Are You Ready to Die

Are You Ready to Die?

Imam Siraj Wahhaj

Introduction: The Reality of Death

This morning, I want to ask you the question, are you really, are you really ready for death? Death is something that people don't want to talk about. In the lives of my witness, there is not one day that goes by that I don't think about death. Not a day. I think about death every day. And in fact, I want you, as the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said for us, to always constantly think about that reminder, that reminder of death. You may ask the question, why? Let's first deal with facts.

The Statistics of Death

Every two seconds, think about it. Nine babies are born in this earth, and three people die. In one year, on average, 50 million people will die. I look around, and this audience is relatively young. How many of you are 20 years or older? Raise your hand. Raise them up. Was your hand raised? I can't find it. I didn't know whether he reached 20. You might be surprised to learn that from your birth, 20 years ago, 21 years ago, if 20, from the time that you were born, over one billion people have died.

That means that every day you live, you're that closer to the grave. And the thing that's incumbent upon us to understand is that we have no guarantees. The question is, are you prepared for death? And I'm going to give you a test this morning to see if you're really prepared.

America: A Nation of Gamblers

I went to South Africa. And that country is relatively a very poor country. The gross national product of South Africa is $171 billion. I want to make sure you're listening to me. I said the gross national product of South Africa is what? $171 billion is the gross national product of South Africa. This country, America, have many sports and the pastime of America's baseball. Two years ago, 70 million Americans visited baseball parks. I said how many? 70 million Americans visited baseball parks. Baseball, Americans' pastime.

In the same year that 70 million Americans visited baseball parks, are you ready? 93 million Americans visited casinos. I said the gross national product of South Africa is how much? $171 billion. Can I tell you how much Americans spent on gambling in one year? Over $400 billion. $400 billion Americans have spent gambling. That means that America is a country of gamblers. I was in great, I started to say Great Britain again, didn't I? England or Britain.

And they have in Britain now a lotto fever, the lottery. You know lottery? Looking at the newspaper and on the front page, a Muslim won the big lottery in England. The reason that I mentioned that, brothers and sisters, is

because Allah in the Quran mentions about gambling. (يَسْأَلُونَكَ عَنِ الْخَمْرِ وَالْمَيْسِرِ - Yes'alunaka 'anil khamri wal maysir) - they ask you about intoxicants and gambling (Quran 2:219).

Don't Gamble with Your Life

Why do I mention gambling and what does gambling have to do with death? My message this morning is this. I don't care if you are 7, 8, 9 years old, or 20 years old, 19 years old, I'm sorry, or 100 years old, don't gamble. I want you to consider this ayat from the Quran (يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ حَقَّ تُقَاتِهِ وَلَا تَمُوتُنَّ إِلَّا وَأَنتُم مُّسْلِمُونَ - Ya ayyuhal latheena amanuttaqullaha haqqa tuqatihi wa la tamutunna illa wa antum muslimun) - O you who believe, fear Allah as He should be feared and do not die except in a state of submission (Quran 3:102).

Let me tell you the problem that you have as young people. The problem that you have as young people is that you feel... What's that word? Invincible. You feel that you're gonna be here a long time. But I can tell you brothers and sisters, don't gamble. A lot of you think like this, I'm young, I'm 19, I'm 20, I'm 21. Inshallah, I can have my fun now. A lot of time, I have a lot of time, I get older, I can start making my prayer, I can wear my hijab, I can start going to the masjid, I can start reading Quran, I have plenty time. And let me have my fun now.

Imam Siraj, after all, you were young, you had your fun. Why can't we have our fun? Because you can't gamble.

A Personal Loss: My Daughter Basma

Last year, you know by now, most of you, that the most precious thing to me, my flower, my daughter, Basma Wahaj, died at the young age of just short of her 20th birthday. She had been married one year and she had given birth a week before. Healthy all of her life. And then Allah the Almighty decreed that she should go. Did it hurt me? Yes. The greatest gift to me, that daughter, a good Muslim. Many of you, young sisters know her, some of you know her, a good Muslim.

