Imagine your final breath. Your last moment of consciousness in this world. What you experience in those final moments—whether peace or terror, joy or anguish—depends entirely on how you lived.
You won’t get to prepare then. You won’t get to repent then. By the time death arrives, your fate is sealed. The life you lived has already determined what you’re about to experience.
And the difference between a righteous Muslim’s death and a sinful Muslim’s death is like the difference between the sweetest dream and the worst nightmare.
Let me show you what Islamic sources actually say about these final moments. Not speculation. Not near-death experiences from random people. What the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ described about what happens when the Angel of Death comes, how the soul is extracted, what the dying person sees, and where the soul goes immediately after leaving the body.
Every person reading this will experience one of these two deaths. There’s no third option. There’s no middle ground. According to prophetic description, you’re either heading toward one experience or the other based on how you’re living right now.
Which death will be yours?
The Moment the Angel of Death Arrives
Death doesn’t just “happen.” Allah ﷻ sends specific angels—led by the Angel of Death—to extract your soul at the exact moment He has decreed.
The Quran states:
[Surah Al-An’am, Ayah 61]
“He reigns supreme over all of His creation, and sends recording angels, watching over you. When death comes to any of you, Our angels take their soul, never neglecting this duty.”
These angels have been watching you your entire life. They’ve recorded every deed. They know exactly who you are and what you deserve. And they come differently depending on whether you’re righteous or sinful.
For the Righteous Believer
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ described the death of a believer, as recorded in authentic hadith collections narrated by Al-Bara’ ibn ‘Azib:
“When the believing servant is about to depart this world and enter the Hereafter, angels with white faces—as bright as the sun—descend from heaven. They bring with them a shroud and perfume from Paradise, and they sit as far as the eye can see. Then the Angel of Death comes and sits by his head and says: ‘O pure soul, come out to the forgiveness and pleasure of Allah.'”
According to this prophetic description documented in collections including Musnad Ahmad and authenticated by scholars, imagine what the dying righteous Muslim sees:
Angels with radiant faces filling the room as far as they can see. They’re not terrifying—they’re beautiful, comforting, like seeing the sun itself in angelic form.
A shroud from Paradise that they’ve brought for your soul. It’s perfumed with the fragrances of Jannah (Paradise)—scents unlike anything in this world.
The Angel of Death himself speaking to you—not harshly, but gently calling your soul: “O pure soul.” Being called “pure” by the Angel of Death is the ultimate validation after a lifetime of trying to please Allah ﷻ.
An invitation to forgiveness and pleasure. The Angel of Death isn’t announcing punishment but promising divine mercy and satisfaction. The believer hears: “Come out to the forgiveness and pleasure of Allah.”
According to those who have witnessed pious Muslims dying, sometimes the dying person smiles inexplicably in their final moments. Sometimes they look to the side with joy. They’re seeing what others in the room cannot see—the angels of mercy who have come to take them home.
For the Sinful Disbeliever or Hypocrite
According to the same authentic hadith, the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ described the opposite experience:
“But when the disbelieving servant is about to depart this world and enter the Hereafter, angels with dark faces come down to him from heaven, bringing sackcloth with them. They sit as far as the eye can see. Then the Angel of Death comes and sits by his head and says: ‘O evil soul, come out to the anger and wrath of Allah.'”
Imagine what the dying disbeliever or hypocrite sees:
Angels with dark, frightening faces filling the room. They’re not comforting—they’re terrifying. The dying person looks around and sees beings that strike fear into their heart.
Sackcloth instead of paradise shrouds. Instead of pleasant fragrances, there’s the opposite—rough material that symbolizes the harsh treatment about to come.
Being called “evil soul.” Imagine dying and having the Angel of Death himself identify your soul as evil. After a lifetime of claiming to be good, thinking you were decent, perhaps even calling yourself Muslim—you’re exposed for what you truly were.
An invitation to anger and wrath. Instead of forgiveness and pleasure, the dying person hears that they’re being taken to face Allah’s ﷻ anger and wrath. That’s their welcome to the Hereafter.
The Quran confirms this terror:
[Surah Al-An’am, Ayah 93]
“If you could but see when the wrongdoers are in the overwhelming pangs of death while the angels extend their hands, [saying], ‘Discharge your souls! Today you will be awarded the punishment of [extreme] humiliation for what you used to say against Allah other than the truth and [that] you were, toward His verses, being arrogant.'”
