How to Live Longer

Opening Praise and Salutations

Why Would I Want to Live Longer?

Allah put it in the heart of every human being — the desire to live, to survive, to protect oneself from what can harm us. But the question is not that. The question that we should ask ourselves is: Why would I want to live longer? We learn from Allah, and we cherish life and care for it. We protect it — in our lives and the lives of others as well. That's why those who save lives, Allah rewards them tremendously.

That's why killing a human being and ending a life of someone is something terrible and one of the most severe crimes in Islam.

The Best and Worst of People

The Prophet ﷺ was asked: who is the best person? He said: those who live longer and are able to do more good deeds. Who are the worst? Those who live a long life and Allah gives them the opportunity to live longer, yet they use it to do more bad deeds.

So don't ever be tempted or deceived by someone who survived death or someone who lived a long life — thinking it means God is on their side or that they are loved by God. That is not necessarily the case. It depends on how you behave and how you act. And don't think that somebody whose life was cut short and who died young is not loved or cared for by Allah. That's not necessarily the case either. It all depends on what you do and what kind of life you leave behind.

(Musnad Imam Ahmad, Hadith of Abu Bakrah)

Do Not Wish for Death

The Prophet ﷺ said: do not ever wish for death because of a calamity or hardship that you are going through. If you must say something when you are in a very, very hard situation, say:

"O Allah, keep me alive as long as life is good for me, and bring death to me when death is better for me."

The Prophet ﷺ used to pray every day that a person stays strong in all of their senses — hearing, sight, and mind — until the very moment of death. As if these faculties are an inheritance that the inheritor receives at the last moment.

The Lifespan of This Ummah

The Prophet ﷺ said:

(Sunan Ibn Majah, Hadith 4236; Jami' al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 3550)

Most people die in their 60s, 70s, and 80s. Very few reach their late 80s and 90s. If you just look at 70 years of life — 15 years go to your childhood; if you work 8 hours a day, that's 23 years of your life; if you sleep 6 hours a night, that's about 17 years of your life gone. Just those three take 55 years out of your 70.

That's why it was never about the number of days in your life — it's about how much life you have in your days. That is what really counts.

The Story of Two Companions

In the time of the Prophet ﷺ, two men became Muslims. One of them died in the battlefield as a martyr, and the other died a year later at home — not as a shaheed. The Prophet ﷺ was told that someone had a dream in which the one who died later was at a higher level in Jannah. The Companions were surprised: how could someone who died in his bed be higher than a martyr who died on the battlefield?

The Prophet ﷺ confirmed the dream was true. He said: the one who lived one more year fasted one more Ramadan, prayed one more year's worth of prayers, and added an entire year's worth of dhikr — سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ، الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ، لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ، اللَّهُ أَكْبَرُ — and all of that elevated him higher than the first one.

Obedience and Taqwa Extend One's Life

When we look at the Book of Allah, we find something interesting. Allah says, relaying the words of Nuh ﷺ to his people:

Ibn Kathir said regarding وَيُؤَخِّرْكُمْ إِلَىٰ أَجَلٍ مُّسَمًّى: it means He will extend your lifespans — He will allow you to live longer. And Allah says in Surah Fatir:

There is broad agreement among the early scholars and the commentators of the Qur'an that Allah increases the life of some people and decreases it for others. When Allah orders the angel while you are in your mother's womb — say, to live 60 years — Allah may change that and make you live 65, 70, or 80. Or it may be cut short.

Three Scholarly Opinions on What "Living Longer" Means

The scholars debated the meaning of this extension of life, and there are mainly three positions:

First: Literally, they will live more years than were originally decreed. The evidence for this is the hadith about Adam ﷺ, who saw Dawood among his descendants and gave him 40 years of his own lifespan — and so Dawood lived 40 extra years beyond what was originally written for him, by the intercession of Adam.

Second: Allah places so much barakah in their lives that they accomplish in a short period what others need years to accomplish — like Imam al-Nawawi, who died in his 40s but produced scholarship that people twice his age could not match.

Third: Their memory, name, and legacy continue alive after their death — as if they are still living among people — whereas most people, after they die, are quickly forgotten and rarely mentioned.

