‘Ā'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) reported that when the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) was healthy, he used to say: "No prophet dies until he is shown his place in Paradise and is then given the choice." "No prophet dies until he is shown his place in Paradise and is then given the choice."When he was sick, while his head was resting on my thigh, he fell unconscious. Then he came back to consciousness and fixed his eyes on the ceiling of the house and said: "O Allah, the highest Companion." I said (to myself): "So, he is not going to choose us." I then realized that it was what he used to tell us when he was healthy. The last words he spoke were: "O Allah, the highest Companion."
GradingAuthentic hadith
AttributionNarrated by Bukhari & Muslim
Explanation
‘Ā'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) says that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) used to say while he was in good health before his final sickness that no prophet died until Allah showed him his place in Paradise and gave him the choice to either stay in the world or go to his place in Paradise. Then when he became sick just before his death, while his head was resting on ‘Ā'ishah's thigh, he fell consciousness then recovered. He looked at the ceiling of the house and said: ''O Allah, the highest Companion,'' i.e. I choose to be with the prophets who live in the highest of high places. ‘Ā'ishah remarked that if Allah gave the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) the choice between this world and the Hereafter, he would choose the Hereafter and would not choose them. She realized that this was exactly what he used to say when he was healthy. The last words he spoke were: "O Allah, the highest Companion."