Praying for Death
الدُّعَاءُ بِالْمَوْتِ
Sunan an-Nasa'i al-Kubra, Book of Funerals(view book)
Aḥmad b. Ḥafṣ b. ʿAbdullāh from my father > Ibrāhīm b. Ṭahmān > al-Ḥajjāj / Ibn al-Ḥajjāj al-Baṣrī > Yūnus > Thābit > Anas
"The Messenger of Allah said: 'Do not pray for death or wish for it. Whoever insists on praying for it let him say: Allahumma ahini ma kanatil-hayatu khairanli wa tawaffani idha kanatil-wafatu khairanli (O Allah, keep me alive so long as life is good for me, and cause me to die when death is good for me.)"'
أَخْبَرَنِي أَحْمَدُ بْنُ حَفْصِ بْنِ عَبْدِ اللهِ قَالَ حَدَّثَنِي أَبِي قَالَ حَدَّثَنِي إِبْرَاهِيمُ بْنُ طَهْمَانَ عَنِ الْحَجَّاجِ وَهُوَ ابْنُ الْحَجَّاجِ الْبَصْرِيِّ عَنْ يُونُسَ عَنْ ثَابِتٍ عَنْ أَنَسٍ قَالَ
قَالَ رَسُولُ اللهِ ﷺ «لَا تَدْعُوا بِالْمَوْتِ وَلَا تَتَمَنُّوهُ فَمَنْ كَانَ دَاعِيًا لَا بُدَّ فَلْيَقُلِ اللهُمَّ أَحْيِنِي مَا كَانَتِ الْحَيَاةُ خَيْرًا لِي وَتَوَفَّنِي إِذَا كَانَتِ الْوَفَاةُ خَيْرًا لِي»
Classification
Muḥammad b. Bashhār > Yaḥyá > Ismāʿīl > Qays
I came to Khabbab who had been branded with seven brands(1) and he said, "Had Messenger of Allah ﷺ not forbidden us to invoke (Allah) for death, I would have invoked (Allah) for it."
أَخْبَرَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ بَشَّارٍ قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا يَحْيَى قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا إِسْمَاعِيلُ حَدَّثَنِي قَيْسٌ قَالَ دَخَلْنَا عَلَى خَبَّابٍ وَقَدِ اكْتَوَى فِي بَطْنِهِ سَبْعًا وَقَالَ لَوْلَا
أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللهِ ﷺ «نَهَانَا أَنْ نَدْعُوَ بِالْمَوْتِ لَدَعَوْتُ بِهِ»