Signs of the Hour

NOTE: This lecture discusses Islamic teachings about the trials of the end times, including the prophecy that people will wish for death. It is a discussion of Islamic eschatology. Nothing in it is encouragement toward self-harm.

If you are struggling with despair, hopelessness, or thoughts of harming yourself, please contact Naseeha Mental Health for free, confidential, faith-sensitive support. Call or text 1-866-627-3342 or visit https://naseeha.org.

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A narration says that before the Hour a man will pass a grave and say, “I wish I were in his place,” and that it will not be out of longing for Allah but out of exhaustion with life.

The emptiness is the sign, not the hardship. What the same tradition carries is the correction: everyone already in a grave would trade everything they owned for one more day to seek Allah’s pleasure.

Dr. Omar Suleiman reflects on what is left when this world is no longer fulfilling. He is explicit that this is a religious diagnosis of one specific cause and not a statement about mental health or why anyone experiences these thoughts.

Find out which wish for death the Prophet ﷺ forbade, which one he allowed, and the du‘a he taught in relation to this:

اللَّهُمَّ أَحْيِنِي مَا كَانَتْ الْحَيَاةُ خَيْرًا لِي وَتَوَفَّنِي إِذَا كَانَتْ الْوَفَاةُ خَيْرًا لِي
Allahumma ahyini ma kanat al-hayatu khayran li, wa tawaffani idha kanat al-wafatu khayran li.

“O Allah, keep me alive so long as life is good for me, and cause me to die if death is better for me.”