Is the time of a person's death already fixed, and can it be brought forward or delayed?

The appointed term (ajal) is decreed and cannot change. Ibn Mas'ud reported that the angel sent to the child in the womb is commanded to write four things: its deeds, its provision, its lifespan, and whether it will be wretched or blessed (Sahih al-Bukhari 3208); and Allah says, "So when their time has come, they will not remain behind an hour, nor will they precede it" (Quran 7:34), and "never will Allah delay a soul when its time has come" (Quran 63:11). This holds whether death comes through illness, accident, or at the hand of another — the means differ, the appointed term does not, so no one dies before their time and no medicine truly extends it beyond what was written. This does not cancel taking the means: we still seek treatment and avoid danger, for Allah says, "do not throw [yourselves] with your [own] hands into destruction" (Quran 2:195). As for "whoever loves that he be granted more wealth and that his lease of life be prolonged, let him keep good relations with his kith and kin" (Sahih al-Bukhari 5986), scholars explain this either as barakah placed in one's time and a good remembrance left behind, or as a change in what the angels record while what is with Allah never alters — "Allah eliminates what He wills or confirms, and with Him is the Mother of the Book" (Quran 13:39).

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