Hadith Four of An-Nawawi

On the authority of Abee Abdir Rahmaan Abdillaah ibn Mas’ood (ra) who said: “the Messenger of Allaah (saw) who is the truthful one and the one to be believed in narrated to us:

Verily the creation of each one of you is brought together in his mother’s womb for forty days in the form of a nutfah (a drop), then he becomes an ‘alaqah (clot of blood) for a like period, then a mudghah (morsel of flesh) for a like period, then there is sent to him the angel who blows his soul into him and who is commanded with four matters: to write down his rizq (sustenance), his life span, his actions, and whether he will be happy or unhappy (i.e. whether or not he will enter Paradise).By the One, other than Whom there is no deity, verily one of you performs the actions of the people of Paradise until there is but an arms length between him and it, and that which has been written overtakes him, and so he acts with the actions of the people of the Hellfire and thus enters it; and verily one of you performs the actions of the people of the Hellfire, until there is but an arms length between him and it, and that which has been written overtakes him and so he acts with the actions of the people of Paradise and thus he enters it. 
Related by Bukhari and Muslim
Brief Commentary:

• The addition, “who is the truthful one, and the one to be believed in” could be because the narrator of the hadith knew many people would doubt the content of the hadith, so he is reminding them of the reality of the prophet (sallaAllahu ‘alayhi wasallam)
• Aristotle and earlier scholars used to believe that the embryo is formed at a very early stage in pregnancy
• It was not until 1839 when western scholars came up with a theory that the embryo is formed in stages, while the Qur’an had stated it over 1200 years before them
• This hadith acts as one of the important scientific miracles of the sunnah, as it describes aspects of embryo formation in great detail
• Knowing that we were once this small and weak should humble us in front of Allah
• Pregnancy is long as it is a mercy for the mother, so she doesn’t grow a big stomach quickly
• It is also a mercy for the child, as the mother suffers in pregnancy, and this makes her look after the child better and want everything good for him/her
• In order to be perfect, Allah created us in stages, so in manners and behaviour, we need to also take it in stages and not expect ourselves or others to be very well-mannered overnight
• By agreement of all scholars, it is forbidden to abort the foetus after 120 days into pregnancy
• The majority of scholars say that it is permissible to abort the foetus before 120 days into pregnancy
• If the foetus is aborted after 120 days into pregnancy, or before 120 days but it had human-like features, then four things need to be done. These are:
  • It must be washed
  • It must be prayed upon (Janazah prayer)
  • It must be buried
  • It must be given a name
• Some scholars say the end part of the hadith, beginning from “By the One, other than Whom there is no deity” is actually an addition from the narrator, and is not the saying of the prophet (sallaAllahu ‘alayhi wasallam)
• All of our deeds are based upon our final actions, so this should make us fear and never feel safe from entering hellfire, as we never know how our life will end
• Causes for a bad ending (to someone’s life):
  • Corrupt belief
  • When the apparent differs from what is in the heart
  • Being persistent in sins
  • Love for the dunya
  • Choosing to stay away from steadfastness
  • When the heart is attached to other than Allah
• Signs of someone experiencing a bad ending:
  • Doing bad prior to death e.g. singing
  • Face turns black when washed
  • Face turns away from the qiblah when buried, or thrown out of the grave, or burn marks or snake bites when buried, etc
• Causes for a good ending:
  • Keeping steadfast
  • When the apparent agrees with what is in the heart
  • Having good thoughts/expectations of Allah
  • Hastiness in repentance after sinning
  • Keeping away from the causes of a bad ending
• Signs of someone experiencing a good ending:
  • Saying “لا إله إلا الله”
  • Sweat on the forehead when dying
  • Dying on a Friday
  • Dying as a martyr
• The above signs are general and cannot be used on everyone, as not everyone who dies on Friday will enter Jannah so the same can be said about other signs

Benefits and action points:

• Appreciate the difficulties your mother faced when carrying you and giving birth to you
• Work on improving yourself step by step and take it in stages, just like Allah perfected you in stages, so do not rush
• Be humble by the knowledge that you could be righteous all your life and deviate at the end of your life, so ensure you remain firm on your belief at every second of your life
• Avoid the causes of a bad ending
• Try and achieve the causes of a good ending