Anas reported God's messenger as saying, "None of you must wish for death because he is afflicted by evil circumstances, but if he cannot help doing so he should say, ‘O God, give me life as long as life is better for me, and take me when death is better for me.’ ” (Bukhari and Muslim.)
Hadith Commentary: Wishing for Death
This noble hadith from Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim addresses a profound spiritual principle: the prohibition against desiring death due to worldly hardships. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) guides believers toward proper spiritual disposition during trials.
Prohibition Against Death Wishes
The scholars explain that wishing for death due to worldly afflictions demonstrates impatience with Divine Decree and lack of trust in Allah's wisdom. Life is a trust from Allah and contains opportunities for worship, repentance, and spiritual growth that death terminates.
Imam al-Nawawi comments that such wishes may indicate dissatisfaction with Allah's decree, as the timing of death is among matters exclusively in Divine Knowledge and Wisdom.
Permissible Circumstances
The exception mentioned - "if he cannot help doing so" - refers to overwhelming spiritual concerns rather than worldly difficulties. Classical scholars like Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani mention this applies when one fears for their religion due to severe trials that may lead to apostasy.
Even then, the believer is taught to phrase their supplication with complete submission to Divine Wisdom, acknowledging Allah's superior knowledge of what benefits the servant.
The Prescribed Supplication
The taught du'a embodies perfect tawakkul (reliance on Allah). Ibn al-Qayyim explains that this prayer demonstrates the servant's acknowledgment that only Allah knows what is truly beneficial - whether continued life or death.
This supplication trains the believer to seek what Allah knows is best rather than what the limited human perception desires, thus perfecting one's servitude to the All-Knowing, All-Wise.
Spiritual Benefits
This teaching cultivates patience (sabr), trust in Divine Wisdom, and contentment with Allah's decree. It redirects the believer from focusing on relief from hardship to seeking what pleases Allah in every circumstance.
The hadith ultimately guides believers toward spiritual maturity - recognizing that both life and death are means to draw closer to Allah, and the true objective is His pleasure in every state.