The angels aren’t gently calling the soul—they’re demanding it: “Discharge your souls!” And they’re announcing the punishment that’s coming.
How the Soul is Extracted: Gentle vs. Violent
What happens next depends on how the person lived.
The Believer’s Easy Death
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ continued describing the believer’s death:
“So his soul comes out like a drop of water flowing from a water-skin, and the angel takes it.”
The believer’s soul exits smoothly, easily, naturally—like water gently dripping from a container. There’s no struggle, no pain, no resistance. The soul wants to go because it knows what awaits it.
The hadith continues: “When he takes it, they do not leave it in his hand for an instant before they take it and place it in that shroud with that perfume, and a fragrance comes from it like the finest musk on the face of the earth.”
The angels immediately wrap the believer’s soul in the paradise shroud, and an amazing fragrance emanates from it—better than the finest musk in existence. This is because the soul is pure, having been purified through faith, good deeds, and repentance.
The Disbeliever’s Agonizing Death
But for the disbeliever or hypocrite, the Prophet ﷺ described:
“The soul disperses throughout his body, then the angels pull it out as a skewer is pulled out of wet wool, tearing the veins and nerves.”
Imagine:
The soul resists. It doesn’t want to leave because it knows what’s coming. It disperses throughout the body, trying to hide, trying to avoid the inevitable.
The angels must rip it out. They don’t gently extract it—they forcibly tear it out like pulling a thorny skewer through wet wool. If you’ve ever seen thorns tear through fabric, leaving it shredded—that’s the image.
Veins and nerves are torn. The extraction itself is agonizing. The soul is so attached to worldly life and so terrified of what comes next that it clings to the body, and the angels must violently separate them.
The hadith continues: “And when he [the Angel of Death] takes it, they do not leave it in his hand for an instant before they take it and place it in that sackcloth, and there comes from it a stench like the foulest stench of a corpse on the face of the earth.”
Unlike the believer’s soul which smells like paradise, the sinful soul stinks like the worst rotting corpse imaginable. This is the external manifestation of spiritual corruption—a life of sin has polluted the soul so completely that it literally stinks.
What the Dying Person Sees: The Veil is Lifted
In those final moments, the veil between this world and the unseen is lifted. The dying person sees realities that those still alive in the room cannot see.
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said, as recorded in authentic collections: “When the believer’s time of death comes, he receives glad tidings of Allah’s pleasure and His blessings, and nothing is more beloved to him at that time than what lies ahead. He therefore loves to meet Allah, and Allah too loves to meet him.”
The believer in their final moments sees or senses what awaits them—Paradise, divine pleasure, forgiveness, eternal bliss. And that vision is so beautiful that suddenly death becomes desirable. They want to go. They want to meet Allah ﷻ. That’s why some dying believers smile or reach toward something others can’t see.
Conversely, according to the hadith’s continuation: “When the disbeliever’s time comes, he receives evil tidings of Allah’s torment and His punishment. Nothing is more hateful to him than what lies ahead. So he hates meeting Allah, and Allah hates meeting him.”
The disbeliever or hypocrite sees what awaits them—Hell, divine anger, eternal punishment—and terror grips them. That’s why some dying people fight against death desperately, look around in fear, or seem to see something terrifying that others in the room cannot perceive.
The Ascension: Taking the Soul to Allah ﷻ
According to the continuation of the hadith about death, after the soul is extracted, it’s taken on a journey. And that journey differs dramatically based on the person’s faith and deeds.
The Believer’s Soul: Welcomed Through the Heavens
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ continued:
“Then they [the angels] ascend with it [the believer’s soul], and they do not pass by any group of angels but they say: ‘What is this pure soul?’ They say: ‘It is So-and-so the son of So-and-so,’ calling him by the best names by which he was known in this world, until they reach the lowest heaven.”
Imagine your soul’s journey:
Angels carry you upward toward the heavens. You’re leaving earth behind, heading toward Allah ﷻ.
Every group of angels you pass recognizes that your soul is pure and clean. They’re excited to see you. They ask about you with joy.
You’re identified by your best names. Imagine angels calling you by the most honored names people used for you in life—not your sins, not your failures, but your best qualities.
