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Fatwa CenterThe devil tries to lure man in the throes of death
Question
Assalamu Aleikum sheikh, i have heard that at the time of death of a person the person feels a thirsty of unbearable,so at this time the sheithan comes to seen and bringinging 2 bottle of water and asking the person ,if you say there is 2 gods i will give you water to drink,so if thew person says it sheithan wil go from there without giving even the water what he promissed,so my question is ,is this a true ,authentic hadith or a false one, is there any trial like this for believers at death time? if it is true can a good believer get cought to satan at that moment,this like facing dajjal or same like that?if any person having even a size of a atom also inshaallah would get forgiveness in the day of judgement by the shafaath of our holy prophet (saaw),so can there be a trial like this at that hard death bed? please give detailed reply about this,salam
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allaah, the Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His Slave and Messenger.
First of all, the stupor of death and its severity is something confirmed by the text of the Quran; Allaah says (what means): {And the stupor of death will come in truth; this is what you have been avoiding.} [Quran 50:19] Al-Aloosi 
said (while interpreting the above verse): “The stupor of death means its severity.” This type of severity is a kind of test and trial like other types of trials. This does not indicate a deficiency in the believer; rather, he may get good from this by having his sins wiped out or his degrees raised.
Ibn Hajar said: “The severity of death does not indicate a decrease in status, but for a believer, it is either an increase in his good deeds or an atonement for his sins.”
On the other hand, Allaah may relieve some believers of this severity. It is reported in a Saheeh (sound) Hadeeth that the Prophet 
said: “A martyr does not find from death except what one of you finds from a pinch.” [At-Tirmithi: Hasan Saheeh]
This Hadeeth indicates that the martyr is excluded from the pain of the stupor of death. Faydh Al-Qadeer reads: “The martyr is excluded from that as the pain that he finds is just like what others find from the pain of a pinch.”
As regards what is mentioned in the question about the devil bringing water to the person when he is breathing his last, there is no basis for this statement.
However, in Hilyat Al-Awliyaa', a Hadeeth of the Prophet was narrated by Waathilah 
whose wording is as follows: “Be present when the dying ones among you are breathing their last and prompt them to recite “Laa ilaaha illa Allaah (None has the right to be worshipped but Allaah)” as the wise among men and women gets mystified at that moment of severity and difficulty, and at that moment of difficulty, the devil is closer to the son of Aadam than ever before.” However, Shaykh Al-Albaani classified it as Dha’eef [weak] in Dha’eef Al-Jaami’ and in other books.
Nonetheless, it is likely that the devil would come to the believer when he is breathing his last in order to lure him. Al-Qurtubi quoted Abdullaah ibn Ahmad ibn Hanbal as saying: “I was present at the time of my father Ahmad's death while I was holding a piece of cloth in my hand in order to fasten it around his chin and over his head, and he fell unconscious and then he woke up and said while moving his hand: “not yet, not yet”. He did that several times; then I told him: “O father! What is happening? He said: “The devil was standing next to me biting his fingers and saying: “O Ahmad, you have escaped from me.”; and I was telling him: not yet, no, not until I die.”
He mentioned another story that a man was dying and he was told: “Say: Laa Ilaaha Illa Allaah”, and he was saying: “No, no”, and when he became conscious we told him what happened, then he said: “Two devils came to me, one on my right and one on my left: one says to me: “Die as a Jew as it is the best religion, and the other says: “Die as a Christian as it is the best religion”, and I was telling them: “No, no.”
However, at that moment Allaah keeps the believers firm with the saying of the word of truth "Laa ilaaha illa Allaah" as Allaah says (what means): {Allaah keeps firm those who believe, with the firm word, in worldly life and in the Hereafter. And Allaah sends astray the wrongdoers. And Allaah does what He wills.} [Quran 14:27]
Allaah Knows best.
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