Is the smile on a deceased person's face an indication of a good ending?
A good ending (Husn al-Khatimah) means that a servant is enabled, before their death, to abandon sins and perform acts of obedience, and their death occurs while in this state. The proof for this is the hadith: "When Allah wills good for His servant, He employs them." It was asked, "How does He employ them?" He said, "He enables them to perform a righteous deed before their death." Among the signs of a good ending are uttering the Shahada (testimony of faith) at the time of death, dying with sweat on the forehead, dying on the night of Friday or its day, and martyrdom on the battlefield.
As for smiling at the time of death, there is no explicit text that makes it a sign of a good ending. However, it can be understood from the dying person's vision of the angels of mercy, which might cause them to smile. This is supported by the hadith of Talhah ibn Ubaydullah regarding the words "La ilaha illa Allah" (there is no god but Allah), which cause the colors to brighten at death, but this is linked to uttering the Shahada. The appearance of these signs does not guarantee paradise for the person, but rather gives hope for it. The absence of these signs does not mean that the deceased is not righteous, as all of this belongs to the unseen.
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