Sunan an-Nasa'i
Sunan an-Nasa'i 1820
Arabic hadith text
أَخْبَرَنَا قُتَيْبَةُ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا يَزِيدُ، - وَهُوَ ابْنُ زُرَيْعٍ - عَنْ حُمَيْدٍ، عَنْ أَنَسٍ، أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ " لاَ يَتَمَنَّيَنَّ أَحَدُكُمُ الْمَوْتَ لِضُرٍّ نَزَلَ بِهِ فِي الدُّنْيَا وَلَكِنْ لِيَقُلِ اللَّهُمَّ أَحْيِنِي مَا كَانَتِ الْحَيَاةُ خَيْرًا لِي وَتَوَفَّنِي إِذَا كَانَتِ الْوَفَاةُ خَيْرًا لِي " .
Translation
Qutaybah narrated to us: Yazid—meaning Ibn Zuray‘—narrated to us, from Humayd, from Anas, that the Messenger of Allah said: ‘None of you should wish for death because of harm that has befallen him in this world. Rather, let him say: “O Allah, keep me alive as long as life is better for me, and cause me to die when death is better for me.”’