How sound is this hadeeth? “The angel Jibreel entered upon the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and said: ‘The Angel of Death is at the door, and he is asking permission to enter upon you. He has never asked permission from anyone before you.’ He said, ‘Let him in, O Jibreel.’ The Angel of Death entered and said: ‘Peace be upon you, O Messenger of Allaah. Allaah has sent me to give you the choice between staying in this world and meeting Allaah.’ The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: ‘Rather the Higher Companion, rather the Higher Companion.’ So the Angel of Death stood at the head of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) as he will stand at the head of each of us, and said: ‘O good soul, the soul of Muhammad ibn ‘Abd-Allaah, come out to the good pleasure of Allaah and a Lord Who is pleased and is not angry.’”.
Praise be to Allaah.
There are
many ahaadeeth about the death of the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him). Many such reports have been narrated, but the saheeh
ones are mixed with the false ones, and many people are careless about
quoting reports which have no basis or which have been narrated via unsound
isnaads. The one who is seeking sound reports on this subject should refer
to the saheeh ahaadeeth, which are sufficient and in which he will
information about the incidents surrounding the death of the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and in which there are
important lessons to be learned.Al-Haafiz
Ibn Katheer (may Allaah have mercy on him) said in al-Bidaayah
wa’l-Nihaayah (5/256):Al-Waaqidi
and others narrated many reports concerning the death (of the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)) in which there are many strange
things. We have refrained from mentioning many of them because of their weak
isnaads and dubious content, especially those narrated by many storytellers,
later writers and others. Many of them are undoubtedly fabricated. In the
saheeh and hasan ahaadeeth which are narrated in the well known books there
is sufficient information and we have no need of lies and reports whose
isnaads are unknown. And Allaah knows best. End quote.After
researching the reports about the death of the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him), we could not find the hadeeth mentioned by
the questioner in this version, but there are ahaadeeth about the Angel of
Death asking the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
for permission, in wording similar to that mentioned by the questioner. But
these are weak (da’eef) ahaadeeth which the scholars judged to be false and
fabricated. For example:There is a
hadeeth narrated by ‘Ali ibn al-Husayn from his father, telling a long story
in which the Angel of Death asks for permission to enter upon the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and speaks with him.This story
was narrated by al-Tabaraani in al-Mu’jam al-Kabeer (3/129) and in
Kitaab al-Du’aa’ (1/367).Al-Haythami
said in Majma’ al-Zawaa’id (9/35): Its isnaad includes ‘Abd-Allaah
ibn Maymoon al-Qaddaah, whose reports are worthless.He was also
judged as such by al-Haafiz al-‘Iraaqi in Takhreej al-Ihya’ (4/560);
al-Haafiz ibn Hajar in Ajwabah Ba’d Talaameedhatihi (1/87) and Ibn
Katheer in al-Bidaayah wa’l-Nihaayah (5/290). Al-Albaani said in
al-Silsilah al-Da’eefah (5384): it is mawdoo’ (fabricated).There is
another hadeeth which was narrated by Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased
with him), in which it mentions the Angel of death seeking permission to
enter upon the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
during his final illness. This was narrated by al-Tabaraani in al-Mu’jam
al-Kabeer (12/141).Al-Haythami
said in Majma’ al_Zawaa’id (9/36): its isnaad includes al-Mukhtaar
ibn Naafi’, who is da’eef (weak).Al-‘Iraaqi
said in Takhreej al-Ihya’ (4/560): It isnaad includes al-Mukhtaari
ibn Naafi’, whose hadeeth is rejected.With regard
to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) being given
the choice between death and staying in this world, and his saying, “Rather
the Higher Companion,” this is proven in al-Saheehayn in the hadeeth
of ‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her), which is quoted in the answer
to question no. 45841, q.v.Shaykh Ibn
‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him) was asked about the story of the
death of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him): it is
mentioned in some books of history that the Angel of Death came to the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) in the form of a
Bedouin and asked for permission to enter upon him. How true is this?He (may
Allaah have mercy on him) replied:This is not
correct. The Angel of Death did not come to him or ask permission to enter
upon him, rather the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) delivered a speech at the end of his life in which he said: “Allaah has
given a slave the choice between immortality in this world for as long as
Allaah wills, or meeting his Lord, and he has chosen to meet his Lord.” This
is what he said at the end of his life. Abu Bakr wept, and the people were
surprised that Abu Bakr wept at these words. The Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) was the one who was given the choice, and
Abu Bakr knew the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) better than any of the people. This is what has been narrated. As
for the idea that the Angel of Death came to him and asked him for
permission, this is not correct. End quote from Liqa’ al-Baab il-Maftooh
(2/340)Anyone who
wants to read more saheeh ahaadeeth about the story of the death of the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) may refer to the
book al-Bidaayah wa’l-Nihaayah by Ibn Katheer (5/248), the chapter of
the last days and death of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him); and Saheeh al-Seerah al-Nabawiyyah by Ibraheem al-‘Ali,
chapter 6: The illness and death of the Messenger (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him).And Allaah
knows best.
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