Three things continue past death.
Narrated by Abū Hurayrah (أبو هريرة)
إِذَا مَاتَ الإِنْسَانُ انْقَطَعَ عَنْهُ عَمَلُهُ إِلاَّ مِنْ ثَلاَثٍ: صَدَقَةٍ جَارِيَةٍ، أَوْ عِلْمٍ يُنْتَفَعُ بِهِ، أَوْ وَلَدٍ صَالِحٍ يَدْعُو لَهُ
"When a person dies, their deeds are cut off — except for three: ongoing charity, knowledge that is benefited from, and a righteous child who prays for them."
A hadith that has guided a thousand years of Muslim philanthropy. Masjids, wells, schools, translated books — everything built to continue benefiting after the builder is gone — is built on this one sentence. The scholars noted the order: first charity that runs on its own, then knowledge that reproduces itself, then the prayer of someone you shaped.
Passages that draw on this hadith
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"It has been said that death is of two kinds: voluntary death and natural death. Whoever causes his soul to die a voluntary death, his natural death will be life for him. This means that voluntary death is the suppression of destructive desires,"
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"A true man is the one who fears the death of his heart, not the death of his body, for most of these people fear the death of their bodies and do not care about the death of their hearts. They only know life as natural life, which is a sign of the death of the heart and soul."
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"Thus, humans love the continuity of existence and despise death and killing, not merely for what they fear after death or merely for the dread of the throes of death, but one would resent being snatched from life painlessly and being put to death without reward or punishment,"
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"in the longevity of well-being, or do you feel secure from death, or do you dare against the angel of death? When the angel of death comes, neither your wealth nor your many preparations will prevent him. Do you not know that the moment of death is filled with hardships,"
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"This is why prophets and saints greatly feared death. Jesus, peace be upon him, once said, O disciples, pray to Allah Most High to ease this throw for me, meaning death. I have feared death with such fear that it has set me upon death."
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"when an elder appeared above me and said, 'O you, rise, for death has not died. He then wandered off, and I followed him, hearing him say, 'Every soul shall taste death. O Allah, bless me in death. I asked, 'And after death?"
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"It was said to me: What do you desire? I said: I desire a death with no life in it, and a life with no death in it. It was said to me: What is the death with no life in it, and what is the life with no death in it?"
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"leading to Umayya's capture and eventual death. The death of Abu Jahl. Abu Jahl's death is also recounted. On the day of Badr, he approached reciting poetry, boasting of his readiness for battle. Despite his confidence, he was ultimately killed by the Ansar, marking the end of another"