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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"God has described himself as the giver of life and death, yet he has delegated the acts of life and death to two angels. In a tradition, it is mentioned that the angels of death and life argued. The angel of death said, I bring death to the living, while the angel of life said,"
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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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"are in this state. When death approaches, and the beginnings of its stupor appear, the heart becomes agitated with what it holds, and perhaps the falsity of what was believed in ignorance is revealed during the throes of death, as the state of death unveils the concealment, and its stupor"
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"is that its consequences are not observable in this world, unlike bodily ailments, which visibly lead to death, repelling natural instincts. What lies beyond death is not witnessed here, and the consequence of sins, heart death, is unseen in this world, thus reducing the"
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"until the angel of death separates him from all at once. The chains remain in his heart, attached to the world he has left behind, pulling him back while the angel of death draws his heart towards the hereafter. In death's mildest state, he becomes like a"
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"Any breath may bring death. If not death, then illness may suddenly lead to it. Why do you not prepare for death, which is closer to you than anything else? Reflect on his words, the exalted. The time for people's reckoning has drawn near, yet they are"
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"What more contrasting and discordant than one's nonexistence and destruction? 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"