The hadith continues: “They ask for the gate to be opened, and it is opened for him. People in each heaven accompany him to the next heaven until he reaches the seventh heaven.”
You’re welcomed at each level of heaven. The doors open for you. Angels escort you higher and higher until you reach the seventh heaven—the highest level.
Then the continuation: “And Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, says: ‘Write the record of My slave in ‘Illiyyin (the highest register), and return him to earth.'”
Allah ﷻ Himself commands that your record be written in ‘Illiyyin—mentioned in the Quran as the register of the righteous. You’ve been accepted, honored, and recorded among the successful.
The Disbeliever’s Soul: Rejected and Cast Down
But for the disbeliever or hypocrite, the Prophet ﷺ described:
“Then they ascend with it, and they do not pass by any group of angels but they say: ‘What is this evil soul?’ They say: ‘It is So-and-so the son of So-and-so,’ calling him by the worst names by which he was known in this world, until they reach the lowest heaven. They ask for the gate to be opened, but it is not opened for him.”
Imagine:
Angels carry your soul upward but not in honor—in punishment.
Every group of angels recognizes your soul as evil and corrupt. They ask about you with disgust.
You’re identified by your worst names. The names people called you when criticizing your character, your sins, your failures—that’s how angels identify you.
You’re rejected at the first heaven. The gates don’t open. You’re not welcome. There’s no ascension through the levels of heaven for you.
The Prophet ﷺ then recited this Quranic verse:
[Surah Al-A’raf, Ayah 40]
“The gates of heaven will not be opened for them, nor will they enter Paradise until a camel goes through the eye of a needle.”
It’s impossible for the disbeliever’s soul to enter heaven—as impossible as a camel fitting through a needle’s eye.
The hadith continues: “Then Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, says: ‘Write his record in Sijjin (the lowest register) in the lowest earth.’ So his soul is cast down.”
Instead of being elevated to ‘Illiyyin, the disbeliever’s record is written in Sijjin—the Quran’s term for the register of the wicked. And the soul is literally cast down, thrown back to earth in disgrace.
The Prophet ﷺ then recited:
[Surah Al-Hajj, Ayah 31]
“…and whoever associates others with Allah – it is as though he had fallen from the sky and was snatched by the birds or the wind carried him down into a remote place.”
According to this Quranic imagery, the soul of the disbeliever plummets like someone falling from the sky.
Returning to the Grave: The Beginning of Barzakh
Both souls are eventually returned to their bodies in the grave. And what happens next determines their experience in Barzakh (the intermediary period between death and resurrection).
For both the believer and disbeliever, the soul is returned to the body in the grave, and two angels come to question them. These are Munkar and Nakir (peace be upon them).
According to prophetic descriptions, they ask three questions:
- “Who is your Lord?”
- “What is your religion?”
- “Who is your prophet?”
The Believer’s Response
According to the hadith documented in authentic collections, the believer answers confidently:
- “My Lord is Allah”
- “My religion is Islam”
- “My prophet is Muhammad ﷺ”
The hadith continues: “A voice calls from heaven: ‘My slave has spoken the truth, so spread out carpets from Paradise for him and clothe him from Paradise, and open a gate for him to Paradise.'”
The believer’s grave becomes spacious, filled with light, and a window to Paradise opens. Fragrance and comfort from Paradise fill the grave. The believer rests peacefully, seeing their place in Paradise, waiting comfortably for resurrection.
The Disbeliever’s Response
According to the same hadith, the disbeliever or hypocrite stammers:
- “I don’t know”
- “I heard people saying something, so I said it too”
The hadith continues: “A voice calls from heaven: ‘He has lied, so spread out carpets from Hell for him and clothe him from Hell, and open a gate for him to Hell.'”
Heat and torment from Hell reach the disbeliever in the grave. The grave becomes constricted, squeezing them. Terrifying visions of their place in Hell appear. They remain in agony until resurrection.
Signs Others Might See During the Death
According to Islamic sources and observations documented by those who have witnessed death, there are sometimes visible signs of what the dying person is experiencing:
Smiling or looking peaceful. Righteous people sometimes smile at death, seeing the angels of mercy and the promise of Paradise.
Looking to the side repeatedly. Dying people sometimes look around as if seeing something others cannot—which they are: the angels filling the room.
