Al-Atsar

The Arrival of Malakul Maut (Angel of Death)

When the appointed time arrives for death, Allah sends Angels to take away the soul,

Allah says:

He is the Irresistible, (watching) from above over His worshippers, and He sets guardians over you. At length, when death approaches one of you, Our angels take his soul, and they never fail in their duty.

(The Noble Qur'an: Chapter al-An‘aam: 61)

The hadeeth which was narrated by al-Baraa’ bin ‘Aazib (may Allah be pleased with him): “We went with the Prophet for the funeral of an Ansar companion, until we reached the graveyard. Once the lot was ready, Rasulullah (the Messenger of Allah) sat [facing the Qiblah], so we sat around him, as if there were birds perching on our heads. He was holding a twig and he was poking the earth with it. [He then look to the skies and lower his gaze to the ground and he did so 3 times, then said:

استعيذوا بال من عذاب القبر

"Do seek refuge in Allah from the punishment of the grave", he repeated it 2 or 3 times. Then he went on to say:

اَللّهُمّ إِنّي أَعُوذُ بِكَ مِن عَذَابِ الْقَببْرِ

"O Allah, I seek refuge in You from the punishment of the grave." [3 times]

Then he continued:

إن العبد المؤمن إذا كان في انقطاع من الدنيا و اقبال من الآخرة ، نزل إليه ملائكة من السمآء ، بيض الوجوه كأن وجوههم الشمس ، معهم كفن من أكفان الجنة  

“Verily, when a believing servant, is about to be cut off from this world and heading towards Akhirah (Eternal Life of the Hereafter), angels will descend to him from the sky, with cheerful faces as if they were suns, carrying a shroud from the shrouds of paradise with them full of fragrance, until they all sit covering the sight of the dying believer with their faces to as far as he can see. Then comes the Angel of Death @ Malakul Maut عليه السلام and he will sit next to the believer’s head and will say: O good soul (in a narration: tranquil soul) come out to the Pardon and Pleasures of Allah.

So it leaves the body just like water flowing from the opening of a jug and the Angel of Death will take it [in another version: at the instance when it leaves the body, all the angels in between the sky and the earth as well as those in the skies will perform the funeral prayer for it, then the gates of the skies will be opened for him. Every single guarding angel of these gates wishes that the soul will pass through his gate and he will pray (supplicate/make du'a) to Allah to grant him his wish]. Once they have taken the soul, they will never let it go, not even a blink of the eye, until they dress it up with the shroud and cover him with fragrance. Allah says:

Our messengers (the angels) will take his soul and they are not negligient in performing their duties

(The Noble Qur'an: Chapter al-An‘aam: 6: 61)

A very strong scent the like of musk, the most fragrant on earth will come out from the soul. They will take it up high to the skies and each time it passes by a group of angels, they will ask: What a great soul, whose soul is it? Those accompanying it will reply: He is so and so, the son of so and so, that is the best of names he had been called before in his life. They will bring it until they reach the first sky and they will ask: permission for entrance and the gate will be opened for them. All the most honoured angels of that sky will accompany them until they reach the 2nd sky. Just like the previous description, they will reach level by level of the 7 skies until the 7th sky. Allah will give His command: Get my servant’s name enlisted in the List of ‘Illiyien:

do you know what ‘is Illiyun? It is a book that records a list , witnessed by the closest Angels to Allah

(The Noble Qur'an: Chapter al-Mutaffifeen: 83: 19-21)

Thus his book of (deeds) records will be listed in Illiyien. Then it will be said: Return him to Earth, because I’ve made a promise to them that from it (Earth or soil) I created them and to it I’ll return them and from it I will resurrect them once again. So he is returned to Earth and his soul is returned to his body.

At that point, he will be hearing the footsteps of those who attended his burial leaving him. A moment after that, 2 angels with loud harsh voices, will shout at him and make him to sit, asking him: who is your Lord? He will reply: My Lord is Allah. They will then ask: What is your religion? He will answer: My religion is Islam. They will then ask: who was the one being sent to you? He will response: He was the Messenger of Allah. They will ask him again: What did you do? He will reply: I’ve read the Book of Allah and I believed it and trusted it. Then he will be shouted at again: Who is Your Lord? What is your religion? Who was your Prophet?

And that is the final test of tribulation (fitnah) that will be faced by a believer and that is the point when Allah says:

Allah strengthen the believers with the firm words of steadfastness in this world and the Hereafter.

(The Noble Qur'an: Chapter Ibraheem/Abraham: 14: 27)

He will say in response to it: Allah is my Lord, my religion is Islam and my Prophet is Muhammad. A voice from the skies will be heard saying: My servant has spoken the truth. At that instance, a carpet from Paradise will be spread for him, he will be dressed with it’s garment and a gate that leads to Paradise will be opened for him such that he can sense it’s fragrance and sweet scent and his grave will be made spacious to the extent of his furthest sight. Then will come to him (in another narration): It will be made to emerge in front of him, a very good looking person, dressed up attractively and bears fragrance and he’ll say to him: Be joyful of the joy and happiness to come. [Be rejoiced with the pleasures of Allah upon you and the everlasting pleasures of Paradise], for this is your Promised Day. He will response saying: You too, may Allah bless you with good tidings, who are you? Your handsome face brings good signs. The visitor will reply: I am your good deeds. [Truly, by Allah, I’ve not known you except as one who would hasten to obey Allah, very hesitant to disobey Allah, such that Allah rewards you with goodness].

Then a gate of Paradise will opened for him and a gate of Hell too will be opened. Then it is said to him: This would have been your dwelling place if you’ve disobeyed Allah and Allah replaced it for you with this (paradise). Once he sees what is in paradise, he will say, praying: O my Lord, let the Hour to happen soon, so I can return quickly to my family and wealth. It will be said to him: Stay put.”

