It is narrated from Sayyida Umm Fadl (may Allah be pleased with her) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) went to Sayyiduna Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) when he was ill and wishing for death. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said: O Abbas! O uncle of the Messenger of Allah! Do not wish for death. If you are righteous, then living longer and increasing in good deeds is better for you, and if you are sinful, then by living you can repent, so that too is better for you. Therefore, do not desire death. In another narration it is stated: If you are sinful, then in the case of a delay in death, repenting from your bad deeds is better for you.

Sayyiduna Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him) says: We were sitting with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and he (peace and blessings be upon him) gave us advice and admonition, and spoke so emotionally that Sayyiduna Sa’d bin Abi Waqqas (may Allah be pleased with him) began to weep and wept profusely. In the midst of this, he also said:“I wish I had died.”The Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:“Sa’d! Are you wishing for death in my presence?”He (peace and blessings be upon him) repeated this three times. Then he said:“O Sa’d! If you have been created for Paradise, then the longer your life or the better your deeds, the better it will be for you.”

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Jabir bin Abdullah, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: Do not wish for death, for the anxiety of the matters (that come) after death is also very severe. Good fortune is that a servant’s life is long and Allah Almighty grants him the ability to repent.

Haritha says: We went to visit Sayyiduna Khabbab (may Allah be pleased with him) during his illness. He said: If I had not heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) saying this, I would certainly have wished for death. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: No person should ever wish for death.

Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) says: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) passed by me while I was ill and I was saying: O Allah! If my time of death has come, then grant me relief (by death); if death is delayed, then raise me up; and if this is my trial, then grant me patience. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: What did you say? When I repeated my words, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) struck me with his foot and said: What did you say? I repeated my words again. This time the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: O Allah! Grant him well-being. Or he said: O Allah! Grant him healing. In one narration, without any doubt, only these words are mentioned: O Allah! Grant him healing. Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) says: After that, I never complained of that pain again.

It is narrated from Sayyida Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) that Sayyiduna Bilal (may Allah be pleased with him) came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: O Messenger of Allah! Such-and-such woman has passed away and found comfort. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) moved forward in anger and said: Only and only the one who enters Paradise finds comfort. In another narration, it is: The one who is forgiven.

Sayyiduna Abu Bakrah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that a man asked the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him): O Messenger of Allah! Who is the best person among the people? He (peace and blessings be upon him) replied: The one whose life is long and whose deeds are good. He then asked: Who is the worst person among the people? He (peace and blessings be upon him) replied: The one whose life is long and whose deeds are bad.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: Shall I not tell you who among you is the best person? They said: Yes, O Messenger of Allah! He, peace and blessings be upon him, said: The best among you are those whose lives are long and whose deeds are good.

Imam Haythami said: Bazzar narrated this hadith with two chains as marfu‘, and the narrators of one of them are trustworthy. Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik, may Allah be pleased with him, says: When a Muslim man reaches the age of forty years, Allah Almighty protects him from insanity, leukoderma, and leprosy. When he reaches the age of fifty years, Allah makes his reckoning easy for him. When he reaches the age of sixty years, he is granted such ability to turn to Allah that Allah loves him. When he reaches the age of seventy years, Allah loves him and so do the inhabitants of the heavens. When he reaches the age of eighty years, Allah accepts his good deeds and erases his sins. And when he reaches the age of ninety years, Allah forgives all his past and future sins, and his name is recorded as Allah’s prisoner on earth, and his intercession is accepted for his family and household.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: When a person's age reaches sixty years, Allah Almighty removes his excuse regarding age.