Fear and terror. Some dying people show extreme fear, as if seeing something horrifying—which they are: the frightening angels or visions of punishment.
Fighting against death. According to the hadith about souls resisting extraction, some people struggle violently against death even when terminally ill—their soul doesn’t want to leave because of what it knows awaits.
Calmness and acceptance. Believers often accept death calmly because they sense what awaits them is better than what they’re leaving.
The Critical Importance of How You Live
According to everything the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ described about death experiences, here’s the bottom line: how you die reflects how you lived.
You don’t get to choose your death experience at the moment it happens. By that point, your fate is sealed. The angels who come, how your soul is extracted, where your soul goes, what you see in your final moments—all of that is determined by how you lived before death arrived.
If you lived in obedience to Allah ﷻ—praying regularly, avoiding major sins, repenting sincerely, maintaining good character—your death will be the beginning of eternal mercy.
If you lived in disobedience—abandoning prayer, persisting in major sins, ignoring divine guidance, following desires over divine commands—your death will be the beginning of eternal torment.
There’s no middle ground. The Prophet ﷺ didn’t describe a “pretty good” death or a “not too bad” death. He described two types: peace or terror, gentleness or violence, acceptance or rejection.
What This Should Make You Do Right Now
If you understand what the Prophet ﷺ described about death experiences, it should transform how you live today:
Repent immediately. You don’t know when death will come. Every moment you delay sincere repentance is gambling with your eternal fate.
Establish prayer if you’ve abandoned it. Prayer is the first thing you’ll be judged on. If you want a good death according to prophetic description, start with fixing your relationship with Allah ﷻ through prayer.
Avoid major sins. Persistent major sins without repentance corrupt your soul—creating the “evil soul” the Angel of Death will call out when he comes for you.
Do good deeds consistently. Righteous deeds purify the soul. That “pure soul” the angels joyfully carry upward? That’s built through years of good deeds, charity, kindness, and obedience.
Remember death frequently. The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said, as recorded in authenticated collections: “Remember often the destroyer of pleasures”—meaning death. Frequent remembrance of death keeps you spiritually conscious and motivated to prepare.
Make dua for a good ending. Regularly ask Allah ﷻ: “O Allah, let me die as a Muslim” and “O Allah, give me a good ending.” Sincerely asking for a good death helps protect you from a bad one.
The Bottom Line: Your Death is Being Written Right Now
Your death experience—what you’ll see, how your soul will be extracted, where your soul will go, what awaits you—is being determined right now by how you’re living.
Every prayer you establish or abandon. Every sin you commit or resist. Every moment you spend in obedience or disobedience. Every person you help or hurt. Every thought you entertain about Allah ﷻ and His commands.
All of this is writing the script of your final moments.
Do you want angels with radiant faces or dark faces? Do you want your soul extracted gently like water or ripped out like thorns? Do you want to be welcomed through the heavens or rejected and cast down? Do you want to hear “O pure soul” or “O evil soul”? Do you want the promise of Allah’s ﷻ pleasure or the announcement of His anger?
You’re choosing right now—through how you live—which death experience will be yours.
So ask yourself: If the Angel of Death came right now, in this moment, based on how you’ve been living—which death would you experience?
And if the honest answer frightens you? According to Islamic mercy, it’s not too late to change it. Repent. Start praying. Abandon major sins. Live righteously. Make your peace with Allah ﷻ.
Because death is coming. You don’t know when. But you know it’s coming. And how you’ve lived will determine whether your final moments are the best experience of your existence or the beginning of eternal regret.
Choose wisely. Live righteously. Because your death experience is being written right now.
Disclaimer: This article is provided for general educational and informational purposes only. While every effort has been made to accurately present Islamic teachings on death experiences based on authenticated hadith and Quranic verses, readers are strongly advised to consult qualified Islamic scholars for detailed eschatological questions and spiritual guidance. The descriptions of death presented here are from hadith authenticated by Islamic scholars, primarily from Musnad Ahmad and similar collections, narrated by Al-Bara’ ibn ‘Azib and others. These are beliefs held by mainstream Sunni Muslims based on prophetic teachings. The intention is to inspire sincere preparation for death through righteous living and repentance, not to judge any individual’s fate, which is known only to Allah. May Allah grant us all easy deaths as believers and protect us from the terror of a bad death. Ameen.