Then Rasulullah صلى ال عليه و سلم went on saying :

و العبد الأكافر[ وفي رواية الفاجر] اذا كن في انقطاع من الأخرة ، واقبال من الدنيا ، نزل اليه من السمآء ملائكة [غلاظ  شداد] سود الوجوه، معهم المسوح ]....

“As for an infidel slave (of Allah) [in a narration: a transgressor] when he is hopeless of the Hereafter, still having hopes for this world, ruthless and harsh angels will descend to him from the sky, with fearful and scary faces as if, carrying a shroud, full of thorns from Hell Fire until they all sit covering the sight of the dying believer with their faces to as far as he can see. Then comes the Angel of Death @ Malakul Maut عليه السلام and he will sit next to his head and will say: O bad soul (in a narration: soul) come out to the Wrath and Anger of Allah. The soul will disperse in the infidel’s body, and it will be snatched by the Angel of Death, just like how a branched twig is pulled out of wet wool such that the veins and muscles snapped to pieces.

(At the instance when it leaves the body), all the angels in between the sky and the earth as well as those in the skies will curse it, then the gates of the skies will be shut. Every single guarding angel of these gates wishes that the soul (of the infidel) will never pass through his gate. Once they have taken the soul, they will never let it go, not even a blink of the eye, until they dress it up with the shroud and cover him with the shroud which is full of thorns and stench.

A very dreadful stench, the worst on earth, will come out from the soul. They will take it up to the skies and each time it passes by a group of angels, they will ask: What a disgusting soul, whose soul is it? Those accompanying it will reply: He is so and so, the son of so and so, that is the worst of names he had been called before in his life. They will bring it until they reach the first sky and they will ask: permission for entrance but none of the gates will be opened for it. Then the Messenger of Allah cited this saying of Allah:

Verily, those who belie Our Ayât (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.) and treat them with arrogance, for them the gates of heaven will not be opened, and they will not enter Paradise until the camel goes through the eye of the needle (which is impossible).

(The Noble Qur'an: Chapter al-A'raaf: 7: 40)

Allah will give His command: Get my servant’s name enlisted in the List of Sijjeen at the most humiliated abyss of the Earth. (The Noble Qur'an: Chapter al-Mutaffifeen: 83: 7-9)

Thus his book of (deeds) records will be listed in Illiyien. Then it will be said: Return him to Earth, because I’ve made a promise to them that from it (Earth or soil) I created them and to it I’ll return them and from it I will resurrect them once again. So it (the soul) will be thrown down to Earth and will fall onto his body. The Messenger quoted this verse:

...and whoever assigns partners to God, it is as if he had fallen from the sky, and the birds had snatched him, or the wind had thrown him to a far off place.

(The Noble Qur'an: Chapter al-Hajj: 22: 31)

So he is returned to Earth and his soul is returned to his body.

At that point, he will be hearing the footsteps of those who attended his burial leaving him. A moment after that, 2 angels with loud harsh voices, will shout at him and make him to sit, asking him: who is your Lord? He will respond: Huh! huh! (extremely terrified and uncertain) I don't know. They will then ask: What is your religion? He will answer: Huh! huh! (extremely terrified) I don't know. They will then ask: who was the one being sent to you? He will not be able to answer and it will be said to him: Muhammad. He will reply saying: Huh! huh! (extremely terrified) I don't know. I heard people saying so. So it will be said to him: You didn't bother (to seek the truth) and you never read the Quran.

A voice from the skies will be heard saying: "My servant has belied (the truth)." At that instance, a carpet from Hell will be spread for him, and a gate that leads to Hell will be opened for him such that he can sense it’s unbearable heat,  filth and stench and his grave will be made narrowed such that his ribs will be crushed against each other. Then will come to him (in another narration): It will be made to emerge in front of him, an ugly person, dressed up in the most stinky and filthy garment and he’ll say to him: Be rejoiced with the worst to come, for this is your Promised Day. He will response saying: You too, may Allah grant you with the worst tidings, who are you? Your awful face brings bad signs. The visitor will reply: I am your evil deeds. [Truly, by Allah, I’ve not known you except as one who was very hesitant to obey Allah, and would hasten disobey Allah, such that Allah rewards you with evil]...he would have in his hand, a hammer which if a mountain was struck by it, the mountain will turn the dust. He will be smashed by it and he will turn to dust. Allah will return him to his original form and he will be struck again and he will cry and scream loud in pain and all the creations will hear his screams except the Tsaqalayn (human kind and the jinns).

Then a gate of Hell will be opened for him and he will be swayed on it's spread and he will say, praying: O my Lord, let not the Hour to happen.”

An authentic reliable narration transmitted by the following scholars of hadeeth: Aboo Dawood (2/281) al-Haakim (1/27-40), at-Tayaalisi (no: 753) Ahmad (4/287, 288, 295, 296), al-Ajurriy in “ash-Sharee‘ah”: 367-370 may Allah have mercy on them. al-Haakim clarified that this hadeets is Saheeh based on the conditions of al-Bukhaariy and Muslim and adz-Dzahabi agreed. Likewise Ibn Qayyim in I'laam al-Muwaqqi'een: 1/214 and Tahdzeeb as-Sunan: 4/337 and he quoted Abu Nu'aym classification of this hadeets as Saheeh. See Ahkaam al-Jana-iz for further clarification.

May Allah have mercy on us when the Angel of Death arrives to take our souls and may Allah save us from the Punishment of the Grave and bless us with His Paradise saved from Hell.