Can Non-Muslims See Deceased Loved Ones Before Death?

Answered by Shaykh Irshaad Sedick

Question

What is the appropriate Islamic understanding of reports that non-Muslims sometimes see deceased relatives at the moment of death and appear to pass away peacefully?

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Merciful and Compassionate

There is nothing impossible about the dying being witness to things of the unseen at the moment leading up to death, and this aligns with evidence from the Quran and Sunna, and is not unique to non-Muslims.

Such visions could be real perceptions of the unseen or psychological and emotional intensity in the departing person’s mind.

Either way, such visions have no definitive bearing on the person’s outcome in the afterlife, which is determined by their faith and deeds, not by the apparent calm of their departure.

Can the Dying Perceive the Unseen?

There is nothing impossible about the dying being witness to things of the unseen at the moment leading up to death.

In fact, this aligns with evidence from the Quran and Sunna, and it is not unique to non-Muslims.

The fact that it is possible is essentially enough as far as what relates to us, because we are not duty-bound to investigate the truth or falsehood of their claim.

While their visions may be true, they may also be false. They may be having genuine visions, or it may be a psychological or emotional state at the moment of departure.

Allah (Most High) knows best.

Resurrected by Faith and Deeds

Regardless, they will die and be resurrected according to their faith and their deeds, irrespective of any pleasant experience or claimed pleasant experience at the time of death.

Allah (Most High) says: “[It will be said,] ‘You were certainly heedless of this. Now We have removed your veil from you, so your sight today is keen.’” [Quran 50:22]

According to most exegetes, this verse is addressed to the disbeliever on the Day of Judgment.

However, it establishes the principle that the barrier between this world and the unseen can be removed, and that those who are dying may begin to experience this unveiling.

What Happens at the Moment of Death?

The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) described what happens at the moment of death in the long hadith narrated by al-Bara ibn Azib (Allah be pleased with him):

“When the believer is about to depart from this world and head towards the Hereafter, angels from the heavens descend upon him, their faces as bright as the sun, bringing shrouds from Paradise and fragrance from Paradise. They sit at a distance that the eye can see.

Then the Angel of Death comes and sits by his head and says, ‘O good soul, come out to forgiveness and pleasure from Allah.’…

When the disbelieving servant is about to depart from this world and head towards the Hereafter, angels descend upon him from the heavens, their faces darkened, and they bring sackcloth. The Angels then sit at a distance that the eye can see.

Then the Angel of Death comes and sits by his head and says, ‘O foul soul, come out to the displeasure and wrath of Allah.’” [Sunan Abu Dawud, Musnad Ahmad]

Allah (Most High) says, “By those ˹angels˺ stripping out ˹evil souls˺ harshly, and those pulling out ˹good souls˺ gently…” [Quran, 79: 1-2]

The opening verses of Surah al-Nazi’at also speak to this reality, where, according to some mufassirun, the verses describe the angels who remove the soul at the time of death, some gently and some harshly.

Authoritative References

Imam Ghazali (Allah have mercy on him), in his treatment of attending the funeral in Kitab Dhikr al-Mawt, states: “fa-inna al-khatima makhtara la yudra haqiqatuha”—“for the ending is perilous, its true nature unknown.” [Ghazali, Ihya Ulum al-Din, Kitab Dhikr al-Mawt wa ma Ba’dahu]

Imam Ghazali (Allah have mercy on him) frames the etiquette of attending a funeral around this principle: Think well of the deceased, even if he is an outward sinner.

Think poorly of oneself even if outwardly upright, because the true ending is hidden from us.

When he treats the signs at the time of death more broadly, he distinguishes between signs visible to onlookers and the inward states known only to Allah (Most High).

He never reduces a good ending (husn al-khatima) to outward calm. To him, the essence of a good ending is the soul’s state of iman at the time of departure.

Signs of a Good End (Husn al-Khatima)

The Sunna describes signs of a good ending as being inward and connected to faith and worship.

Examples include dying while saying the testimony of faith, dying during an act of worship or a good deed, or having a perspiring forehead at death, as mentioned in the hadith of Burayda (Allah be pleased with him), who said:

“I heard the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) say: “The believer dies with sweat on his brow.” [Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Sunan al-Nasa’i, Musnad Ahmad]

These signs are not simply about looking calm.

Scope of the Matter

We are not under a duty to investigate the nature of such claims. The realities that we believe regarding what happens when a person dies, and after they die, are based entirely on what we know from the Quran and Sunna.

This is a matter of the unseen, and we cannot assume that the person’s visions are, in fact, true visions of the unseen.

Practical Guidance

If a Muslim hears about such experiences, the best response is not to confirm or deny them, because we cannot know another person’s inner state.

What we hold with certainty is that resurrection and recompense are according to faith and deeds, not according to the outward calm of one’s last breath.

The believer should take this as a reminder to focus on their own ending, to ask Allah (Most High) for husn al-khatima, and to recognize that the only reliable preparation for that moment is the faith in the heart and the deeds that emanate from it.

And Allah (Most High) knows best.

[Shaykh] Irshaad Sedick
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

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Shaykh Irshaad Sedick was raised in South Africa in a traditional Muslim family. He graduated from Dar al-Ulum al-Arabiyyah al-Islamiyyah in Strand, Western Cape, under the guidance of the late world-renowned scholar Shaykh Taha Karaan (Allah have mercy on him), where he taught.