no bearing on a person's moral status or the aspect of virtue.  Only Allah knows the quality of their souls .. the strength of their Faith and their deeds.  That's what matters.   Thus, quoting Allah Almighty in Surah Luqman and Surah Al-Imraan: 

“Verily, Allah! With Him (Alone) is the knowledge of the Hour, He sends down the rain, and knows that which is in the wombs. No person knows what he will earn tomorrow, and no person knows in what land he will die. Verily, Allah is All-Knower, All-Aware (of things)”  (Luqmaan 31:34).

“Everyone shall taste death. And only on the day of resurrection shall you be paid your wages in full. And whoever is removed away from the fire and admitted to paradise, this person is indeed successful. The life of this world is only the enjoyment of deception.” (Al-Imraan 3:185). 

 

 




As-Salaam Alaikum dear all. 


Not referring to terminally ill persons;  I mean those who are apparently healthy.

I thought of this tonight after a real-life story from the past suddenly flashed into my mind.   It happened with one of our neighbor's family many years ago in my country of origin.   

The neighbor's mother, who lived with her older son nearby, visited this other son (our neighbor) at least once every week.  She would spend the day and in the evening the older son would come and take her back to his home.  They said the old lady was a very quiet and serious person.  She would speak little, only on important issues when necessary or when spoken to.    While leaving with her older son, she would simply utter "Allah hafez" to the members of the household of her younger son, sit in the car and get busy with her tasbih.   She would never look left or right nor talk to anyone in the car.

On a particular evening when the older son and his wife came to pick her up, she left bidding "Allah hafez" as usual.  Then she sat in the car and as soon as the car began to move, she looked at her younger son and his family who were standing outside the car seeing her off.  She raised her hand and waved them goodbye.  When the car moved a bit farther, she waved again.  When the car drove much ahead, she slowly turned around and waved goodbye for a few seconds until the car was out of sight.  The family was puzzled as well as somewhat amused.  The kids smiled saying their grandmother was in "an usually good spirit."    The next day in the evening, they got a call from the elder brother that their mother had suffered a sudden heart attack, was rushed into the emergency of a hospital and that they should come right away.  The family reached the hospital in 20 minutes.  But before they arrived, she had passed away.   Connecting her death with her unusually fervent and repeated goodbye gestures the previous day, was a life-changing incident for all of them.    Could she have had an inkling that the final departure was very near? 

 

That's very correct brother.

Insh'Allah, hope the discussion goes well.

Excellent thread, Subhan'Allah.  The Quranic Verses quoted here assert further the huge folly of interpreting the Words of Allah on the basis of man-written hadith narrations.

We have a very important discussion on this subject coming up.