Question:
Regarding the signs of death shared in the internet such as the signs of 100 days before death and others. Are they true?
Answer:
Alhamdulillah, praise and thanks to Allah for the countless blessings He has blessed us all with. Blessings and salutations to the Prophet Muhammad PBUH, his wives, his family, companions and all those that follow his teachings to the day of judgement.
The most important method in evaluating whether a certain news we hear is true or not is to first verify its source must be from al-Quran and al-Hadith. Allah SWT emphasizes in the Quran:
وَمَا تَدْرِي نَفْسٌ مَاذَا تَكْسِبُ غَدًا وَمَا تَدْرِي نَفْسٌ بِأَيِّ أَرْضٍ تَمُوتُ إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَلِيمٌ خَبِيرٌ
“Indeed, Allah [alone] has knowledge of the Hour and sends down the rain and knows what is in the wombs. And no soul perceives what it will earn tomorrow, and no soul perceives in what land it will die. Indeed, Allah is Knowing and Acquainted.”
Surah Luqman (34)
Allah SWT states:
وَعِنْدَهُ مَفَاتِحُ الْغَيْبِ لَا يَعْلَمُهَا إِلَّا هُوَ
“And with Him are the keys of the unseen; none knows them except Him. And He knows what is on the land and in the sea. Not a leaf falls but that He knows it. And no grain is there within the darkness of the earth and no moist or dry [thing] but that it is [written] in a clear record.”
Surah al-An’am (59)
If the signs are from a personal experience, then it can only be made as a general guideline. However, it cannot be believed as true or concrete signs before death. However, what’s certain is that the viral post regarding the signs of the 100 days before death is not from any hadiths and it is prohibited from being said to be from the Prophet PBUH. It is undeniable, some scholars are blessed by Allah SWT with a certain extent of knowledge, feeling or signs that their death is near. To close, we include the story of the death of Ibn Rajab, to that we could all contemplate on it together.
In the year of 795 Hijrah, Ibn Rajab has return to his Creator in the city of Damascus and buried in the graveyard of al-Bab al-Saghir near the tomb of Syeikh Abdul Wahid bin Muhammad al-Syirazi. In determining the year of his death, scholars agreed on the matter but scholars have differing opinions in determining the month of when Ibn Rajab passed away, whether it is in the month of rejab or Ramadhan.
Ibn Mashiruddin said: “The person who dug the grave of Ibn Rajab told me that Ibn Rajab came to meet him several days before his death and said: “Dig my grave here,” He said while pointing at a certain place.
The person then said: “Thusly, I started digging his grave as he had asked. After I had finished digging the grave, Ibn Rajab went into it and lie inside of it. I was utterly surprised by Ibn Rajab’s actions.”
Afterwards, Ibn Rajab said: “This grave is good,” and he walked away. The grave digger then continued telling me: “By Allah, I did not think anything of the incident until several days later when his deceased body was brought to the grave. I then placed his body inside the grave and bury him there. May Allah SWT bless him and bestow him Firdaus.”
This narration is stated by Syeikhul Islam Ibn Taimiyyah in al-Radd al-Wafir pg. 107