Invocations of the terminal ill — Du'a 2

جَعَلَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم عِندَ مَوتِهِ يُدخِلُ يَدَيهِ فِي المَاءِ فَيَمسَحُ بِهِمَا وَجهَهُ، وَيَقُولُ: لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ اللَّهُ إِنَّ لِلمَوتِ سَكَرَاتٍ

Approximate Arabic reading aid

Ja'ala an-nabiyyu ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam 'inda mawtihi yudkhilu yadayhi fī almā'i fayamsaḥu bihimā wajhahu, wayaqūlu: lā ilāha illā allāhu inna lilmawti sakarātin

English meaning

'Aa.ishah (radhi-yAllaahu 'anhaa) related that The Prophet (sal-Allaahu 'alayhe wa sallam) [during his illness in which he passed away] would dip his hands in water and then he would wipe his face and say: ‘None has the right to be worshipped except Allaah, death does indeed contain agony.’

Explanation (Tafseer)

This entry joins an affirmation that only Allah deserves worship with a plain acknowledgment that death has agonies. The surrounding action of wiping the face with water reflects the physical difficulty being experienced, while the spoken words keep divine oneness present at the approach of death.

When to use

Invocations of the terminal ill

Reference & source

Hisn al-Muslim 151

Open source