But yet, I am reminded in the Quran (تَبَارَكَ الَّذِي بِيَدِهِ الْمُلْكُ وَهُوَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ * الَّذِي خَلَقَ الْمَوْتَ وَالْحَيَاةَ لِيَبْلُوَكُمْ أَيُّكُمْ أَحْسَنُ عَمَلًا - Tabarakal lathee biyadihil mulku wa huwa 'ala kulli shay'in qadeer. Allathee khalaqal mawta wal hayata liyabluwakum ayyukum ahsanu 'amala) - Glory be to Him in whose hands is the dominion of the heavens and the earth, and He has power over all things. Who has created death and life to test you, which of you is best in conduct (Quran 67:1-2).

So the purpose of life is to be tested by Allah and death to be tested by Allah. You, if you live long enough, will lose a loved one. Your mother, your father, your grandmother, your grandfather, your uncle, your husband, your wife, your children. All of you will be tested by death. After all, 50 million people a year. It's inevitable.

Death is By Allah's Permission

So the real question is not to get angry or the real point is not to get angry at Allah because Allah took your loved one. Recognize (وَمَا كَانَ لِنَفْسٍ أَن تَمُوتَ إِلَّا بِإِذْنِ اللَّهِ كِتَابًا مُّؤَجَّلًا - Wa ma kana linafsin an tamuota illa bi ithnillahi

kitaban mu'ajjala) - No soul can die except by the permission of Allah. It's already written in a book (Quran 3:145).

I have nothing to do with that. We try our best to live the best life that we can live. Eat good food. Stay away from the haram. But even if you eat the most healthier food, you exercise and you run and you jog and you do all of that. Yet, there's no guarantee that your life would be extended. We're here but by grace of Allah. And I want to thank Allah for every day that He has given to me. If Allah gave you 20 years, thank Him for that.

Live Each Day As Your Last

Don't expect to get more than that. Don't expect to have another day. If you have the attitude that this is your last day, then the person who has the attitude and the knowledge that it's their last day is different from a person who believes they'll be here for a long time. Make plans as if you will be here forever. Make plans to go to college. Make plans to study your career.

My daughter was studying to become a doctor. She just was short of her graduation. In fact, her mother and myself was invited to the graduation and they gave her a degree. But all of those years are not wasted. Not as a Muslim. Because everything you do for the pleasure of Allah, you get reward for Allah. And if in the back of your mind, you want to be a doctor for the Muslims, to aid the Muslims or to be a lawyer to help the Muslims, good, plan it. But if Allah takes your life or take the life of someone that you love, be careful that you don't say anything at the displeasure of Allah the Almighty.

Three Essential Messages

So brothers and sisters, my first message, don't gamble. There's no guarantee that any of us will get back home from this conference or this convention. Don't gamble. Number two, if you make a mistake, which you will make a mistake, you will commit sin. There's none perfect. But if you make a mistake and if you commit a sin, then ask Allah's forgiveness immediately. And follow up a bad deed with a good deed, it will wipe it out.

Number three, the real question is, how prepared are you for death? If it came tomorrow, someone asked the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, Ya Rasulullah, O Messenger of Allah, when is the hour of judgment? And the Prophet could have answered, only Allah knows. And that would be the right answer. But the Prophet chose in this instance to answer another way. He said, What did you prepare for it?

When Death Comes, Your Deeds Are Cut Off

Are you prepared for death? Why is death important? Because death is that defining moment when something happens. Said the Messenger of Allah. Because when a person dies, his works is cut off. The beautiful thing about you, I looked at this convention, this conference, this convention. And do you know that while we're at the Regency Hotel, the other people there, did you see them? Do you know why they're there? I asked them. I've been speaking to them. Yes, I talked to them. Because I'm a da'ee. I'm a what? I'm a da'ee.

I believe in giving da'wah, to invite people to Islam. So while we're looking at the Muslims in this conference, I'm also looking at the non-Muslims. It's a family reunion. This is one big Richardson family. But look at the difference. I watch you in the morning.

