In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
There have been many incidents in which people suddenly die in circumstances that portend evil; such cases have often been witnessed by the righteous, whose Faith increased in consequence, thus making them more prepared for the Hereafter. For example, Ibn Rajab related from ‘Abdul-Aziz bin Abi Rawwad, who said,
“I was with a man who was dying and who was being prompted to say the Shahadah: None has the right to be worshipped but Allah (and Mohamed is the the Messenger of Allah). His last words were, ‘He is a disbeliever by what you say.’ I asked about him and found out that he was an alcoholic.”
‘Abdul-Aziz said,
“Protect yourselves from sins, for it were sins that were his ruin.”
Qurtubi related from Rabi’ bin Sabrah bin Ma’bad Al-Juhani, a pious person from Basrah:
“I met people from Sham, who reported that it was said to a man who was dying, ‘Say: None has the right to be worshipped but Allah.’ And his response was, ‘I drink (alcohol), so give me something to drink.'”
And Ibn Qayyim related in Al-Jawab Al-Kafi,
“It has been said to some of them, ‘Say: None has the right to be worshipped but Allah.’ They answered, ‘Ahh Ahh, I am not able to say it.'”
Gems and Jewels
Compiled by: Abdul-Malik Mujahid
Publisher: Maktaba Dar-us-Salam
ISBN: 9960-897-59-1
Page 95