Abû Bakr to ‘Umar on his Deathbed

Commodore Number of posts : 126 Registration date : 2008-10-08

When Abû Bakr Al-Siddîq was on his deathbed he called ‘Umar - Allah be pleased with them - and said:

Fear Allah o ‘Umar, and know that Allah has deeds to be done for Him
in the day which He will not accept if done at night, and He has deeds
to be done for Him at night which He will not accept if done during the
day. He will not accept extra (nâfilah) deeds unless you fulfill the
obligatory deeds. The scales of those whose scales will be weighty on
the Day of Resurrection will only be weighty because they followed the
truth in this life and it was weighty to them. And scales in which the
truth will be placed tomorrow truly deserve to be heavy. And the scales
of those whose scales will be light on the Day of Resurrection will
only be light because they followed falsehood in this life and it was a
light matter to them. And scales in which falsehood will be placed
tomorrow truly deserve to be light.

Allah the Exalted has mentioned the people of Paradise and mentioned
them in the context of their best deeds, and overlooked their evil
deeds, so when I remember them I say to myself: I fear that I will not
be included with them. And Allah the Exalted has mentioned the people
of Hell and mentioned them in the context of their worst deeds and
rejected their best deeds, so when I remember them I say: I hope I
won’t be amongst them. Allah’s worshippers should always be in a state
of hope and fear, they shouldn’t wish flimsy wishes about Allah and
neither should they despair of Allah’s mercy.

If you keep to this advice of mine, no one who is not with you now
should be more beloved to you than death – and it is sure to come to
you. But if you disregard this advice, no one who is not with you now
should be more hated to you than death – and you cannot escape it.

Abû Nu’aym, Hilyah Al-Awliyâ` Vol.1 p18; and Ibn Al-Jawzî, Sifah Al-Safwah.

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