Learning to Observe: A Lesson from the Prophet

And I learned this from the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ to start watching people. Next time you go to the airport, today or tomorrow, how many of you are flying back home? I want you to do this inshallah, right? I want you to go to the airport, and I want you to sit there, I want you to go early, don't go late. And I want you to sit there, and I want you to watch the people. Watch their eyes. And tell me if you can tell all the people who are late for their flight. You watch the people late for the flight. Look at their eyes. And they're walking, and they're running. And you can see, right? Because you know it's this sense of urgency. They're late and trying to get the flight. And they're going like this. All the signs are there.

And you know subhanAllah, I was watching the Muslims. Fajr. And you see them coming out of their rooms, coming everywhere. No matter what we're doing, we don't forget Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Hear that something? No matter what we're doing. And everything we do is defined by Allah.

Being Muslim in Everything We Do

Even our entertainment. We have some young brothers here who are tennis players. Where are they? Two great tennis players. Where are they? I know they were here. You know what I'd like to see? These brothers, where are they? May become great tennis players one day. They're very good right now by the way. You're going to hear about them inshaAllah. But know what I want to see? And I didn't tell them this. I want to see them ranked 1 and 2 in the world. And I want to see them go to Wilmington. Wilmington, right? And guess what? I want a new uniform. Yeah.

I want a new uniform that says, I'm a Muslim. I play tennis. I play basketball, but I'm a Muslim. And wouldn't that be something? And because that would be so much da'wah. Ranked number 1 in the world and have long pants on, subhanAllah.

Preparing for the Eternal Home

Are you prepared for death? How many of you have moved from your house or home in the last 5 years? Raise your hand. Look around. Look at this. How many intend to move in the future? How many intend to buy a house? Isn't that something? You plan to buy a house, this is good. But guess what? What about that house that all of us will live in in the neighborhood called the graveyard? How many thought about that house? Since you will die, I don't mean for you to raise your hand. Since you will die, and it is inevitable that you'll die, and no one has escaped death, and since the last 20 years, 1 billion people have died, and since 50 million people die a year, and since 3 people die every 2 seconds, then why not prepare for the next home before the hereafter, and that is the grave.

The Gift of Life and Time

The blessing that you have right now in my conclusion is that every one of you, I don't care whatever the level of your practice, the great gift that you have right now is the gift of life. And a chance. And a hope. Because brothers and sisters, when that moment comes, the moment of death, we cannot delay it. And we would wish every one of us to get more time to do what? To do more work. And we will be so happy. And we will remember every morning we got up to make Fajr prayer. Every day we fasted for Allah. We will remember that. Everything that we did for Allah.

Every time we stayed away from the haram. When you were tested young brothers in school, and you were in school, and you were tested by drugs, and tested by women, as Prophet Yusuf was tested by a woman. And every time you stayed away from it, you refrained from it. You will be happy, because you get a reward and a blessing from Allah. Don't gamble, and think about the hereafter.

The Moment of Death

I close with this. And so the Prophet asked the question,, What did you prepare for death? Soon, soon, someone will be carrying you. Look at you this morning, you got up, you washed yourself. You took for granted, you took a bath, you had a shower. You took that for granted. Soon, you won't be able to wash your own self. Somebody, some Muslim has to wash your body, and carry your body.

I ask you, how many people do you think will attend your janazah? It's an important question. Two people? Five people? A hundred people? Because the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said that anyone who a hundred people attend their janazah, praying for the intercession, asking for Allah's forgiveness, Allah will accept their intercession. How many people would attend your janazah? Your funeral?

How to Prepare for Death

Are you prepared for death? How to be prepared for death? Only one way. Don't gamble. Live the best life you can live. Because think about it. Your mother, your father, your brothers, your sisters, your cousins, your friends. They, if they're good Muslims, will go to the grave with you. And then they will leave you there. And I don't care how much your mother and father loved you, or your children loved you, or your friends loved you, or your imam loved you. They will leave you down there in that grave. And they will walk away and you will hear their footsteps as they walk away. And you'll be in there by yourself. Are you prepared for that?

Well, the best way to be prepared for that, for death, is to live life the best way you can.

The Future of Islam is With You

You young brothers and sisters, let me say this as I sit down and bring forth our great brother, Ahmed Al-Qadi. You may not realize this, but the people of America right now are waiting for you. They are. If justice is to come to this country and in the world, it will have to come from you. You the future of Islam. Hey, if Allah