The strongest opinion is that all three are applicable — that Allah may literally increase a person's years, put tremendous barakah in their life so it counts as more, and keep their legacy and name alive long after they are gone.

Things That Increase Your Life

Maintaining Family Ties (Silat al-Rahim)

Among the things the Prophet ﷺ mentioned that can increase your life is connecting with family members — caring about your kinship, reaching out to your cousins, uncles, aunts, maternal and paternal relatives. Those who maintain silat al-rahim are promised barakah in their lifespan and provision.

Multiplying Your Rewards — Working Smart

The Prophet ﷺ told us that if you pray in Makkah, the prayer is multiplied a hundred thousand times. So if you travel to Makkah and spend two days — that is the reward of half a million prayers. To pray five times a day and accumulate half a million fard prayers, you would need to live five hundred and forty-eight years. Nobody has lived that long. Yet you can accomplish that in 48 hours.

The Prophet ﷺ also said that praying in congregation is multiplied twenty-five times. As if you prayed Dhuhr twenty-five times. As if you prayed Isha twenty-five times. You didn't live twenty-five nights to pray Isha — but it will be added to your account.

And the Prophet ﷺ said that in regard to the voluntary prayers, it is the opposite: praying them at home or in seclusion where no one sees you is multiplied twenty-five times more than praying them openly in the masjid.

The Reward of Jumu'ah

The Prophet ﷺ said: those who perform ghusl, clean themselves, come early to the masjid on Friday, walk rather than ride, sit closer to the imam, and listen attentively — for every step they take toward the masjid, Allah gives them the reward of a full year of fasting and prayer.

I once asked one of my teachers: what about those of us today who come by car? He said: I hope it counts from your car to the masjid, to the musalla. Because the Prophet ﷺ put a condition — he said in the hadith, "he walked and did not ride." So whatever steps you take from your house to the car, and from your car to the musalla — all of that will count.

Praying Fajr and Staying Until Sunrise

It was reported that the Prophet ﷺ said: those who pray Fajr and remain until sunrise engaging in dhikr receive the reward as if they have done Umrah or Hajj. How many Hajj can you do every year? You know the answer. Yet you can do the equivalent of this on a daily basis, every single day of the year.

Laylatul Qadr

Among the things that add so much value to your life is Laylatul Qadr — better than a thousand months of worship.

Surah Al-Ikhlas

The Prophet ﷺ was asked: who can recite one third of the Qur'an in one night? The Companions said: Ya Rasulallah, that is too long, it takes too much time. He said:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 5013)

Reciting قُلْ هُوَ اللَّهُ أَحَدٌ equals the reward of one third of the Qur'an.

In business they say there are two workers — one who works harder and one who works smarter. In Islam, you have to combine both: you work hard and you work smart.

The Dhikr of Juwairiyah — A Powerful Lesson

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2726)

The Prophet ﷺ left Juwairiyah, the Mother of the Believers, after Fajr while she was sitting making dhikr. He returned at midday and she had not moved. He said: "Have you been engaged in dhikr and du'a since I left you?" She said: "Yes." He said: "After I left you, I said these words — and if you were to weigh them against everything you've been saying all this time, mine would be heavier." He said: "I said,

"Glory be to Allah and all praise is His, as many as His creation, as much as pleases Him, as heavy as His throne, and as many as His words" — three times.

Sadaqah Jariyah — Continuous Charity

Among the things you leave behind — a continuous charity that even after you die will keep adding to your account as if you are still alive. Teaching knowledge, spreading knowledge, giving dawah to people — everything that you guided someone to, you still receive the reward of that guidance after you die.

The Main Point: Maximize Every Moment

The main point of this khutbah today — the thing you should go home and think about deeply — is: How can I maximize my benefits from these days and nights and moments and breaths that I take every day? Because you don't know when the time will come to depart. How can I maximize my opportunity from this gift from Allah, which is life? And think about that day when this gift will be taken away from you.

May Allah bless our deeds, bless our life, and give you a long, healthy life filled with iman, taqwa, and righteousness. And forgive those who have passed on among us.

Du'a